Re: [CR]Rebour Original Drawing Availability

(Example: Framebuilders)

Date: Tue, 7 Mar 2006 07:29:25 -0800 (PST)
From: "Brett Horton" <bretthorton@thehortoncollection.com>
Subject: Re: [CR]Rebour Original Drawing Availability
To: James Swan <jswan@optonline.net>
In-Reply-To: <4e1823fd0c52de101e46de9851741cdf@optonline.net>
cc: classicrendezvous@bikelist.org

Many, probably most, of the drawings that were on Rebour's full page paste-ups have long since been pulled off. One reason is the full pages were on really fragile paper that tore to shreds just looking at it. Second, Rebour re-used drawings all the time and would merely pull one drawing off and use it for another application. (Remember, this was commercial graphic output. I seriously doubt it ever crossed Rebour's mind that someday people would be clamoring to get their hands on his stuff.) Finally, Rebour periodically used rubber cement to hold the pictures in place. Unfortunately, in the long run, rubber cement will burn through most paper and visually ruin the original art. So, for the sake of the arts survival, the drawings held with rubber cement were removed from the original backing sheet then treated so as to arrest any further paper burning.

Brett Horton San Francisco

James Swan <jswan@optonline.net> wrote: <snip> I have one tiny Rebour original hanging in my shop. It showed up in the mail about a year ago. It was a gift from a former customer who moved away years ago. He had purchased an original paste-up from one of those montage pages from Le Cycle magazine. He purchased the page on eBay and separated each of the original drawings; framed them, and gave them away. The one that I received is a lower head lug and it has the word RADAR written on it in blue ink.

I was thrilled to have a Rebour original, but my euphoria was outweighed by my outrage that he had dismantled the original paste-up. I offered to send the piece back and urged him to put the page back together. He thought I was over reacting and so did a few other knowledgeable listees. So I hung the thing on the wall and there it is. <snip>