Wandsworth Gallery

Barges on the River Thames near Battersea Bridge, London, c1951. Creator: Shirley Markham

Barges on the River Thames near Battersea Bridge, London, c1951. Shirley Markham (1931-1999) studied Graphic Design and Illustration at Central School of Art in London from 1950-1952. The writer, artist, poet, and illustrator Mervyn Peake (1911-1968) was one of her tutors, and her style of drawing was also influenced by other British illustrators such as Edward Ardizzone, Quentin Blake and Edward Bawden. Markham spent time in the Dolomite Mountains in Italy, and also visited Rome, sketching classical buildings. After graduating from Central, she worked as a graphic designer, producing book illustrations, cartoons for comics, menus and programmes. She gave up her promising career however when she got married in 1957. Middle-class women at that time were expected to devote their energies to bringing up children and running the home, and despite her obvious talent, she lacked the confidence to return to illustration. Her portfolio remained in the family attic for many years, but now her work is published here for the first time

© Shirley Markham Collection / Heritage-Images

The Garratt Election, (c1878). Creator: Unknown

The Garratt Election, (c1878). 18th century scene showing the Garrat Elections held at Garrat, then a small hamlet in Wandsworth, (now part of greater London). The elections were: A ludicrous ceremony, practiced every new parliament: it consists of a mock election of two members to represent the borough of Garret...The qualification of a voter is, having enjoyed a woman, in the open air, within that district: the candidates are commonly fellows of low humor, who dress themselves up in a ridiculous manner. As this brings a prodigious concourse of people to Wandsworth, the publicans of that place jointly contribute to the expense, which is sometimes considerable. From Old and New London: A Narrative of Its History, Its People, And Its Places. The Southern Suburbs, Volume VI, by Edward Walford. [Cassell, Petter, Galpin & Co., London, Paris & New York, c1878]

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images

King George V admiring allotments on Clapham Common, London, c1910s-c1920s (1936)

King George V (1865-1936) admiring allotments on Clapham Common, London, c1910s-c1920s (1936). George, the second son of Edward VII and Alexandra of Denmark, was born at Marlborough House on 3rd June, 1865. In 1893 he married Princess Mary (with whom he had six children) and in 1910, upon the death of his father, he became king. In 1924 he appointed Ramsay MacDonald, Britain's first Labour Prime Minister, and in 1932 he introduced the idea of broadcasting a Christmas message to the people. He died of influenza on 20th January, 1936 and was succeeded by his eldest son, Edward. From His Majesty the King, 1910-1935, introduction by HW Wilson (Associated Newspapers Ltd, London, 1936)

© The Print Collector / Heritage-Images