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MEN WHO CAN MAKE US LAUGH.Secrets of the Humorist’s Craft.By Muriel SlyWe live in the golden age of caricature: there is more good pw-torial humour being produced now than ever before. The aeries of articles of which this is the first have been written after interviews with such famous artists as Fougasse. H M. Bateman. W. Heath Robinson and Bert Thomas.The articles show how these men and women, the leaders of their profession, set about their work a'id how they obtain their effects.yy busy little man. said Mr. Heath i Robinson, “had what vu probably ils real origin in a book I wrote and llustrated many years ago. called Uncle Lubln It was a children’s aook. one of my -first ess ays Into the world of humour, and Uncle Lubin m rose if was a quaint little figure. ver* Human and lovable in spite of. possibly oecause of. his strange ways.••My humour is. I suppose, a gentle atlre on the fussiness of people, the people who take themselves very seriously and have no sense of humour. I'm not quite sure, though, if ‘fussiness' a the right word. At all events. It Is a satire not on a type, but on a real tiuman trait. There is notlilng cynical ,n it. and If people recognise In It something of themselves, or their friends, they will laugh, provided It Is done in a humorous way.Heath Robinson believes that it Is Chiefly the seriousness and lack of humour in the people whom he draws, chat makes them humorous. And it Is not only the people who Me serious: the artist himself must appear to believe jnplicitly in what he is doing: he must treat it as though he had absolute faith In It.I must never seem to be laughing up my sleeve,’* he told me. *'I must appear to be supremely confident in ray own ideas. And to do this I must work out everything to the last detail, and make It all so logical and exact that men think: ’Hang it all. the man must believe that he’s right!* I have at times managed to make the impossible seem so plausible that I have been identified with the people whom I draw, and am often supposed to live amidst a forest of knotted string and pulleys and strange machinery Invented for my own convenience.-It Is. I think, this ability to make the most absurd scene convincing, ihat makes people laugh at my drawings— when, of course they do laugh. I amW Heath Robinsor.told that my work amuses also because of its extravagance, but that doesn't prove that It is humorous, although I do admit that it is extravagant and bizarre.Ideas for drawings. Mr. Robinson describes as haphazard things: they may come suddenly, or be the result of considerable labour. But having once obtained the germ of an Idea, there is one method which he Invariably adopts. He makes a rough sketch of the Idea and works it out. seeing all the possible developments. He does not think of the whole thing straight away, but If the central Idea is good he knows that It will be capable of elaboration. Some ideas slart off happily but die away after a time; others, the most successful. grow .satisfactorily.The caption, he thinks, la often a very vital part of a humorous drawing, and it evolves and develops In the process of completion In the same way that the drawing does A really happy caption is a great asset, and sometimes a lot of thought Is given to it. although the public often doesn't realise It. It Is quite true that the drawing may contain an Idea obvious enough without a caption, but all the same, a bad caption might easily spoil ItHeath Robinson is one of the most versatile of humorous artists. He has two distinct reputations: one as ahumorous artist and one as an Illustrator: and both have the samo whimsical attitude of mind running through them. He comes of a family of artists: his grandfather, Thomas Robinson, was an artist and engraver; his father, also Thomas Robinson, was for a long time the chief artist on the staff of the old “Penny Illustrated Paper”: hisuncle Charles Robinson did a lot of work for the “Illustrated London News: while his brothers are well-known in Che ranks of modem artists. He actually began his own career as a landscape painter, but soon turned to black and white and Illustrative workAmong other things he has Illustratedtwo of Shakespeare’s plays: “A Midsummer Night’s Dream and “TwelfthNighta volume of Poe's poetry. Rabelais. “Don Quixote’* and Kipling's “Song of the English.” Recently he has collaborated with Kenneth R. G. Browne In two books which have had an enormous success: “How to live in a Flat” and “How to be a Perfect Husband **HLs work as an Illustrator also took him in fresh fields when he decorated the cocktail bar of the “Empress oi Britain *'’The trouble about illustrative work, he informed me. is that one is so tempted to choose a part of the text that inspires a good illustration, instead of Interpreting the author’s central idea. I was never an Illustrator In the real sense of the word: I was too Independent and wanted to go my own way too much So when I found out i how pleasant It was. In ‘Uncle Lubln.* to fit words to the Illustrations instead of illustrations to the words, I repeated the experiment on a larger scale The result was a second children's book called 'Bill the Minder.*The trouble about being versatile.” | continued Mr. Robinson, is that It is extremely difficult to switch from one subject to another. You have to be very careful to see that the humorous touch is not detected in your serious work, and vice versa. It Is quite possible for people to recognise the same hand and touch in an illustration and In a cartoon; even if the style Is only unconsciously reminiscent. It is fatal to the serious work.”Mr. Robinson’s versatility Is shown in another direction, too Advertisements take up a great deal of his ttme these days, and it Is a branch of his work in which he is very interested.