A
striking image of the ‘boy who wouldn’t grow up’
is to go under the hammer in London this June. A rare watercolour
poster for J.M. Barrie’s stage production of ‘Peter
Pan’ by Charles Buchel (active 1895 – 1935), and the
first image to depict a ‘Wendy House,’ is to be sold
at Bonhams Auctioneers on New Bond Street on 7 June at an estimate
of £2,000 – 3,000.

Something of a theatrical revolution took place at the Duke
of York theatre on 27 December 1904 as Barrie’s now-legendary
play embraced and enchanted an audience of both children and
adults. An instant hit, the play ran for 145 performances and
was published as a novel in 1911. It has delighted generations
ever since, and has been adapted into numerous films, the most
recent of which was ‘Neverland,’ which told the story
of J.M. Barrie and how he created ‘Peter Pan’ for
Sylvia Llewellyn-Davies’s five children.

The play introduced to children everywhere the ‘Wendy
House’ – a small play-house named after the young
girl spirited away to Neverland with her brothers for a series
of remarkable adventures, and Buchel’s painting was the
first to immortalise the now-favourite childhood plaything.
When Wendy is accidentally shot with a bow and arrow, Peter
and the ‘Lost Boys’ decide to build a house around
her while she recovers. Buchel’s painted scene captures
the scene perfectly:

“(Wendy) herself slept that night in the little house,
and Peter kept watch outside with drawn sword, for the pirates
could be heard carousing far away and the wolves were on the
prowl. The little house looked so cosy and safe in the darkness,
with a bright light showing through its blinds, and the chimney
smoking beautifully, and Peter standing on guard.” (J.M.
Barrie, ‘Peter Pan,’ 1911)

This image dates from circa 1910 and would have been used as
a replacement poster for Buchel’s original advertising
images for the 1904 production, which depicted Wendy and Peter
flying above the rooftops on their way to Neverland. Buchel
was an artist who loved the theatre and claimed that he ‘probably
had as sitters, more actors and actress than any other living
artist.’ He provided artwork for most of the leading actor-managers
of the day, and painted theatrical scenes and portraits for
illustrated magazines. Indeed, this image was also reproduced
as an advertising postcard by Waddingtons.

The poster, executed in watercolour and bodycolour, and measuring
19 by 28 inches, is to sell at Bonhams’ auction of Fine
British & Continental Watercolours and Drawings on 7 June
2005.

For more details visit the Bonhams
web site.