MY MUM
A CARTOON LIFE, PART 2:
“THE CHANGING FACE OF LEYTONSTONE, E11”
A few weeks ago I posted this thread about my late Mum, Rose Mortleman, who passed away in August with Alzheimer's. I was overwhelmed by the amount of interest in her life and work.
Since she mostly only drew cartoons for close friends and family, and didn’t make copies, much of her work has been lost, but a request at her funeral unearthed a few gems like this card from the early 60s, as well as something rather special from the 70s.
This is my mum, Rose Mortleman, as a teenager in about 1945 outside the 2-up, 2-down terraced house in Twickenham where she grew up with her mum, dad, elderly gran and several pets. It looks like a bubblegum bubble has burst on her face, but it's just foxing on the old photo.
From an early age, Mum loved to draw. This is the Mickey Mouse annual her dad gave her for Xmas in 1938. She's drawn on the flysheet. For a 7-year-old, she already showed some 'tooning talent, no?