EXTRACTS: Illustrators issue 14 © 2016 The Book Palace (96 PAGES in Full edition)

60 history of costume. It is also noteworthy that Leloir’s father, himself an historical painter, had been a personal friend of Alexandre Dumas. Maurice Leloir produced 250 pen and ink drawings of the finest quality for this two volume edition of ‘The Three Musketeers’, published the following year, 1894. On completing the work, he wrote to Alexandre Dumas Fils: “For two years I have been living with D’Artagnan, Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and the many personages of that great epopee. I trust that I may soon meet them again in ‘Twenty Years After’!” (Leloir was referring to the sequel to ‘The Three Musketeers’, which, unfortunately, was never to be included in these illustrated editions.) It was Leloir’s depictions, in these two volumes of Dumas’ epic of adventure, that were to establish forever in the public’s mind the look of these Musketeers and, indeed, all the other characters in Dumas’ novel. When Douglas Fairbanks, at the time the most powerful star in Hollywood, conceived his screenplay for ‘The Iron Mask’, based on Dumas’ ‘The Three Musketeers’, ‘TheMan in the IronMask andTheMemoirs of D’Artagnan’, he was insistent that no expense should be spared to create the proper period atmosphere for this movie. He decided to travel to Paris personally to consult the celebrated Dumas illustrator, Maurice Leloir. The result was that Leloir was contracted to come to Hollywood for five months to design the entire film. The Iron Mask , the last of Fairbanks' silent movies, was released in February, 1929. In the opening credits the following bold statement is made, which clearly shows just how highly Leloir was rated as an artist of truly international status: “This entire production was under the supervision of Maurice Leloir, Member of the Society of French Artists, illustrator of ‘The Three Musketeers’; the acknowledged authority on the period depicted.” Leloir wrote a fascinating book about ABOVE: Such was the power of Leloir's visualisations that Douglas Fairbanks commissioned him to design the sets for The Iron Mask. RIGHT: The title page to 'The Three Musketeers. FACING PAGE: Clouds of smoke provide a neat metaphor for the Cardinal's scheming. 'Richelieu' 1901.