This drawing in pen, ink and grey watercolour is one of a series of five that Quentin Blake made to accompany the book “Thanks to Jennings” that was narrated by Ronnie Corbett on Jackanory in 1969. The illustration is of a large scale as it was made to be shown on television. In this illustration a schoolboy is shown standing before a seated man with a briefcase. Although currently unidentified, this figure also appears in E.500-2007 and E.498-2007, and is presumably another teacher with a significant role in the book.

“Thanks to Jennings” comes from a series of 25 Jennings books which Anthony Buckeridge (1912-2004) wrote between 1950 and 1994. These humorous children’s books were set in a boy’s boarding school during the years after World War Two. The humour of the books draws on the combination of this setting with the misunderstandings resulting in the actions of by the impulsive Jennings his more cautious best friend, Darbyshire. While illustrating a moment from “Thanks to Jennings” this work effectively creates a sense of the interaction between the different personalities of a cheeky schoolboy, who is shown grinning at his superior, and the mature gentleman with a briefcase who over his glasses at his young companion, his lips pursed.