Ilkley Music Man
In April 1973 I was a visitor at the first Ilkley Literature Festival, inaugurated by W.H.Auden, as friends of mine were performing there.
I cannot remember the venue for the festival – but I do remember seeing a man with a “hurdy-gurdy” and took a photograph.
In October 2024 I made a linoprint of the subject. Fifty-one years from photo to print must be a record!
The man is actually not playing a hurdy-gurdy which is a violin-shaped object with a handle which when turned makes leather or wooden discs to rub against pre-tuned strings. The discs are called “gismos”. Very popular as a street instrument in the nineteenth century – they are now rarely seen.
The man in my print is simply playing a large music box mounted on a pole.
The print is on large paper (A3) and took a lot of cutting – especially cutting away all the white space!
Notice that before proofing I have already cleared the top of the music box - I added some 70's flowers to complete the image.