Other items
Prints and Paintings
It's unclear if the description of Sasek as "this famous artist" on the sleeve for This is London was just bluster, or if Sasek's reputation as a painter has faded with time. What is clear is that his career as a painter (as opposed to an illustrator) has left little mark on art literature or galleries. Sasek's prints and paintings do turn up from time to time - I've seen views of Nice on ebay and am lucky enough to own a quite charming print of a cat - and some of his paintings are sold as postcards in Paris (see below) but apart from that his painting career is a bit of a mystery. The notes on Stone is not cold are probably the most revealing.
M (for Miroslav) SASEK grew up in Prague, where in the days before World War II, he was employed by a large publishing house. He wanted to be a painter, but this idea didn't appeal to his parents, and he studied architecture instead...
Although Mr. Sasek now thinks of Paris as his home, he doesn't spend much time there. Most of the time he is travelling about the world doing sketches for his books and for the paintings he regards as his major work. These paintings, he says, are 'very gray and black - very sad, as life is.'
Sasek trained as a painter at L'Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris but as the Books are by people interview also reveals, only intended to do three books in the series. Maybe his career as a serious painter was overtaken by events. It seems unusual (and unfair) for illustrators to be considered seriously as artists. It would be interesting to know what happened to Sasek's painting career once the books became successful.
Recently it has come to light that he had several exhibitions throughout Europe in the early 1970s, around the time that the last This is book, This is Historic Britain was published. There is currently one painting from this era for sale: Jonah and the Whale.
If anyone has any ideas, or more information about his paintings, please get in touch.
Dishtowels
There was at least one souvenir dishtowel produced - from This is London. At least two people have contacted the site about this - one in London, one in New York - both found them at jumble sales or thrift shops. Now, thanks to Jessie Hartland, one of the proud owners, you can all see what it looks like. What a great thing to find! It's a bit of a mystery to say the least. Presumably the dishtowel was sold as a souvenir in the same way as the Paris postcards. Is a dishtowel quite a British gift? If so it's quite likely there were never equivalents for the other books in the series. Even with this in mind, it's quite a strange thing to turn up. It's a jaunty affair with text and pictures taken word-for-word from This is London. See the full spectacle below, and do get in touch if you know anything about it or any others.