100 Years of Illustration :

Perfect for posting on Valentines Day 2010. A Peynet illustration of his iconic lovers in an ad for Schiaparelli perfumes that appeared in the mid 1950s.

The French edition of the book that traveled the world in print and in subject matter, see Pisa, below

I was first introduced to Peynet’s work by Ton Smits , 1921-1981, a

Dutch cartoonist I met in Holland in 1957. We were both contributors

to This Week magazine, a Sunday newspaper supplement which had at the

time the largest circulation of any publication. (Ton was also under contract to The New Yorker.) His work was much like that of Peynet, very low key and charming.

Raymond Peynet brought warmth and charm to his readers and admirers.

He did not succeed very well with American audiences and I can’t

recall ever seeing one of his cartoons in our publications beyond the

work that appeared in fashion magazines such as the Schiaparelli ad

shown below. “Too sweet,” was the response we got from our This Week

editors when we mentioned him. They knew his work but thought it too

subtle for American newspaper readers. A pity, but slapstick and broad

humor was what editors wanted in those days, not that their tastes

have since then.

[My aplogies -- The link above is to Johnny Martz's great blog, Drawn! that has a link to some of Ton's work that I had uploaded for a cartoon blog which I have since discontinued. Here, below is a Ton Smits cartoon from a Dutch publication of 1953. Click on image to enlarge it.

Courtesy DeGong Jaar Boek 1917-1953, St. Joriscollege, Eindhoven, Netherlands.

Another 1950s ad for Schiaparelli perfumes from Paris.

Photo courtesy of Arnaldo Mondadori Editore's Italian weekly Epoca for 17 November 1957. Peynet sketches his Denise, who for 30 years has been his inspiration and the female model for his drawings of Parisian lovers.

http://www.librerie.it/raymond-peynet.html is an Italian link where I found the following:

Raymond Peynet nasce il 16 novembre 1908 a Parigi. Si sposa con Denise

Damour ed avrà una figlia, Annie. E’ l'ultimo giovane ammesso a

Germain Pilon, il futuro istituto di Arte Applicata all'Industria ed è

uno dei fratelli Lumière a consegnargli il diploma. Il suo primo

impegno è presso un pubblicista e, in seguito, presso un decoratore.

Infine trova lavoro presso Tolmer dove realizza manifesti, confezioni

per farmaci, scatole diverse. Si prodiga, quindi, per aprire una

propria agenzia, ma la guerra è alle porte. Si trasforma in

disegnatore dell'esercito, realizza esposizioni itineranti per i

prigionieri; poi, prigioniero a sua volta, evade. Prima della guerra

aveva iniziato ad inviare dei disegni a giornali e riviste ed a

illustrare libri. Nel 1942, davanti al chiosco della Musica nel parco

di Valence, Peynet inventa la famosa coppietta. Manda i disegni

all’amico Max Favalelli, allora redattore della rivista “Ric e Rac”,

che li chiamerà “gli innamorati di Peynet”. È l’inizio di una lunga

storia. I due fidanzati viaggiano in tutto il mondo.

Contemporaneamente, Peynet realizza scene e costumi teatrali, disegna

l’espositore e il cofanetto del profumo Succès fou di Elsa

Schiapparelli, illustra libri e intensifica la sua attività nel campo

della grafica. "Le Kiosque des Amoureux de Peynet" diverrà monumento

storico. Muore il 14 gennaio 1999.

Covers for Air France customer brochures.

A UK edition in paperback. Below, two reprints from Grosset and Dunlap, USA.

And below, a UK publication. I recognize the lettering as similar to that which appeared in some of Ronald Searle's work.

I found this New Year's copy of a French publication on newsprint with more of Peynet's artwork and characters. It's undated but I guess I would have bought it at the newsstand in Harvard Square in the late 1950s.