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The City Curious (1920)

 

Illustrated by Jean de Bosschère

 

 

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.

 

 

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

 

 

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)
Price: US$40.00

 

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)
Price: US$130.00

 

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

 

Fritilla and the Red Flying-Fish

 

(Frontispiece)

 

 

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

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C1 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C2 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C3 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C4 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Laptitza and Papylick

Some of the Dances were

very complicated

Kisika and her Sedan-Chair

The Picnic which followed was

an Unforgettable Repast

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C5 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C6 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C7 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC C8 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

The full-page monotone illustrations

 

To Return to a Mere Shapeless

Thing once again

 

 

The Crow lifted him up

Opening the Nuts and displaying

the Two Little People

The Despoiler

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M1 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M2 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M3 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M4 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

"You can roll the cord"

It seemed to them that Men grew

upwards and not towards the

Ground

 

 

President of the

Republic of Pasenipus

The Confectioner

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M5 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M6 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M7 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M8 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Prisoner

Was sitting with One Ankle across

the Knee of his Other Leg

 

 

The Despoiler, who was always

afraid that Some One would find

out that he was only made of

Cardboard, never slept in public

 

 

The Healer

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M9 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M10 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M11 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M12 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

The Healer had finished his Mending

"I, too, hope so," said his Wife,

who had just come in

 

 

Nearly all had One Leg which was

much Longer than the Other, or a

very Long Arm

 

 

Rewards

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M13 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M14 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M15 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M16 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

"We're waiting for the sun

to go down"

 

 

Next he took some Old

Cardboard Boxes

Her Little Paw shoved a Folded

Slip of Paper through the

Opening

 

 

The Thin Long Arm of the

Historian

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M17 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M18 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M19 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M20 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

They bore a Large Copper Cauldron

"A band of our rats will each morning

copiously water our feet"

 

 

"I have destroyed a hundred times

passing over it in my prison"

The Manufacturer of

Cardboard Boxes

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M21 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M22 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M23 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M24 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 
   

Directly they saw the Flying-Fish enter

So during Three Days the Young

Girls were busy making the Stairs

 

 

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M25 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

Reproduction on 10x15" sheet

Code: JB CC M26 (10x15)
Price: US$50.00

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The monotone End Papers

 

 
   

A pair of reproductions on 10x15" sheets

Code: JB CC EP1|2 (10x15)
Price: US$100.00

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

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Last modified: 05/08/10