Poor Madeline would now be dead
But for a dog
That kept its head,
And dragged her safe from a watery grave.—Madeline's Rescue (1953)Ludwig Bemelmans
On Friday, Heritage Auctions offered an original interior book illustration from Madeline's Rescue (1953) by Ludwig Bemelmans. Madeline, trying to scare Miss Clavel, has taken a fall into the Seine. The illustration shows her being dragged to safety by the dog who would soon be named Genevieve. The scene is surely one of the most affecting moments of her adventure. The Heritage estimate was $60,000 to $80,000. Prior to the sale, the reserve was announced to be $60,000, precisely the low estimate. (This piece had been sold in 2021 at Freeman's for $63,000, so the seller used the reserve to protect the original investment. It's praiseworthy, by the way, that Heritage is so transparent about reserves.) Be that as it may, there can't be too many illustration collectors who can summon this kind of money on demand. None of them happened to bid the reserve amount on Friday, so the piece was made available after the sale at the reserve price plus the buyer's premium, a Buy Now price of $75,000. It's a lot of money, but then the drawing is iconic.
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| Ludwig Bemelmans Heritage listing accessed September 12, 2023, four days prior to the sale |
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| Ludwig Bemelmans Heritage item description |
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| Ludwig Bemelmans Freeman's, December 5, 2021 |
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| Detail from Freeman's |
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