Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #9

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #9
'A Shallow Grave'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the ninth (and penultimate) vignette. After his suicide (or possible murder, according to some) the body of the supposed Ratcliffe Highway murderer John Williams was taken from Coldbath Square Prison in Clerkenwell back to Shadwell where the killings had taken place. His body was placed upon a cart and paraded through the streets of Wapping, Ratcliffe and Shadwell - past the Marr's house at 29 Ratcliffe Highway, the King's Arms where the Williamson family was butchered and the Pear Tree where Williams lodged and was arrested - before being taken to the cross-roads of what is today the junction of Cable St and Cannon Street Road (then more sensibly known as simple Cannon St!). A small and shallow hole was dug - deliberately way too small for his body to lie with any dignity - and his body dumped in. Then, at the bequest of non-other than the Home Secretery, a stake was driven through his heart (using the still blood- and hair-caked maul with which the Marr family were destroyed!), lime thrown in on top and the grave quickly back-filled.

I have shown the moment just before the stake was thrust deep into Williams' heart. I got Nick to pose for this, kneeling on the edge of the sofa with a claw-hammer in one hand and a roll of cellophane (for the stake) in the other. The cart on which Williams' cadaver was displayed stands behind.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/31/chapter-9-a-shallow-grave/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #8

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #8
'A Verdict'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the eighth vignette. After his arrest prime suspect John Williams was taken to Coldbath Fields Prison (or House of Correction) in Clerkenwell. On the morning of the 27th December 1811 'the turnkey at the gaol had gone to prepare the suspect for his trip to Shadwell, when he discovered Williams suspended by the neck from the iron bar which crossed the cell, provided for prisoners to hang their clothes (surely a design fault if ever there was one!). The body was cold and lifeless, and the universal conclusion was that John Williams had passed judgement upon himself. Thus the days proceedings were undertaken on the assumption that his guilt would now be revealed.'

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/27/chapter-8-a-verdict/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #7

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #7
'Inquest at Shadwell'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the seventh vignette. After the arrest of John Williams various witness were summoned for interrogation by the magistrates at Shadwell. Here I have imagined these gentlemen cross-examining the testimony of Mrs Vermilloe, landlady of the Pear Tree inn, where prime suspect Williams was arrested.

Upper Shadwell is to-day part of the Highway. Cut-throat Lane (now there's a name!) to the north later became Love Lane and more recently Brodlove Lane where my partner Nick once lived, at the Peabody Estate there.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/26/chapter-7-three-wise-magistrates/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #6

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #6
'Arrest of the Prime Suspect'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the sixth vignette. 'On Christmas Eve, a vital break in the case came when the maul used as the weapon to kill the Marrs was recognised by Mr Vermilloe, the landlord of The Pear Tree. He reported that the initials I.P. were those of its owner John Peterson, a German carpenter from Hamburg who had recently lodged at The Pear Tree and left his tool chest there for safe keeping when he returned to sea.

This breakthrough led to to John Williams. He was twenty-seven, an ordinary seaman who had once sailed with Timothy Marr on the Dover Castle. Upon his return from sea, he had taken lodgings down by the river at The Pear Tree in Cinnamon Street, Wapping – still cobbled today as it was in 1811.'

Note the Pear Tree sign at the top of the vignette and the landlord's name, Robert Vermilloe.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/24/chapter-6-the-prime-suspect/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #5

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #5
'Indescribable Panic'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the fifth vignette. In the aftermath of the two murderous bloodbaths, both within weeks and yards of each other, media coverage at the time sent the entire country into hysteria. Sales of guns, locks and rattles went soaring as public panic spread like wildfire.

I have shown a paper boy of the period running through the streets with news hot off the press. Although the panic was nationwide I have chosen to place our scene over the streets now occupied by Rupert Murdoch's News International media group, who themselves have whipped up many a media frenzy in the years since.

