Remarkably unique custom-bound hardcover album, 15.5 x 19.5, containing 44 caricature drawings by Enrico Caruso. Each drawing—31 in pencil or graphite and the remainder in ink, crayon, or pencil traced over in ink—has been sleeved into a mat, and the mat sheets bound into the album. The drawings range in size from approximately 7.75 x 4 to 12 x 8.5. Sketches primarily feature portraits of men in profile, but also include men in formal wear, a clown figure, a singer in a Shakespearean costume, an abstract sketch, a person in manacles, a woman in profile, and a self-portrait. Two sketches signed “Enrico Caruso” and three signed on the reverse, one “E. Caruso” and the others “Enrico Caruso.” Sixteen items bear show-through from the reverse of either numbers, dates, initials, or possible signatures. In fine condition, with scattered light toning to the pages, one mat page loose, and some wear to the gilt lettering. The album was once housed within a secondary cover, with the spine and front board detached and the back board barely attached.
Caruso was not only the most famous tenor who ever lived, he also could draw gorgeous caricatures. This immense volume is a superior example of this artistic touch. The high-quality sketches also show hints of Caruso’s humorous side in some of their make-up, as caricatures are wont to do, with elongated and exaggerated features. Although research has shown that some of the examples here are similar in design to Caruso drawings that have been reproduced throughout the years—comparable examples can be found in his son’s book, Caruso’s Caricatures—the exact drawings here do not appear to have ever before been published. Among the 44 likenesses are depictions of French composer Gustave Charpentier, conductor Nahan Franko, and violinist Mischa Elman, as well as a self-caricature of Caruso in Les Huguenots. According to the consignor, this truly one-of-a-kind collection was originally the property of their father, a minor Italian tenor whose family lived in Chicago from the 1930s onward.Accompanied by a 2010 insurance appraisal of the collection. Truly an incredible item worthy of having its praises sung! RR Auction COA.
