Babar King of the
Elephants |
| To See Current stock of Jean De Brunhoff
Click Here |
| |
|
 |
Babar, the peace-loving elephant was created
by Jean De Brunhoff who was born in Paris on 9th December
1899. Jean studied Art at L'Academie de la Grande-Chaumiere
in Paris and here he became close friends with fellow pupil
Emile Sabourand. They had much in common. Besides their wealthy,
middle-class backgrounds both families loved music and literature. |
| Jean became a frequent visitor to the Sabourand
home and this is where he met his wife Cecile, who was Emile's
younger sister. Jean and Cecile married in October 1924.
Jean and Cecile's first son, Laurent, was born on 30th August
1925, their second, Mathieu, on the 28th July 1926 and their
third, Thierry in 1934. |
| Jean was inspired when he heard
Cecile telling their two boys a bedtime story about an elephant.
Jean named the elephant 'Babar' and produced some pictures
in bright and clear colours. It was Jean's brother, Michel,
and brother-in-law who saw its potential and as they were
magazine publishers they soon arranged for Jardin Des Modes
to issue L'Histoire De Babar Le Petit Elephant as a large
picture book just before Christmas 1931. |
|
 |
Jean owed his initial popularity with the British children
to A.A. Milne. Milne had seen the French edition of the
first book at a friend's house in 1932 and was both impressed
and enchanted by the bright-coloured and detailed drawings,
as well as the hand written text. Milne persuaded his publishers,
Methuen, to bring out a British edition for which he provided
an introduction. So in 1934, under the title 'The Story
of Babar' was published with immediate success.
|
| Jean had been working on "Babar at
Home" and "Babar and Father Christmas" when
he was diagnosed with tuberculosis ofthe bones. Jean managed
to complete the line drawings but was too ill to complete
the full colour volumes. Jean died in the autumn of 1937
at the age of 38. |
| After his death, his French publisher Hachette,
under the supervision of Jean's brother Michel, had the
drawings coloured. Michel asked Jean's eldest son, Laurent,
who was thirteen, to colour two double-page spreads for
Babar at Home and the cover for Babar and Father Christmas.
Laurent proved to be a talented artist, and his bold, abstract
paintings were exhibited in Paris. However, since Laurent
had been making sketches of elephants in a notepad since
he was ten, he decided to produce a 'Babar' book of his
own, and in his father's style. 'Babar and that Rascal Arthur'
was published in Britain in 1948 in the familiar extra-large
format and with a hand-written text. |
|
| 
|
Laurent married Marie-Claude
in 1951 and had two children, Anne and Antoine before their
separation in the mid-1980's.
Laurent went on to produce a long series of 'Babar' picture
books. Babar's Castle (1962) shows Laurent at his best.
But with this picture-book and with the later titles the
familiar large format was abandoned and the hand-written
text replaced by letter-press. |
| In 1985, Laurent left France
for America. He lives today in Connecticut, with his second
wife, Phyllis Rose, who is a writer and teacher.
Jean De Brunhoff had written seven titles in his short
life, but even without Laurents fifty-or-so stories the
kindly elephant would still be amongst the century's great
childrens characters. |
 |
| Contributed by Fiona Lane
|
|
|
