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In a colour cartoon by William Heath Robinson, a man answers the phone from his bath desk.

Work from Your Bath

Written by Sheldrake Editor on . Posted in Blog, Heath Robinson.

Are you tired of working from home? Try working from your bath, says Heath Robinson. An artist turned humourist, he elevated the everyday to a level of delightful absurdity, sketching solutions to every conceivable problem, including this Combination Bath and Writing Desk. This month we publicize his work in Who Do You Think You Are? magazine.

Front cover of February issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine.
The 200th issue of Who Do You Think You Are? magazine comes out this month.

The editors of this popular family history magazine are celebrating its 200th issue  with competitions and special offers, including one from us. We are giving readers of the magazine a 20% discount on Very Heath Robinson, a collection of funny drawings that will waft you away on a magic carpet of silliness. ‘It’s immediately recognizable,’ says Philip Pullman, ‘and immensely lovable.’

To readers of Who Do You Think You Are?

Order Very Heath Robinson: Stories of His Absurdly Ingenious World by Friday 10th February, using the code printed in the magazine, and we’ll pop in a Heath Robinson Valentine Card charmingly entitled L’Art Mutuel. You will have both present and card to give to your lover with no further effort than clicking here.

Reliving the past

We all know that those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it. The television series Who Do You Think You Are? provides a direct journey into the past by uncovering one person’s family history at a time. You can never forget seeing Jeremy Paxman shed a tear when he learns how a not-so-distant ancestor ended up in the workhouse. In a flash, you’re back in Victorian England, reliving the harshness of life before the welfare state. Heath Robinson provides a similarly direct connection, capturing in his swift and well-observed sketches just how radically technological progress was transforming society in the first half of the 20th century.

On this Heath Robinson Valentine card entitled L’Art Mutuel, a couple sit together, painting in a field.
L’Art Mutuel is Heath Robinson’s recipe for togetherness.

We can learn just as much from discovering how people lived in the day-to-day as from reading weighty accounts of politics and war. Who Do You think You Are? magazine is full of tips for finding your way back into your own family history. Very Heath Robinson opens a window straight into the lives of our grandparents and great-grandparents, with technological and social commentary from the science writer and television presenter Adam Hart-Davis and a Foreword from Philip Pullman conveying the pleasures of a more mechanical age.

Choose another card

If you are a reader of Who Do You Think You Are? and you have missed Valentine’s Day, we invite you to pick another card from this collection. List it in the Notes section when you order Very Heath Robinson and we will send you whichever you choose. This offer closes on 28th February 2023.