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Angels on Horseback
Shipped from UK, please allow 10 to 21 business days for arrival. Reprint Methuen 1978, containing; Angels on Horseback, Thelwell Country, A Leg at Each Corner, Riding Adademy. Unpaginated, profuse and wonderful captioned cartoon illustrations by the author. Appear as new unopened and unread, excellent clean tight sound square, well held in joints and hinges, no bookplates, inscriptions or ownership marks of any kind. In excellent colour pictorial paperback wrapper, in like illustrated card slipcase as issued, very gently rubbed to spine and open edge. A delight for reader and collector alike by Thelwell, 'unofficial artist of the British countryside'.
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1957
About the author
Norman Thelwell
101 books21 followersNorman Thelwell was an English cartoonist well-known for his humorous illustrations of ponies and horses. A promising young student from Liverpool College of Art, he soon became a contributor to the satirical magazine Punch in the 1950s, and earned many lasting devotees by illustrating Chicko in the British boys' comic Eagle.
Known to many only as Thelwell, he found his true comic niche with Pony Club girls and ponies refusing fences, a subject for which he became best-known. His cartoons and drawings delighted millions.
For the last quarter of a century of his life he lived in the Test Valley at Timsbury, near Romsey, gradually restoring a farm house and landscaping the grounds which gave rise to his first factual book, A Plank Bridge by a Pool, which detailed the first two lakes he dug there. A third lake was later featured on the BBC’s South Today programme. Written much earlier, but published three years later, A Millstone Round My Neck described his experiences in re-building a Cornish water mill (Addicroft Mill at Liskeard, which he called Penruin), that was sold before the book was published. He always loved old buildings, and in his auto-biography, Wrestling with a Pencil wrote about his joy in the beauty of old cottages.
Known to many only as Thelwell, he found his true comic niche with Pony Club girls and ponies refusing fences, a subject for which he became best-known. His cartoons and drawings delighted millions.
For the last quarter of a century of his life he lived in the Test Valley at Timsbury, near Romsey, gradually restoring a farm house and landscaping the grounds which gave rise to his first factual book, A Plank Bridge by a Pool, which detailed the first two lakes he dug there. A third lake was later featured on the BBC’s South Today programme. Written much earlier, but published three years later, A Millstone Round My Neck described his experiences in re-building a Cornish water mill (Addicroft Mill at Liskeard, which he called Penruin), that was sold before the book was published. He always loved old buildings, and in his auto-biography, Wrestling with a Pencil wrote about his joy in the beauty of old cottages.
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
August 5, 2024
“Angels on Horseback” is party food, dating from the Victorian times. Oysters are wrapped in partially cooked bacon and then grilled or broiled and spritzed with lime or lemon. Is this then a cookbook?
No, the title is a clever pun. Ask any English person - or at least anyone who can remember the 20th century - what they know about “Thelwell”, and a smile will come over their face. Into their mind will probably flash an image of a small, round, hairy pony with a diminutive and determined pony-mad girl bouncing atop it. This is the archetypal Thelwell cartoon, although Norman Thelwell actually drew a variety of other topics too.
Angels on Horseback was his very first collection of cartoons. It was published in 1957 and has remained popular ever since, running to dozens of editions. It brought together many of the horse and pony cartoons which had been appearing in copies of the satirical magazine “Punch”.
It is difficult to say quite why these cartoons are so funny, even if you have never set foot in a pony club, or tried to mount a horse in your life. (The one time I went horse-riding - as an adult in a far-away country - I fell off. It wasn't my fault; the horse reared up in fright when it came face to face with a wild stag.) Perhaps it is something to do with Norman Thelwell successfully combining portraiture and caricature - in both humans and animals. Certainly this is true of the cross, determined, valiant or triumphant little girls, or the careworn, or frisky ponies, eyes rolling and steam spouting from their nostrils, as they buck, or canter, or stubbornly refuse a jump, or trot with a devil-may-care expression to contrast with the accompanying furious miniature human on their back.
But this does not account for the hilarious simple cartoon showing two herds of sheep, the leaders stuck head to head ambling in opposite directions down a country lane, with a bemused farmer in the middle of each packed throng. Or two workmen glaring at a fox as it races though their brand new, carefully concreted drive in front of a desirable country residence, leaving a trail of perfect footprints. This is an example of a cartoon where, when you look a little longer, you see an even funnier prospect. In the distance, there is unmistakably a hunt preceded by hounds, all following the fox ... wherever it might run.
This edition of Angels on Horseback has been expanded to include some of Thelwell’s other countryside subjects. At first uneasy about other “horsey” pastimes such as the English hunt, I soon realised that the fox nearly always comes off best in these cartoons. Either that or fun is poked at those involved. I should have expected this …
Years ago we used to have 4 large place-mats, each showing a different Thelwell cartoon in the hunting genre. They were brightly coloured and surrounded by a tasteful dark green deep border with a gilt trim. The English country gentry love their traditional oil paintings and watercolours of hunting scenes, and those aspiring to this lifestyle may have various domestic items depicting such scenes. Ours were heavily satiric, but whenever we had guests, out would come our Thelwell placemats, our tongues firmly in cheek, to confound family or friends.
On one occasion our faces were deadpan, and my mother was suitably shocked. “Hunting, Jean?” she burst out. We had already caused ructions refusing a holiday gift of a fan (clearly produced as a tourist memento) from my in-laws, because it depicted a bullfight. I don’t think we were given any more after that … My mother knew we were members of the “League Against Cruel Sports”, so us choosing such place-mats must have seemed unfathomable. But when the plates were removed and I advised her to look more closely at the place-mats, her face once more became wreathed in smiles. These comic images are irresistible.
So if you don’t know the name “Thelwell” do yourself a favour: google “Thelwell cartoons” and click on “images”. I guarantee one or two will bring a smile to your face.
