Ludwig Bemelmans (1898–1962)

The Donkey Inside

New York: The Viking Press, 1941. First Edition, First Printing — Limited Issue.

A special limited issue of The Donkey Inside, one of only 175 copies of the first edition specially bound with an original, hand-painted illustration in color, signed by Bemelmans. This copy is No. 160. The watercolor, executed directly on the limitation leaf, is a characteristic Bemelmans portrait sketch in ink and wash, warmly signed beneath the image.

Octavo; publisher’s two-tone yellow-and-rust cloth with gilt stamped titles. Illustrated throughout by the author. Printed at the Vail-Ballou Press and bound by H. Wolff Book Manufacturing Company. As issued without slipcase for the limited state.

The bindings are tight and square. Text is clean with only light even toning. Moderate shelf handling with notable fading to the spine panel, scattered speckling and discoloration to the boards, and some surface loss to the upper rear cloth. No dust jacket, as often encountered.

Bemelmans recounts his travels in Ecuador, Quito, the Amazon, and New York with his signature blend of observational humor, caricature, and narrative charm. Chapters draw in part from pieces previously published in Town & Country, Vogue, Globe, and The New Yorker. Among limited issues of Bemelmans’s prose works, this 175-copy series is especially desirable for its unique original artwork, each watercolor differing entirely from copy to copy.

Subjects: Latin American Travel; Quito & Ecuador; Artist Editions; Original Book Art; 20th-Century Illustration; Bemelmans Collecting, Travel Writing; Illustrated Books; Modern American Literature

Item #21384

Price: $125.00