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Mary Gernat was a British illustrator, known for her designs for the covers of paperback books by Enid Blyton, Frank Richards and others.
Gernat was born in Ewell, Surrey, 16 Aug 1926,[1] and underwent training at the Central School of Arts and Crafts and Regent Street Polytechnic.
Much of her work was for Armada Books.[2] She also produced dust jacket designs for some hardback editions,[3] and covers for magazines such as The Tatler.[4]
She married Michael How, an engineer,[5] in 1953.[6] She had four sons, whom she used as models for her designs,[7] and much later a daughter.[8] From 1963 the family lived in Milford on Sea, and in 1970 they moved to Lymington. In later life she developed multiple sclerosis and after ceasing to paint professionally, continued to do so for pleasure. She died on the 12 Oct 1998.
In May 2019, 120 of her paintings and sketches were shown on the BBC Television programme Antiques Roadshow by one of her sons, in whose possession they remain.
Among the books whose covers were designed by Gernat were: