An Argentine cartoon from ‘Quino’; or Joaquín Salvador Lavado Tejón. It’s a great visual gag, worked through in detail. The aircraft connection? The picture on the wall is, of course ‘Guernica’, by Pablo Picasso, the searing indictment of Fascist bombing, by Italian and German aircraft of civilians in the Spanish Civil War. The painting, of…
Tag: Cartoon
Cheerful Plane Postie
Today’s Poster, from Britain’s General Post Office (GPO). ‘Send Your Overseas Parcels By Air Mail’. So much going on with this artwork, but the basic design, by Harry Stevens, works very well with the postman figurine shaped like an aeroplane. Simple, Memorable. James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer. Image source: Here, details: original poster PRD 797…
Doolittle Departed
Today’s Poster is in acknowledgement of the death of the the last of the airmen who flew with (then) Lieutenant Colonel Jimmy Doolittle on the ‘Doolittle Raid’ on Tokyo, Japan, in 1942. The poster, a very simple design featuring a photo of James Doolittle and a simple exhortative text is most interesting in what it…
Doodle Amelia
One from a special day on Google, a special ‘Google Doodle’ artwork featuring noted aviatrix Amelia Earhart. Here’s she’s seen boarding her Lockheed Vega, preserved in the Smithsonian collection, which incorporates the Google letters as the ‘registration’ and in her scarf. James Kightly, Vintage Aero Writer. Image from Google, screengrab from file.
Onkel Zepp
Today’s Poster. A great cartoon portrait of a man who essentially gave his name to the class of aircraft, the rigid airship: Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin. Here it’s a poster for the ‘Internationale Luftschiffahrt Ausstellung’ (International Airship Exhibition) at Frankfurt am Main in 1909, when the military use of airships was a threat of the…
Sketchy
Watermarked by the modern Flight Global, this artwork dates to the 1936 ‘Flight’ magazine. Featuring sketches of details from the 1936 Society of British Aircraft Manufacturer’s products at the S.B.A.C. show of that year. These kind of pen and ink sketches, as well as being engaging illustrations, also are an effective way of the art…
Multi-National Smiths
I don’t think I’ve seen a better illustration of the intent and concept of the 24 hour bomber campaign by the British, Commonwealth and Free European nations night campaign led by the Royal Air Force’s Bomber Command, and the increasingly effective day campaign of the United States Army Air Force against Nazi Germany, here from…
Tintin At Ninety
Today*, the immortal cartoon character Tintin is ninety years old, as it’s ninety years since he first appeared in print. A few years ago, a series of aircraft and cars, each accompanied by a character from the books was released. As well as a number that are iconic and crucial to the plots, a few…
A Coming Knockout Punch?
Aviation regularly appeared as a feature in general magazines such as Britain’s Punch (1841 – 1992). Here a made up, toylike British military machine (note the roundels) is piloted by Mr Punch with his dog Toby, over a idyllic British countryside scene, with a field with some very smart pup tents of the army (no…
A Year of Aviation Illustration & Art 