Geoffrey Scowcroft Fletcher records collected by Islington Library Staff

S/GSF/2

1943-2005 (mainly 1950-1980)

Geoffrey Fletcher (1923-2004) was an artist and author noted for his illustrations of London and especially for recording details and areas of the city not often documented. Fletcher was born in Bolton on 3 April 1923 and died there on 22 June 2004. He studied at the Slade School of Art and also won a scholarship to study at the British School at Rome. His work appeared in several British newspapers, beginning with the Manchester Guardian in 1950. In 1958, he began working for The Daily Telegraph and for 30 years he contributed drawings and articles to its 'London Day by Day' column, which was collectively written under the pseudonym 'Peterborough'. Fletcher was a keen advocate for conservation and his newspaper illustrations frequently highlighted Georgian and Victorian buildings marked for demolition during London's post-war redevelopment. He was particularly attracted to documenting the streets and buildings of Islington, which featured regularly in his work. Fletcher's first book was 'Town's Eye View' (1960), an introduction to townscape. He wrote and illustrated 18 books about London and his most well known, 'The London Nobody Knows' (1962), was made into a documentary film in 1967. He also published a number of guides to drawing and painting.

Over the years, Islington’s library services have collected materials relating to Geoffrey Fletcher. This includes exhibition catalogues, promotional material and press cuttings relating to his life and to his art work. The exhibition catalogues cover the 1963-2005 period and are mainly composed of events organised by the library, except for the catalogue from the exhibition at the Agnews Gallery. The press cuttings are photocopies of newspaper articles covering the 1952-2003 period and cover subjects such as biography, reviews and travelogues.

6 boxes + 4 oversized items

The loose newspaper cuttings in this collection have been photocopied onto archival quality paper and the original items have been discarded.

English

NEWSPAPERS, ARTISTS, WRITERS, DRAWINGS, PHOTOGRAPHS

sub-fonds