The Quaint Characters

It was in the 1970s that the evolution of the quaint characters really started to become immortalised in The Pancake Parlour restaurants décor.

Why a granny with a bottle of brandy saluting with a jam spoon over a steaming cauldron? She was born out of the need for a label for strawberry jam sold in the restaurant.

The Double Telephone Man was from an 1880s scientific journal? Just simply too good not to use.

The Running and Tossing Lady was lifted from the Pancake Tossing Race for Ladies mural, although changes were made upon Helen Trachsel’s orders, which included making her dress a little less provocative and removing the underarm hair – disappointing some of the customers (as well as the artist!)

All of this graphic stuff was in fact several years ahead of television’s Monty Python’s Flying Circus in the use of old woodcuts. Peter Von was adamant that, despite being accused of borrowing from them, his were the originals.