“Of course. he told me. for most of my mechanical drawings it is essential for people to have some knowledge of the process caricatured. They appeal chiefly, therefore, to men with specialised technical ability. That Is why the most successful of them are used for brochures and prospectuses which are read almost exclusively by experts on the particular subject In question. These experts seem to appreciate my humour immensely; It tickles them to death and enhances their pride in their great machines.I have done vast numbers of these mechanical drawmgs, even though I have never studied mechanics. I Just use my common sense and the little knowledge that I have of how the simplest apparatus works. I have made fun of many processes: among others, the making of asbestos cement, coal-tar products, leather tanning and manufacture, and the grading of coke and coal. My method Is Invariably the same: I go to the factory, coalmine, or whatever it is. and watch the whole process in action, making sketches and verbal notes all the time. I find that I must saturate myself in the real thing first, and then I am able to make fun of It more effectively. As regards the actual drawing. I try to retain the principle of the process and twist it to my own humorous point of view. For instance. I once had to draw a machine used for purifying paper pulp, in which the centrifugal force was largelyINProtecting the PointsmanAfter o drowmg by Heath RobinsonBROKEN PLEDGES.Failure of the Peace Treaties.One of Heath Robinson's decorations for his recently-published book, My Life of Life fBlackre. ?5/-net * .used. 1 marie fun of the centrifugal force, but I kept the underlying principle. which I had learnt carefully and thoroughly first.“You know. he concluded, with a little sigh, “it Is a really formidable task to treat some of these Intricatechemical processes humorously. They are so scientific that It is extremely difficult to reduce them to pieces ofwood and bits of string ”IJL’CKWORTH'S have published In their New Readers’ Library, at 3 6 net each volume. “Twelve ModemPlays. edited by John Hampden Galsworthy. Phlllpotts. Edith Sitwell anddu Garde Peach are represented, and there are plays for all kinds of casts.The Truth About the Peace Treaties by David Lloyd George. Vol. 2 t Victor Gollancz. Ltd.. London l IS.'. From the publishers.hav the of t lmr ticu XVletymo’eve“AtAbeethebroallllevpertonperledtheweiphi1tin:VejdlvgreInoff!accdlvemv •eqi.hCUtonwhHethiACC^(R. LLOYD GEORGE has done his part In furnishing the reading world with evidence as to how the entire group of peace treaties came to have their ultimate form and substance and In saying what there is to be said for the vindication of the settlements which the treaties were designed to effect. The second volume of “The Truth About the Peace Treaties. like the first, consists mainly of the recorded spoken and written words of the Big Four.President Wilson, the author himself. M. Clemenceau and Senor Orlando representing respectively the I United States. Great Britain. France and Italy, may fairly be termed the Peace architects. It was chiefly from their conversations, conferences, public utterances and the great number of State papers of which they were the principal authors, that final agreements were evolved. Into all these settlements. as was inevitable, the element of compromise entered. No one has claimed perfection for the peace treaties. not even the author of this work who is their supreme apologist. Mr Lloyd George, however, does contend that there is In the Peace treaties no such inherent defects as must inevitably have prevented the achievement of their high purposes. He says. In effect, if not in so many words, that they have, like Christianity, not been given a fair trial.« « « «not enough to racial bonds and racial affinities. To do Mr. Lloyd George Justice. It should be said that he was expressly fearful of the consequences of this policy and that during the diplomatic discussions on the boundaries of Czechoslovakia he drew attention to the danger to be apprehended of incorporating in the new State a fast alien population of Germans. Hungarians and Poles. The majority of the delegates seemed to lose sight of the fact that If the war was to make the world safe for democracy and usher in an era ofIhehatpainatgatersfolcarentOnofdecacVmeAllan*thicrctovmaneirivrovthitheda:thePittoag«sayNThe author at workA FTER reading this monumentalwork, it is impossible not to be abiding peace—results In the attain-lmpressed by the Intrlcateness and ment °r whlch the majority professed a complexity of the problems with which more or ,esa fervent faith—defensive the Peace Conference was confronted frontiers were of secondary concern. As these problems are here presented, « « « «we are not surprised that time and rYrrDT ___circumstance have revealed unfor^nweaknesses In the solutions of those problems which are embodied In the several settlements. What does excite our special wonder is that conrord among the negotiators as to the terms of the treaties was in the end substantially attained Perplexing as were the difficulties attending the framing of the Versailles Treaty determining the peace terms to be imposed on Germany, they were not nearly so formidable as were those arising out of the subsidiary treaties determining the fate of the shattered Austro-Hungarian and Turkish Empires which, together with Italy’s claims and the protection of minorities are ‘.he subjects dealt with in the present volume.It was one thing to deprive Austria. Hungary and Turkey of those provinces In which alien races had for so long been held In tyrannous subjection. It was quite another to establish and delimit the frontiers of the old and New States and to prescribe