Francis Wilford-Smith
Encyclopedia
Francis Wilford-Smith was a British
cartoonist
, graphic artist, and producer
and archivist of blues music. As a cartoonist, he used the pseudonym Smilby, a contraction of his surname with his wife's maiden name.
, England, the second son of pharmacist
Wilford Smith and Frances Hunt, who died shortly after his birth. He attended Warwick School
, where he began drawing cartoons, but left at the age of 16 to train as a radio operator. He joined the Merchant Navy
, serving during the Second World War on convoys to Africa
and across the Atlantic. During this time he also worked as an undercover courier and agent for US Naval Intelligence, intercepting telephone conversations and collecting and delivering material to US consular staff in the Belgian Congo
and Persian Gulf
.
In 1946, he began attending Camberwell School of Art in London, specialising in illustration and wood engraving
. While there, he met and, in 1949, married Pamela Kilby, which led to their collective nickname of "Smilby". He then became an art teacher, and for a time worked as an animator with Halas and Batchelor
, before becoming assistant display manager for the women's clothing chain Richard Shops
and assistant to the industrial designer Ian Bradbury. However, by 1951, his cartoons had begun appearing in Punch
and other magazines, and he became a full-time cartoonist, later working for the Daily Telegraph, Playboy
, and many others. From the early 1960s, he also worked widely in Europe and the USA, publishing cartoons in various periodicals including The New Yorker
, Esquire
, and the Saturday Evening Post.
Working as "Smilby", he also designed many advertising campaigns for Guinness
, ICI
, Boots
and others, and was a freelance consultant to advertising agencies. He also worked more widely as a graphic designer and book illustrator. As Francis Smilby, he wrote Stolen Sweets: The Cover Girls of Yesteryear (1981), a definitive history of early pin-up magazines.
He was an expert on and major collector of blues and gospel music, writing and broadcasting on the subject. He owned one of the world's most important collections of early 78 rpm recorded piano blues
. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was responsible for recording many musicians, such as Roosevelt Sykes
, Little Brother Montgomery
, Muddy Waters
, Otis Spann
, Champion Jack Dupree
, and Memphis Slim
, at his home in Sussex
. He wrote:
, and he was twice nominated for Sony Awards.
He hyphenated his surname by deed poll in 1983, so as to comply with the inheritance stipulations of a relative's will. He continued to draw until forced to give up through ill health in 1998.
He and Pamela had one son and one daughter. He died in 2009 in Ledbury
, Herefordshire
, at the age of 82. Pamela Wilford-Smith died on 4 September 2010.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
cartoonist
Cartoonist
A cartoonist is a person who specializes in drawing cartoons. This work is usually humorous, mainly created for entertainment, political commentary or advertising...
, graphic artist, and producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
and archivist of blues music. As a cartoonist, he used the pseudonym Smilby, a contraction of his surname with his wife's maiden name.
Biography
He was born Francis Wilford Smith (without hyphenation) in Rugby, WarwickshireRugby, Warwickshire
Rugby is a market town in Warwickshire, England, located on the River Avon. The town has a population of 61,988 making it the second largest town in the county...
, England, the second son of pharmacist
Pharmacist
Pharmacists are allied health professionals who practice in pharmacy, the field of health sciences focusing on safe and effective medication use...
Wilford Smith and Frances Hunt, who died shortly after his birth. He attended Warwick School
Warwick School
Warwick School is an independent school with boarding facilities for boys in Warwick, England, and is reputed to be the third-oldest surviving school in the country after King's School, Canterbury and St Peter's School, York; and the oldest boy's school in England...
, where he began drawing cartoons, but left at the age of 16 to train as a radio operator. He joined the Merchant Navy
Merchant Navy
The Merchant Navy is the maritime register of the United Kingdom, and describes the seagoing commercial interests of UK-registered ships and their crews. Merchant Navy vessels fly the Red Ensign and are regulated by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency...
, serving during the Second World War on convoys to Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and across the Atlantic. During this time he also worked as an undercover courier and agent for US Naval Intelligence, intercepting telephone conversations and collecting and delivering material to US consular staff in the Belgian Congo
Belgian Congo
The Belgian Congo was the formal title of present-day Democratic Republic of the Congo between King Leopold II's formal relinquishment of his personal control over the state to Belgium on 15 November 1908, and Congolese independence on 30 June 1960.-Congo Free State, 1884–1908:Until the latter...
and Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
.
In 1946, he began attending Camberwell School of Art in London, specialising in illustration and wood engraving
Wood engraving
Wood engraving is a technique in printmaking where the "matrix" worked by the artist is a block of wood. It is a variety of woodcut and so a relief printing technique, where ink is applied to the face of the block and printed by using relatively low pressure. A normal engraving, like an etching,...
. While there, he met and, in 1949, married Pamela Kilby, which led to their collective nickname of "Smilby". He then became an art teacher, and for a time worked as an animator with Halas and Batchelor
Halas and Batchelor
Halas and Batchelor was an animation company founded by John Halas and his wife, Joy Batchelor. The company started as a small animation unit that created commercials for theatrical distribution...