No, the title is a clever pun. Ask any English person - or at least anyone who can remember the 20th century - what they know about “Thelwell”, and a smile will come over their face. Into their mind will probably flash an image of a small, round, hairy pony with a diminutive and determined pony-mad girl bouncing atop it. This is the archetypal Thelwell cartoon, although Norman Thelwell actually drew a variety of other topics too.
Angels on Horseback was his very first collection of cartoons. It was published in 1957 and has remained popular ever since, running to dozens of editions. It brought together many of the horse and pony cartoons which had been appearing in copies of the satirical magazine “Punch”.
It is difficult to say quite why these cartoons are so funny, even if you have never set foot in a pony club, or tried to mount a horse in your life. (The one time I went horse-riding - as an adult in a far-away country - I fell off. It wasn't my fault; the horse reared up in fright when it came face to face with a wild stag.) Perhaps it is something to do with Norman Thelwell successfully combining portraiture and caricature - in both humans and animals. Certainly this is true of the cross, determined, valiant or triumphant little girls, or the careworn, or frisky ponies, eyes rolling and steam spouting from their nostrils, as they buck, or canter, or stubbornly refuse a jump, or trot with a devil-may-care expression to contrast with the accompanying furious miniature human on their back.
But this does not account for the hilarious simple cartoon showing two herds of sheep, the leaders stuck head to head ambling in opposite directions down a country lane, with a bemused farmer in the middle of each packed throng. Or two workmen glaring at a fox as it races though their brand new, carefully concreted drive in front of a desirable country residence, leaving a trail of perfect footprints. This is an example of a cartoon where, when you look a little longer, you see an even funnier prospect. In the distance, there is unmistakably a hunt preceded by hounds, all following the fox ... wherever it might run.
This edition of Angels on Horseback has been expanded to include some of Thelwell’s other countryside subjects. At first uneasy about other “horsey” pastimes such as the English hunt, I soon realised that the fox nearly always comes off best in these cartoons. Either that or fun is poked at those involved. I should have expected this …
Years ago we used to have 4 large place-mats, each showing a different Thelwell cartoon in the hunting genre. They were brightly coloured and surrounded by a tasteful dark green deep border with a gilt trim. The English country gentry love their traditional oil paintings and watercolours of hunting scenes, and those aspiring to this lifestyle may have various domestic items depicting such scenes. Ours were heavily satiric, but whenever we had guests, out would come our Thelwell placemats, our tongues firmly in cheek, to confound family or friends.
On one occasion our faces were deadpan, and my mother was suitably shocked. “Hunting, Jean?” she burst out. We had already caused ructions refusing a holiday gift of a fan (clearly produced as a tourist memento) from my in-laws, because it depicted a bullfight. I don’t think we were given any more after that … My mother knew we were members of the “League Against Cruel Sports”, so us choosing such place-mats must have seemed unfathomable. But when the plates were removed and I advised her to look more closely at the place-mats, her face once more became wreathed in smiles. These comic images are irresistible.
So if you don’t know the name “Thelwell” do yourself a favour: google “Thelwell cartoons” and click on “images”. I guarantee one or two will bring a smile to your face.
November 21, 2023
A Thelwell pony is instantly recognizeable, no matter how many imitators there are. The combination of ample curves, careful hatching, and laser-sharp emotional nuance is unmistakeable. This book offers a mixed selection of cartoons, many about horses or ponies, some about other topics (e.g. human vs. machine, or clever ways to carry infants). They don't all land for me, perhaps because I lack the cultural context to get some of the jokes, but there's still a lot of funny material here. Worth it just for the art, but that the cartoons are also often extremely funny adds value.
April 7, 2010
These are such adorable horse cartoons and other funny cartoons in the back of the book.
July 19, 2022
I inherited this book from my aunt, an avid horse-lover. It’s a collection of humorous illustrations primarily focused on owning and riding ponies, with a few other subjects mixed in. They were originally published in Punch magazine. They’re cute, but as I’ve never owned a horse and only rode at lessons as a young teen and on the occasional trail ride; I think I lack the experience to fully appreciate some of the humor.
April 23, 2025
Angels on Horseback and Elsewhere, Thelwell, 1958, 96 pages, Dewey 741
Mostly one- and two-panel cartoons. The funniest ones are about introducing children to show-jumping.
Googling "Thelwell cartoons" and clicking "images:" https://www.google.com/search?num=10&...
Mostly one- and two-panel cartoons. The funniest ones are about introducing children to show-jumping.
Googling "Thelwell cartoons" and clicking "images:" https://www.google.com/search?num=10&...
November 23, 2023
There is no such thing as a non-5-star Thelwell book. His horses, ponies, and riders are always spot on. Definitely a bit of its time, but that time is also mine. Loved them as a kid, still love them today.
July 1, 2017
Love the illustrations but still struggle with how badly they've dated...sort of feel like I'm reading a Daily Mail cartoon! Good heart though.
Read
August 18, 20231979 surely rachel's
June 16, 2019
Since they first appeared in the 1950s, Thelwell's irresistible pony cartoons have captured the hearts of horse-lovers and children everywhere. This edition contains Thelwell's advice to aspiring equestrians on how to get into the saddle and stay there, illustrated with inimitable clarity and deadly humor. Norman Thelwell 's cartoons have delighted millions throughout the world. His portrayals of sporting pursuits, the life of the countryside and, of course, ponies, are the products of a unique comic genius. He died in February 2004.
June 28, 2009
Thelwell's horses are a timeless classic, and more than once I have found myself sitting on a horse feeling like one of Thelwell's kids, bouncing around with short legs on fat ponies. So! Much! Fun!
May 12, 2016
A hilarious look into the world of riding and caring for ponies.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews