Sunday Gem: Unblemished Record: The Flawless Reign of Bernard Roundhill

 

 “Auckland In The Year 2000″, artwork for Winstone’s promotional book centrefold, 1956, is Roundhill’s most famous illustration. Image courtesy of Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, Reg: CA000659/001/0001 (Yoinked from Long White Kid)
 
Pull up a hot coffee and get comfortable with a colossal image filled post from Darian Zam on the work of one of New Zealand's most successful commercial artists Bernie Roundhill.

Leonard Cornwall Mitchell

Leonard Cornwall Mitchell designing in his Wellington studio. Photographed by an Evening Post Staff photographer on the 20th of June 1970.

Some more examples of Leonard Mitchell's advertising and New Zealand tourism illustrations courtesy the Alexander Turnbull Library.

Robert Semple presenting a prize to Leonard Cornwall Mitchell, winner of a road safety sticker competition. The second prize winner B A Marris looks on. Behind the men, a page of 12 sticker designs is displayed on a bookcase. Photograph taken circa 6 December 1937, by an unidentified photographer for the Evening Post.

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall, 1901-1971 :New Zealand for your next holiday. Issued by the New Zealand Government Publicity Office. Wholly printed in New Zealand by Coulls Somerville Wilkie Limited, Dunedin, Christchurch, Wellington, Auckland [ca 1925-1929]

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall, 1901-1971 :Mitre Peak, Milford Sound, New Zealand / Government Tourist Department.

 

[Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall], 1901-1971 :New Zealand Centennial Exhibition Wellington, Nov. 1939 - May 1940. [Sticker. 1939]

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall, 1901-1971 :Marlborough Sounds, New Zealand / Govt Tourist Dept. G H Loney, Government Printer, Wellington [1934-1937].

 

New Zealand Post Office Savings Bank :Your boy - look ahead a few years! / L C Mitchell. [1945?]

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall 1901-1971 :Sport in New Zealand; trout and salmon fishing, big game fishing. [ca 1935].

  Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall 1901-1971 :Rotorua and New Zealand's thermal wonderland. [1930s].

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall, 1901-1971 :Haere mai! (Welcome) to New Zealand. [Booklet front cover. 1932?]

Mitchell, Leonard Cornwall, 1901-1971 :Mt Egmont, 8,260 ft. New Zealand / Government Tourist Department. G H Loney, Government Printer, Wellington. [1934-1937]

Leonard Cornwall Mitchell 1901-1971

Leonard Cornwall Mitchell (1901-1971) was born in Wellington and completed a signwriting apprenticeship in Palmerston North, before commencing work for the Government Publicity Department on tourism paraphenalia. Mitchell designed posters, booklet covers, coins and over 90 NZ stamps. Mitchell's son Victor Leonard William Mitchell (1925-1980) became an artist in his own right and was the owner of Wellington's mid century Lambton Art Galleries. The colour images below come from a tourism booklet that combined Mitchell's bold colour depictions with black and white photography showcasing early twentieth century New Zealand.

I found a couple examples of Mitchell's work as a cartoonist in the New Zealand edition of Aussie magazine dated June 14th 1924. The New Zealand edition of Aussie featured a New Zealand section edited by journalist Pat Lawlor who also edited a series of New Zealand Artist's annual that featured many of fine cartoonists of the era in the late 1920's/early 1930's. Other New Zealand cartoonists featured in Aussie included Noel Cook, Geoffrey Keith Townshend, Unk White, and George Duncan.

Grateful thanks to Geoff Harrison for supplying the Aussie Magazine images.