Charming, eccentric, endlessly inventive, Heath Robinson's unforgettable drawings perfectly capture the peculiar character of the British nation at leisure.
In Britain at Play we collect the finest of William Heath Robinson's studies of the unique British character. Here we find Britain in the garden, at the beach and on the golf course - the 9th hole played with the grim reaper, rotating sunbathing machines, a double cross tennis match 'For economising space in local tournaments and generally gingering up the game'. Heath Robinson perfectly captures the peculiar character of the great British nation at leisure.
'One of the 20th century's most prolific comic artists'
* The Sunday Times *'Genius ahead of his time'
* Metro *
'Your absurd, beautiful drawings... give me a peculiar pleasure of the mind like nothing else in the world'
* H.G. Wells, letter to Heath Robinson (1914) *William Heath Robinson began his career illustrating works of poetry and children's stories. At magazines such as The Sketch, he developed his humorous illustrations for adults, culminating in the series of inventions for which he became known by his contemporaries as 'The Gadget King'.
Geoffrey Beare is an art collector, co-founder and chairman of the Imaginative Book Illustration Society, and an authority on the work of William Heath Robinson.