[Dahl, Roald]--Bennett, Jill.

i) double page cover illustration, 209 by 282mm., fine watercolour and gouache drawing, signed "Jill Bennett" in lower left;



ii) 61 (of 63) black and white illustrations, including larger illustrations in sections, on 48 sheets used in 1974 Puffin edition, 110 by 110mm. (average), all signed "Jill Bennett", occasional adhesive tape marks;



iii) single black and white illustration, apparently unpublished, 57 by 100mm., signed "Jill Bennett" in lower right;



iv) printed black and white drawing, 52 by 45mm., signed "Jill Bennett" in lower right;



v) "Little male foxes", preliminary pencil drawings, 205 by 210mm., signed "Jill Bennett" in lower left, with annotations by Roald Dahl;



vi) archive of correspondence including letters from Kaye Webb, Roald Dahl (photocopy) and Doreen Scott to Jill Bennett regarding her work on this title, 16 pages, 16 June 1972 – 3 March 1977;



vii) 45 black and white illustrations, on 15 sheets, comprising apparently unpublished drawings, all signed "Jill Bennett";



viii) printed poster for 1986 theatre production, 417 by 296mm.

An exceptional archive relating to the illustrations for one of Roald Dahl's most popular books.

The Puffin edition of Roald Dahl's Fantastic Mr Fox was first published in 1974 with illustrations by Jill Bennett.

Jill Bennett was born in 1934 and studied at Wimbledon School of Art and the Slade. She was approached by Penguin Books in June 1972 to provide illustrations for Fantastic Mr Fox. A letter included here from Kaye Webb reports Dahl's reaction to her drawings. This archive reveals a fastidious author taking an active role in the illustrations for his book. This lot includes a sheet of preliminary pencil drawings annotated by Dahl "These two different expressions are fine. But what about one showing delight, rapture?" A photocopied letter from Dahl to Kaye Webb notes that he was "happy to go through the book with her [Jill Bennett]... I've never done this before, but have often wanted to..."

It appears that an initial set of drawings was produced in an incorrect size for the format of the book. These 45 illustrations on 15 sheets are apparently unpublished. The extant published drawings comprise 61 (of 63) black and white illustrations. In addition there is a fine double page cover illustration which was used for the published edition. An illustration of the Smallest Fox (from page 70) and the hiding place of Mr Fox, Badger and the Smallest Fox (from page 74) are assumed to have been destroyed. The page 70 illustration is present in the archive as a printed illustration mounted on board. In addition there is one illustration, of the Fox family, which was also apparently unpublished.

Following her success on this title, the artist was commissioned by Penguin to work on the author's Danny, Champion of the World. The archive relating to this title was offered for sale at the Olympia Antiquarian Book Fair in May 2012 for £85,000.