formulas for the fair treatment of minorities In both Nor did the difficulties of the Peace Conference begin and end with these problems. There remained the disposal of these liberated peoples, not then possessing the qualificationsessential for their self-government andself-protection against potential exploiters. It was no easy matter eitherto »deflne the boundaries of theseweaker provinces or to determine ^helr allocation for the tutelage of their nationals to mandatory governments. ( owing to the conflicting claims and conflicting interests of the Allies and associated Powers—a problem aggravated by the unwillingness of theUnited States to assume the role of mandatory In Armeniaelse♦ * « «Treaties” Mr. Lloyd George Indulges in amazingly little comment or criticism. His aim seems to have been up to this point to acquaint his readers with what he and the rest of the negotiators had to say In respect of all the situations with which they were called to deal. In the end. however, he does not conceal or attempt to conceal, a profound conviction that wherein the Treaties have failed, their failure has been attributable to the fact that there has been no will power or steady resolve behind their execution and that all the democratic countries were equally to blame for this exhibition of Ineptitude and nervelessness..’The victorious nations who dictated the treaties have (he writes! broken the pledges they gave when the Treaties were signed.• 1 They refused to carry out the solemn undertaking they gave to Germany that once she was disarmed they would follow hex example.In one case after another of wanton aggression against weak countries who were Members of the loague. the Great Powers have failed to come to their aid and check aggression.*3 Undertakings given as an Integral part of the peace settlementthat the rights of minority races ina country would be respected have been shamelessly disregarded.i4i The revtslonary provisions of the Treaties have been Ignored.“The Treaties are not to be blamednr anywhere (t,r thcJ* event* bul lhc dishonourable infraction of them. The permanence of()NE of the prior claims which Mr Lloyd George makes for the Peace Treaties is that they constitute the greatest measure of national liberation of subject nations ever achieved bv any war settlement on record “In order to understand and appreciate fully the extept and area of this process It Isas he very truly says, “necessary totake a survey of the position on August 1. 1914. In the East the Arab countries of Mesopotamia and Arabia. Palestine and Syria—once upon a time independent realms of great renown—had during thousands of years been subject to continuous transfer from one conqueror to another The Slavonic peoples and Magyars of Central Europe hac} for centuries been subjected to foreign rule. The adjacent kingdom of Poland had been rent like n garmenta peace settlement depends not only on the Justice of its provisions but also on the wisdom and Integrity of ils interpreters. But for these acts of malfeasance there is something to be said, not bv way of extenuation or excuse but of explanation. The League of Nations was not long the august and powerful organisation it was when the Versailles Treaty was signed. The first reeling blow given to the Covenant of thesinThgatth»recchiceafesdehastianratunintelsgo:COlanITKdothGrtoSemidliCO'toonce:waIgiDaBevimtrat PO COl ool de set qu r* an if:hewi-Offlooflltileaabbufotth*thiortecofoftoi a :League and disarmament came from America and Mr Lloyd George does not minimise the gravity of this lin peril-ment. “It is not too much to say ihe, writes! that when the American Sennt* Hv walked out of the League and slammed lh!1)Ccwiwrexithe door behind It. 50 per cent of Its power urid influence vanished. The refusal of the United States to enter the Council of the Nations or to take any p share of the responsibility for main-nd*thepTece-MUstrtbuledbflwt£n three he'empires Alsace-Lorraine was wrenched Influence and au- (by fore, from ,hc Sid. of the France it I T'.he Co™'.n°d ! neweakcnea lus right arm ~ 1HEATH ROBINSON AS ILLUSTRATOROne of his drawings for the Navarre Society's Rabe/aisFor one W dertcstnls q huge aiant had **oliowed every pan 'V.Uet frv'G-pan and dr»pp.rfl-pcn in the 'and. tor wart of windmills, h»%daily food.laved and forced to dwell in an empire it loathed. The Finns and Balts of Russia were held In subjection by the brute force of the ruthless empire of the Czars. At the commencement of the War there were in the belligerent countries 100.000.000 men and women with a tradition of racial independent In the more or less distant past, the denial of whose claim to free nationhood constituted a crime against the State which governed them “The liberation of these peoples was one of the first avowed war alms of the British Government and was to become one of the chief war aims of its Allies and associated governments The maps or Europe today bear witness to the extent to which this unanimously proclaimed objective was attained. In drawing the new map- the problem was to determine on a guiding principle The question constantly intruding was whether defence or ethnographical considerations were to be the determining factors In deciding where frontier linesshould be drawn The framers of the Peace were long sharply divided on thi* crucial question and agreement wa* only reached by compromise Recent events in Central Europe have too plainly shown that in some ease* overmuch weight was attached to the mi p. I posed need of defensive frontiers andEuropean Territorial
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Perth West Australian
Perth, Western Australia, AU
Sat, Jan 14, 1939
Page 22
Full Page
Clipped by
Jim B.
USA 11 Mar 2023
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