He meets the benevolent Old Lady and is introduced to the magical world of tailored suits, fine dining and pampered living. Histoire de Babar follows a young orphaned elephant, who seeks refuge in a city after a hunter kills his mother.

They were so captivated that they asked their artist father Jean de Brunhoff to illustrate the tale, and so began the story that led to worldwide acclaim. One of the most beloved children’s books, Histoire de Babar started off as a story Cécile de Brunhoff told her young sons at bedtime. See also: Folio Society Titles Range from Alice In Wonderland to Kung Fu I’m almost afraid to touch it, it’s so beautiful!’ Upon seeing a final production of The Folio Society edition, Laurent de Brunhoff, the son of Jean de Brunhoff who took over the series after his father’s death, has said: ‘We are completely blown away by the edition you’ve done of The Story of Babar!! It’s simply MAGNIFICENT. See also: An Offer You Can’t Refuse – Folio Society Edition of Mario Puzo’s The Godfather Beloved The first edition is newly translated into English, from the original French, by Christine Nelson and Sophie Lewis. The commentary opens with Faïza Guène’s newly commissioned essay The Go-Between, and includes New Yorker columnist Adam Gopnik’s essay Freeing the Elephants and Christine Nelson’s essay Babar Begins.

The Story of Babar also includes a fascinating commentary volume, bringing together a selection of writing on both Babar and de Brunhoff as well as a detailed annotation of each of the sketches and the maquette alongside thumbnail reproductions of every page. See also: Folio Society Brings Robin Hobb’s Farseer Trilogy to Life Working closely with Christine Nelson and Drue Heinz Curator of Literary and Historical Manuscripts at The Morgan, The Folio Society has faithfully reproduced the first sketches of Babar, de Brunhoff ’s original handmade mock-up book (maquette) and a facsimile of the French first-edition of the published book. The Story of Babar – Jean de Brunhoff ’s original artwork for Histoire de Babar is held in the archives of The Morgan Library & Museum in New York, but is too fragile for permanent public display.

The Story of Babar follows the incredible journey of ‘le petit éléphant’ from bedtime tale to one of the most memorable and loved children’s stories of all time. Limited to 750 copies, the edition features specially commissioned essays, archive material, sketches and a maquette. A limited edition of Jean de Brunhoff’s children’s classic The Story of Babar has been produced by The Folio Society.

Original babar the elephant