Gente Conocida, Signed (1 results)

Pelele. (illustrator). (CARICATURES). (ARGENTINA). "PELELE." [ZAVALLA, Pedro A.] Gente Conocida. ([Buenos Aires]: n.p., n.d. [ca. 1930]) [18] leaves (including blanks). (280 x 249 mm.) Housed in the original tan printed portfolio with light green ties, an advertisement printed on each pastedown. With 126 black & white lithograph caricatures, loose as issued, and nine advertisements by Pelele. Apparently lacking three caricatures (see below). Signed by the illustrator in ink on the preface. Joints of portfolio spliting at head and tail, light soiling to boards; preliminary leaves with a little foxing and small marginal tears, caricatures with occasional crease or hint of foxing, edges roughened (as issued?) and a little rumpled due to portfolio, but very clean throughout. An album of "Familiar People," comprising more than 100 caricatures of well-known figures from the Argentinian golden age. Although the subjects of this work include figures that would be easy to poke fun at (i.e., politicians, businessmen, scientists, musicians, artists, and aristocrats), the tone here is playful and lighthearted rather than critical. A few examples include the astronomer Martin Gil, who looks dreamily through his telescope as butterflies land upon it; Vicente Almandos Almonacid, who is pictured wearing wings while a flock of letters fly into a post box--a nod to his role as co-founder of the Aeropostale Argentina; and, the only woman pictured in the series, Mme Kerteux, a dealer of "Antiguedades de buen gusto," who stands in front of a tasteful antique bench. According to the artist's preface, these people "are not here because they are members of a clique, nor because political or financial trends have singled them out at a particular moment, but because they aroused in me attraction and sympathy, feelings that invigorate my spirit and which I express through caricature." The work also contains a preface written by the poet and father of the "Modernismo" movement, Ruben Dario, who was a great admirer of Pelele's work. The illustrations seem to have been originally executed in the 1920s, but the publication date was probably 1930 or '31. This assumption is based primarily on the advertisement for the Minerva AL Rollston Convertible Sedan, which was released in 1931. Pedro Angel Pelele Zavalla (1887-1952), known simply as Pelele, was born in Uruguay and settled in Buenos Aires after WWI. There he became a popular caricaturist, with his illustrations appearing in a variety of print media, including advertisements, newspapers, magazines, and illustrated books. He also dabbled in early animated film. Pelele's great gift for line and restraint are evident in this work, as are his observational abilities and gentle sense of humor. This album is a very rare survival. OCLC finds just one holding (University of New Mexico), and we locate one additional copy at the Biblioteca Nacional Mariano Moreno, in Argentina. The latter record lists 140 illustrations (including the 11 total advertisements), meaning that our copy is likely lacking three caricatures. (1070).