Kent, Rockwell — François-Marie Arouet Voltaire | Candide, hand-colored for presentation

Kent, Rockwell (illustrator) — François-Marie Arouet Voltaire

Candide. New York: Random House / Pynson Printers, 1928

Folio (290 x 385mm). 27 double-sided sheets on Arches laid rag paper, comprising 103 printed illustrations by Kent, printed and colored by hand: one vignette on the half-title, three full-page scenes, one headpiece, 25 historiated initials, and 73 tail piece vignettes; one sheet with mild marginal browning, two with a few spots of foxing, lacking two sheets (nos. 29–32 and 69–72). [Together with:] Printed exhibition invitation, designed by Kent and handcolored, announcing the Candide publication event in May 1928, laid in original printed envelope. Contemporary custom portfolio with dark blue morocco spine, light blue silk ties, front flap inset with a color reproduction of the title-page, the interior lined with Arches paper.

A striking presentation of Rockwell Kent’s celebrated illustrations for Candide, printed and colored by hand.

First published in 1759, Candide is Voltaire’s satirical conte philosophique, here illustrated by Rockwell Kent in 1928 for the first imprint of the newly founded Random House. Four sets of hand-colored printed illustrations of Candide were produced under Kent's direction, and each allegedly given to one of the women who painted the limited edition by hand.

The portfolio includes a rare hand-colored invitation to the Candide exhibition at the Pynson Printers showroom, and features the now-iconic colophon device—designed by Kent—that would become Random House’s trademark.