Previously unseen works from Sandwell-born Beano and Dandy artist at Wednesbury museum
It was the opening day of an exhibition celebrating the life and work of a famous illustrator.
And it has unearthed some of the never before seen intimate and telling pieces of Sandwell-born cartoonist Charlie 'Chas' Grigg including hand written notes and unpublished drawings.
Visitors flocked to Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery for the opening of exhibition on Wednesday – which will look to honour the cartoonist known as the man behind The Beano and The Dandy.
The show will give those attending the chance to see artefacts, original drawings, letters, unseen and unpublished images, and video interviews with Charlie who lived in the Rood End area of Langley as a young boy.
Museum service manager Jane Hanney said: "We have had lots of interest in it and certainly lots of people have phoned up and been interested in the exhibition.
"Lots of local people have expressed an interest and they did not know he was a local person.
"I think we will get lots of people that read The Beano and The Dandy when they were younger – it is a good opportunity for them to come along and see the works.
"There are things in here that were never published because he was a freelance cartoonist at one time. There is some really nice stuff that has come from his son who is keen to get the story told.
"We have got his desk on display that he used to do all the drawings on. We are hoping to get lots of people come through who are not necessarily into traditional artwork.
"We want to do lots of projects around the exhibition with schools and locals looking into cartooning and illustrating.
"The hope is it will put the museum on the map so we have some really nice visitors, who did not know we existed before, to come along and relive some of their youth at this behind the scenes look."
The exhibition, which runs through until November 2018, will later tour in a smaller form around local libraries.
It will be open at Wednesbury Museum and Art Gallery on Wednesday and Thursdays from 11am-4pm and on Saturdays from 2-5pm – with last entry at 30 minutes before closing.
During the exhibition run, there will be many other events, such as the launch of the book Our Best Kept Secret written by Billy Spakemon, otherwise known as Dr Brian Dakin, which tells the story of Charlie’s life as well as the project itself.
There will also be an opportunity to buy exclusive commemorative T-shirts produced by Black Country T Shirts.
The exhibition is the latest move to mark the work of Charlie and follows the installation of a blue plaque at Rood End Primary School where he was a pupil in his younger years.
The plaque for Charlie, which describes him as a children’s comic illustrator, celebrates his work for the two comics and describes him as one of the best illustrators in British comics.
