UPDATE (16/06/26): thanks to the help of several people the mystery has been solved!
It turns out that this was actually a rough for Judy Picture Library #226. By my calculations this was the February 1982 issue (issue #1 was May 1963). Thanks to Goof and Karen Ross.
Thanks also to Goof and Shaqui Le Vesconte for identifying the artist as Selby Donnison (biography here and here)
We can now confirm that the art I purchased was a rough as we can see several changes for the final artwork...
a). the logo!
b). the hair colour of the girl in the green jacket
c). the desks aren't in the final version
d). the hair colour of the 2nd girl (looking left to right)
Mandy Picture Library was still going strong in 1982 - it ran from 1978 to 1997 see here for more details - so I'm unclear why this wasn't used as a Judy PL cover.
This is a recent acquisition and is a bit of a mystery to me. It appears to be the cover for a Mandy picture library. BUT I've looked at all 277 covers of Mandy picture library and this isn't one of them. Perhaps it was an idea for a cover that never got used??
I also notice the 4 girls and instinctively wonder if they are supposed to be 'The 4 Mary's except that they appeared in Bunty not Mandy. There are 10 Bunty picture library issues that feature 'The 4 Mary's' and this isn't the cover for any of them.
Like I say, it's a mystery. Further hypotheses welcome!
