Thelwell ponies are iconic in equestrian circles throughout the world. There are few riders who can not relate to the an-tics of Kipper and his small rider Penelope. These beautiful cartoons epitomise a child’s journey with their much-loved but not-so-loyal or obedient mounts, and remain as timeless and relevant as ever.
The man behind the drawings was a Mr. Norman Thelwell, born 3rd of May 1923 in Birkenshire, Cheshire. Norman was 15 when he sold
his first drawings, the sub-ject of which were chickens. At 18 he joined the Army, taking his sketchpad with him. After the war, Norman took evening classes at Not-tingham Art School before
taking a degree course at Liverpool College of Art. By this time he had successfully had work published in such media as the London Opinion and News Review. In 1950 Norman began lecturing on design and il-lustration at Wolverhampton College of Art.
The magazine Punch published their first Thelwell cartoon in 1952, beginning a 25 year long relationship. Punch would eventually pub-lish 1,500 of Norman’s cartoons, including 60 full colour front cov-ers. Norman left teaching and took up full time illustrating in 1956. His first pony cartoon was published in 1953 and a legacy was born. "One day I did a drawing and it was like striking a sensi-tive nerve. The result was instantaneous," (Mr. Norman Thelwell, date unknown). Norman compiled his first book of cartoons, ‘Angels on Horseback,’ in 1957, his in-spiration based on the antics of two small ponies grazing in a neighbouring field. Following the success of another
pony-filled book, ‘A Leg at Each Corner’ in 1961, the Sun-day Express commissioned the Penelope strip, featuring Penelope, her pony Kipper and friends. Penelope and Kipper would feature in a number of Norman’s books, including ‘Penelope’ (1972) and ‘Penelope Rides Again’ (1989), as well as in countless other horse related maga-zines, annuals and newsletters. Despite his creation of these iconic characters, Norman only ever rode a horse once. The fact that it bolted on him may have had some-
thing to do with that.
Karen Addison, Agent of The Estate of Norman Thelwell, describes the Thelwell brand’s popularity, "the fact that it has really been low key for the last 20 years is certainly assisting the relaunch today." "People instantly recognise his work with a sigh of delight in welcoming back an old friend," she contin-ues. Karen describes her favourite book as being A Leg at Each Corner, "I was that original Thelwell child, a fat little girl on an unruly grey Shetland pony that had a mind of its own and no matter what happened, it was a great friendship and the pony always got his way," she remembers affection-ately, "I think at the time I thought that Mr. Thelwell had written a book specifically for me!" A feeling shared by many, no doubt.
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Other titles of Norman’s featuring ponies and horses include ‘Thelwell’s Riding Academy’ (1965), ‘Drawing Ponies’ (1966), ‘Pony Calvacade’ (1981) and ‘Pony Panorama’ (1988). These titles and oth-ers can sometimes be found on such sites as ebay, Amazon (UK), Abe Books and from the publisher site (Methuen, UK). The Thelwell ponies have also been transferred onto countless merchandise, including sta-tionary, china, glass, jigsaws, socks and doormats, just to name a few. Thelwell pony merchandise can be purchased in Australia through Snuggle-Bub, who stocks towels, gift cards, polo shirts, caps, baby wear and saddle cloths, just to name a few. These can be purchased from www.snuggle-bub.com Hand painted toilet seats can also be pur-chased on the internet, which Karen describes as extremely popular. "My personal favourite are the ceramic ponies lovingly created by Bes-wick, they perfectly capture the spirit of the relationship between
rider and pony," says Karen.
While Norman Thelwell will always be associated with the image of a small, determined horse-mad girl and her fat, hairy pony, he also covered many other sub-jects, from gardening and house-hunting to sailing and farming. He also did lifelike landscape portraits in wa-tercolours and oils. Norman loved the countryside and old buildings and in all had over 30 books published all
over the world. Karen describes it as an honour to work on the res-urrection of the Thelwell brand, "I am very pleased at the response I have had from all corners of the world to the enduring affection that is so evidently there for Norman Thelwell’s work. It’s a great platform from which to rebuild a brand." Norman Thelwell’s autobiography, ‘Wrestling with a Pencil- the life of a freelance artist’ was published in 1986 by Methuen.
Norman’s autobiography, as well as his other titles can be purchased through the publisher Methuen ( www.methuen.co.uk ).
Thelwell merchandise can be purchased in Australia through Snuggle-Bub, who are the only Thelwell licensee outside Europe. Visit www.snuggle-bub.com for more information (see also page ).
The official website can be found at www.thelwell.org.uk You can also find them on Facebook.
