Jean de Brunhoff’s original cover artwork for Le Roi Babar (1933) could make up to $30,000 at PBA Galleries.

The book is the third in Brunhoff’s hugely popular series, which tells the story of a young elephant crowned king of his tribe.

Babar is one of the most popular comic franchises of all time

The auction house comments: “This is one of only seven cover illustrations in existence; the others are known to be held in private and institutional collections.”

Values for Franco-Belgian comics and children's books have increased dramatically over the past few years. Tintin leads the market, with a page from Explorers on the Moon achieving $2.4m last year - a record for an original piece of comic book art.

More recently, a page from Gosciny and Uderzo’s Asterix the Soothsayer achieved $341,500 in January – up 71% on its estimate.

The demand for Babar is lower than these two market leaders, but that could change as buyers seek an investment with the potential to grow.

This cover for one of Brunhoff’s most celebrated books offers a great chance to find out.  

Pick up your own piece of comic strip history here.

Edward Gorey’s cover art for a never-realised work titled The Worsted Monster is valued at $8,000-12,000.

The piece dates to the early 1950s, likely before the publication of Gorey’s first book The Unstrung Harp; Or, Mr. Earbrass Writes a Novel (1953).

The illustrations in the story are very similar to those shown here, making this an exceptional example of Gorey’s early style.

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