May 23, 2024 - Sale 2670

Sale 2670 - Lot 35

Price Realized: $ 531
?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price
Estimate: $ 800 - $ 1,200
Angel, Marie Felicity (1923-2010)
An Example.

[Britain, mid- to late-20th century.]

Small-format calligraphic manuscript of W.H. Davies's (1871-1940) poem, "An Example," consisting of a single signature, 8 leaves of wove paper; handwritten and illustrated with delicate renderings of butterflies and plants embellished with gold ink; bound in boards with handwritten spine title, covered with an Asian-style brocade fabric woven with gold threads, (very light toning to endpapers; minor fraying to spine tail); 6 x 5 in.

One of Britain's foremost illustrators and calligraphers, Marie Angel worked as a freelance illustrator who was commissioned by the Harvard College Library to create a set of illustrated bestiaries. Following on the heels of this successful project, she worked consistently as a children's book illustrator. Her work was published in the United States and the U.K. by Frederick Warne and Crown Publishing. An experienced calligrapher and illustrator praised for her extremely fine and delicate line work, she also wrote a series of books on animal drawing and the art of calligraphy. Original examples of her lovely work are rarely seen at auction, although they are well-represented in institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Hunt Botanical Institute, and the Victoria & Albert Museum.