Bruce Bairnsfather designed memorabilia and ephemera, 1920s

Ephemera is written or printed matter not meant to be retained or preserved, such as Christmas cards, cigarette and other trade cards, postcards, posters and Valentines. Ephemera collecting has been gaining popularity in recent years and the range of items collected has grown to include railway, bus, shipping, concert and exhibition tickets, decorative notepaper and envelopes, commercial bills and letter-heads, insurance policies, bank cheques, government bonds, stock and share certificates, and all types of advertising material.

Bruce Bairnsfather (1888-1959) was a British artist and potter who is best known for his cartoons of the First World War. His most famous character is "Old Bill," a weary but resilient British soldier who embodies the spirit of the ordinary man on the front lines. Bairnsfather was born in India in 1888. He studied art at the Slade School of Fine Art in London and then worked as a commercial artist. In 1914, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the Royal Engineers and sent to France to fight in the First World War.

Bairnsfather began drawing more... cartoons for the British humour magazine The Bystander while he was serving in the trenches. His cartoons were immediately popular with the troops, who appreciated his ability to capture the humour and absurdity of war. One of Bairnsfather's most famous cartoons is "If you find a better 'ole, go to it!" This cartoon depicts Old Bill sitting in a shell hole, surrounded by the chaos of war. He is smoking a pipe and looking resigned to his fate. The cartoon is a classic example of Bairnsfather's ability to find humour in the midst of adversity.

Bairnsfather's cartoons were published in newspapers and magazines all over the world. He also wrote and illustrated a number of books, including Fragments from France (1916) and Old Bill's Leave (1917). After the war, Bairnsfather continued to draw cartoons and write books. He also turned his attention to pottery. He opened a pottery studio in Sussex, England, and produced a range of pottery with his cartoons on them. In addition to his work as a cartoonist and potter, Bairnsfather was also a talented painter and illustrator. He exhibited his paintings and illustrations in galleries and museums all over the world.

Bairnsfather died in 1959 at the age of 71. He is remembered as one of the most popular and influential cartoonists of the First World War. less...