This lot will be auctioned on Tuesday, June 21st. The auction will begin at 8:00am PDT and lots are sold sequentially via live auctioneer; tune in to the live streaming broadcast on auction day to follow the pace. Note other lots in the auction may close on Wednesday, June 22nd; Thursday, June 23rd; or Friday, June 24th.

A circa 1980s bound copy of the storyboard and design bible for Alejandro Jodorowsky's unproduced version of the sci-fi epic Dune, based on the novel by Frank Herbert. Director Jodorowsky and producer Michel Seydoux went through an extensive development period in 1974 and 1975 for their never-realized version of the film, working with famed artists Jean Giraud, known as Moebius, Chris Foss, and H.R. Giger. As they developed and attempted to finance the project, they produced a visual bible containing a complete illustrated storyboard for the film done by Moebius, as well as concept illustrations for vehicles, characters, and sets by Moebius and artists Foss and Giger. These binders, produced in 1974 or 1975, were used by the creative team to express the vision for the project. They were bound in cloth, with a printed color cover attached to the front along the lines of a promotional poster. Only a small number were produced for the key team members of the project.

In the 1980s, a very few exceptional printed copies of the original design bible were created. These copies were distinguished by their red leather covers and gold title lettering. They also included the full storyboard and numerous design sketches by Foss, Giger, and Moebius and are believed to be complete reproductions of the original production-era bible. A copy of the original cover is also bound into the red-leather version. They were a larger size than the original binders, and as they were likely an additional generation along in the copying process, binding can be seen on the right edge of many of the printed pages in this version of the design bible. The red-leather books were created at Jean Giraud's company Starwatcher Graphics and only a handful of these later copies are known to exist; this example has been with the current owner since approximately 1988 and was received from Starwatcher at that time.

This printed book opens with seven color printed pages of character designs and moves into more than 250 black-and-white printed pages containing extensive storyboards for all 90 scenes of the proposed film, along with intermittent printed design sketches for vehicles, sets, and other visual elements of the film. The storyboards were originally drawn by Moebius, who also created most of the costume designs. Many other design sketches and illustrations were created by Foss and Giger. The storyboard pages contain text descriptions in both French and English.

Jodorowsky's Dune project has been heavily studied by cinephiles and celebrated in the 2013 documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. These design bibles are therefore well-known to fans of his work, despite their exceeding rarity; only a couple examples of the production-era bibles have been offered in the past, and this is believed to be the only "second edition" (circa 1980s) version to come to auction. The book exhibits minor wear on the corners, and some variation on the quality and clarity of the printed images on the interior. Dimensions: 18" x 12" x 2" (45.75 cm x 30.5 cm x 5 cm)

Sold without copyright; see notice in the Buyer's Guide.

Estimate: $40,000 - 60,000



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