Eric Winter

Eric Winter was a popular contributor to Ladybird Books in the 1960s and 1970s. As the artist of many of the "Well-Loved Tales" (606D) series, his titles featured strongly in the childhood's of many readers. He painted over a dozen fairy tales, including Cinderella, Sleeping Beauty, Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Whittington and his Cat, Rumpelstiltskin, Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzl and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, amongst others.

Winter was born in Edmonton, Essex, on 15 May 1905, the son of John Ernest Winter, a sanitary inspector for the Lower Edmonton Urban District Council, and his wife Elizabeth Mary (nee Francis). Eric had two siblings, older brother Francis John and younger sister Irene Marion, all three of whom attended Latimer Public School. Eric became interested in art and attended Hornsey Art School, specialising in commercial and fine art and charcoal. He painted in watercolours and oils but preferred the former.

As a commercial artist, Winter designed the famous logo of the Abbey National Building Society of two people sheltering under a roof-shaped umbrella. The design was inspired by a house with an unusual four-sided roof opposite his studio in Broxboume. The silhouette became part of the company logo for over fifty years until the company undertook a major rebranding exercise in 2003.

Winter was an illustrator for Woman's Own and Woman, and a regular illustrator for Blackie & Sons in the years after the war. His illustrations for The Book of Jesus for Young People by Augustus Muir (1953) brought him to the attention of Chad Varah, who was writing "picture biographies" for the newly launched Swift comic, drawn by Patrick Williams. Winter took over the artwork during "The Story of Moses"'  in May 1955 and the at-first irregular series began appearing more regularly from July 1956, with Winter and Varah collaborating on the stories of St Francis, St Brigit, Vncent de Paul, St George and many others over the next three years.

Winter also illustrated an adaptation of 'Pilgrim's Progress' in 1957-58 and produced the final two episodes of 'The Story of Tom Brown's Schooldays' in 1959.

 

For seven years from 1953, Winter illustrated a variety of short stories and serials for Girl, amongst them 'Elinor's Secret Quest' by Lilias Edwards (1955), 'The Masked Ball' by Anne Wade (1955), 'The Admiral's Locket' by Frank Styles (1956), 'The Wraith of the Moors' by James Stagg (1956), 'Stranded in Spain' by Neil Rogers (1956), 'The Secret of Ravenscroft Hall' by J. A. Storrie (1956), 'Junior Model' by Frances Towers (1957), 'Model Girls' by Bob King (1957-58) and 'Jamaican Holiday' by Olive K. Griffiths (1959).

The Wee Web Ladybird website notes that Winter "is well known for a painting called the 'Spinning Jenny' which he was com­missioned to do, in oils, for the Wool Secretariat in London. Several of his water colours were hung in the Royal Academy of Arts. He was asked by the Chancery to give a certain painting of Colonel Bowing's Llang­ware House in Wales to the Nation, but he decided to present it to his wife as a wedding present instead. This painting is still cherished and has pride of place in his wife's home."

Eric Winter died in 1982 [not, as widely reported, 1981], in Haverfordwest, Wales, aged 77. He was survived by his wife—he married Joan L. C. Wilton in 1938—and their two children Erica and Anthony.

PUBLICATIONS

Illustrated Books
The Double Crescent by Monica Marsden. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1948.
Treasure Trail by Monica Marsden. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1949.
The Chartfield School Mystery by Monica Marsden. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1949.
Hilary's Difficult Term by Daphne Ramart. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1949.
The Secret of the Caves by Monica Marsden. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1949.
The School Library Mystery by Agnes Furlong. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1951.
The Island in the Lake by M. E. Mathews. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1951.
A School in Danger by Mabel Esther Allan. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1952.
Hilary Takes a Hand by Doreen Wyld. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1952.
Blue Tarn Mystery by James Jesse Shaw. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1953.
The Book of Jesus told for Young People by Augustus Muir, illus. with Eric Wade. London, Odhams Press, 1953.
The Jays of St. John's by Judith Carr. London & Glasgow, Blackie & Son, 1956.
Campbell's Kingdom by Hammond Innes, abridged and simplified by Alan Ronaldson. London, Longmans, Green & Co., 1958.
The Kraken Wakes by John Wyndham, abridged and simplified by G. C. Thornley. London, Longmans, 1959.
His Name was Jan by Kaare Westergaard. London, Salvationist Publishing & Supplies, 1961.
Cinderella retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1964.
Sleeping Beauty retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1965.
Jack and the Beanstalk retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1965.
Dick Whittington and his Cat retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1966.
A Second Ladybird Key Words Picture Dictionary and Spelling Book by Joseph MacNally. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1966.
Puss in Boots retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1967.
The Princess and the Pea retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1967.
Beauty and the Beast retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1968.
Rapunzel retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1968.
Rumpelstiltzkin retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1968.
Life in New Testament Times by Ralph R. Gower. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1968.
Snow White and Rose-Red retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1968.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1969.
The Story of Saint Paul by D. S. Hare. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1969.
The Story of Peter the Fisherman by D. S. Hare. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1970.
Goldilocks and the Three Bears retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1971.
The History of the Bible by P. J. Hunt. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1971.
Knitting by Maureen & Michael Harvey. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1972.
Learning to Sew by Noreen Davis.  Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1972.
Little Red Riding Hood retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth (Ladybird Books), 1972.
Easy-to-Make Puppets by Alan & Brenda Stockwell. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1973.
More Things to Make for Special Occasions by Barbara Key. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1973.
Talkabout Home compiled by W. Murray. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1973.
Talkabout the Beach compiled by W. Murray. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1974.
Learning to Crochet by Wynne Broughton. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1975.
Talkabout the Park compiled by W. Murray. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1975.
Camping by David Harwood, illus. with Martin Aitchison. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1977.
Knots by Ronald A. Hinton.  Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1977.
Crochet by Wynne Broughton. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1977.
Sewing by Noreen Davis. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1977.
The Old Woman and Her Pig retold by Vera Southgate. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1977.
Brownie Guides by Nancy Scott, illus. with others. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1978.
Car Games by David Harwood. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1978.
My First Big Talkabout Book, illus. with others. Loughborough, Ladybird Books, 1978.
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