Wikipedia

Pearl Binder

Pearl Binder, Baroness Elwyn-Jones (pronounced /ˈbaɪndə/;[1] 28 June 1904 – 25 January 1990)[2][3] was a British writer, illustrator, stained-glass artist, lithographer, sculptor and a champion of the Pearly Kings and Queens.

The Right Honourable
The Lady Elwyn-Jones
Born
Pearl Binder

(1904-06-28)28 June 1904
Salford, England
Died25 January 1990(1990-01-25) (aged 85)
Brighton, England
NationalityBritish
EducationCentral School of Art and Design
Known forWriting, illustration
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1937; died 1989)​

Binder was a well-known character who had a lifelong fascination with the East End of London, where she settled in the 1920s. In 1974, she became Lady Elwyn-Jones, when her husband, the politician and lawyer Elwyn Jones, was appointed Lord Chancellor and made a life peer, taking the title Baron Elwyn-Jones.[4]

Early life

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Pearl "Polly" Binder was born in Salford in Greater Manchester. Her father was Jacob Binderevski, a Jewish tailor[3] who came to Britain in 1890 and shortly afterwards became a British citizen. Her mother's name, origins and profession are not recorded in any of the artist's biographies.[citation needed]

Career

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Binder moved to London after the first world war and studied art at Central School of Art and Design, with a focus on lithography.[5] In this time Binder drew scenes from everyday life in London that she made into lithographs. She published a series that illustrated "The Real East End" by Thomas Burke, a popular writer who ran a pub in Poplar at the time. Binder's illustrations are an intimate, first-hand portrayal of grimy London life in that era.[6] In 1933 Binder was one of the founders of the left-wing Artists' International Association.[7][8]

In 1937, Binder was involved in the earliest days of television broadcasting for children.[4] That year, she co-presented Clothes-Line with the fashion historian James Laver. This live six-part series was the first television programme on the history of fashion. As she did not give birth to her daughter Josephine until 6 January 1938 – less than a month after the last episode transmitted – Binder could well have been the first heavily pregnant woman to appear on television.[9]

In the course of her life, Binder travelled extensively in Russia and China, designed a musical,[10] designed costumes for a theatre company, wrote stories for children, designed a Pearly mug and plate for Wedgwood, and instigated and executed a series of armorial windows at the House of Lords.[5][11]

Personal life

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In 1937, she married Elwyn Jones. They had three children: fashion historian Lou Taylor,[9] artist and activist Dan Jones,[12][13] and the children's author Josephine Gladstone,[9] whose books she illustrated. After her death, her son-in-law, Joe Taylor recalled, "She was a woman who had great concern for others, especially women - she was a very keen supporter of women's rights", always keeping the name Pearl Binder next to her husband's name on the plaque outside their flat.[3]

Death

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Binder died in Brighton on 25 January 1990 aged 86, seven weeks after the death of her husband.[3][14]

Publications

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As illustrator

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  • Hobson, Coralie (1926). Bed and Breakfast. London: Bodley Head.
  • Sieveking, L. de Giberne (1927). All children must be paid for. London: The Bodley Head.
  • Austen, Jane (1929) [First published 1817]. Persuasion. New York: Walter McKee - The Bath Edition.
  • Skelton, John (1928) [First published 1550]. The Tunning of Elynour Rumming. London: Fanfrolico Press. OCLC 650452028.
  • Driberg, J. H. (1930). People of the Small Arrow. London: Routledge.
  • de Nerval, Gérard (1932) [First published 1855]. Aurélia. Translated by Aldington, Richard. London: Chatto and Windus. OCLC 2329231.
  • Burke, Thomas (1932). The Real East End. London: Constable.
  • Radclyffe, E. J. D. (1932). Magic and Mind. London: A & C Clack.
  • Godfrey, Philip (1933). Back-Stage, A Survey of the Contemporary English Theatre from Behind the Scenes. London: George Harrup. OCLC 488314978.
  • Coppard, A. E. (1934). These Hopes of Heaven. London: Blue Moon Press.
  • Lindsay, Jack (1935). The Romans. London: A & C Black. OCLC 6888705.
  • Malnick, Bertha (1938). Everyday Life in Russia. London: George Harrup. OCLC 681481050.
  • Glanville, Stephen (1953). The Egyptians. London: A & C Black. OCLC 869405326.
  • Marquand, Josephine (1964). Chi Ming and the Tiger Kitten. New York: Franklyn Watts.
  • Ordish, George (1967). Pigeons and people. London: Dennis Dobson. OCLC 561856801.
  • Marquand, Josephine (1969). Chi Ming and the Lion Dance. London: Dobson. ISBN 9780234779927.
  • Marquand, Josephine (1970). Chi Ming and the Writing Lesson. New York: Franklin Watts. OCLC 69143.
  • Gladstone, Josephine (1974). Chi Ming and the Jade Ear-ring. London: Dobson. ISBN 978-0234774908.

