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Adventures of Tim

Tim’s Friend Towser

Tim’s Friend Towser

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THE ART

It’s been a privilege collaborating with the Edward Ardizzone Estate, bringing a collection of prints from the iconic Adventures of Tim series to life for the very first time. It was a childhood edition of the series, belonging to one of our founders, which inspired the creation of Ralph & James.

In Tim’s Friend Towser, we’re aboard the S.S. “Royal Fusilier” on a stormy day, when Tim and his friend Ginger find a stowaway hidden in a lifeboat - a tiny puppy they name Towser. But as Towser grows bigger and bigger, they have to work very hard at keeping him a secret. Captain Piper hates dogs!

Edward Ardizzone’s much loved Adventures of Tim series invites young readers into a daring world of adventure, questionable parenting, and brave children whose resourcefulness enables them to elude great danger. We meet the heroic but endearingly modest Little Tim, mischievous Ginger, resourceful Charlotte and the Wise Old Boatman, all of whom inhabit the boats and seascapes beautifully captured by Ardizzone’s pen, black ink and watercolour. Ardizzone’s art, evocative of childhood adventure, makes beautiful framed prints for children’s bedrooms or nurseries.

THE ARTIST

Edward Ardizzone (1900 –  1979) was born in French-Indochina, moving at the age of five to England, travelling by sea with his mother and siblings. Growing up in Ipswich, a busy seaport town, allowed young Ardizzone and his cousin Arthur to spend many hours roaming the docks and exploring the holds of small coastal steamers and barges.

After giving up work as a clerk, where he ‘doodled a lot on his blotter,’ Ardizzone pursued a hugely successful career as an artist. Ardizzone was a painter, print-maker and war artist, and the author and illustrator of books, many of them for children. Ardizzone was appointed a CBE (1971) and a senior member of the Royal Academy of Arts (1975).

Ardizzone pre­ferred sketching the whole human figure and believed the “back view” of his protagonists revealed more about character than their faces, achieving movement and tone through intricate cross­-hatch patterns and pen strokes.

The Adventures of Tim series, comprising ten titles written over three decades, was inspired by the stories Ardizzone would tell his two small children, beginning with The Brave Sea Captain (1936). Tim All Alone (1956) was awarded the first Kate Greenaway medal - England’s most prestigious award for illustration.

THE PRINT AND FRAME

The print is framed by hand in Cambridgeshire in the UK, using only European sourced PEFC™ and FSC approved woods. Frames are Fine Art Trade Guild accredited which means they meet strict conservation standards and are built to last for generations to come.

We use Clarity+ glazing which is a high-quality acrylic glass alternative, offering high UV resistance which doesn't yellow over time, is not easily scratched and is safe for use in children's bedrooms.

Your framed print will arrive with D-rings and cord already attached, ready to hang right out of the box.

DIMENSIONS

Including the frame, with mount, the medium framed print is 56cm wide and 45cm high. 

The medium print itself is 46cm wide and 35cm high. 

All dimensions are approximate.

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