Sir Osbert Lancaster was an English cartoonist, stage designer, and writer. His two great themes were social class and architecture. I don’t know where I first came across his illustrations, but when I saw a complete volume, I immediately recognised the style and started collecting.
There’s comedy in the image, for sure, but there’s something in his architectural drawing that is at once both precise and characterful. Take, for example, the image below. It is titled ‘English Afternoon’ and shows the sort of seaside town some of us may have visited for summer holidays. The image accurately records the idiosyncrasies of such a place, but at the same time, it is infused with real character… You wouldn’t want to visit!
He also had a sharp eye for the eccentricities of the people of the British Isles, as evidenced in the image below…
I’ve managed to pick up several volumes by Osbert Lancaster, and I can say that each has been a delight. Highly recommended!
As an aside, Lancaster illustrated this book on Malta the year I was born there.
West Folio 