Read on Twitter
MY MUM
A CARTOON LIFE, PART 2:
“THE CHANGING FACE OF LEYTONSTONE, E11”
A CARTOON LIFE, PART 2:
“THE CHANGING FACE OF LEYTONSTONE, E11”
A few weeks ago I posted this thread about my late Mum, Rose Mortleman, who passed away in August with Alzheimer's. I was overwhelmed by the amount of interest in her life and work. https://twitter.com/jimjar/status/1304021569182797829
Since she mostly only drew cartoons for close friends and family, and didn’t make copies, much of her work has been lost, but a request at her funeral unearthed a few gems like this card from the early 60s, as well as something rather special from the 70s.
But before I show you, I need to give you some context. When Mum married Dad in the '50s, she decamped from Twickenham to his area of London (Wanstead, E11) – and they settled in next-door Woodford. But their stomping ground was pretty much the whole area in this old map
As a kid in the 70s, I'd regularly be dragged with Mum to Leytonstone, usually to visit department store Bearmans if she needed haberdashery (she often designed and made her own clothes). I saw Santa there once. He scared me. It closed in 1983 and was later demolished.
Once one of East London's smartest high streets, Leytonstone had grown decidedly shabbier by the mid-70s, amid rising economic and social unease. Here's an early 70s pic of the High Street I found on @teninchwheels's feed. It still looks pretty smart here, I'd say…
In 1977, Mum saw an article in the local paper detailing plans for a luxury hotel that would “employ local staff” and aimed to see Leytonstone “humming with Japanese and American tourists” within a year.
Knowing Leytonstone and its folk well, Mum found this hilarious. She began to imagine what 'Hotel International, E11' might be like.
It turned into a full-length cartoon book, which Mum gave to friends who lived in Leytonstone’s Fillebrook Road – the street, incidentally, where Blur's Damon Albarn grew up. (I probably bumped into him as a nipper. Maybe in Santa's grotto at Bearmans.)
If you’re offended by derogatory racial terms or stereotypical depictions of other nationalities, stop reading now. Mum was just reflecting people's lingering post-war prejudices and ignorance of other cultures. Back then, global travel was still the preserve of the rich.
But her acute understanding of people and wicked sense of humour make this a unique piece of satirical social history.
Here's the rest of the title pages. Mum followed the local paper clipping about the impending luxury hotel (4 tweets back) with another from the same issue...
Here's the rest of the title pages. Mum followed the local paper clipping about the impending luxury hotel (4 tweets back) with another from the same issue...
Much of the book's humour derives from the unsuitability of 70s' Leytonstone as a go-to destination for foreign visitors and a hub for international cuisine...
Other panels focus on the management challenge of using "local staff"...
Bearmans – which hadn't exactly 'moved with the times' in the 30 years since WW2 – also comes in for some ribbing...
"Fawlty Towers" hadn't long aired when my Mum did these cartoons and I think it may have had some subconscious influence on the content...
Mum also managed to mine some humour out of the then-popular 'Hitler is still alive' conspiracy...
Of course, international business travellers would also no doubt be expecting more 'exotic' entertainments...
I'll shut up now and leave you with a few tweets' worth of additional panels. Some of these would be considered 'problematic' these days. You have been warned (again) so don't moan if you're offended...
That's most of it. Many thanks to Denise, the niece of my Mum's friends Joyce & Russ (the original recipients), for unearthing this and sending it to me. And thanks for making it through this gargantuan thread. To sign off, here's Mum's cameo appearance again for good measure…
Addenda:
• The hotel, as far as I'm aware, was never built.
• Leytonstone today still has a strong local community, but these days it is, thankfully, far more cosmopolitan.
• The hotel, as far as I'm aware, was never built.
• Leytonstone today still has a strong local community, but these days it is, thankfully, far more cosmopolitan.