Rosemary Lane is to-day called Royal Mint Street, and for about 5 years Nick and I lived just off it in John Fisher Street Peabody Estate.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/22/chapter-5-indescribable-panic/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #4

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #4
'New Sanguinary Atrocities'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the fourth vignette. It shows the next remarkable turn in the tale of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders, when on the 19th December 1811, barely two weeks after the brutal murder of the Marr family at No. 29 Ratcliffe Highway, owner of the King's Arms pub Mr. Williamson, his wife Mrs Williamson and their servant Bridgit Harrington were found most brutally slaughtered.
The scene shown depicts resident of the King's Arms John Turner escaping the carnage below by dropping from his garret window using knotted sheets and crying 'Murder! Murder!' to raise the alarm.

New Gravel Lane is to-day called Garnet Street.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/19/chapter-4-new-sanguinary-atrocities/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #3

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #3
'Burial of the Marr family'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the third vignette. It shows the interment of the murdered Marr family at St George's-in-the-East churchyard on the 15th December 1811 'in the shadow of the pepperpot tower designed by Nicholas Hawksmoor. In spite of the frost, crowds of mourners lined the Highway from early morning and at one o’clock the coffins were carried out from the draper’s shop at 29 Ratcliffe Highway, where the deceased met their end, and into the church where two months earlier the family had attended the christening of Timothy Marr junior.'

The pall-bearers are hidden beneath the black fringed drapes over the coffins - only their lower legs and feet are visible. beneath Atop the coffins are arranged black ostrich plumes in place of flowers.

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/15/chapter-3-the-burial-of-the-victims/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #2

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #2
'River Police Headquarters'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the second vignette. It shows the building of the Thames River Police down at Wapping New Stairs, as it appeared in 1811, a site they occupy to this day. 'Once news of the murders on the Ratcliffe Highway reached here in the early hours of December 8th, Police Officer Charles Horton who was on duty at the time, ran up Old Gravel Lane (now Wapping Lane) and forced his way through the crowd that had gathered outside the draper’s shop. He searched the house systematically and, apart from the mysterious chisel on the counter, he found five pounds in Timothy Marr’s pocket, small change in the till and £152 in cash in a drawer in the bedroom – confirming this was no simple robbery...'

To know more go to http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/10/chapter-2-horrid-murder/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #1

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Vignette #1
'Death of a Linen Draper'

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the first vignette. It commemorates the discovery of the brutally murdered corpses of young linen-draper Timothy Marr, his wife Celia, their two-month old child Timothy Jnr and the Marr's shop assistant James Gowan. The adults' skulls had all been violently stoved in and the infant's throat slit so that its head was almost severed from its body.

At the door stands the Marr's servant Margaret Jewell, who was sent out to buy oysters at the time the family was slain, night watchman George Olney with his lamp aloft and the Marr's next door neighbour pawnbroker John Murray emerging from the front door, having found the mutilated cadavers on the shop floor. He is recorded to have cried 'Murder! Murder! Come and see what murder is here!

To learn more visit http://spitalfieldslife.com/2011/12/07/two-hundred-years-ago-tonight/

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Title

Ratcliffe Highway Murders Map - Title

At the beginning of the month I was asked by the Gentle Author of Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/) and publishers Faber & Faber (http://faber.co.uk/) to produce a map marking the bicentinary this month of the horrific Ratcliffe Highway Murders (December 1811), with vignettes indicating the location and dates of the pertinent events as their anniversaries occurred.

The vignettes were inspired by the book investigating the case 'The Maul and the Pear Tree', by P.D.James & T.A.Critchley, first published by Faber in 1971.

The map beneath was an 1811 map of the area, provided for me by the wonderful Stefan Dickers, archivist at the Bishopsgate Institute.

This is the title cartouche. The wording and text reflects the style of the time, the late Georgian/ Regency period. The skull above is flanked by two of the murder weapons, a maul and a chisel, and pear fruits, a reference to the Pear Tree pub in Wapping where the main suspect was arrested.

Note 'Pickle Herring Street' - they don't name roads like that anymore!

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #4

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #4

Some months back I was asked by St Jude's (http://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/products/random-spectacular) to contribute to their forthcoming publication, Random Spectacular (http://randomspectacular.co.uk/), which was printed this week. And immediately sold out!

The brief: Anything, learned and lushly illustrated. I chose as my subject matter the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the fantastical (and quite possibly fictional) account of a 14th Century English knight's journeys across the known world. On his way he encounters relics of Christ, the daughter of Hippocrates turned into a dragon, Sciapods, the bones of giants, enormous flesh-eating ants (pismires) hoarding mountains of gold, the Great Khan of Cathay, the Fountain of Youth (from which he drank), the Trees of the Sun and Moon (who foretold the death of Alexander the Great),the Vale Perilous and the Great Sultan of Araby, amongst many, many other wonders.

Here are four details of Page 4 (4 pages in toto). Where-ever possible I have used the names for people and places as described by Mandeville - Polainie for Poland, Cressy for Greece, Liban for Lebanon, &c., &c..

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #3

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #3

Some months back I was asked by St Jude's (http://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/products/random-spectacular) to contribute to their forthcoming publication, Random Spectacular (http://randomspectacular.co.uk/), which was printed this week. And immediately sold out!

The brief: Anything, learned and lushly illustrated. I chose as my subject matter the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the fantastical (and quite possibly fictional) account of a 14th Century English knight's journeys across the known world. On his way he encounters relics of Christ, the daughter of Hippocrates turned into a dragon, Sciapods, the bones of giants, enormous flesh-eating ants (pismires) hoarding mountains of gold, the Great Khan of Cathay, the Fountain of Youth (from which he drank), the Trees of the Sun and Moon (who foretold the death of Alexander the Great),the Vale Perilous and the Great Sultan of Araby, amongst many, many other wonders.

Here are two details of Page 3 (4 pages in toto). Where-ever possible I have used the names for people and places as described by Mandeville - Polainie for Poland, Cressy for Greece, Liban for Lebanon, &c., &c..

Twitter Ye Not - Woodrow Wilson's 14 Point Plan

Twitter Ye Not - Woodrow Wilson's 14 Point Plan

On the 8th January 1918, in an address to Congress, President Woodrow Wilson outlined his 14 Point Plan, which would become the blueprint for the German surrender at the end of the First World War. Here, we imagine the Twitter feed of that week-end.

On the right-hand side I have shown the 28th US President, Woodrow Wilson, his 14-point plan rolled up under his arm. The points included the formation of an independant Poland and the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France.

Across from him stands British Premier (and notorious Welsh womaniser!) David Lloyd George, a bit miffed at having not been consulted on the drafting of the document.

All around them lies the devastation of WWI, whilst between them sits a nervous Dove of Peace.

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #2

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #2

Some months back I was asked by St Jude's (http://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/products/random-spectacular) to contribute to their forthcoming publication, Random Spectacular (http://randomspectacular.co.uk/), which was printed this week. And immediately sold out!

The brief: Anything, learned and lushly illustrated. I chose as my subject matter the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the fantastical (and quite possibly fictional) account of a 14th Century English knight's journeys across the known world. On his way he encounters relics of Christ, the daughter of Hippocrates turned into a dragon, Sciapods, the bones of giants, enormous flesh-eating ants (pismires) hoarding mountains of gold, the Great Khan of Cathay, the Fountain of Youth (from which he drank), the Trees of the Sun and Moon (who foretold the death of Alexander the Great),the Vale Perilous and the Great Sultan of Araby, amongst many, many other wonders.

Here are two details of Page 2 (4 pages in toto). Where-ever possible I have used the names for people and places as described by Mandeville - Polainie for Poland, Cressy for Greece, Liban for Lebanon, &c., &c..

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #1

Random Spectacular: The Travels of Sir John Mandeville, #1

Some months back I was asked by St Jude's (http://www.stjudesprints.co.uk/products/random-spectacular) to contribute to their forthcoming publication, Random Spectacular (http://randomspectacular.co.uk/), which was printed this week. And immediately sold out!

