Exhibition: Modernist Magazine Illustration

He’s best known for his illustrations of imaginary machines that execute simple tasks in amusingly complex ways – but Heath Robinson had a serious side, as a new exhibition demonstrates.

The exhibition lifts the lid on Robinson’s illustrations for Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine and Good Housekeeping Magazine. The illustrations were published between 1925 and 1936, giving Robinson a respite from the need to be funny all of the time.

The work includes illustrations for stories and articles by many of the leading authors of the time, including Laurence Housman, JB Priestley, John Masefield, HG Wells, AJ Cronin, and Richmal Crompton.

At this time, Robinson's illustrative style reflected significant changes to printing technology, which had transformed possibilities for illustrators.

Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine and Good Housekeeping Magazine were sister publications, both produced in the UK by Hearst’s National Magazine Company. Nash’s Pall Mall Magazine was a literary magazine while Good Housekeeping was (and still is) a lifestyle magazine covering a range of topics.

They were published in a larger format than typical British magazines and were printed on a new type of printing press that had two sets of cylinders. These technological advances meant that illustrations could be printed in black and white, with one colour.

The exhibition brings together 18 of Heath Robinson’s original illustrations in the style he developed at the time. These are accompanied by illustrations in a similar style by his contemporary Leslie Illingworth, and by the inclusion of several original magazines from the period.