HEATH ROBINSON'S HELPFUL SOLUTIONS

Heath Robinson achieved fame as the artist of ingenious contraptions rigged up precariously in order to accomplish simple tasks, gently satirising the love of British people for gadgets. Between the wars he became a household name and national treasure from his weekly cartoons for The Bystander and other periodicals such as The Strand Magazine and Punch. This lovely book accompanied an exhibition at the Cartoon Museum focusing on his famous "How-to" cartoons. Heath Robinson had a genuine love of machinery, and these are not ideological drawings warning us of the dangers of mechanisation, but rather depictions of machinery lovingly cared for by the people who are operating them, keeping the cogs oiled, the ropes knotted and the bellows patched, with pulleys, flywheels and balances converging to create a scenario reminiscent of the antics of Dad's Army or Wallace and Gromit. English doggedness, ingenuity and eccentricity are celebrated as the joys of machinery are complemented by a genius for improvisation. The cartoon "Heroic conduct of engine driver sacrificing his reputation for punctuality to save the life of a stranded eel" shows an engine on a river bridge, with the driver breaking open the boiler to pour water on the eel below. The Wimbledon Serving Tube of serpentine design with many contortions is a device for tennis practice, releasing the ball in airborne loops which completely defeat the recipient. "Mechanical aids for Christmas: the Chestnut Stuffer" is a classic Heath Robinson creation, with a brazier for roasting, a washing mangle for crushing and a complicated hinged contraption of vessels and funnels finally directing the stuffing into the rear-end of the turkey. 144pp, large softback, over 60 reproductions in black and white and colour.