Vast collection of Ladybird classics 'coming home'

Hundreds of privately owned vintage Ladybird books that became the "backdrop" of a collector's childhood are to go on show in her home town.

Helen Day, from St Albans, Hertfordshire, has lovingly collected and researched the classic pocket-sized works for more than 20 years.

She said the "beautiful pictures" that explained historical events and fairy tales "had such a big impression on me as a child".

"They were the backdrop of my childhood, used for school projects and given as birthday presents, they were just always there," she added.

Ms Day, who now lives in Harpenden, said the touring exhibition first started in 2018 in Canterbury, but it was always her ambition to "bring it home".

She said her devotion to the titles was instilled by her parents, who were both teachers.

"To me, they were beautiful pictures of the history of Elizabeth I, Nelson, fairy tales like Cinderella, they were the pictures that had such a big impression on me as a child," she added.

Ms Day said she owned thousands of Ladybird books, but "literally I do not know how many".

The books were originally printed by the Loughborough company, Wills & Hepworth, who then published the first volume under the Ladybird title in 1940.

The small, illustrated books continued until the mid-1970s, when Ladybird was sold to Penguin Books, she said.

The books' distinctive size came about during World War Two's paper shortages.

"Someone discovered if you took the largest sheet of paper, that was around at the time, and you laid it out really carefully and folded it and cut it really economically, you could make a small-sized children's book out of just one sheet of paper," Ms Day said.

"That's the accident that caused the magic of that Ladybird formula that so many of us will remember."

The durability of the cover was also part of its success, Ms Day added.

"They were strong little books, not only were they good quality, but they did not fall apart so they stayed on shelves for years and years and schools didn't throw them out and parents gave them to their kids, and so on and so on," Ms Day said.

She cannot name her favourite book, but said that at the age of four she remembered it was Little Red Riding Hood, as she was given it as a birthday present.

"Most of the history books were about men, just a few were about women, so I spent my pocket money on those, I remember Elizabeth I becoming my heroine," she said.

The Wonderful World of Ladybird Artists exhibition runs from 10 May to 8 September at the St Albans Museum and Gallery.

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