As author and illustrator

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  • Binder, Pearl (1935). Odd Jobs. London: G. G. Harrup. OCLC 558092306.
  • — (1936). Misha and Masha. London: Gollancz.
  • — (1942). Russian Families. London: A & C Black. OCLC 181846291.
  • — (1942). Misha learns English. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books (PP25). OCLC 1238560327.
  • — (1953). Muffs and Morals. London: George Harrap. OCLC 1450338.
  • — (1958). The Peacock's Tail. London: George Harrup. OCLC 558092313.
  • — (1959). Look at Clothes. London: Hamish Hamilton.
  • — (1961). The English inside out; an up to date report on morals and manners in England. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. OCLC 1347857.
  • — (1972). Magic symbols of the world. London and New York: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 9780600025450.
  • —; Ordish, George (1972). Ladies Only. Dobson. ISBN 978-0234776971.
  • — (1974). Treacle Terrace. London: Dennis Dobson. ISBN 978-0234775141.
  • — (1975). The Pearlies : a social record. London: Jupiter Books. ISBN 9780904041187.
  • — (1977). Treasure islands : the trials of the Ocean Islanders. Blond and Briggs. ISBN 9780856340710.
  • — (1986). Dressing up, dressing down. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780043910122.
    • — (1988). Doresuappu doresudaun. Translated by Suginome, Yasuko. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 978-4000014960. – Japanese translation of Dressing up, dressing down
  • — (1986). The Truth About Cora Pearl. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 9780297785903.

References

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  1. ^ Plomley, Roy and Elwyn-Jones, Lord Frederick (17 February 1984). Desert Island Discs: Lord Elwyn-Jones. BBC. Event occurs at 38:24. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
  2. ^ "Pearl Binder", BFI.org.uk; accessed 11 February 2018.
  3. ^ a b c d "Death of Lady Elwyn-Jones". Glasgow Herald. 27 January 1990. p. 5. Retrieved 2 June 2014.
  4. ^ a b "Binder, Pearl". Horniman Museum and Gardens. Archived from the original on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 1 November 2017.
  5. ^ a b W.M Schwab, ed. (1987). Jewish Artists The Ben Uri Collection. Lund Humphries Publishers Ltd / Ben Uri Art Society. ISBN 0-85331-537-X.
  6. ^ "Pearl Binder, artist & writer". SpitalFields Life. Retrieved 1 February 2014.
  7. ^ Paul Jobling and David Crowley,Graphic Design: reproduction and representation since 1800. Manchester, New York: Manchester University Press, pg. 128; ISBN 0719044669
  8. ^ "Drawing Russia – The Work of Artist Pearl Binder in the 1920s and '30s". Pushkin House. 11 April 2018.
  9. ^ a b c Taylor, Lou, Establishing Dress History, chapter 2 (Manchester 2002); ISBN 0-7190-6639-5
  10. ^ "Pearl Binder (Lady Elwyn-Jones), artist and much more". Tyne & Wear Archives and Museums. 11 July 2014. Retrieved 19 February 2015.
  11. ^ "Pearl Binder (Biographical details)". British Museum. Retrieved 8 February 2020.
  12. ^ "Dan Jones, Artist". Spitalfields Life. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  13. ^ Rimella, Chiara (4 April 2014). "Dan Jones: nursery rhyme collector extraordinaire". Eastlondonlines. Retrieved 25 October 2020.
  14. ^ "Jones, (Frederick) Elwyn, Baron Elwyn-Jones (1909–1989)", Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004.
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