The brief: Anything, learned and lushly illustrated. I chose as my subject matter the Travels of Sir John Mandeville, the fantastical (and quite possibly fictional) account of a 14th Century English knight's journeys across the known world. On his way he encounters relics of Christ, the daughter of Hippocrates turned into a dragon, Sciapods, the bones of giants, enormous flesh-eating ants (pismires) hoarding mountains of gold, the Great Khan of Cathay, the Fountain of Youth (from which he drank), the Trees of the Sun and Moon (who foretold the death of Alexander the Great),the Vale Perilous and the Great Sultan of Araby, amongst many, many other wonders.

Here are two details of Page 1 (4 pages in toto). Where-ever possible I have used the names for people and places as described by Mandeville - Polainie for Poland, Cressy for Greece, Liban for Lebanon, &c., &c..

Museum Journal - Part 19

Museum Journal - Part 19

Part 19 of the Director of the National Museum of Britsh History's Diary, for regular client Museum Journal (MJ).

This month our man describes a meeting about one of the wealth of Dickens exhibitions planned nationwide in 2012, the bicentenary of the great man's birth. I have alluded to Oliver Twist here (and more specifically the Artful Dodger), although the article was actually a parody of A Christmas Carol.

I shall be joining the general Dickensian mêlée myself next year with a few CD-inspred prints planned! Watch this space!

As always with MJ the final print size is minute (3 or 4 cm across tops) so its crucial to keep the design very simple and the detail to a minimum.

Twitter Ye Not - Arthur Guinness

Twitter Ye Not - Arthur Guinness

A regular piece for the Daily Mail Weekend magazine about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

On New Year's Eve 1759, Arthur Guinness took out a 9,000 year lease on a site in Dublin for a fixed rate of £45 per year and began brewing Guinness. Here, we imagine the impact of that event on the New Year's Eve Twitter feed.

On the left hand side stands Arthur Guinness, chuffed and raising a pint of 'plain' in salute. Across from him, wheeling her infamous bivalve-bulging barrow through the Dublin streets (both wide and narrow), stands Molly Malone, also raising what in Ireland is termed a 'glass' (or half-pint) of the black stuff. Behind Mr G stands (anachronistically - it wasn't started until 1786!) the Four Courts (in Irish; Na Ceithre Cúirteanna), centre of Irish Law.

Between them both stand the gates of the Guinness brewery on St James' Gate. Between 1992 and 1997 I was a student at the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) on Thomas Street, just down the road. On most days you could smell the warm, sickly Guinness fumes emanating from the brewery. And on most days we would retire to The Clock pub next door and down a few scoops of the stuff - to help us through those difficult, taxing art school days ;-) !

A statue of Molly Malone was erected outside Trinity College on the corner of Nassau and Grafton streets whilst I was there, and was immediately dubbed, as only a Dub can do, the Tart with the Cart. A perfect accompaniment to the Anna Livia statue, nicknamed the Floosie in the Jacuzzi, that in honour of James Joyce (the prick with the Stick), &c., &c..

I loved living there, back in its dirty and different pre-Celtic Tiger nonsense heyday, and miss it still...

Restaurant Magazine - December 2011

Restaurant Magazine - December 2011

A piece for my regular Strets & the City slot (written by financial analyst Mark Stretton) in monthly trade publication, Restaurant magazine.

This is the investment forecast for 2012 - very little in terms of loans from Banks, but much financial input from Private Equity. (Yes, I don't understand it either!)

Not a large piece, so kept pretty simple.

Twitter Ye Not - The Abdication

Twitter Ye Not - The Abdication

A regular piece for the Daily Mail Weekend magazine about how figures in history might have twittered or tweeted or whatever, had they the chance, inclination and technology.

On the 10th December 1936, Edward VIII signed the instruments of abdication, which allowed him to give up the throne in order to marry the American divorcee, Wallis Simpson. Here, we imagine the reaction on Twitter.

As I had drawn Mrs Simpson before (for the piece about Amy Johnson) I have chosen here instead to portray the abdicating Ned VIII (very stylish, but definitely a bit of a shit) kneeing the Crown across to his reluctantly succeeding brother George VI (known to his family as Bertie).

