The City Curious (1920)
Illustrated by Jean de Bosschère
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On the left, we show The City Curious (1920) - as written and illustrated by Jean de Bosschère and co-published by William Heinemann (London) and Dodd, Mead & Company (New York). This example retains the original black-stamped gold cloth cover.
Printing for both variants was undertaken at The Complete Press (London).
To the right, we show the illustrated Title Page prepared by de Bosschère. |
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The City Curious (1920) is a novel written and illustrated by Jean de Bosschère.
A contemporary review published in The Little Review (1920) provides an interesting introduction to Jean de Bosschère's
tale and his accompanying illustrations thus:
This sinister little story and its equally sinister decorations is another of those books for
children which grown-ups buy for their own delectation. Yet an imaginative child will
like this somewhat ornate story of a people composed of slabs of cake and whose
aliment is entirely jams and syrups. Unlike Alice in Wonderland, which is eminently
reasonable if a little extravagant, this story has no roots in reality. It is certainly not
the behaviour of one's grown-ups gone suddenly good.
At any rate M. de Bosschere makes his curious vision absorbingly interesting and
one
rushes through the book for the denouement as in a
detective story.
"The Despoiler, who was always afraid that Some One would find out that he was
only made of Cardboard, never slept in public," is the most extraordinary of these
characters and the drawing of the Despoiler asleep in a tall attic with a blanket nailed
across the windows is terrifying. M. de Bosschere is certainly the most accomplished
artist engaged in illustrating books, and his special sense of the decorative quality of
black and white and his purity of line are a great pleasure.
Jean de Bosschère's suite of illustrations to accompany his words for The City Curious include 8 full colour images in addition
to 26 full-page monotone plates, monotone End Papers and a large number of monotone marginal illustrations.
Our Greeting Cards and Reproduction Images
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For connoisseurs of the work of Jean de Bosschère, we have prepared sets of 8 Greeting Cards displaying colour images from his contributions to The City Curious and on the left, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.
Code: JB CC CS(8) |
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Similarly, we have prepared sets of 26 Greeting Cards displaying images from his major monotone suite for The City Curious and on the right, we show an example of how these Greeting Cards appear.
Code: JB CC MS(26) |
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When presented on Greeting Cards, these images are prepared as tipped-in plates - in hommage to the hand-crafted
approach typical of prestige illustrated publications produced in the early decades of the 20th Century. Each card is
hand-finished and the images are presented on Ivory card stock (in the case of colour images) and White card stock
(in the case of monotone images) with an accompanying envelope. The rear of each card carries information about
Jean de Bosschère, this wonderful suite and the profiled illustration - we have left the interior of the cards blank so
that you may write your own personal message.
Should you wish to order a Reproduction Print of one or more of these images, we have provided some options below.
Each of these large format prints is also accompanied by information about Jean de Bosschère, this suite and the profiled
illustration.
To purchase, simply click on the appropriate "Add to Cart" button and you will be taken through to our Shopping Cart
secured through PayPal. Multiple purchases will be consolidated by that feature and shipping and handling costs to any
destination in the world are accommodated by our flat-rate fee of US$20 for every US$200 worth of purchases.
Of course, should you wish to discuss some customised options, we welcome your contact on any matter through
ThePeople@SpiritoftheAges.com.
In the meantime, enjoy perusing these images from Jean de Bosschère.
The colour illustrations
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Fritilla and the Red Flying-Fish
(Frontispiece)
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The City Curious |
They were known as the "Wigs" because of their Large Perukes |
These Creatures did not resemble Anything that Redy and Smaly had seen up to then |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C1 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C2 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C3 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C4 (12x18) |
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Laptitza and Papylick |
Some of the Dances were very complicated |
Kisika and her Sedan-Chair |
The Picnic which followed was an Unforgettable Repast
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C5 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C6 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C7 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC C8 (12x18) |
The full-page monotone illustrations
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To Return to a Mere Shapeless Thing once again
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The Crow lifted him up |
Opening the Nuts and displaying the Two Little People |
The Despoiler |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M1 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M2 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M3 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M4 (12x18) |
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"You can roll the cord" |
It seemed to them that Men grew upwards and not towards the Ground
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President of the Republic of Pasenipus |
The Confectioner |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M5 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M6 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M7 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M8 (12x18) |
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The Prisoner |
Was sitting with One Ankle across the Knee of his Other Leg
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The Despoiler, who was always afraid that Some One would find out that he was only made of Cardboard, never slept in public
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The Healer |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M9 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M10 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M11 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M12 (12x18) |
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The Healer had finished his Mending |
"I, too, hope so," said his Wife, who had just come in
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Nearly all had One Leg which was much Longer than the Other, or a very Long Arm
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Rewards |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M13 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M14 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M15 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M16 (12x18) |
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"We're waiting for the sun to go down"
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Next he took some Old Cardboard Boxes |
Her Little Paw shoved a Folded Slip of Paper through the Opening
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The Thin Long Arm of the Historian |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M17 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M18 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M19 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M20 (12x18) |
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They bore a Large Copper Cauldron |
"A band of our rats will each morning copiously water our feet"
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"I have destroyed a hundred times passing over it in my prison" |
The Manufacturer of Cardboard Boxes |
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M21 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M22 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M23 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M24 (12x18) |
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Directly they saw the Flying-Fish enter |
So during Three Days the Young Girls were busy making the Stairs
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Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M25 (12x18) |
Reproduction on 12x18" sheet
Code: JB CC M26 (12x18) |
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The monotone End Papers
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A pair of reproductions on 12x18" sheets
Code: JB CC EP1|2 (12x18) |
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