Ludwig Bemelmans Illustrations
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GUEST:
What I mainly know is that I love them.
APPRAISER:
Mm-hmm.
GUEST:
Because I've collected the books, and then my husband gave me first the London one, about 20 years ago, as a Christmas gift. And about ten years ago, the Noodle.
APPRAISER:
Oh, that's terrific. Okay, so enlighten us, who's the artist here?
GUEST:
His name is Ludwig Bemelmans.
APPRAISER:
And he is famous for?
GUEST:
"Madeline" books...
APPRAISER:
Right. ...I would say are the most...
GUEST:
That's the most recognizable name. You know...
APPRAISER:
Yeah, definitely. He's a very famous illustrator.
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
And he was actually a German immigrant.
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
Came to the United States, actually has painted some murals at a bistro that he owned in Paris, uh, some time ago, so he was into murals, and obviously he was into doing very good children's illustrations. And the most iconic of them is Madeline. And this is an illustration from one of the books. And this is called Madeline in London. Now, everybody knows of Madeline in Paris. You look and you see the beautiful hand-applied color, and the colors start up here at the British flag, and the white of this here, and obviously, the famous double-decker bus down here, and these statues, are all done in a gouache over color, so they really pop off the page. He died in 1962, and in 1961, he finished Madeline in London. So these were probably sold as part of his estate. So he probably never really intended these to go anywhere, which is why he was a little haphazard with what he did, including signing over...
GUEST:
Yeah.
APPRAISER:
...the white mark down at the bottom. And this one here, now, tell me what you know about this one.
GUEST:
Well, this was done as an illustration for somebody else's book.
APPRAISER:
Okay.
GUEST:
And, but I do know that he loved dachshunds himself.
APPRAISER:
Okay, but you said you thought that the book was never published.
GUEST:
I don't know whether it was ever published.
APPRAISER:
Actually, the book was published.
GUEST:
Oh!
APPRAISER:
It says at the bottom here, "Sketch for Noodle"...
GUEST:
Yes.
APPRAISER:
And it's signed over here. And Noodle was a book that was written by Munro Leaf in 1937 and was a collaborative effort. Noodle the dachshund finds a wishbone and changes his appearance. It's a, it's a great story. It's likely that this sketch, if it's contemporaneous with the book, would have been done in about 1936, a few years before the Madeline series.
GUEST:
Right.
APPRAISER:
And well before the 1961 Madeline in London. Bemelmans have gone up in value considerably recently. On this one, given that it's a full sketch, wonderful piece, it's probably worth around $12,000 to $15,000.
GUEST:
Whoa! (chuckles)
APPRAISER:
And this one, Mr. Noodle, is, although not as famous, certainly in, uh, a great category, wonderful sketch, and is worth probably around $5,000 at auction, so...
GUEST:
Really? Oh! I...
APPRAISER:
You done good.
GUEST:
I am astounded, that's great.
APPRAISER:
You got a... Congratulations, it's a great pair.
GUEST:
Good, thank you so much.
APPRAISER:
You're certainly welcome.
Appraisal Details
Current Appraised Value: $18,000 - $20,000 (Increased)
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