Cyril Kenneth Bird ‘Fougasse’ (1887 – 1965)
Concerto da Camera

Ballpoint pen and ink
35 x 24 cm
Sold with original catalogue and invoice.

“Concerto da Camera. I suppose I’m hopelessly unmusical, but I still sometimes sigh for the days when one could sit peacefully in one’s seat and listen to the music, instead of having to spend the entire performance swooping about all over the studio with the TV cameraman.”

The cartoon “Concerto da Camera” was published in Punch magazine on October 22, 1952. This piece humorously reflects on the experience of attending televised concerts, expressing a nostalgic preference for the days when one could sit peacefully and listen to music without the distractions of television production. It exemplifies Fougasse’s signature style, characterised by minimalist line work and insightful commentary on contemporary life, providing a lighthearted yet poignant critique of societal changes.

Fougasse was a British cartoonist. He was art editor of Punch between 1937 and 1949, and subsequently editor until 1953. He is best known for his ‘Careless Talk Costs Lives’ series of posters, and the other posters for the Ministry of Information and London Transport.

As the Second World War progressed, the Ministry of Information’s poster campaign had become less and less effective. There were posters instructing the population to save old clothes for rags, turn off the lights, save food, dig for victory, watch out for spies, and keep calm and carry on. With this instruction overload, the population had ceased paying attention to the posters. Fougasse noticed this, and offered his services unpaid to the Ministry of Information, with a view to bringing a touch of humour to the posters. His amusing designs with pithy captions, reminiscent of newspaper cartoons, helped to get the Ministry’s messages across in a novel way.