Ralph Steadman: then and now

 

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© Ralph Steadman

Rediscovering Ralph Steadman’s illustrated edition of George Orwell’s Animal Farm

Published in 1995, this special edition, titled “Animal Farm: A Fairy Story”, contains one hundred of the great man’s spectacular illustrations in both full colour and halftone.

Sadly, the book is now out of print. Luckily for us Maria Popova has managed to unearth a copy and provide us with a sumptuous taster of the great man’s work on this masterpiece.

 

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© Ralph Steadman

Accompanying Steadman’s illustrations is Orwell’s proposed but unpublished preface to the original edition, titled “The Freedom of the Press”, a sadly prescient comment on the media’s fear of public opinion and its corrosion of responsible journalism.

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© Ralph Steadman

More illustrations and information can be found here on the “brainpickings” website

Thanks to Glenn Marshall for drawing the Blog’s attention to Maria Popova’s article.

Ralph’s latest venture: Critical Critters

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Photograph by Alexander Clouston

More recently, “Mr. Porter” (in the guise of Tom M. Ford) was invited to Mr. Steadman’s home in Maidstone to discuss his latest book about endangered species, “Critical Critters”.

The conversation, however, soon veers off into wild tales of Ralph Steadman’s collaborations with the American “Gonzo” journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

Read them here on the “Mr. Porter” website

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© Ralph Steadman

 

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