Raymond Sheppard Illustrator

In this last part of my article showing Raymond Sheppard's illustrations to Animal Doctor I feature the rest of the illustrations which include many of his animal drawings. In these days of instant finding on the Net, we forget what trouble finding a picture of an Italian Greyhound - for example - would have been.many illustrations are just that and the scene depicted might not appear in the story itself.

Page 56 Squirrel Monkey (?)

Page 65 Man studies by angle poise light

Page 66 Italian greyhound

Page 71 Goat kid

Page 73 Man smiling whilst smoking pipe

Page 74 Horses and jockeys jumping hedge in race

Page 98 Man looking at birds in cages

Page 109 Boxer

Page 110 Bull in its stall

Page 113 Mr. "Algernon Tiddles", and his cat and the vet with clipboard

Page 121 Farmer & farmhand hold cow's horns whilst vet makes notes

Page 134 Farmer & vet take jackets off in cow stall

Page 145 Three men look at 10 sheep which have been 'worried' by dogs and vet approaching

Page 155 Landscape with road in distance

Page 171 Calf stands for first time

Page 172 Dog worrying two sheep

Page 180 Two men drinking

Royal Veterinary College NW1 0TU (Present day taken from Google Streetview)

Page viii (Drawn by Sheppard 1956)

 
The 'action' in this story (Animal Doctor by Laurence Maynell) begins at the Royal Veterinary College in Camden Town. The building illustrated by Raymond Sheppard is still used today by the College and "is also home to the London Bioscience and Innovation Centre (LBIC)". As their site states:

The foundation of The Veterinary College, London, in 1791 marked the establishment of the veterinary profession in this country. The development of the profession can be traced to that single act  [...] The Veterinary College, London, was born in the parish of St Pancras in 1791, on the present-day site of The Royal Veterinary College's Camden Town Campus. On 4 January 1792, the first four students attended the College to begin a three-year course intended to cover all aspects of the veterinary art. As funds became available the College developed, with facilities that provided a clear benefit to subscribers, such as stabling and an infirmary, taking precedence over a lecture theatre and dissecting rooms.

 Once can see, comparing the 1956 drawing to the current photo that the side archway and railings are still there, and as one would expect road markings and traffic have increased. The entrance as illustrated  by Sheppard hasn't change much either

Taken from Google Streetview

Page 10

To be continued...Part Three

Cover

Page vi

The Animal Doctor by Laurence Meynell was illustrated by Raymond Sheppard and is one in a series called "Oxford Career Books". The series included the following titles spread over two decades as far as I can trace:

1. STUDENTS AT QUEEN’S by John Stuart Arey, 1944
2. THE FIRST TRIPPER by Peter Dawlish, 1947 (Illustrated by P. A. Jobson and the topic was the Merchant Navy) - more on Dawlish and Raymond Sheppard another day 
3. THE YOUNG SCHOOLMASTER by Aubrey de Selincourt, 1948 (illustrated by F.W. Middlehurst)
4. THE MONDAY STORY by James Leasor, 1951 (Illustrated by Evadné Rowan).
5. POLICEMAN IN THE FAMILY by Laurence Walter Meynell, 1953 (illustrated by Neville Dear)
6. AN ACTOR’S LIFE FOR ME by Roland Pertwee, 1953 (Illustrated by T. R. Freeman)
7. HOTEL DOORWAY by Lorna Lewis, 1953 (Illustrated by Charlotte Hough) 
8. THE ANIMAL DOCTOR by Laurence Meynell, 1956 (illustrated by Raymond Sheppard)
9. THE YOUNG ARCHITECT by Laurence Walter Meynell, 1958

The blurb states "Each book combines a first-rate story with authentic details about a particular career." and 'story' should be taken literally. Meynell had many pseudonyms and wrote as a man and a woman! He was born in 1899 and died in 1989 and is most well known for his thrillers and some of his books were made into films. His fascinating story can be read online  so there's no point in me re-telling it. His bibliography can been seen together with a photo here, and Steve Holland has a small gallery of Meynell's thriller covers. His obituary appeared in the Times of Tuesday 18 April 1989. He appeared to be a tidy man even in death leaving £286,286 in his will!

The Times 18 April 1989

Raymond Sheppard's illustrations for the Animal Doctor show his flare and talent for depicting animals - he was a natural choice.

Page 1 Boy with cat

Page 8 Owl

Page 18 Young man talks to RVC porter

Page 22 Bear on chain

Page 40 Goat

Page 41 Cats in a frame

Page 55 hamster (?) eating carrots

To be continued...Part Two