L’IntrĂ©pide Soldat de Plomb

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The Steadfast Tin Soldier

Drawing by Françoise Taylor, 1945/46
Actual size: 285mm high x 210mm wide
See also Le Soldat de Plomb (1) | Le Soldat de Plomb (2)

L’Intrépide Soldat de Plomb (‘The Steadfast Tin Soldier’) is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Andersen about a tin soldier’s love for a paper ballerina. It was first published in 1838 as part of a collection of fairy tales for children. Françoise sometimes wrote in her pictures in small letters. In this picture:

Le grand artiste se noie dans le [unreadable] / Sa femme se tue de désespoire (The great artist drowns himself in [unreadable] / His wife kills herself in desperation)

Monsieur Churchill défie le President Truman / Truman a la lutte à main platte (Mr Churchill defies President Truman / Truman slaps him in the face)

L’Angleterre emprunte à la Belgique 4 tonnes de fromage de Herve (England borrows 4 tons of Herve cheese from Belgium)

On n’est pas toujours logique dans tout ce qu’on fait (We do not always make sense in everything we do)

From drawings by Françoise Taylor

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