Poor Bertie, the present Queen's pop, famously had a terrible stutter (the subject of the film 'The King's Speech' - hence the mic), as did I until about the age of 8 or 9. It can come back occassionally to this day if I get nervous or shy (surprisingly often).

Mine was largely cured by my primary school teacher Sharon Shapiro, who taught me to sing and spent many long hours helping me during lunch hours and breaks. I am forever indebted to Ms Shapiro. Thank you!

Behind Edward lies a pile of commerative mugs - obsolete then, but now worth a fortune!

This is the last TYN for this year - I'm having a Christmas break!

The Royal Oak (screenprint)

The Royal Oak (screenprint)

This is one of the 6 new screen prints I created especially for my Wunderkabinett solo show a couple of week-ends ago.

This year I became involved with Simon Costin's Museum of British Folklore, and this design was created with that in mind. I have always been fascinated by pub signs, and how they record the vagueries, alignments, beliefs and appetites of society throughout history. The Royal Oak, still a popular tavern name to this day, more than anything else says 'Down with Puritanism' and the need to control, after the sour dry years of the Cromwell's Commonwealth when theatre, colour, music and even Christmas were banned. Posterity dubs Charles II the 'Merrie Monarch' in contrast to that prior austerity, but here, as yet uncrowned and furtively concealed within the Boscobel Oak, he seems a little anxious as Roundheads sweep the country looking for him.

The print measures 29.7 cm wide by 42 cm deep (A3), and is printed in 2 colours in a limited edition of 50. He is available to buy at £45 (a snip), plus Postage & Packing, from my Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer - along with many other treasures!

John Barleycorn Must Die (screenprint)

John Barleycorn Must Die (screenprint)

'John Barleycorn (must die)' is a traditional British folksong. The character of John Barleycorn in the song is the personification of Barley, and of the alcoholic beverages made from it, namely Beer and Whisky. In the song, John Barleycorn is represented as suffering attacks, death and other indignities that correspond to the various stages of barley cultivation, such as reaping and malting. Although killed over and again, his Spirit lives on!

Earliest printed versions of the song date back as far as the 16th Century, but the best known re-telling is Robert Burns' poem of 1782, a verse or two of which are included at the foot of my print. John Barleycorn Must Die was also the name of British rock band Traffic's fourth album, released in 1970.

The pose Sir John takes upon the barrel is a reference to traditional representations of Bacchus or Dionysis (God of Wine) a-stride a keg, glass or tankard raised, dripping tap between his legs, oblivious.

The print measures 29.7 cm wide by 42 cm deep (A3), and is printed in 2 colours in a limited edition of 50. He is available to buy at £45 (a snip), plus Postage & Packing, from my Etsy shop - http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer - along with many other treasures!

'Then let us toast John Barleycorn, each man a glass in hand!'

Spitalfields Life Header

Spitalfields Life Header

The Gentle Author, who writes the amazing daily blog Spitalfields Life (http://spitalfieldslife.com/), asked me to produce a Header for the site for this month. It is based on late Georgian prints of the area around Nicholas Hawksmoor's beautiful St George-in-the-East church in Shadwell, east London, very near to where I used to live.

The scene is early evening/ dusk, as the shops light up their tallow candles and the moonlight falls gentle upon the church tower and the plumes of smoke rising from the chimbleys.

Click on it to enlarge the image. There you may perceive, if you squint hard and use your imagination, the Britannia Inn, Ince & Co. Umbrella-makers, Appleton & Robson Silk-merchants, and Bommer & Belch, tripe-dressers.

Spitalfields Life is featuring, every day up until and including Christmas Eve, my Advent Calendar. Subscribe now to the SL site so you don't miss a thing!!

The Wildman of Orford (print for sale)

The Wildman of Orford (print for sale)

One of the 6 new prints I created for my solo show Wunderkabinett last week-end.

This handsome fellow is the Wildman of Orford (aka the Mer-man of Orford).

This wonderful piece of East Anglian folklore was brought to my attention earlier this year by the poet Chrissie Gittins, for whom I illustrated a wonderful book of her poems, the Humpback's Wail, which included one about this strange and misunderstood creature.

