More attractive, sylvan-based advertising for the Austin Seven

[Tony Griffiths]

Bob - if it was in Oz the blue haze wouldn't necessarily be smoke if there were eucalyptus trees in the area.  They give off a blue haze, particularly in the mornings.  Now you know why the ranges not far from Sydney are called the Blue Mountains.  As a member of an Artist's Society for over 40 years I can't help being impressed by the quality of the covers back then.  Cheers,  Bill in Oz

Hello Bill, yes, the covers are magnificent and so evocative. I wonder what happened to the originals - and how large they were?. Many of the covers I have are in dreadful condition and take hours of work to "reconstruct" - although this one was not too bad. I'm saving up one or two really special ones for the 2022 Rally

[Ivor Hawkins]

Am I right in assuming that the artist was also responsible for the artwork used in the “days of the week” Austin Seven brochure?
I think the artwork is excellent and reminiscent of the Railway advertising of the 1930’s.

[Hugh Barnes]

I did an article on one artist used by Austin, Douglas Maxfield, for the Assn Magazine 2018C. Douglas was an 'Independent' Commercial artist, doing work for many manufacturers. Harold Connolly was a better known as his work is more often signed (though I don't think I ever saw any work attributed to him for Austin). Douglas Maxfield clearly had a style and I see many other images that I think could be his work, but we will never know. Another name is Ben Smith, though I have often wondered if that was a psuedonym for Harold's wife, Margaret, who was an artist in her own right.

Sadly, much of this work, from my researches anyway, is anonymous and whether it was produced from an in-house Art department, or was subbed out to the likes of Douglas, has been lost in the mists of time... What is really nice is to see it being appreciated for what it is, really good art ...

[Tony Griffiths]

Sadly, much of this work, from my researches anyway, is anonymous and whether it was produced from an in-house Art department, or was subbed out to the likes of Douglas, has been lost in the mists of time... What is really nice is to see it being appreciated for what it is, really good art ...

Yes, some of the Motor, Autocar, Light Car and other magazine covers really are delightful - and so well expressed. I love them.