A warm welcome to my blog, which I have set up as a place of musings, chatter and general notes-to-self about my ongoing research topic: the material culture of the English Romani gypsies.
The colour, spirit and warmth of gypsy art has always attracted me, but my fascination was really inspired by a book I found in a charity shop in 2009. Enchanted by the title - The Moon in my Pocket - and the lovely wrapper illustrations, I handed over the slightly breathtaking sum of £25 (which I have since learnt is not expensive). This purchase introduced me to the writings of Rupert Croft-Cooke, a friend of the gypsies in the 1940s. It is to him that I dedicate this blog.
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| Rupert Croft-Cooke, The Moon in my Pocket: Life with the Romanies (London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co, 1948). The front and spine illustrations are by the British artist Laurence Scarfe (1914-93), who worked in many visual disciplines, including illustration, graphic design, fine art, mural painting and ceramic decoration, at the Royal College of Art, Central School of Art, Brighton Polytechnic and elsewhere. His papers from 1935-83 are held by the Victoria and Albert Museum's Archive of Art and Design. Incidentally, the chimney of the caravan (vardo) is in the wrong place, which must have irritated Croft-Cooke no end. (In a later book, he mentions losing respect for illustrators who fail to place the chimney to the immediate left of the front door. More on this later!) |
