474
Another
of the charming series' produced by Wills & Hepworth from their Loughborough
base in the 1940's, Tasseltip was a fairly eccentric rabbit who had adventures
in the woodlands with his pals Frankie Frog, Suzie & Friskie(!) Squirrel
and Robert Rat. Written by Dorothy Richards and illustrated by Ernest
A. Aris (FZS & SGA), the series ran to 4 titles. Original editions
featured a charming inside front & rear cover illustration of Tasseltips'
neck of the woods, plus a full colour front cover and identical dust-jacket.
At 2/6 each, they must have been at the upper end of childrens book pricing
in the 40's.
Like
most of the W&H output, the tales are good, clean fun. The sleeve
notes; "although at times the little folk have differences, the keynote
to their lives is kindness to others." echoes the usual W&H approach
to stories. The illustrations are full of life and our hero seems to be
in a permanent state of semi-hysteria, judging by his rolling eyes and
unusual face. He also had a fondness for his oversized jeans, suspended
from an outsized belly!
Tasseltip reappeared in the 70's in a new series, curiously released under the 497 code. They copied the artwork from the originals and Sarah Cotton re-wrote the stories; "Flickerdick", for example, becomes "Tasseltip and the Boozle", (bamboozle - geddit?). Like many reissued stories, didn't quite capture the charm of the original. Perhaps you needed to be around at the time to really enjoy these little trips down memory lane...
| A little Silk Apron 47 Mr Mole's house warming 47 The Flickerdick 47 Clatter! Clatter!! Bang!!! 48 The Flower Show 53 The first day of Spring 53 |
Series 497 Reissues Tasseltip has a lucky day |