Caught in fisherman's net off Orford Ness in 1167 the Wildman was described as bald on the top of his head, but otherwise covered, head to toe, in thick matted fur. He could speak no English and did not recognise the church as holy. He would eat anything offered him, so long as it was cold and he had squeezed all the juice from it. He was held captive at Orford Castle (shown in the print) for some time, where he was hung by his feet and beaten, but still he would not speak. Eventually the Wildman of Orford managed to escape when allowed to bathe in the sea where he swam away to his freedom, never to be seen again.

Printed for me by the talented Mr Yann Brien of Handwash Studios, the print measures 29.7 cm wide by 42 cm down (A3), and has 2 colours. It is a limited edition of 50 (although quite a few have sold already!) and is available from my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer) at the very reasonable price of £45 plus P&P. Snatch him up whilst you may!

The King o' the Cats (print for sale)

The King o' the Cats (print for sale)

One of the 6 new prints I created for my solo show Wunderkabinett last week-end.

Gather 'round Ladies and Gentlemen, and I shall share with you the tale of the King o' the Cats.

A man one night was travelling to the house of a friend. Lost in the fog on the way there he espied a light ahead of him, which he followed to an old and gnarled hollow willow tree. Peering within he saw a tiny wooden coffin surrounded by feline mourners, each holding a candle between its paws. Startled by this sight, he ran on until he reached at last his friend’s door.

By the roaring hearth he recounted all he had just witnessed on his journey to his incredulous host and his wife. As he finished the tale the tom-cat asleep by the fireside sat suddenly bolt upright and declared aloud - ‘Then Old Peter is Dead. And I am King o’the Cats!’. With which, he disappeared up the chimney, never to be seen again.

The folktale is generally thought to be Scottish, but other regional versions exist across the country. In Oxford-shire the same tale is told, but this time with Tim Toldrum (and not Old Peter) as the name of the deceased cat!

Printed for me by the talented Mr Yann Brien of Handwash Studios, the print measures 29.7 cm wide by 42 cm down (A3), and has 2 colours. It is a limited edition of 50 (although quite a few have sold already!) and is available from my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer) at the very reasonable price of £45 plus P&P. Snatch him up whilst you may!

Forzino the Strongman

Forzino the Strongman

One of the 6 new prints I created for my solo show Wunderkabinett last week-end.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I introduce to you Forzino the Strongman.

Appearing nightly at the Winter Circus (le Cirque d'Hiver) in Paris, Forzino, was, in his youth a sailor, and also a soldier in north Africa, to which his tattoos allude. The designs are based on genuine french prisoner tattoos documented by criminalogist Dr. Alexandre Lacassagne of Lyon in the 1890s.

The french below translates, approximately, as 'The Strongest Tattooed Hercules in the World, and the Most Beautiful Physique in this Genre!"

Printed for me by the marvellous Suki Hayes at the Print Block in Whitstable, the print measures 29.7 cm wide by 42 cm down (A3), and has 2 colours. It is a limited edition of 50 (although quite a few have sold already!) and is available from my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer) at the very reasonable price of £45 plus P&P. Snatch him up whilst you may!

(For I Will Consider) My Cat Jeoffry

(For I Will Consider) My Cat Jeoffry

My new screen print for sale, created especially for my Wunderkabinett exhibtion in Spitalfields last week-end.

It is based on (and features) a poem, commonly called 'For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry', by Christopher 'Kit' Smart. It is an excerpt from a longer piece entitled Jubilate Agno ('Rejoice in the Lamb'), written around 1760 whilst Smart was an inmate at St. Luke's Hospital for Lunatics on Old Street, Upper Moorfields, in London.

Printed in two colours on high quality Fabriano 5 paper by the Print Block in Whitstable, '(For I Will Consider) My Cat Jeoffry' is a limited edition of 50.

The print measures 50 cm wide by 70 cm high (a standard frame size, conveniently) and includes 80 vignettes and 89 cats!

The print is available to buy, through my website (http://www.etsy.com/shop/PaulBommer) and through other reputable outlets, for £120 plus P&P.