BOND, Michael; BANBERY, Fred (illus.)

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Original artwork for Paddington at the Circus: "Paddington's Ice Cream!" Published in Paddington at the Circus, in 1973, on pages 24-25. The drawing shows Paddington hanging from a swinging trapeze as his ice cream drops onto the ringmaster's top hat.The text reads, "'Don't let go!' shouted the ringmaster. 'Whatever you do - don't let go!' And then he stopped and a look of horror came over his face as something soft and white landed on his beautifully brushed top hat. 'Crikey!' exclaimed Jonathan. 'Paddington's ice cream!'"In 1972 Michael Bond began writing a series of Paddington Bear books for younger readers, later known as the "Paddington Picture Books". These were coloured picture books requiring a different visual style from the novels, and the artist Fred Banbery (1919-1999) therefore took over the illustration of Paddington from Peggy Fortnum. Banbery had studied at the Central School of Arts and Crafts, and published a significant quantity of work in periodicals including Atlantic, Colliers, Economist, New Yorker, Sunday Times, Times of India, and Wall Street Journal. Six volumes of the picture books were published by Collins in London, and Random House in New York between 1972 and 1978. They predate the stop motion animated television series.Provenance: The Estate of Fred Banbery; Chris Beetles, "Paddington Bear in St James's", December 2014; Private Collection.

Found via Rare Books Intel, a search across rare-book dealers, auction houses and marketplaces worldwide.