Margaret Macadam (1902–1991) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

illustrator An illustrator is an artist who specializes in enhancing writing or elucidating concepts by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text or idea. The illustration may be intended to clarify complicate ...

who was active in the 1920s and 1930s. In 1923-24, she was a member of the

Society of Women Artists The Society of Women Artists (SWA) is a British art body dedicated to celebrating and promoting fine art created by women. It was founded as the Society of Female Artists (SFA) in 1855, offering women artists the opportunity to exhibit and sell ...

, and in 1925, she was awarded a scholarship to the

Royal Academy Schools The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House in Piccadilly London, England. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its ...

where a fellow student was Amy Elton, who would later become her sister-in-law. Among her commercial works are several

dust jacket The dust jacket (sometimes book jacket, dust wrapper or dust cover) of a book is the detachable outer cover, usually made of paper and printed with text and illustrations. This outer cover has folded flaps that hold it to the front and back book ...

designs for

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

-based publishers, with one of her most notable designs being the dust jacket for the first edition of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English people, English author known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving ...

's first straight novel ''

Giant's Bread ''Giant's Bread'' is a novel by British writer Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by Collins in April 1930 and in the US by Doubleday later in the same year. The UK edition retailed for seven shillings and sixpence (7/6) and the US e ...

''. In 2016, an archive of Macadam's work was discovered, allowing her work on "Giant's Bread" to be connected to other known designs. The original artwork for Giant's Bread was sold for £550 in 2016. She is also known to have designed wallpaper, and greetings cards for Medici, London. Other examples of her work include a painting titled ''1933''. In May 1936 she married Francis Beart, who was already well-known as a racing motor cyclist and motor cycle tuner. Beart later gained recognition for tuning

Formula Three Formula Three (F3) is a third-tier class of open-wheel formula racing. The various championships held in Europe, Australia, South America and Asia form an important step for many prospective Formula One drivers. History Formula Three (adop ...

racing cars. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

she trained as a

nurse Nursing is a health care profession that "integrates the art and science of caring and focuses on the protection, promotion, and optimization of health and human functioning; prevention of illness and injury; facilitation of healing; and alle ...

in the

Voluntary Aid Detachment The Voluntary Aid Detachment (VAD) was a voluntary unit of civilians providing nursing care for military personnel in the United Kingdom and various other countries in the British Empire. The most important periods of operation for these units we ...

(VAD) while her husband worked as an engineer for the

Bristol Aeroplane Company The Bristol Aeroplane Company, originally the British and Colonial Aeroplane Company, was both one of the first and one of the most important British aviation companies, designing and manufacturing both airframes and aircraft engines. Notable ...

. Her father, Charles Leslie Bernard Macadam, and her grandfather, Charles Thomas Macadam, both worked in the fertiliser industry, while her great-grandfather was William Macadam of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

Book dust jacket designs

Among her known works are: * ''

'' by Mary Westmacott, a nom-de-plume of

(1930)

William Collins, Sons William Collins, Sons & Co., often referred to as Collins, was a Scotland, Scottish printing and publishing company founded by a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian schoolmaster, William Collins (publisher), William Collins, in Glasgow in 1819, in par ...

- 'Collins', London - first edition. * ''Water into Wine'' by Catherine Cotton (1930) Collins, London - dust jacket for overseas edition. * ''This Siren Song'' by

Ernest Elmore Ernest Carpenter Elmore (4 November 1901 – 8 November 1957) was an English theatre producer and director, and writer of crime and fantasy novels. He wrote his crime novels under the pseudonym John Bude. Life Elmore was born in Maidstone, Kent ...

(1930) Collins, London - dust jacket for first edition. * ''Living One's Life'' by Evelyn Pember (1932) Collins, London - dust jacket for first edition. * ''Joseph Kerkhoven's Third Existence'' by

Jacob Wassermann Jacob Joseph Wassermann (born January 9, 2000) is a Canadian pararower and former ice hockey goaltender. Paralyzed from the waist down in 2018 from the Humboldt Broncos bus crash, he represented Canada at the 2024 Summer Paralympics. Career ...

(1934)

Allen & Unwin George Allen & Unwin was a British publishing company formed in 1911 when Sir Stanley Unwin purchased a controlling interest in George Allen & Co. It became one of the leading publishers of the twentieth century and established an Australian ...

, London - dust jacket for first UK edition. * ''Blind Mouths'' by Thomas Frederic Tweed (1934) Arthur Barker, London - dust jacket for first edition. * ''Neighbours'' by George Thomas (1935)

Williams & Norgate Williams and Norgate were publishers and book importers in London and Edinburgh. They specialized in both British and foreign scholarly and scientific literature. Williams & Norgate was founded in the winter of 1842 by Edmund Sydney Williams (181 ...

, Ltd., London - dust jacket for first edition. * ''The Barbarians'' by

Virginia Faulkner Virginia Louise Faulkner (1 March 1913 – 15 September 1980) was an American writer and editor. Personal life Virginia Faulkner was born in Lincoln, Nebraska in 1913. Her father Edwin J. Faulkner (1884–1931) was general counsel of the Woo ...

(1935) Arthur Barker, London - dust jacket for first edition. * ''Humour'' by

Stephen Leacock Stephen Butler Leacock (30 December 1869 – 28 March 1944) was a Canadian teacher, political scientist, writer, and humourist. Between the years 1915 and 1925, he was the best-known English-speaking humourist in the world. Early life S ...

(1935)

The Bodley Head The Bodley Head is an English book publishing imprint of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1887 by John Lane and Elkin Mathews, The Bodley Head existed as an independent entity or as part of multiple consortia until it was acquired by Random ...

, London - dust jacket for first edition.Copy listed on Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Humour-Theory-Technique-Examples-Samples/dp/B0010JRR8S Not all her dust jackets are signed, but those for ''Water into Wine'', ''Joseph Kerkhoven's Third Existence'', ''Blind Mouths'', ''Neighbours'', ''The Barbarians'' and ''Humour'' are.

References

{{Use dmy dates, date=November 2016 20th-century British artists 20th-century British women artists British illustrators 1902 births 1991 deaths