JEAN DE BRUNHOFF Le Roi Babar

Sale 2440 - Lot 31

Price Realized: $ 40,000

?Final Price Realized includes Buyer’s Premium added to Hammer Price

Estimate: $ 20,000 - $ 30,000

JEAN DE BRUNHOFF.
"Le Roi Babar." Cover illustration for the first French Edition of the third Babar book (Paris: Jardins des Modes/Condé Nast, 1933.) Watercolor over black line proof on paper. 368x317 mm; 14 1/2x12 1/2 inches. Unsigned but hand-lettered by de Brunhoff. Archivally tipped to matte along recto top edge, scattered light areas of soiling, hard vertical crease along right edge.

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Additional Details

A scarce, charming, and iconic cover image for the third book from Jean de Brunhoff's famous Babar series which was carried on by his son Laurent after his death. It is executed in his usual fashion of watercoloring over the printed line proof created from a drawing. The bright, primary-colored image features Babar the King astride his horse, hoisting a flag containing the book's title. The later edition, published by Hachette, kept the title and de Brunhoff's name inside the flag, but moved the publisher's information to the lower margin. This is one of only seven cover illustrations in existence; the others are known to be held in private and institutional collections.