EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 22 © 2018 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

11 and say, “How can I get into this?” I’d say, “Go to an advertising agency, or publisher, and say, ‘I just want to work in publishing, or in advertising, and I’ll do anything’.” Just get your foot in the door. If you are any good at all, you’ll start. If you’re not, then you won’t. IQ: Sowhatwas Fleetway like?Whatwas theatmosphere of the place like? BC: Great! Very laid-back. The only thing you couldn’t do, you couldn’t get in the lift with the chairman, the commissioner held you back! IQ: Did any artists work in-house? BC: No, I don’t think any did. They would come in, obviously, and I think if there was an alteration, or something special they would…We had ledgers working in-house to do any alterations, but we didn’t have any artists. But it was great, on Friday afternoons we never did any work, we’d play cricket down the corridors. IQ: I was expecting it to be a bit more straight-laced than that, actually. BC: No, I think as long as you got the work done… but it was fairly easy. I don’t think we sweated at all! IQ: Were you paid for writing scripts as well? As a way of supplementing your income there? BC: Yes, and you were expected to! I mean everybody wrote scripts. IQ: Where would you have been living in the ’50s then? As a youngster? BC: In my parents home in Leigh on Sea, which is where I started the agency from. Sydney Road, Lyon on Sea… Then when we got a bit busier, I took an office in Cloth Square which is by St. Barts, St. Barts Hospital. In the old quarter there. It’s still there, obviously it’s still there. It’s where John Betjeman used to rave about. It’s still this little corner, a weaver’s house I think at one time. We had a room. When I say we, I mean Davis, with Keith Davis. We had a little room there and a desk and a couple of chairs was all we had. By then he had started to go a bit… IQ: So let’s step forward… Once you’re running the agency the art coming through from Spain would be FACING PAGE: A promotional flyer highlighting the different series Bardon Art produced for the UK market. ABOVE: Friday Foster , brush and ink on board (1973). Sunday strip, corresponding to 10/7/1973. The strips was written by Jim Lawrence and illustrated by Jordi Longarón, the first Spanish artist to draw a strip for the American market. Imaged by Heritage Auctions, HA.com