Benoît Braun / Elisabeth Ivanovsky - Alphabet Sentimental - 1944

A scarce Belgian artist’s book and hand coloured illustrated alphabet. Each of the letters has a verse written in quatrains by Benoît Braun, and illustrated by Elisabeth Ivanovsky. Beautiful limited first edition, one of only 26 copies, enhanced with a signed original water colour illustration by Ivanovsky. Twenty-six plates, printed on one side only, loose as issued - one for each letter of the alphabet, and a quatrain associated with each letter. With introductory text booklet by the art historian Paul Fierens. The justification has the number hand written to it. The complete printing was 330 copies, with 300 on vélin pur fil, and only 26 on Madagascar paper, with the original illustration. Original plain cream stiff card box. This is a little darkened and with some marks, but is still substantially sound and has done it's job of protecting the work within. Soft cream covers with illustrated titles to the front cover. Printed in black and red. Ivanovsky’s Alphabet sentimental combines an émigré artist, a wartime Brussels publication and an original watercolour An alphabet of women! - 26 letters, each with a portrait of a woman Elisabeth Ivanovsky Born in Kishinev (Bessarabia, then the Russian Empire) Her style mixes the Russian avant-garde and constructivism with folk art. She became one of Belgium’s most important children’s book illustrators. The printing was done in March 1944 - During the German Occupation (Belgium wasn’t liberated until September.) Remarkable given the paper rationing. The signed original watercolour is of the wicked fairy Carabosse,

Estimate:$224.52

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