"THE SLOW COACH". ORIGINAL 1924 ERNEST ARIS ILLUSTRATION/ARTWORK FEATURING 3 GNOMES AND A GIANT PURPLE SNAIL WITHIN A MOONLIT WOODLAND SETTING. Ernest Aris Original Art

"The Slow Coach" Ernest Aris 1924 Original watercolour by the writer and illustrator Ernest Aris. Signed 'Ernest Aris 1924' & titled "The Slow Coach" below image. Image shows 3 gnomes clad in red and a large purple snail within a moonlit woodland setting. One gnome steers the 'coach' which bears one passenger and luggage whilst another waits asleep at the stop. Thick paper sheet measures 193 x 288 mm (roughly 19 x 29 cm or 7.5 x 11.25 inches) with image measuring 18 x 24.5 cm (roughly 7 x 9.5 inches). Colours bold and bright. Some wear and discolouration to periphery including 5 mm tear to bottom edge and very small loss to black line of border. Remnants of album paper plus various hand-written notes & '13 FEB 1925' stamp to rear. A rare opportunity to own a charming piece of artwork by the ever popular Ernest Aris. Would look great framed! Alfred Ernest Walter George Aris, also known by the pen names Robin A Hood and Dan Crow, (1882-1963), was a writer and illustrator of children's books. He worked on more than 170 publications also cigarette cards, postcards, cartoons, games, jigsaw puzzles and advertisements. As an artist he specialised as a portrait artist working in charcoal and wash as well as watercolour. His work was exhibited at the Royal Academy, Royal Society of British Artists, Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours. He entered drawings for the Christmas supplement of a national weekly illustrated newspaper The Graphic. His first book appeared in 1909 and his work generated a whole new genre in children's illustration and would go on to create a multitude of imitators. In 1934, Aris designed a range of animal characters manufactured by the toy firm of Britain's and distributed free with a new line of Cadbury's Cocoa advertised as 'The Children's Cocoa'. Each of the animals had their own personalities, and the press release advised that they "were exclusively designed by an expert in child psychology". It was a huge success, with some 300,000 children collecting these toy figures, known collectively as the Cococubs, which were hailed as "one of the cleverest publicity schemes of the year" in advertising. Aris was hard of hearing, and by the age of 60, he was profoundly deaf although he enjoyed the opera. His other interests included fishing, travel, entomology, and swimming. He was also an inveterate collector, hoarding matchbox labels and stamps as well as cigarette cards; he also enjoyed gardening, and collecting old furniture. He was obviously good company, as his pal Charles Bayne (the Editor of Little Folks from 1908 to 1915) said that he had an, "endless store of humorous ideas". Ernest died (age 80) at his home in Hornsey, North London, on 14 April 1963. Please feel free to buy knowing that you can return the item post free if you are not entirely pleased with your purchase. Also, please do not hesitate to contact me should you have any questions. Combined shipping available at cost. Welsh Bridge Books & Collectables is a bricks and mortar shop located alongside the River Severn at Shrewsbury, in a beautiful 16th Century building housing three floors of interesting and eclectic books and collectables for sale. If you're in Shropshire please pop by and say hello!