, before becoming assistant display manager for the women's clothing chain Richard Shops
Richard Shops
-History:Richard Shops was originally part of the clothes-selling empire United Drapery Stores, created in 1927 by the controversial Leeds-born businessman and philanthropist Jack Lyons...
and assistant to the industrial designer Ian Bradbury. However, by 1951, his cartoons had begun appearing in Punch
Punch (magazine)
Punch, or the London Charivari was a British weekly magazine of humour and satire established in 1841 by Henry Mayhew and engraver Ebenezer Landells. Historically, it was most influential in the 1840s and 50s, when it helped to coin the term "cartoon" in its modern sense as a humorous illustration...
and other magazines, and he became a full-time cartoonist, later working for the Daily Telegraph, Playboy
Playboy
Playboy is an American men's magazine that features photographs of nude women as well as journalism and fiction. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. The magazine has grown into Playboy Enterprises, Inc., with...
, and many others. From the early 1960s, he also worked widely in Europe and the USA, publishing cartoons in various periodicals including The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
, Esquire
Esquire (magazine)
Esquire is a men's magazine, published in the U.S. by the Hearst Corporation. Founded in 1932, it flourished during the Great Depression under the guidance of founder and editor Arnold Gingrich.-History:...
, and the Saturday Evening Post.
Working as "Smilby", he also designed many advertising campaigns for Guinness
Guinness
Guinness is a popular Irish dry stout that originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James's Gate, Dublin. Guinness is directly descended from the porter style that originated in London in the early 18th century and is one of the most successful beer brands worldwide, brewed in almost...
, ICI
ICI
ICI or Ici may mean:* ICI programming language, a computer programming language developed in 1992* Ici , an alternative weekly newspaper in Montreal, CanadaICI is also an abbreviation which may mean:...
, Boots
Boots UK
Boots UK Limited , is a leading pharmacy chain in the United Kingdom, with outlets in most high streets throughout the country...
and others, and was a freelance consultant to advertising agencies. He also worked more widely as a graphic designer and book illustrator. As Francis Smilby, he wrote Stolen Sweets: The Cover Girls of Yesteryear (1981), a definitive history of early pin-up magazines.
He was an expert on and major collector of blues and gospel music, writing and broadcasting on the subject. He owned one of the world's most important collections of early 78 rpm recorded piano blues
Piano blues
Piano blues refers to a variety of blues styles, sharing only the characteristic that they use the piano as the primary musical instrument. Boogie woogie is the best known kind of piano blues, though barrelhouse, swing, R&B, rock and roll and jazz are strongly influenced by early pianists who...
. In the late 1950s and 1960s he was responsible for recording many musicians, such as Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes was an American blues musician, also known as "The Honeydripper". He was a successful and prolific cigar-chomping blues piano player, whose rollicking thundering boogie-woogie was highly influential.-Career:Born in Elmar, Arkansas, Sykes grew up near Helena but at age 15, went on...
, Little Brother Montgomery
Little Brother Montgomery
Eurreal Wilford "Little Brother" Montgomery was an American jazz, boogie-woogie and blues pianist and singer....
, Muddy Waters
Muddy Waters
McKinley Morganfield , known as Muddy Waters, was an American blues musician, generally considered the "father of modern Chicago blues"...
, Otis Spann
Otis Spann
Otis Spann was an American blues musician, who many consider the leading postwar Chicago blues pianist.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, United States, Spann became known for his distinct piano style....
, Champion Jack Dupree
Champion Jack Dupree
William Thomas Dupree, best known as Champion Jack Dupree, was an American blues pianist. His birth date is disputed, given as July 4, July 10, and July 23, in the years 1908, 1909, or 1910. He died on January 21, 1992.-Biography:...
, and Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim
Memphis Slim was an American blues pianist, singer, and composer. He led a series of bands that, reflecting the popular appeal of jump blues, included saxophones, bass, drums, and piano. A song he first cut in 1947, "Every Day I Have the Blues", has become a blues standard, recorded by many other...
, at his home in Sussex
Sussex
Sussex , from the Old English Sūþsēaxe , is an historic county in South East England corresponding roughly in area to the ancient Kingdom of Sussex. It is bounded on the north by Surrey, east by Kent, south by the English Channel, and west by Hampshire, and is divided for local government into West...
. He wrote:
"When the first blues singers began to tour this country [UK], I was deeply concerned that their music should be recorded for posterity before it was lost for ever. So I would stagger down from London to my Sussex farmhouse with a heavy hired tape recorder and microphone, and get a local farmer to load the village hall piano onto a trailer, bring it down by tractor, and install it in my living room where the thick walls and beamed ceiling had good acoustic properties."Many of his recordings were issued by Magpie Records
Magpie Records
Magpie Records is a British record label set up in 1976 by Bruce Bastin. It specialises in re-issuing pre and post war blues and jazz recordings.-External links:* *...
, and he was twice nominated for Sony Awards.
He hyphenated his surname by deed poll in 1983, so as to comply with the inheritance stipulations of a relative's will. He continued to draw until forced to give up through ill health in 1998.
He and Pamela had one son and one daughter. He died in 2009 in Ledbury
Ledbury
Ledbury is a town in Herefordshire, England, lying east of Hereford, and south of the Malvern Hills.Today, Ledbury is a thriving market town in rural England. The town has a large number of timber framed buildings, in particular along Church Lane and High Street. One of Ledbury's most outstanding...
, Herefordshire
Herefordshire
Herefordshire is a historic and ceremonial county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Gloucestershire" NUTS 2 region. It also forms a unitary district known as the...
, at the age of 82. Pamela Wilford-Smith died on 4 September 2010.