H. G. Pickering Books (1937, 1940)

In 1937, Harry illustrated the book Neighbors Have My Ducks, written by H.G. Pickering.  227 copies of the book were originally published.  In 1940, Timmins illustrated the Pickering book Merry Xmas, Mr. Williams.  The second book was also published as a limited edition, with 267 copies.  In 1993, Derrydale Press, the original publisher, put out a 2,500 copy limited edition book titled The Pickering Collection, which contains the two stories illustrated by Timmins.  The Pickering stories and Harry’s illustrations for them are hilarious.  Other than their hilarity, I find these illustrations interesting because they show yet another side of Harry’s skillset.  These cartoonish illustrations are so different from anything else he did that, absent attribution, one would be hard-pressed to know that he did them.  Even his abbreviated signature for these illustrations was different.  Below are presented the major illustrations for both stories.