A Collection of Hand-Painted, Color Illustrations and Woodcut Prints: Hamlet, Tennyson, The Snow Queen, Egyptian Deities, etc.

A collection of 104 original artworks (85 hand-painted color illustrations and 19 woodcut prints) on fine paper sheets ranging in size from about 4 ½" x 7" to 8" x 12". Most measure about 6" x 8". All are in fine condition, neatly laid-in plastic sleeves in four later vintage albums. The designs are notable for their striking portraits of figures from literature with distinctive quadrilateral eyes, and for their layering of dark colors, often with gold and silver, which gives them a three-dimensional and jewel-like luminosity similar to Persian miniature paintings. Most are signed with the monogram "AM" in paint or pencil, and we know from provenance that the artist went by the name Anne Marie. We have reason to believe her full name may have been Anne Marie Bonnet and that at least some of her work was commissioned by the publisher Ben Abramson, although we have been unable to discover any further information. Approximately half of the works in this collection are neatly captioned or dated by the artist in pencil (various dates beginning in 1937). Also laid in are loose sheets with her handwritten captions (descriptions of Egyptian deities, and quotes from *Hamlet* and the works of Tennyson) which identify the subjects in some of the portfolios, but not all. The collection can be divided into various subjects: *Hamlet*; Selections from Alfred, Lord Tennyson; "The Snow Queen" by Hans Christian Andersen; Egyptian Deities; *Le Morte D’Arthur*; *Salome*; The Crusades; and *The Magic Mountain*. A beautiful and unique collection of highly accomplished works that appear to be for books or a series that as far as we can tell went unpublished. Further details available upon request.…