Star Sales

1. Child’s Play

Estimate £30,000-£50,000 Sold £37,562

If you’ve visited the Chris Beetles Gallery in London, you’ll know that illustration is an active collecting field, continuing the legacy of the likes of Arthur Rackham and Mabel Lucie Attwell. The illustrator Edward Ardizzone (1900-1979) was a top children’s author of the 20th century. This lot, consigned to Bonhams by Ardizzone’s descendants, is the complete original, published in 1949 by the Oxford University Press – the third title in his series. The stories were inspired by Ardizzone’s love of ships and the sea, and drew on memories of growing up in Ipswich on the Suffolk coast. This cache comprised 23 original watercolours, including cover design and title page, and 24 black-and-white pen-and-ink illustrations, all with text in the artist’s hand.