The British Pont 9780715655078

A fondness for laughing at our own anecdotes. An assertion of the importance of tea. A weakness for oak beams. A keen interest in the weather. A tendency to 'become doggy'. The British haven't changed much since the 1930s, when Pont's first witty and hilarious observations on the national character appeared in Punch magazine.

Pont's plump rolling-pin wielding cooks and solar-topee'd imperialists capture a distinct moment in British inter-war history, but his observations of character are timeless. In the nursery, at the opera, or in the bath, in tweed or tennis whites or bowler hat, Pont conjures distinct, complete personalities with a few strokes of his pen.

Charming, idiosyncratic and - above all - wonderfully funny, this unforgettable collection will bring Pont's extraordinary talent to a new generation of fans.

Pont was a pseudonym of Graham Laidler (1908-1940) derived from a nickname, Pontifex Maximus, acquired during a visit to Rome. Following his family's wishes, he trained as an architect, but by his mid-twenties he had become one of Punch's most prolific and successful cartoonists. He created over four hundred cartoons in his lifetime and published several collections, the most popular of which being The British Character, which lampoons the national foibles of the British.

'Includes Pont's most famous sequence, The British Character, in which, with beautiful wit, he illustrated national characteristics prevalent at the time... Some of Pont's cartoons seem amazingly prescient, almost as though they had been drawn only yesterday' Craig Brown, Daily Mail

'Pont's penmanship is an appealing mixture of rough, scribbly shading, block black shadows, and exquisitely fine detail in the right places' Guardian

'Like the best moderns he infuses character into every curve of a rump or tilt of an eyebrow, adding tiny jokes in every corner' Libby Purves

'Pont specialised in portraying the English middle classes, and most of his jokes are still as pointful today as they were in the Thirties ... brilliantly observant drawings' Oldie

'Tremendously popular ...hilarious and brilliantly observed work' Sunday Express

'Pure visual comedy' Independent

'Includes Pont's most famous sequence, The British Character, in which, with beautiful wit, he illustrated national characteristics prevalent at the time... Some of Pont's cartoons seem amazingly prescient, almost as though they had been drawn only yesterday' Craig Brown, Daily Mail

'Pont's penmanship is an appealing mixture of rough, scribbly shading, block black shadows, and exquisitely fine detail in the right places' Guardian

'Like the best moderns he infuses character into every curve of a rump or tilt of an eyebrow, adding tiny jokes in every corner' Libby Purves

'Pont specialised in portraying the English middle classes, and most of his jokes are still as pointful today as they were in the Thirties ... brilliantly observant drawings' Oldie

'Tremendously popular ...hilarious and brilliantly observed work' Sunday Express

'Pure visual comedy' Independent