Family Histories
Bannock Beans (2004)
Bannock Beans (2004)
Title: Bannock Beans and Black Tea: Memories of a Prince Edward Island Childhood in the Great Depression
Author: John Henry Gallant
Illustrator: Gregory Gallant (aka Seth)
Publisher: Drawn and Quarterly, Montreal: 2004 (1st edition)
Description: 8vo. Unpaginated. Illustrated by Seth (Gregory Gallant), son of the author. Hardcover. Bound in decorated cloth covers. Ribbon bookmark bound in. Retains publisher’s wrap-around banner with original price, and featuring promotional blurb from former CBC host, Stuart McLean. Covers show minor surface soiling from handling. Text pages clean. Binding somewhat cocked. Overall, we rate the condition as fair to good.
John Henry “Jack” Gallant (1917-2011) was born in St. Charles, P.E.I., and lived through the Great Depression. He was a soldier in WWII (Charlottetown Light Horse), and a member of the Royal Canadian Air Force in peacetime. He married twice. First to Violet, a war bride he brought to Canada from England, then to Nancy, who he met in later life. Following his time in the military, Jack retired to the island. He died in Charlottetown at the age of 94.
Gregory Gallant (born September 16, 1962), better known by his pen name Seth, is a Canadian illustrator/cartoonist. He’s best known for his series Palookaville and his mock-autobiographical novel, It’s a Good Life, If You Don’t Weaken (1996). Seth style is influenced by the classic cartoonists of The New Yorker magazine. His work is highly nostalgic, especially for the early-to-mid-20th Century.