The Journal of the British Puppet and
Model Theatre Guild
The very first issue of The Puppet Master was published
in January 1946, so the year 2000 marked fifty four years of continuous
publication, a milestone in the history of both the journal and
the Guild.
Issue Number One was remarkable in that it appeared less than
a year after the end of the war and with paper shortages and life
by no means back to normal, the first editor Arthur E Peterson
managed to produce an issue of twenty pages full of news of the
world of puppetry re-emerging after the end of the hostilities.
This issue of The Puppet Master can be said to be the first
real magazine published by the Guild.
The first issue of The Puppet Master in 1946
During the war years there had been a duplicated newsletter
entitled Wartime Bulletin (of which no less than seventeen
issues appeared) and pre-war communication with members had been
through a newsletter entitled Notes and News. This latter
publication appeared from the inception of the Guild in 1925 right
up to August 1939 and the outbreak of war, in a variety of formats,
ranging from simple four and eight page folders to typewritten
duplicated leaves.
Interestingly the first issue contains a Sales and Wants column
(Charge Id. a word and Box numbers 4d. extra) and includes the
following advertisement :
|
FOR SALE: Forty members of the well-known and
widely travelled D’Arc Marionette Company, 30in. to 36in.,
well preserved. Costumes in good condition. Have visited most
countries of the world including China. |
Looking through the file copies of the magazine produced over
the years is a fascinating exercise. During its lifetime The
Puppet Master has had thirteen editors, (fourteen really if
you count Ken Barnard who was persuaded to do the job on two separate
occasions!)
EDITORS of The Puppet Master
|
Arthur Peterson |
1946-1950 |
|
Gerald Morice |
1950-1952 |
|
Frederick Barlow |
1952-1954 |
|
Ken Barnard |
1954-1956 |
|
Jan Bussell |
1956-1960 |
|
Jane Phillips |
1960-1964 |
|
Bill Meacock |
1964-1966 |
|
Ken Barnard |
1967-1973 |
|
Jan & Penny King |
1974 |
|
Hilary Boynton |
1975-1976 |
|
Doreen Slennett |
1978-1979 |
|
Stan Parker |
1981-1987 |
|
Dermot O'Brien |
1988-1990 |
|
Brian Hibbitt |
1991 to date |
The influence that individual editors have made on both the content
and format often reflects their own interests but also the changes
in both puppetry, magazine design and changes in society generally.
The format of the magazine has changed several times (much to
the disgust of those members who tried to bind their copies together
into complete volumes).
They were not helped either, by the somewhat erratic method of
numbering the issues, which over the years has led to no little
confusion, since some numbers are missing and some are even duplicated!
Financing the magazine has clearly always been a problem, time
and time again there are references by the editors to the limitations
imposed upon them, but one way or another the magazine has always
appeared. Many of the past editors are inevitably no longer with
us, but happily some still are, and surprisingly are still open
to persuasion to put pen to paper and to record their memories
of the task of putting together a magazine that hopefully still
entertains, informs and communicates with members of the Guild.
The current issue of The Puppet Master
Brian Hibbitt, Editor
IN RETROSPECT
by KEN BARNARD
Editor 1954-56 and 1967-73
I edited The Puppet Master for a number of years. Initially
it was published monthly. Some of the council did not know me
and were rather distant.
I changed the format, style of type etc. I wrote Mr and Mrs Bussell
instead of Anne Hogarth and Jan Bussell - Black Mark! I also messed
up the volume and issue numbers which nearly drove poor old Tom
Howard mad.
As editor you have to be impartial and I hope the material I printed
was worthy of its place. I can't remember causing too many upsets;
mind you, quite a lot of the articles were written as fillers
with initials of unknown members attached.
I passed on the editorship to Jan Bussell, an expert in his own
field, but whose knowledge of layout and printing were zero, but
I gave him a few tips and it went on. The present format is quite
top class and it is now a magazine that we can all be proud of.
