The Christmas present that comes with this article is an original artwork by Britain’s greatest living illustrator, Quentin Blake. By happy chance, this Friday – 16 December – is also his 90th birthday. Hip hip hooray!
It is not the first illustration he has drawn for this magazine, which is why it’s very apt that he depicts an old Quentin speaking to a younger version of himself. From 1959, when he created one of the first illustrated Spectator front pages, through the 1960s, and occasionally after that, he has produced enticing Spectator covers to illustrate either the content or the season, including eight Christmas issues.
His first Spectator cover was the issue of 29 May 1959. It was a seasonal cover, not related to a specific article, and featured two lovely plump Scottish grouse. He followed it up with the cover for the autumn issue of the same year, featuring a Tudor couple picking grapes.
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