Harold Jones Collection

  • This material is held at
  • Reference
      GB 1840 HJ
  • Dates of Creation
      c 1930-1992
  • Name of Creator
  • Language of Material
      English
  • Physical Description
      10 artwork boxes

Scope and Content

Collection of original artwork and related material by Harold Jones, spanning the course of his career. The collection includes original artwork for 23 titles; dummy versions of 13 titles, two of them apparently unpublished; complete proofs for 6 titles; draft manuscripts and typescripts of 4 stories by Jones, two of them apparently unpublished; and a collection of press cuttings and reviews of his published books. The original artwork spans the whole of Jones' career as an illustrator of children's books, including the illustrations for his final book, 'Tales To Tell' (1984), and demonstrates the development of Jones' technique and style. Several of Jones' best-known titles are represented in the collection, including 'Bless This Day', 'The Hunting of the Snark', 'The Silent Playmate' and 'Tales from Aesop', as well as material for several unpublished works.

Jones appears to have organised the original material according to type - artwork, dummy books, proofs, draft scripts - with each type stored separately and grouped according to title. This system of arrangement is reflected here, with each type of material being designated as a series and each title being a file within the series. In addition to the original artwork and pre-publication material, Jones collected a quantity of press cuttings, mostly book reviews, which constitute the final series in the collection.

Administrative / Biographical History

Created by Harold Jones in the course of his career as an illustrator, from the 1930s to his death in 1992

Access Information

Accessible to all researchers, by appointment only.

Custodial History

Donated to Seven Stories by Stephanie and Gabrielle Jones, the daughters of the creator, in 2005.