LINGSTROM, Freda (1893-1989). Norway, for real Winter sport.
Original lithograph with colour, linen backed, published by Norwegian State Railways, printed in England, c.1922. 1010 x 630 mm.
Lingstrom gained her first job at Alf Cooke's London works as a designer, where she stayed for 15 months. After periods at Carlton Studios and Norfolk, Lingstrom decided in 1922 to work on her own. Her first clients were railway companies, including the London and North Eastern Railway, the Underground Group and the Norwegian state railway. The Norwegian and Swedish government commissioned her to design Scandinavian travel material for the English market.
Freda and her friend Maria Bird together went on to create Andy Pandy and The Flower Pot Men.
In 1940, Lingstrom was hired by the BBC. In 1947, she was asked to take the role of Assistant Head of BBC Schools Broadcasting and created the lunchtime programme Listen with Mother. She was then approached by the Head of Television Talks, Mary Adams, to create a programme for an experimental slot aimed at very young children and called For The Very Young. Eventually, Lingstrom and Maria Bird set up Westerham Arts (named after Westerham, where they lived) to produce the first pre-filmed version of their Andy Pandy. Lingstrom and Bird wrote the scripts and Bird composed the music. A chance meeting on a train introduced Lingstrom to Audrey Atterbury, who was persuaded to study under the puppeteer John Wright of the Little Angel Theatre in London.
Lingstrom lived in Chartwell Cottage, Mapleton Lane, Chartwell, near Westerham in Kent, with Maria Bird, a close friend and co-creator of her TV characters. Both had lost fiancés in the First World War.
This is a very rare poster and one of the earliest examples of a Norwegian skiing scene on a poster.
#2121570