John Hassall - Part 1

Designed 1908 printed 1926 Skegness is So Bracing
L.N.E.R.. (London North Eastern Railway)
colour lithograph poster 101.6 x 63.5 cm

John Hassall, (1868-1948) was born in Kent, UK, and educated in Devon and Heidelberg. In 1888 he emigrated to Canada with his brother, Owen, to work in farming. He returned to Europe in 1890 and studied art in Antwerp and Paris. Although he did paint portraits on commission, he is best known as an illustrator and commercial artist, producing illustrations for books, magazine covers, cartoons and advertisements for a huge variety of products, from advertisements in magazines and newspapers to posters. Hassall also taught art and design, firstly at the New Art School and School of Poster Design in London, then through the John Hassall Correspondence Art School, where students worked from instruction booklets and submitted their works to Hassall by post for comments and criticism. Hassall was a prolific artist and produced a huge body of work over the course of his career. His work as an illustrator included books of fairy tales, as well as cover illustrations for adventure stories for older children and for comic novels for adults. His advertising clients included many brands that have become household names, such as Kodak, OXO and Coleman’s Mustard. His posters advertised not only products, but also events, such as pantomimes and exhibitions. The poster for which he has become best known was designed for the Great Northern Railway in 1908 to advertise both British seaside resorts as holiday destinations, and the railways as a means of reaching them. The poster shows a fisherman, skipping along a beach, with the slogan “Skegness is SO bracing!” The design, known as the Jolly Fisherman, proved instantly popular and the fisherman was eventually adopted as the mascot of the town and a statue of the figure stands in a local park. The influence of the Jolly Fisherman has continued with the image being adapted by cartoonists and caricaturists to this day.

This is part 1 of a 12-part series on the works of John Hassall:

1889 Cowboys & Indian
watercolour 22.3 x 66.3 cm

1889 D'Oyly Carte Opera Company
 colour lithograph poster 75.7 x 50.7 cm
V&A Museum, London

c1890-1900 The Only Way, A Tale of Two Cities 
 colour lithograph theatre poster
Bibliothèque Municipale de Lyon

c1890 Cinderella
colour lithograph poster for the pantomime 75.9 x 33.8 cm 

c1890s Allsopp's Pale Ale. Stout. Lager.
colour lithograph poster (size not given)
V&A Museum, London

1890s The Archer
ink and watercolour
Blackburn Museum & Art Gallery, UK

1893-99 Aladdin
colour lithograph pantomime poster

1894 The Shop Girl
A little bit of fluff
colour lithograph poster

1894 Three original watercolours for a book which was never published.

c1894 Bear
watercolour 17.5 x 27 cm

c1894 Elephant
watercolour 17.5 x 27 cm

c1894 Red Deer
watercolour 17.5 x 27 cm

after 1895 How London Lives, Princess's Theatre,
 Oxford St. W.
 colour lithograph poster 74.7 x 50.4 cm

1895 The Mummy by G.D. Day and Allan Reed.
colour poster on linen 76 x 51 cm

1895-99 The Celestials
colour lithograph poster

c1895-1818 Colman's Starch
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

c1895-1905 The Magazine of Commerce
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918  Veritas Mantles
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 "My Vimmy"
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 "Spiritine"
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 'Viyella'
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 A Novelty for the Nursery from Shredded Wheat
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Bar-Lock
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Barnet Plates P.O.P.
lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Cantrell & Cochrane's Dry Ginger Ale
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Day & Martin's Blacking
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Give 'em all Kodaks
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Great Scott! What a Find (Fry's Pure Cocoa)
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 He Buys a Royal Bar-Lock
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Lux Wont Shrink Woollens
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Milo Food for Infants & Invalids
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 No Tips! "Zotos has done for me!!!"
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Onoto Self Filling Safety Fountain Pen
 lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Orient Line Pleasure Cruises
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Peter's
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Richest in Cream "Nestlés"
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Richest in Cream Nestlés Milk
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The "Dalo" Camera
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The 'Allenbury's Foods & Feeder
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The Ewbank Carpet Sweepers
colour lithograph poster
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The Gramophone and Typewriter Ltd
two-colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The New Robin Starch.
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 The Printseller
two-colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Use Washeesi and Finish before Lunch
(Suggestion for a Soap Advertisement)
colour lithograph
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Who Said Nestlé's Milk?
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Why Not Try a Royal Bar-Lock
two-colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

1895-1918 Wright's Coal Tar Soap
colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London

c1895-1918 Goodall's Playing Cards. "Mystery."
 colour lithograph advertisement
V&A Museum, London