« L’Ours en peluche » [Teddy Bear]
[1960].
Gouache and graphite on 1 f. canson (435 x 185 mm), studio stamp on back.
Original mock-up for a draft dust jacket for the novel published by Presses de la Cité in 1960, annotated on the back with “Bon” in Simenon’s handwriting.
We apologize for the imperfect translation generated by Deepl for the purposes of the show.
We have obtained the volume edition, with its dust jacket. Another completely different version will not be considered for this title but will be used to illustrate the reissue of Temps d’Anaïs. This copy comes from the personal archives of the illustrator, Jean Jacquelin, with a stamp from the estate.
Jean Jacquelin worked on 27 of Simenon’s novels for Presses de la Cité between 1957 and 1962. He made his debut in 1946, with the first reissue of Three Rooms in Manhattan, for which he designed the first dust jacket. But it was not until ten years later that Sven Nielsen, the boss of Presses de la Cité, entrusted him with the production of new illustrations, at a time when the design of the covers was taking a new turn with the abandonment of photographic covers in favour of illustrated covers.
Jean Jacquelin was already a recognised poster designer at that time. Artistic director of the Step agency from 1929, he produced several cinema posters from 1940 onwards, while continuing his activities as an advertising designer for numerous sectors: automobiles (Peugeot, Delage, Simca, Buick, Fiat), energy (Antar, Esso, Shell), print media (Paris-Soir, L’Intransigeant, Éditions Froissart, Presses de la Cité), fashion (Scandale, Magasin Le Printemps), tourism and travel (SNCF, Air France, Aéropostale, Compagnie Transatlantique, etc.) and numerous brands and events (Crédit Foncier, 24 Hours of Le Mans, Coop, Vittel, Casino d’Enghein, Brandt, Champagne Mercier, Semaine du Cinéma, the castles of the Loire Valley, etc.).
His two most famous posters are undoubtedly those for Jacques Tati’s Jour de fête and Jacques Becker’s Casque d’or, with Simone Signoret and Serge Reggiani. A major exhibition was devoted to him in 1993 at the Forney Library, coupled with a richly illustrated catalogue (Jean Jacquelin, poster and advertising designer; Forney Library Exhibition from 29 April to 28 May 1993).
Jean Jacquelin’s work at Presses de la Cité was the result of a collaboration with Georges Simenon, to whom he submitted his original models: the author gave him his approval (or not), sometimes giving him some pointers. Several of the models, like this one, are annotated by Simenon.
