Sky High Art

Tower update:

Here at last top secret plans of the GPO tower! Firstly can I explain the secret part, the plans come from a rather wonderful book the “Eagle annual of cutaways”.

It goes like this one of our family stories was that my Dad use to read Eagle in 50’s and had collected a number of these centre page cutaway pictures. A rare splash of colour in the black and white world of rationing Britain. Sadly as parents do his mum chucked them out which is slightly ironic as my Nan's house was full of dusty useless old tut in later years.

Anyway I found this reprint book (the Eagle Annual of Cutaways)in a comic shop a while ago and bought it for my Dad’s Birthday. On getting it how you can imagine my delight on opening it last week to find on the first page was this marvellous plan of the GPO Tower but I couldn’t post it in case me Dad wandered past here and the surprise was spoilt, hence the secret.

So anyway enjoy the pic sorry for the blurry edge but I couldn’t break the spine of a present to scan it better.

I know most of the world isn’t turned on by cutaway diagrams of 1950’s cargo planes etc but I would heartily recommend you at least open the book in Foyle’s as its a marvel for anyone interested in drawing, design, history, culture, graphics etc.
It's a 100 pages of incredibly detailed technical drawing mostly in colour. It’s dripping with the sensibility of 1950-60’s Britain and even though everywhere is smoky chimneys and meat and 2 veg there’s refreshing optimism of the choice subject. The enthusiasm for science and for a better world is pleasing. It’s also refreshingly un-patronising towards children as the artists assumed that they’ll be interested in more things than football and trainers. They perhaps naively assume that not only racing cars and jet fighters might spark interest but also dustbin Lorries and spectacularly oddly a potato harvester might pique some interest in young minds.

Jonathon Glancey writes an entertaining introduction revelling in a world were we still made stuff and even where even the most glamorous of motor boat is piloted by men in car coats and trilbies. So have a look you never know what you’ll learn.

In a similar vein whilst searching for Tower relate stuff I came upon this site which seems to about old telephone exchanges etc it’s even named after the colour (light straw) the metal shelves were painted in the post office. It’s worth a trawl for the old pics of holiday camps etc alone.
I’ll be back soon with new stuff honest.

Ps. there’ll be rocket cutaway on my out of this world site as a Brucie bonus
Yours space cadet Bltp second class

Go here for the more details of Eagles Cutaway