THE DELIGHTS OF EDITORSHIP
by DERMOT O’BRIEN
Editor 1988-90
I was only Editor for two editions of The Puppet Master
but I well remember the problems on the second of these. I had
decided to make a big feature of the work of a young lad who was
studying drama at the local college in Stratford. He had set out
to produce a traditional Indian shadow show, starting from scratch,
and with no previous knowledge of the medium. His research and
the final results were so impressive that I thought they should
be recorded and The Puppet Master seemed the ideal place.
However, the problems were enormous. He disappeared to South America
half way through me writing the article! At the same time, my
ever-so-reasonable printer decided she should earn real money
and so I had to search out another. Such are the delights of Editorship!
LOOKING BACK
by STAN PARKER
Editor 1981-87
At the time I took over The Puppet Master there were
strong feelings by some members of the Guild Committee that the
magazine should be done away with altogether - to save money.
Of course these people were Londoners and did not realize that
the biggest drawback of a puppet player in the Provinces was isolation,
and that The Puppet Master was providing a valuable link. Although
I was well supported by Tom Howard, Jan Bussell, and Peter Baldwin,
I soon realized that British puppeteers were rather lazy when
it came to contributing articles - they could write about themselves,
but very little about the technical side, or anything which would
create stimulation. Therefore I had to look abroad, and also write
many articles myself.
The 60th Year of the Guild was an extended issue and quite interesting
(Vol.13 No. 5.)
The biggest problem I faced was the fact that I was allowed only
one issue a year, and to find interesting articles which had not
already been covered in Animations or the British UNIMA
Bulletin was difficult.
HAPPY MEMORIES
by JANE PHILLIPS
Editor 1960-64
I was a very young 24 when I took on the job. Now I am past
60, and looking back, I wonder how I had the courage to attempt
it as I had absolutely no qualifications for the job.
At the time it was to have been a joint appointment with my friend
Jane Tyson (now Jane Eve) and it came as a royal command from
Jan Bussell which at the time we dared not refuse. The other Jane
answered the offer with her usual quiet composure: she accepted
a wonderful once in a lifetime offer to join the Salzburg Marionettes,
and that left me with the magazine.
I only managed eleven issues of The Puppet Master, starting
in May 1960 and ending with
four issues in a larger format. These last four nearly bankrupted
me and the Guild coffers!
The technology was different too. What I would have given for
an Apple Mac and a scanner in those days! Bus rides to cheaper
printers in the next town and coaxing and begging for free help
with drawings and lay-out from a kind but poor lecturer at Newport
Art College, and the weight of all those printing blocks! Still
it was an education and I learned a great deal from it and made
many new and valuable friends worldwide. Looking back, I am most
proud of the Punch Issue I did to commemorate his Tercentenary
Celebrations and the plaque set up in Covent Garden in 1962. To
buy back a copy I had to pay £5 a year or so ago. I had
always hoped those four issues would become collector's items!
The third issue also coincided with the arrival of photo-litho
methods and the end of printing blocks which meant even more pictures
as they were cheaper to reproduce. But the key to the whole problem
was raising circulation and obtaining revenue from advertisements.
The battle, no doubt, still goes on. But now, of course, I would
be hankering for the whole thing done in colour! ! ! ! !
I must not forget to recall all those amazing characters I met
for the first time at Guild Council Meetings in that cellar in
the heart of the City of London. They all deserve a mention but
I will single out dear Tom Howard who did an invaluable job as
Archivist over the years and catalogued the Guild's vast collection
before it was handed on to the Theatre Museum. Tom and I shared
a love of ballet as well as puppets and I admired all the dedication
and fine detail he endlessly brought to notes and written reports.
I still read The Puppet Master with great enjoyment and
though my contribution to the Guild is practically nil these days,
it is good that it still exists. To members of the Guild who live
far from London and cannot easily afford to travel, this magazine
is invaluable; the most useful link apart from the excellent Newsletters
for which also deserve a medal. So, thank you for continuing to
publish our Puppet Master and the Guild's Newsletters. Congratulations!
And here's to the next 50 years!
