Pearl Binder

Pearl Binder, Baroness Elwyn-Jones (pronounced /ˈbaɪndə/;^[1] 28 June 1904 – 25 January 1990)^[2][3] was a British writer, illustrator, stained-glass artist, lithographer, sculptor and a champion of the Pearly Kings and Queens.

The Right Honourable The Lady Elwyn-Jones
Born	Pearl Binder (1904-06-28)28 June 1904 Salford, England
Died	25 January 1990(1990-01-25) (aged 85) Brighton, England
Nationality	British
Education	Central School of Art and Design
Known for	Writing, illustration
Spouse	Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones ​ ​ (m. 1937; died 1989)​

Binder was a well-known character who had a lifelong fascination with the East End of London, where she settled in the 1920s. In 1974, she became Lady Elwyn-Jones, when her husband, the politician and lawyer Elwyn Jones, was appointed Lord Chancellor and made a life peer, taking the title Baron Elwyn-Jones.^[4]

Early life

Pearl "Polly" Binder was born in Salford in Greater Manchester. Her father was Jacob Binderevski, a Jewish tailor^[3] who came to Britain in 1890 and shortly afterwards became a British citizen. Her mother's name, origins and profession are not recorded in any of the artist's biographies.^{[citation needed]}

Career

Binder moved to London after the first world war and studied art at Central School of Art and Design, with a focus on lithography.^[5] In this time Binder drew scenes from everyday life in London that she made into lithographs. She published a series that illustrated "The Real East End" by Thomas Burke, a popular writer who ran a pub in Poplar at the time. Binder's illustrations are an intimate, first-hand portrayal of grimy London life in that era.^[6] In 1933 Binder was one of the founders of the left-wing Artists' International Association.^[7][8]

In 1937, Binder was involved in the earliest days of television broadcasting for children.^[4] That year, she co-presented Clothes-Line with the fashion historian James Laver. This live six-part series was the first television programme on the history of fashion. As she did not give birth to her daughter Josephine until 6 January 1938 – less than a month after the last episode transmitted – Binder could well have been the first heavily pregnant woman to appear on television.^[9]

In the course of her life, Binder travelled extensively in Russia and China, designed a musical,^[10] designed costumes for a theatre company, wrote stories for children, designed a Pearly mug and plate for Wedgwood, and instigated and executed a series of armorial windows at the House of Lords.^[5][11]

Personal life

In 1937, she married Elwyn Jones. They had three children: fashion historian Lou Taylor,^[9] artist and activist Dan Jones,^[12][13] and the children's author Josephine Gladstone,^[9] whose books she illustrated. After her death, her son-in-law, Joe Taylor recalled, "She was a woman who had great concern for others, especially women - she was a very keen supporter of women's rights", always keeping the name Pearl Binder next to her husband's name on the plaque outside their flat.^[3]

Death

Binder died in Brighton on 25 January 1990 aged 86, seven weeks after the death of her husband.^[3][14]

Publications

As illustrator

• Hobson, Coralie (1926). Bed and Breakfast. London: Bodley Head.
• Sieveking, L. de Giberne (1927). All children must be paid for. London: The Bodley Head.
• Austen, Jane (1929) [First published 1817]. Persuasion. New York: Walter McKee - The Bath Edition.
• Skelton, John (1928) [First published 1550]. The Tunning of Elynour Rumming. London: Fanfrolico Press. OCLC 650452028.
• Driberg, J. H. (1930). People of the Small Arrow. London: Routledge.
• de Nerval, Gérard (1932) [First published 1855]. Aurélia. Translated by Aldington, Richard. London: Chatto and Windus. OCLC 2329231.
• Burke, Thomas (1932). The Real East End. London: Constable.
• Radclyffe, E. J. D. (1932). Magic and Mind. London: A & C Clack.
• Godfrey, Philip (1933). Back-Stage, A Survey of the Contemporary English Theatre from Behind the Scenes. London: George Harrup. OCLC 488314978.
• Coppard, A. E. (1934). These Hopes of Heaven. London: Blue Moon Press.
• Lindsay, Jack (1935). The Romans. London: A & C Black. OCLC 6888705.
• Malnick, Bertha (1938). Everyday Life in Russia. London: George Harrup. OCLC 681481050.
• Glanville, Stephen (1953). The Egyptians. London: A & C Black. OCLC 869405326.
• Marquand, Josephine (1964). Chi Ming and the Tiger Kitten. New York: Franklyn Watts.
• Ordish, George (1967). Pigeons and people. London: Dennis Dobson. OCLC 561856801.
• Marquand, Josephine (1969). Chi Ming and the Lion Dance. London: Dobson. ISBN 9780234779927.
• Marquand, Josephine (1970). Chi Ming and the Writing Lesson. New York: Franklin Watts. OCLC 69143.
• Gladstone, Josephine (1974). Chi Ming and the Jade Ear-ring. London: Dobson. ISBN 978-0234774908.

As author and illustrator

• Binder, Pearl (1935). Odd Jobs. London: G. G. Harrup. OCLC 558092306.
• — (1936). Misha and Masha. London: Gollancz.
• — (1942). Russian Families. London: A & C Black. OCLC 181846291.
• — (1942). Misha learns English. Harmondsworth: Penguin Books (PP25). OCLC 1238560327.
• — (1953). Muffs and Morals. London: George Harrap. OCLC 1450338.
• — (1958). The Peacock's Tail. London: George Harrup. OCLC 558092313.
• — (1959). Look at Clothes. London: Hamish Hamilton.
• — (1961). The English inside out; an up to date report on morals and manners in England. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. OCLC 1347857.
• — (1972). Magic symbols of the world. London and New York: Hamish Hamilton. ISBN 9780600025450.
• —; Ordish, George (1972). Ladies Only. Dobson. ISBN 978-0234776971.
• — (1974). Treacle Terrace. London: Dennis Dobson. ISBN 978-0234775141.
• — (1975). The Pearlies : a social record. London: Jupiter Books. ISBN 9780904041187.
• — (1977). Treasure islands : the trials of the Ocean Islanders. Blond and Briggs. ISBN 9780856340710.
• — (1986). Dressing up, dressing down. London: Allen & Unwin. ISBN 9780043910122.
  • — (1988). Doresuappu doresudaun. Translated by Suginome, Yasuko. Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten. ISBN 978-4000014960. – Japanese translation of Dressing up, dressing down
• — (1986). The Truth About Cora Pearl. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson. ISBN 9780297785903.