Edward Julius Detmold, 
British 1883-1957- 
'Mowgli and Bagheera': original illustration for...

Edward Julius Detmold, 
British 1883-1957- 

'Mowgli and Bagheera': original illustration for Rudyard Kipling's 'The Jungle Book'; 

pencil, watercolour and bodycolour on paper laid down on canvas, signed with monogram and dated 'EJD / 1902' (lower right), bears plaque which reads '"Good! Now I have seen men thrust a dry branch into that stuff and presently / the Red Flower blossomed at the end of it. Art thou not afraid?" / "No. Why should I fear? I remember now - if it is not a dream - how / before I was a Wolf, I lay beside the Red Flower, and it was warm and pleasant." / The Jungle Book.', 53 x 43 cm. ARR. 

Provenance: 
Private Collection, UK (by descent). 

Exhibited:
London, The Dutch Gallery, 14 Brook Street, ‘An Exhibition of Water-Colour Drawings. Illustrations to Rudyard Kipling’s "Jungle Book", etc. By Maurice and Edward Detmold’, November 1903, no.6 (as 'Mowgli and the Red Flower'). 

Literature:  
‘Sixteen Illustrations of Subjects from Kipling’s “Jungle Book” by Messrs. Maurice and Edward Detmold’, London, Macmillan & Co., 1903, no.3 (500 copies were made). 
R. Kipling, 'The Jungle Book', London, Macmillan & Co., 1908 (etc.). 

Engraved:
For R. Kipling, ‘The Jungle Book’, 1903, 1908 (etc.).  

Note: 
Edward Julius Detmold and his twin brother Charles Maurice Detmold (1883-1908), known as Maurice, were artistic child prodigies, who, at the age of thirteen, became the youngest artists to exhibit at the Royal Academy, London. Their work exhibits the influence of the Japanese woodblock prints collected by their uncle and guardian, Dr Edward Barton Shuldham (1837-1924), who also encouraged their interest in natural history, and in the depiction of animals and plants.

‘The Jungle Book’ was first published in book form in London in 1894 by Macmillan. This original edition collected stories that Kipling had previously published in magazines in 1893-4, and included illustrations from the author's father amongst other artists. In 1903, Macmillan published a volume of ‘Sixteen Illustrations of Subjects from Kipling's "Jungle Book"' as a standalone portfolio with the plates mounted on card (see literature). This portfolio helped establish the twins’ reputation and was separate from the continuous text of Kiping’s book. The Detmold twins were just eighteen when they received this commission to produce sixteen watercolour illustrations, of which only five are known to have survived today: ‘Kaa the Python’ [Natural History Museum]; ‘The Return of the Buffalo Herd’ [National Trust NT 761881]; 'Baloo in the Forest' [National Trust]; ‘The Monkey Fight’ [Private Collection, Exhibited at the Dulwich Picture Gallery, 2007]; and one further unnamed work in a private collection. This and the preceding lot are therefore lot highly important rediscoveries to add to this number. In 1908, the first standard printed edition of ‘The Jungle Book’ incorporating the Detmold illustrations within the book format (bound with text) was published by Macmillan. This edition contained the 16 plates and a frontispiece illustrated by the Detmold twins. The twins’ imagery was hugely significant and fundamentally shaped the public image of Kipling’s characters and settings until Disney’s 1967 animation created a new visual tradition.

Maurice's career was tragically cut short by his suicide at the age of 24, in 1908, leaving his brother Edward Julius to work alone, who went on to produce illustrations for publications including 'The Fables of Aesop' in 1909 and 'Arabian Nights' in 1924. Edward Julius withdrew completely from public life towards the end of his career, and committed suicide in 1957, at the age of 73. 

On 19 July 1977, Christie’s London sold off 16 original watercolour drawings by the Detmold brothers from the property of the late Mrs Nora E. M. Joy, the artists’ sister, including ‘The Return of the Buffalo Herd’. The present work was not amongst these and its whereabouts at this point are unknown.

The quote which accompanies this work refers to the moment in which Mowgli describes his first encounter with fire, referred to as the 'Red Flower'. This symbolises Mowgli's acknowledgment of himself as a human, rather than a wolf-cub, as fire is a uniquely human tool which the animals of the jungle fear. 

We are grateful to Iain MacPhail for confirming the attribution of the present lot.