Sydney George Hulme Beaman (28 February 1887Baker, Hendrik. The Book of Toytown and Larry the Lamb. – 4 February 1932), better known as S.G. Hulme Beaman, was a British author, actor and illustrator. He was best known as the creator of the Toytown stories and their characters, including Larry the Lamb.General Register Office; United Kingdom; Volume: 3a; Page: 584. England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007 [database on-line]. He also illustrated the 1930s John Lane edition of a Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde.
Early life Beaman was born in Tottenham, London, on 28 February 1887, the eldest of three children. As a child he was particularly interested in mechanical objects. According to his lifelong friend Hendrik Baker, his attention to detail in his work came from his father.
Artistic career Beaman attended the Heatherley School of Fine Art, and during that period founded the theatre group known as the Dickens Fellowship, which led to him being invited to perform at smoking concerts. He met his wife, Maud Mary Poltock, during these performances. After his stint there he turned to making wooden toys, taking advantage of the fact that Germany was no longer the dominant force in the industry. He began to weave stories around them, which led to the birth of Toytown in 1928.
May Jenkin, or "Aunt Elizabeth", arranged for his Toytown stories to be adapted into radio plays for Children's Hour, and when they became successful she wrote to Hulme Beaman demanding more.Comprehensive article about Toytown at ukonline Beaman used to work out his ideas for the show in a miniature theatre at his home, using his original models.
Prior to his creating the Toytown series, Hulme Beaman was already well known for having created the strip cartoon Philip and Phido in 1923.Profile at the Montacute TV Radio Toy Museum This was about a boy and his dog, and featured early versions of characters later to be in Toytown.
He was often in the studio while his work was being broadcast, and occasionally took part in the programme. This continued until the last Tuesday before his death. Later in his career he was inspired by the early Walt Disney cartoons to create marionette and animated renditions of his Toytown play The Arkville Dragon. He died on 4 February 1932 of pneumonia: however, his plays were remounted for radio until 1964, and his friend Hendrik Baker would adapt his original plays for stage, vinyl and television over the next six decades.
Bibliography As author and illustrator YearTitlePublisherReprints1922Bunny's New House and The Fire EngineThomas Nelson and Sons Ltd. (in The Youngest Omnibus)1934, 1946, 19521924AladdinJohn Lane, The Bodley HeadN/A1925The Road to ToytownOxford University Press1938 (in Stories from Toytown), 1979 (in The Book of Toytown and Larry the Lamb), 1985 (in Toytown and Larry the Lamb)Trouble in ToylandN/AJerry and JoeThe Wooden Knight1926The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the SailorJohn Lane, The Bodley HeadN/A1927Teddy's New JobFrederick Warne & Co.1928 (in Out of the Ark), 1930, 1934 (both in The Toytown Book)Wally the KangarooGrunty the PigJimmy the Baby ElephantHam and the EggJenny the GiraffePig-Pig and the Three BearsOxford University PressN/A1928Tales of Toytown1930 (as Ernest the Policeman), 1939, 19461929John TrustyCollins1938, 19511930Wireless in Toytown1939The Toytown Mystery1938Stories from ToytownOxford University Press (published posthumously)1942, 1985 (as Toytown and Larry the Lamb)
As illustrator YearTitleAuthor1926These Old ShadesGeorgette Heyer1930Three DaughtersOlive Heseltine (as Jane Dashwood)The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr HydeRobert Louis Stevenson (originally published 1886)1931The Smith FamilyH. C. Cradock
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