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37
SATYAJIT RAY ILLUSTRATES TAGORE
BOOK FOR CHILDREN
THE CHEESE DOLL by Abanindranath Tagore
Drawings by SATYAJIT RAY
pp. ii, 40
With 14 drawings by SATYAJIT RAY
1 drawing is full-page, the rest in various sizes in the text.
12 printed in red, 2 in red and black.
CALCUTTA: Signet Press
Published December 1945
Translated by Nilima Devi
2-page introduction by Amiya Chakravarty
Original illustrated paper-covered boards with cloth
strip for spine.
Size 11 x 7.5 inches
English translation of Abanindranath Tagore's classic
children's book 'Khirer Putul'
A child's bookplate pasted on front endpaper.
At the time Ray illustrated this highly elusive
rarity he was only 24, having started work with D.
J. Keymer, a British advertising agency, two years
earlieras a junior visualiser on Rs 80 per month. He
subsequently also worked for Signet Press, a newly-
started publishing house, designing book covers and
illustrating a children's version of Pather Panchali. But
he was unknown at the time he did this book and his
involvement in cinema was still in the distant future.
Published soon after the end of WWII the paper used
reflects wartime economy and going by its scarcity the
edition must have been quite small.
Rs 1,00,000-Rs 1,20,000
$1,540-$1,850