SALFORD SCHOOL OF ART, early days

We were very fortunate to be at Salford. The Principal was a stained glass man. and he trained at the Royal College of Art at the same time as F.C.Herrick who designed posters. He knew Newbould. He wasn't a painter but was interested in design and its possibilities. He converted the corridor into an exhibition space, painted white, and it was a great influence on me. He put out tables with magazines such as Gebrauchsgraphik, Harper's Bazaar, Cahiers D'Art and such like. He knew who Cassandre was. It was very unusual. Salford was better at this time than Manchester.

He accepted me on my parents' words, without seeing anything I'd done. It was easy to get into an art school then. I didn't have an interview.

There were lots of well-to-do girls at Salford, middle class girls who never really did anything there except gossip. They were filling in time before they got married but there were a few notable exceptions. It wasn't regimented at all like it is today. You weren't forced to be a graphic designer. I wasn't even in a group of graphic designers. I developed on my own. When I left art school, I wanted to do good things. I wanted to be as good as McKnight Kauffer. We would set our own projects and then show them to everybody.

There was quite a bit of Life Drawing. I didn't keep it up after we left. But I do enjoy drawing. Drawing is a way of finding out how things are. Very important. We did anatomy, with an old skeleton at this stage. There was the influence of the teachers there. They were very good. Martin Tyas and Reid, a Scotsman. Tyas took us for Graphic Art but all he used to do was just to talk to you. He was a very good designer. He wasn't full time. He couldn't bear anything slick. He had the highest of standards in his work and that he asked of the students. He'd give lectures sometimes and point out what was good in the world. There were so few people there. I only encountered three teachers in four years. Reid took us for Art History, that being the influence of the Principal.

At Christmas I was given Modern Publicity which was fascinating particularly because of its coverage of posters abroad

ECKERSLEY EARLY DRAWINGS C1934

There was man in Manchester called Paxton Chadwick who we thought was going to be the next Kauffer. Something happened though although he was very successful, and he got stuck.

I wanted to see my work on the hoardings but I didn't want a job. We tried agencies in Manchester but they were much worse than in London. In the early days my father kept me. I came south with a fellow pupil Eric Lombers and we approached people we would like to work for.