1935 Babar the King by Jean de Brunhoff | First American Edition, Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, 1935 | Rebound with Original Covers Present

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First American edition. New York: Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, 1935. Translated from the French by Merle Haas.

Large folio, illustrated throughout in color by Jean de Brunhoff with the characteristic hand-lettered text.

The text block has been professionally rebound in green cloth with gilt spine lettering (“BABAR THE KING”), creating an attractive and durable binding that echoes the appearance of the original publisher’s boards. The original publisher’s pictorial covers are detached and included separately. These feature the iconic yellow boards showing Babar on horseback carrying the green flag; they exhibit typical edge wear and light age-related marks but retain vibrant colors. The original publisher's boards are in one piece, see last photo.

Interior is clean and unmarked: no bookplates, no ownership inscriptions, and no writing in the text. The color illustrations remain bright and vivid. A notable double-page spread shows the dream sequence of graceful winged elephants (labeled Love, Hope, Health, Work, Joy, Learning, Patience, Courage, and others) driving away the darker figures of Misfortune, Fear, Despair, Indolence, Sickness, and related ills. Copyright page present as issued (“Copyright 1935 by Harrison Smith and Robert Haas / Printed in the U.S.A.”). No dust jacket.

Binding is sound and the book displays exceptionally well.

Noted flaws include:

• Approximately 1" closed tear at the bottom margin of page 23.
• Approximately 1" closed tear at the bottom margin of page 35.

Babar the King, originally published in French as Le Roi Babar in 1933, was first introduced to American readers in this 1935 edition from Harrison Smith and Robert Haas, translated by Merle Haas.

An appealing, solid copy of the true first American edition (preceding the later Random House issues) of this classic Babar title, with the original covers preserved and the illustrations in strong color.

Large Folio: Approximately 10.25" by 14.25" tall.