James Stevenson (1929-2017) was a prolific New Yorker cartoonist, having published some two-thousand cartoons and eighty covers in the magazine. He also wrote and illustrated more than one-hundred books. A signed copy of Worse Than Willy! (1984) has been listed on AbeBooks since 2017.
Jim Stevenson's signature
James Stevenson AbeBooks Listing Retrieved October 8, 2017
Inspector Mouse by author Bernard Stone and illustrator Ralph Steadman was published in 1980. It is the sequel to Emergency Mouse of 1978. Whether Ralph Steadman made a drawing like the one here only once or a thousand times, one has to be impressed by the sheer ingenuity involved in transforming the published magnifying glass into a likeness of the jittery mouse.
Bernard Stone,Inspector Mouse, 1980
Inscribed with a drawing of the mouse over the published magnifying glass "For Stephen Parr, Ralph Steadman 2006."
Note: "A Retrospective: Ralph Steadman" is now showing in New York at the Society of Illustrators. If it were up to me, it would be called "Ralph Steadman: A Retrospective." Otherwise, I'm pretty good with it.
Books signed, dated, inscribed, drawn upon, and otherwise mutilated by Ralph Steadman can be scanned, photographed, commented on, and otherwise documented by their owners for consideration by, inclusion in, or possible rejection from this blog. Steadman collectors please take note. Attempted Bloggery's quick links:
In 1949, Ilonka Karasz illustrated a picture book of The Twelve Days of Christmas. A few pages are shown here. The illustrations, like the Christmas carol's verses, are recursive in that each new one recapitulates all the previous ones after adding to it.
I take the same basic picture of the Chatham Light on every visit to the Cape. Compare Bob Staake's unique and evocative illustration, full of mystery, contrast, and a strange rolling orb observed by five witnesses one night in 1935...
The Chatham Light
Bob Staake, illustration from The Orb of Chatham (2005) ...and timed its journey to avoid the light.
The illustrations to The Orb of Chatham are hauntingly beautiful. How long do you suppose it took Bob Staake to produce the suite of illustrations for this book? What kind of preparatory work was involved? Watch the video and all will be revealed. Well, not all.
Bob Staake Interview #1 : The Orb of Chatham By Christopher Seufert
Also, I've been sharing my vacation photos from Cape Cod. It seems they've been looking less and less like vacation photos and more and more like everything else I do here.
You'll never guess what's at bobstaake.com, not in a million years. Don't even try.
In 1935, a mysterious black orb was seen and independently reported by five isolated witnesses, each of whom later disappeared. The mysterious event is the subject of Bob Staake's picture book The Orb of Chatham (2005). The First United Methodist Church is familiar to all Chatham's visitors. In Mr. Staake's superb book illustration, the orb can be seen floating eerily above the moonlit church.
The First United Methodist Church, Chatham, Massachusetts
Bob Staake, illustration from The Orb of Chatham (2005)
That's a generous offer indeed, but the prospect of arranging two-way postage can be daunting. Here's a copy of Bob Staake'sLook! Another Book! (2012) that was found on the shelves of a Chatham bookstore. It has an original doodle from the year of publication.
Bob Staake,Look! Another Book! (2012) signed and dated with a doodle
Bob Staake,Look! Another Book! (2012)
Bob Staake,Look! Another Book! (2012) signed and dated with a doodle
Note: Check out my other blog posts on Bob Staake.
This book was purchased while vacationing in Cape Cod. It isn't all fun and games, people.
Bob Staake's website is bobstaake.com. Better write that down.
You can see more of Attempted Bloggery's coverage of children's books.
This Mock-Up for the front and back covers to Ed Arno'sThe Magic Fish (1967) was offered for sale on eBay in 2013. It is called original cover artwork in the eBay listing, and as far as the fish is concerned that might be true. The But It Now price was lowered from $50 to $30 between June and August when the item was withdrawn as no longer available.
Constantin Alajálov's illustrations for Alice Duer Miller's verse retelling of Cinderella (1943) were featured in Life magazine's issue of September 13, 1943. Life reported that Alajálov had considered a modern setting for his illustrations, but that proved unworkable. Instead he set his illustrations in the 1850's which is still a couple of centuries later than Charles Perrault's original version. Seven years after this book was published, Walt Disney was to release an animated feature of the fairy tale which was to become a classic in its own right.
Parts of the book now appear on Fulltable.com. It is especially good to see a few of the illustrations alongside the verses.
The Illustrators exhibition opening this month at the Chris Beetles Gallery in London advertises that it includes art from 1800 to 2013. It does indeed have illustration art from this year, specifically illustrations by Rebecca Cobb for The Lonely Sea Dragon, a new children's book by Helen Dunmore.
Rebecca Cobb, "'You'd Get Hungry, if You Were as Lonely as Me,' He Said Lugubriously" from The Lonely Sea Dragon (2013) by Helen Dunmore
If I had the time and inclination to try and generate some extra cash through eBay, one strategy I might use would be to buy items in bulk and then sell them off individually. While I would hate the idea of breaking up a set of anything, it is generally a sound way to increase overall cash value. I personally wince at the thought of taking apart a bound volume and selling individual plates--I don't think I could ever do that--nor could I comfortably break up a complete suite of lithographs, say, or a fine desk set. I am not exactly the stuff of which a successful dealer is made.
Nevertheless, I don't feel so bad about the current dispersal of the preliminary pencil sketches by illustrator Garth Williams for Charlotte Zolotow's Over and Over. The twenty-one sheets come from the estate of Garth Williams, which to me suggests there may not have been much of a market for them during the artist's lifetime anyway. Heritage Auctions, which I consider one of the best at presenting and archiving even low-end works at auction, didn't bother to photograph these sheets individually. They sold for $500 as a set, including the buyer's premium.
Now individual sheets are being sold off on eBay, including a very loose pencil sketch of some trick-or-treaters bearing the initials G.W. It is no masterpiece certainly, but the sale price of $22.26 still seems fairly low and challenges my long-held belief that breaking up a set is one surefire way to create instant profit.
Garth Williams, original pencil sketches for Over and Over by Charlotte Zolotow
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