RAINBOW CLASSICS, Original Illustration by Roger Duvoisin for Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, prepared for and used in the published volume by DUVOISIN, Roger - 1946

Cleveland and New York: The World Publishing Company, 1946. The drawing in gouache, 7 x 11 inches on white watercolor paper, the drawing 6 1/2 x 9 ½ inches. Used on the trade edition dust jacket and front board of many library bindings, the gouache drawing shows Robinson Crusoe walking near a bay, carrying his rifle, umbrella, and parrot, accompanied by two cats, a dog and a goat (nearly the same image is reproduced on page 128 with ink details added). Matted and labeled for display. Unsigned but with annotations about size reduction and placement; upper margin with mounting tape and some tape residue stains. Very good. Roger Duvoisin (1900 - 1980) was born in Switzerland, studied in Paris, and arrived in America with his artist wife in 1927. Here they remained and he soon became known as a children's book author and illustrator. In 1947 Alvin Tresselt's White Snow, Bright Snow, illustrated by Duvoisin, won him the 1948 Caldecott Medal, an award for which he was three times runner-up. Among popular titles that became series were The Happy Lion, written by his wife Louise Fatio with his illustrations, and Petunia, which he both wrote and illustrated.