Jean de Brunhoff's exquisite stories have charmed readers around the world for 80 years, and fans can now cherish a collection of his tales in this beautiful gift book. One of the most iconic series of animal books in history, Babar has become a household name both as a character in children's books and on TV. And while the maquette concludes abruptly with the marriage and coronation of Babar and Celeste, the published book ends with the newly married couple reflecting on their good fortune before taking off for their honeymoon in a yellow balloon.This charming collection of five French illustrated classics follows the adventures of the world's best-loved elephant, Babar, as he becomes king, builds a city, meets Father Christmas and has many other exciting adventures. The maquette opens with the death of Babar's mother however, de Brunhoff ultimately decided to add a tender three-page opening sequence showing the infant Babar in a hammock and a group of young elephants playing. He continued to revise the text, added a page showing Babar studying with a learned tutor, and, most importantly, subjected the opening and closing of the story to a major overhaul. On separate sheets of paper of the same type and size, de Brunhoff also made eleven pages of notes on color choices for his final illustrations.Īfter he completed the maquette, de Brunhoff returned to his sketchbooks and made significant changes that are reflected in the published book. Written and illustrated primarily in graphite, the maquette includes a few watercolor touches and a cover colored in green, yellow, and red crayon. In some cases de Brunhoff wrote on separate sheets and then pasted them into the maquette, obscuring earlier drafts he had made on the versos.

The maquette is written on Johannot et Cie Annonay paper cut down to a page size of 8 1/8 x 6 1/8 inches (20.5 x 15.5 cm) and folded to approximate a book. The maquette, an extraordinary handmade booklet complete with cover and endpapers, text and illustrations, is the prototype for Histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant. This digital facsimile presents every page of a small, delicate maquette that Jean de Brunhoff created in 1930 or 1931 as he drafted the first book in the Babar series.

The babar collection