Attempted Bloggery: Mr. Lemon Hart

Showing posts with label Mr. Lemon Hart. Show all posts

Saturday, October 28, 2023

Ronald Searle: Mr. Lemon Hart Conducts

Ronald Searle's 1950's-era British advertising campaign for Lemon Hart Rum was extremely successful. His illustrations featured Mr. Lemon Hart, easily recognized by his elongated limbs and his lemon-colored suit. Original art of Mr. Lemon Hart conducting an orchestra was offered at Sotheby's London on July 18. The lot was given a presale estimate of 2,000 to 3,000 GBP. It did not find a buyer.

Ronald Searle
Sotheby's Books, Manuscripts and Music from Medieval to Modern, July 18, 2023, lot 295

https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/auction/2023/books-and-manuscripts-medieval-to-modern/ronald-searle-illustration-for-lemon-hart-rum

Ronald Searle
Sotheby's lot description
"Searle contributed to Lemon Hart Rum advertising campaigns for eleven years, between 1955 and 1962." How's that again? The ads started in 1951.

Note: For information on the long-running ad campaign, the definitive source is Perpetua, the Ronald Searle Tribute blog, right here. At this writing, the artwork and its corresponding print ad is not included in Matt Jones's comprehensive post. I would appreciate hearing from anyone who can locate a published version.

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Thursday, July 6, 2023

Ronald Searle: Two Lemon Hart Rum Posters

It isn't easy finding posters of the tall and spindly Mr. Lemon Hart, Ronald Searle's popular 1950s creation for a very successful advertising campaign in support of Lemon Hart Rum. It is even more impressive to find such posters in good condition retaining their vibrant colors. One would expect a strong market for these in Great Britain, where Searle's advertising images once created a sensation and where his art is still prized today. But this pair of posters came to auction last year in Italy, and the response was lukewarm at best.

Ronald Searle
Aste Bolaffi auction ended October 20, 2022

https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ronald-searle-1920-2011-lemon-hart-1960-71-c-acb406ea98?objectID=174279455&algIndex=undefined&queryID=413dbc0be481d9c54cdbbaf9a5d34101

Ronald Searle
Aste Bolaffi auction ended October 20, 2022
https://www.invaluable.com/auction-lot/ronald-searle-1920-2011-lemon-hart-1960-72-c-0574a82a22?objectID=174279456&algIndex=upcoming_lots_prod&queryID=dd49e86c1fb2fa2eda9c3b424bd369dd#

Note: If you'd like to know more about Ronald Searle's extraordinary ad campaign for Lemon Hart Rum (and Lamb's Navy Rum), check out Matt Jones's post here.

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Friday, November 20, 2020

Ronald Searle: Lemon Hart Rum Tandem Bicycle Poster

Mr. Lemon Hart and Mr. Lamb take their respective dark rums for a ride on a tandem bicycle in an advertising poster by Ronald Searle. Here the campaign was, like the bicycle, built for two. It ran between 1951 and 1962, propelled forward for just over a decade despite that rather limp bicycle chain.

Ronald Searle
eBay listing accessed November 20, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Original-vintage-poster-RUM-LEMON-HART-TANDEM-CYCLE-1956-Searle/153710443014?hash=item23c9db3a06:g:b5QAAOSwy6JdwEdi

Ronald Searle
eBay item description

Note: Want to see more? Ronald Searle's work for the Lemon Hart Rum advertising campaign is exhaustively documented in a 2007 post by Matt Jones on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle tribute blog, here. It includes this very poster.

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Thursday, November 19, 2020

Ronald Searle: Mr. Lemon Hart Says: "How to Make Rum Drinks Like a Pro..."

Not later than 1963, importer Julius Wile Sons & Co. produced an eight-page booklet to introduce an American audience to Lemon Hart rum, the best selling rum in England. The short recipe collection bears the slightly ungainly title of Mr. Lemon Hart Says: "How to Make Rum Drinks Like a Pro..." The "pro" behind these mixed drink creations is credited as Don the Beachcomber of Hollywood. The drawings featuring Mr. Lemon Hart are the work of Ronald Searle, "the famous English cartoonist" (Americans!) who provided the distinctive look for the British advertising campaign. This year is his centenary, so he would have been in his forties when these illustrations were made. The booklet is rare today; hence the high price realized on eBay. The listing is archived here as a public service. Cheers!

Ronald Searle
Mr. Lemon Hart Says: "How to Make Rum Drinks Like a Pro..."
eBay listing ended October 13, 2020

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vtg-Mr-LEMON-HART-Says-How-To-Make-RUM-DRINKS-Like-Pro-RECIPE-BOOKLET-Tiki-Guide-/373258583222?ul_noapp=true&autorefresh=true&nma=true&si=WEtIFz5%252FkfY9UxP8WWeB%252FCaqeVQ%253D&orig_cvip=true&nordt=true&rt=nc&_trksid=p2047675.l2557

Ronald Searle
Mr. Lemon Hart Says: "How to Make Rum Drinks Like a Pro..."
eBay item description

Ronald Searle
Mr. Lemon Hart Says: "How to Make Rum Drinks Like a Pro..."
eBay bid history
Four bidders have a go at it.

February 26, 2022 Update: This booklet was advertised during the summer of 1963 in The New Yorker. I have therefore revised my original conjecture that the promotion first appeared in the 1950s.

https://archives.newyorker.com/newyorker/1963-07-20/flipbook/078/

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Tuesday, February 25, 2020

Ronald Searle: Lemon Hart Rum Poster

Advertising for the Lemon Hart Rum campaign illustrated by Ronald Searle between 1951 and 1962 generally carries the tag lines "Have a good rum for your money" and, less often, "Two in harmony." The "two" refers to both Lemon Hart Rum, represented by the tall and spindly Mr. Lemon Hart in his lemon-colored suit, and Lamb's Navy Rum, represented by the short and stout Mr. Lamb in, of course, navy blue. How does one choose between the two dark rums? We can surmise that even Mr. Lemon Hart fancies the taste of both. A vintage advertising poster shows Mr. Lemon Hart and Mr. Lamb demonstrating some excellent teamwork, up to a point. It was sold on eBay late in 2017 for a very reasonable $149.

Ronald Searle
eBay Listing Ended December 16, 2017

Ronald Searle
eBay Item Description

Note: Ronald Searle's work for the Lemon Hart Rum advertising campaign is exhaustively documented in "Let's toast to the New Year with Lemon Hart Rum!" This 2007 post by Matt Jones appears on Perpetua, the Ronald Searle tribute blog, here.

Need I remind you that Ronald Searle's centenary will be celebrated next week on the third of March?

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Saturday, June 3, 2017

Ronald Searle: Lemon Hart Rum Acrobats

Lemon Hart and Son today calls itself the first official purveyor of rum to the British Royal Navy; presumably the Navy had earlier unofficial rum purveyors as well. Lamb's Navy Rum is a global blend created by 22-year-old Alfred Lamb in 1849. Lemon Hart Rum and Lamb's Navy Rum were the subjects of an extensive advertising campaign by Ronald Searle between 1951 and 1962. Mr. Lamb is depicted as a rotund older gentleman and Mr. Lemon Hart is the elongated man about town. Slogans for the campaign were "Have a good rum for your money" and occasionally, "Two in harmony." A poster depicting the two as acrobats, with Mr. Lamb improbably balanced above, was offered on eBay in 2015 for $1,100. Although it was available for months with the Make Offer option, the eventual buyer took no chances and grabbed it outright at full price.