Faces of Humph: Caricatures and Memories

by HumphreyLyttelton (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2009

  $3.25

  When Humphrey Lyttelton died in June 2008 he left behind him an amazing record of his life in the form of cartoons and drawings. From sketches of family and jazz musicians, and Christmas cards, to illustrations for jazz flyers, there's little Humph didn't record. Humphrey Lyttelton enrolled in arts at Camberwill School of Arts and Crafts in 1947 where he decided that cartooning and caricature were the way forward (as well as jazz, of course). He had already been drawing sketches from childhood - of housemasters or his wartime service in a coal town in Wales where he drew characters such as 'Toomph'. Through fellow band member, Wally Fawkes, known to the cartoon world as 'Trog', he secured a job as column breaker for the Daily Mail. His career as a cartoonist was relatively short as he went on to create his own band and become one of the greatest jazz musicians in the UK. But all the while, Humph kept doodling and sketching at every opportunity - on the back of envelopes, in margins of books, as well as more formal work, such as sketches of the Clue team and album covers. And in this unique collection we can enjoy these cartoons, drawn in his own inimitable style - witty, clever and unassuming - along with his compelling stories that surround his subjects. Poignant, fascinating and high enjoyable, this little book is a hand-drawn memory of a life. Every Monday night from 1967 until 2008, Humphrey Lyttelton wrote and presented BBC's The Best of Jazz, and he was, famously, Chairman of the anarchic, award-winning radio programme, I'm Sorry, I Haven't A Clue. He wrote nine books, and composed over two hundred tunes, and has Honorary Doctorates at the universities of Warwick, Loughborough, Durham, Keele, Hertford and de Montfort.