William Timlin

William Timlin (1892-1943)
The Arrival
with two leaves of calligraphic text (the contents list for 'Part three: Mars', and the descriptive text to accompany the present illustration; text in black with the initial letters and decoration in blue); illustration signed 'WILLIAM. M. TIMLIN.' (bottom left)
watercolour on paper
each: 10⁵⁄₈ x 9³⁄₄in. (27 x 24.7cm.)
executed circa 1923

A beautiful watercolour for William Timlin's celebrated work The Ship that Sailed to Mars.

Born in Northumberland before emigrating to South Africa where he studied art, William Timlin was a masterful illustrator and architect whose work radiates otherworldly beauty and fantasy. The present watercolour and accompanying calligraphic pages are original productions for The Ship That Sailed to Mars, Timlin's most famous publication that tells a fantastical tale about an old man who dreams of voyaging to Mars. With the help of mystical creatures, he builds a ship and embarks on an extraordinary journey through enchanted realms and starry skies to reach the red planet.

Published by George Harrap, with large calligraphic text mounted, like plates, on grey matte paper, the published work is divided into three sections detailing the building of the ship, the voyage and finally the Arrival. The present watercolour, the first illustration from the final section, captures the ship's arrival into Mars's atmosphere, welcomed by the Martian princess.

Alpheus Fuller Williams, Vergenoeg, Muizenberg, and thence by descent until sold from the following,
Strauss & Co., Cape Town, 15 March 2010, lot 149.