First up is a preliminary sketch for the wraparound dust jacket of The Spell of the Sorcerer's Skull (1984) [ink, pencil and watercolor on paper. 205x295 mm; 8 1/4x11 3/4 inches]. This is only the second mock-up sketch for a Bellairs title we're aware of; the other being for The Revenge of the Wizard's Ghost.
Next is the painting used as the wraparound dust jacket for Brad Strickland's The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge (2000) as well the separate hand lettering for the book's cover and spine. We've been cataloging various Bellairs related news for so long now we can recall over a decade ago when the watercolor image was sold at a previous auction. It's interesting to note that the then deal included the frontispiece; this year's auction does not.
Third is the artwork for Haunted America (1991), one the many anthologies edited by Marvin Kaye.
This is seemingly becoming an annual tradition: last year's January auction included the original artwork to four other Bellairs-related titles.
The art for The Beast Under the Wizard's Bridge was originally offered for sale by Bromer Booksellers in 2001 and were acquired by the collector who consigned the artwork to Swann. This is the first time they appeared at auction.
ReplyDelete