Uncle Oojah - Elephant King of Oojahland

Just looking at these fantastic books brings a smile to my face. Uncle Oojah dressed as a gypsy complete with earrings and headscarf is too wonderful for words!

If you've not come across Uncle Oojah before it might be helpful to know something about him. Flip-Flap (later known as Uncle Oojah or The Great Oojah) is a magical elephant who lives in a strange animal country called Oojahland. Don, or the Little Oojah, is Flip-Flap's greatest friend and travelling companion. Snooker, the Kitten-cat, lives with the Great Oojah and looks after his memory!

Uncle Oojah began life as a comic strip character in the Daily Sketch Newspaper in 1919. By the early 1920s, the newspaper was issuing a four-page supplement called 'The Oojah Paper' which later became 'The Oojah Sketch'. By 1922, Oojah was staring in his own annuals. The stories were written by Flo Lancaster and illustrated by Thomas Maybank and later by H. M. Talintyre.  

Two of the beautiful illustrations in The story of Flip-Flap's Little Mansion

             The Oojah annual 1922            The Oojah Annual 1923           Oojah Annual 1924 (sold)

            The Oojah Annual 1925        The Oojah Annual c1936 (sold)         The Oojah Annual 1937

           The Oojah Annual 1938           The Oojah Annual 1939 (sold)     The Oojah Annual 1940 (sold)

      Uncle Oojah's Big Annual 1930(sold) Big Annual 1934(sold) Uncle Oojah's Big Annual 1929(sold)

          Oojah House 1922 (sold)              The Oojah Annual 1950           Fancy Dress Party 1940 

These little known annuals are an absolute joy and are bound to become more sought after. Martin Hammer writing in The Hamer Comic Guide states,  "Thomas Maybank’s wonderful illustrations of Flo Lancaster’s Great Oojah are surely undervalued today. I say buy them when you see them!"  I for one could not agree more!

Water, water, everywhere;

Thank you to everyone for asking about the flooding in Somerset. We are doing fine, but it’s not so good for many of our neighbours. 

We’ve been cheering this family on as they attempt to waterproof their property,

but with more and more rain and high winds it looks as though they are fighting a losing battle.

We only have to look at pictures like this to realise how very lucky we are. Driving might be more difficult than usual, trains may not be running, and yes it's still raining, but we are warm and dry. I only wish the same could be said for everyone.

I hope you are all warm and dry in your respective corners of the world, thank you so much for calling in. xx

Update July 2016: All the books featured are now sold. March House books closed on my retirement in 2015, but I am still happily blogging here at March of Time Books. Your visits are always appreciated.