Clifford Webb Bernard Meninsky and then from 1923 to 1926 he was a part-time lecturer at Central School of Art in Birmingham. Webb produced illustrations for the first two books of the Swallows and Amazons series by Arthur Ransome, which were used in some 1930s editions. Because Ransome did not like those produced by Steven Spurrier for the first book, "Swallows and Amazons", those were not used in its first edition (1930), apart from the endpaper map and dust jacket. In 1931 the second edition contained Webb's illustrations, as did the first edition of the sequel, "Swallowdale". (Ransome himself was the original
Swallows and Amazons books, including those already published, and Webb's drawings were replaced in later editions. The book relates the outdoor adventures and play of two families of children. These involve sailing, camping, fishing, exploration and piracy. The Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) are staying at a farm near a lake in the Lake District of England, during the school holidays. They sail a borrowed dinghy named "Swallow" and meet the Blackett children (Nancy and Peggy), who sail a dinghy named "Amazon". The Walkers camp on an island in the lake while the Blacketts live in their house nearby. When the