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Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 11 Dec 2016, 21:25
by Fiona1986
I had an email the other day from someone at House of Illustration, to say that the five 70th anniversary covers are up for auction.
We are very excited to be able to include original drawings of the Famous Five, commissioned to celebrate the series’ 70th anniversary, in a fundraising auction we are holding at Sotheby’s on Tuesday 13 December – see page 9 of the PDF attached.
In 2012, to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Enid Blyton's much-loved Famous Five series, five of the most illustrious children's illustrators of today were asked to provide new special anniversary covers for the first five adventures in the series. These original artworks were published by Hodder Children's Books for the 70th anniversary edition. Please click here to see all five illustrations (lots 294- 298).
These are one-offs and each would make a perfect present for an ardent Enid Blyton fan.
The auction starts at 2.30pm and you can bid in person, by phone or online. The works will be displayed to the public at Sotheby’s on Friday 9th – Monday 12th December.
You can view all the artworks online by going to
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/201 ... 16408.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;.
The auction is to raise money for House of Illustration, the UK’s only public gallery devoted to illustration based in King’s Cross in London. We put on exhibitions and events, promote new illustration talent, commission new art work and we have an illustrator-led learning programme for schools, families, students and enthusiasts of all ages. We are a registered charity and receive no public funding, raising all the money ourselves from admissions, retail and fundraising from a variety of sources.
So, if you have £2-3000?
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 00:03
by number 6
I'm just checking my pockets now! No, I can't find £2-3000! I've only got a few coppers & a sticky toffee I didn't know I had!
Nice lots, though. I hope they go to the home of a true Blyton fan.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 00:49
by Courtenay
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 12:22
by Lucky Star
On the
Smuggler's Top cover Block looks like Hitler dressed as a French waiter.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 12:41
by Courtenay
He does too.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 13:25
by Rob Houghton
Although as Famous Five covers, I'm not that keen, as pieces of artwork, some of these I would certainly go for, if I had a spare few thousand pounds.
I actually like 'Smuggler's Top' - find the style quite artistic - and I also like 'Go Off In A Caravan' and 'Adventuring Again' as well as 'Run Away'. I wouldn't buy any of them as books, because I prefer the old versions by Eileen Soper (or even Betty Maxey!) but as pieces of collectable art, I quite like them. Pity they are so expensive though - I mean, the prices are a lot steeper than some original artwork I've liked better and seen for sale on eBay.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 13:47
by Tony Summerfield
These were originally auctioned in Waterstone's in London when the books were launched in 2012. It was one of these silent auctions where people wrote their bids under the artwork. Although most had a number of bids I think the same person bought them all (possibly Quentin Blake) and donated them to the House of Illustration.
I had emails a week or two ago from both Sotheby's and the House of Illustration asking me to make our members aware of the sale. When I saw the estimates for them I didn't bother to say any anything about it as I was pretty sure that none of our members would be too interested in the £2500 to £3000 range that they gave me! I don't think that they fetched nearly that amount in the original auction, although both the Quentin Blake and the Emma Chichester Clark one had a number of bids on them.
The actual artwork can be seen here:-
http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/eca ... t.294.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 17:28
by pete9012S
Oh for some original
Betty Maxey artwork....*sigh*
Although on a positive note the appearance of all the
Mary Gernat artwork gives one a little hope..
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 17:42
by Rob Houghton
One good thing, Pete - If Betty Maxey artwork comes up for sale, you and I won't have much competition from Blyton fans!
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 18:35
by Courtenay
You never know, Rob — there are some strange people out there.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 19:36
by Tony Summerfield
pete9012S wrote:Although on a positive note the appearance of all the Mary Gernat artwork gives one a little hope..
Don't be misled, Pete, he isn't actually selling the original artwork. These are just prints blown up to a huge size as the artwork is not actually much bigger than the books (I have a couple of pieces that I bought from Mary Gernat herself). If you look on the table near the Jimmy print you can see some artwork there (yellow front and back cover) with the book lying on top of it. I don't think he is selling the artwork at all, but simply making large prints of it and making money on those.
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 19:37
by Fiona1986
Original or not - they're lovely and I would happily have one!
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 12 Dec 2016, 21:10
by pete9012S
Ha ha! Rob and Courtenay made me laugh.
Yes,Tony,they are prints - one positive aspect being that they should be cheaper to buy than the original artwork?
I don't know how much the prints above actually sell for though?
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 13 Dec 2016, 01:45
by Carlotta King
Courtenay wrote:Don't forget, though, it depends on one's taste in art.
The artworks in question are the originals for these:
What the devil is going on with this one; Anne and Julian are dressed in clothes from the 50s and George (?) is wearing a check shirt, jeans and trainers?!
Not sure how anyone could draw that and not look at it and think hang on, I've drawn clothes from different eras?
Re: Sotheby's Auction of Famous Five covers
Posted: 13 Dec 2016, 10:07
by Courtenay
Er, yeah, now I look at it, you're right, Cathy.
I was wondering what it was that bugged me about the portrayal of George in that picture, and now I realise... She does look totally out of the wrong era compared to the rest of them! It's a pity, as it would otherwise be quite a nice cover, but that spoils it for me.
As I said, the one I most like (and would even consider buying if I had a few thousand quid to burn
) is the Emma Chichester Clark one. I'm not sure what era the children are supposed to be from in this (again, George looks a little inconsistent with the others), but I love the colours and the real sense of movement and adventure in the way the children are drawn. My only real objection would be that Timmy looks a bit odd, especially in the head! But otherwise it's a nice picture that (to me, anyway) looks fresh and modern without losing the feeling of this book being a children's classic.
