Rockwell Kent, illustrator | Original maquettes for Candide. New York, 1928, hand-coloured by the artist

Rockwell Kent, illustrator--François-Marie Arouet Voltaire

Candide [the original maquettes, hand coloured by the artist]. New York: Random House/Pynson Press, 1928

Folio (290 x 385mm.), 27 loose double-sided sheets, 103 HAND-COLOURED ILLUSTRATIONS, composed of one small vignette on half title, three full-page scenes, one headpiece, 25 historiated initials showing a character from the tale, and 73 bas-de-page vignettes, laid in hand-coloured invitation to a publication event: “Candide - Original Drawings Made by Rockwell Kent - For the Random House edition of Candide, with specimen printed pages coloured by hand, will be displayed in the exhibition room - Pynson Printers - Times Annex - through May - nineteen twenty-eight - 229 W 43 - New York” (in original envelope), preserved in a contemporary custom-made portfolio with dark blue morocco spine, colour reproduction of title page recessed in front flap, light blue silk ties, the portfolio lined with Arches laid rag paper (identical to paper used in this edition), missing two sheets, 29-32 and 69-72), one leaf with mild browning at the edge, two others with a couple of tiny spots of foxing in the margin

This is a remarkably important item on several fronts. First, it contains dozens of pages of maquettes—the original hand-done versions—of Kent’s famed illustrations, each coloured by Kent himself. This is the only known extant copy of the four sets of maquettes created by Kent for the Random House Candide. Furthermore, the portfolio includes a small, but significant, rarity in the form of the hand-coloured invitation (also by Kent) to the release event. Finally, the art on the colophon page bears the now-famous emblem, designed and hand-coloured by Kent, used here for the first time and then as a regular device by Random House. It is known that Kent personally painted four sets of maquettes to be given to the four women who painted the illustrations for the limited edition. One of those four was Kent’s daughter Kathleen (two of the others were studio artists Ione Robinson and Wanda Gag, while the fourth is unknown). It is presumed that this copy was the one that was given to his daughter, as it was in Kent’s home at Sable Forks, NY, at the time of the 1969 fire (thought to have been triggered by lightning). The set was given to Robert Paulson, a personal friend and sometime dealer who was apparently involved in salvaging works from Kent’s home after the misfortune. The set was sold by Paulson to the last owner. The lost leaves (interior pages with artwork similar to that found throughout the work) have to be considered minor in the totality of the unique collection, and all the major elements are present and in exceptional condition, including the half-title, main title, and colophon with its original appearance of the Random House imprint. Not surprisingly, this rarity is not listed in any auction record or bibliography.