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The Carpet People

This book had two authors, and they were both the same person.

-- The Carpet People, Author's Note.

What Terry does not mention in his Author's Note is that The Carpet People also had an illustrator -- and that he was the same person, too.

When the original version of The Carpet People was published in 1971, Terry himself drew the cover art, as well as about three dozen black and white interior illustrations. The revised edition of the book, released in 1992, had a new cover painting by Josh Kirby, and the text was no longer illustrated at all.

As copies of the 1971 edition have now become extremely rare collector's items costing hundreds of pounds, there is little chance for the casual fan to have a look at Terry's artwork. This is a pity, because the illustrations are perfectly charming, and well worth investigating.

On this page, we have made available a selection of our favourite illustrations from The Carpet People. Clicking on the thumbnail or the title link will lead to a page with a larger version of the picture, which may therefore take a while to download fully.

	Snibril attacks a moul Snargs could run fast, but they could not move as quickly as a horse, and Snibril was able to taunt the great brute several times more until Snarfgorm was taunted beyond all control.
	Hymetors tending their hives They saw later how the syrup fruit fitted into the life of the yellow country when they passed a hive, a tall honeycomb hanging between the hairs. Striped creatures peered down from their lofty fortress and hummed angrily as the carts passed beneath.
	The Wights' varnish forge "You never know anything where Wights are concerned. You remember tales, see things, pick up little bits of knowledge here and there, but you never know" - Bane
	The last termagant And then the termagant did stop. For it had seen another termagent. There, in the shield, a scaly green face looked back at it. A necklace hung over one ear. For a moment the creature had found company. Then, stepping back, Snibril tilted the shield, and the face was gone.
	The city of Jeopard Jeopard was a high hill of grit. On the tip of the rock glittered a temple, and below that was the palace of Broc. A winding road round the rock led to the cluster of houses and towers in its shadows. Garden had been built on the rock, and small temples and statues lined the road.
	Brocando opening the passage into the Underlay There was a statue of a deftmene under the dome. His wooden body was chipped and dust grown, but still he stood with outstretched sword, pointing at the city.
	Glurk keeps the house from coming down Glurk had been forced on to his knees, his face purple, the veins in his red neck throbbing. The fire licked around him, hungrily. Snibril grabbed at one straining arm and pulled. "No," came the low growl, "Pismire and the others are still in there."
	The pones It sounded like the creaking of a door, but magnified a thousand times. It boomed around the stable until Pismire's ears rang. The other pones raised their heads and answered, and it was louder than the wind in the caverns of Underlay.
	Snibril allies with the Dumii "Kneel down. Now, draw your own sword. Lay it across mine. Now repeat after me: 'I, Snibril Orkson, from the Woodwall, captain of the... er... cavalry division of the Fifteeth Legion, which is called the Red Dragon of Hern, do swear thus upon the sword of my general.'"
	Stagbat, Vortgorn king Between the two mouls sat, on the back of a sad brown horse, a big man in bronze armour. He looked very much like Glurk, except his hair was the colour of bronze. Bronze plates sheathed his body. Snibril did not know his name, but it was Stagbat, king of the Vortgorns.

Credits

Many thanks to Terry Pratchett, who was kind enough to grant us the permission to do this project.

Furthermore, this page would never have existed without Thom Willis, who came up with the idea in the first place, who helped select the illustrations, who researched the titles and captions, and who provided the actual scans (quite important, that last bit).

All illustrations and quotes from The Carpet People are the copyright of Terry Pratchett and Colin Smythe Ltd, and may not be reproduced without permission.

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