Four framed sketches of well-known places in London, rescued from a junk pile when CFPL moved from the Free Press building to City Centre many years ago, recently came off my studio/office wall and had no place else to go. They’re not signed, which is unfortunate, because they’re beautifully drawn.
I took them down when it became clear that I needed that piece of real estate for something more practical, such as storage. What to do with them? Did they have any value, monetary or otherwise? I aimed to find out.
Facebook friends who worked at the radio station at the time couldn’t reach a consensus on the name of the artist. Versions of them appeared as part of a “welcome to London” kit given out by the Welcome Wagon. However, the ones we have appear to be either originals, or produced expressly for hanging because they’re on a thicker stock, matted and framed. There were at least a dozen different scenes, maybe more, and no one seems to have the entire set.
In addition to Storybook Gardens, our quartet also included St Peter’s Basilica, County Courthouse and Middlesex College. Google found me a woman who’s trying to collect them all and Twitter gave me a way to contact her. Her grouping was missing Storybook Gardens so I gave it to her, along with the other three as backups. I’m tickled that they’ve gone to someone who really wants them. It would be even better if we knew who the artist was and could properly and publicly compliment them on their beautiful drawings.
I just came upon a folder with 13 sketches inside called The CFPL Print Collection London Landmarks .