EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 26 © 2019 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

90 TOP: Wind in the Willows , watercolour on paper, 1960s. The poster at the far left features a bare-knuckle boxer named ‘Dan Mendoza’ which obviously was in reference to his ancestor. Wonder how many tiny tots figured that one out? Philip Mendoza died in hospital in 1972. His granddaughter, Lucy, tells that, when he died, the hospital discovered that he had a burst appendix. ”He had said nothing about the pain he must have been in but, ultimately, I think his body was just worn out”. Mendoza never stopped drawing. Lucy says that she can “barely ever remember him not at his desk working” and, even at this last stage of his life, he continued to draw. She treasures his last sketchbook—the one he had with him in hospital when he died. l