'One of a kind' Roald Dahl sketches to be sold at auction in Edinburgh

Rare drawings by celebrated children’s author Roald Dahl are to be sold at an auction in Edinburgh after being found in an envelope.

The “one-of-a-kind” sketches were drawn with a black ballpoint pen by the Welsh-born author for his memoir “Boy” in 1984.

They are the only known drawings that Dahl produced before his death aged 74 in 1990.

The sketches will now be sold as part of Lyon & Turnbull’s books and manuscripts sale in the Capital on June 18, and are estimated to fetch between £20,000-£30,00.

In Boy, Dahl recalled various exploits from his childhood, including playing a prank with his friends on the local sweetshop owner, Mrs Pratchett, by putting a dead mouse in a gobstopper jar.

Dahl drew a mouse lying on top of the sweets with its legs in the air to illustrate the escapade.

He had being approached to help by publishing house Jonathan Cape as his usual illustrator, Quentin Blake, was on holiday.

The drawings were found in an envelope marked “Dahl’s drawings & odds and sods” which belonged to Ian Craig, the art director at Jonathan Cape.

Mr Craig, who died in 2023, created the final illustrations for the book, inspired by Dahl’s drawings, and received a blue cashmere cardigan as a gift from the author.

The sketches being auctioned are part of the production archive for Boy from Mr Craig’s estate.

Mr Craig oversaw the production of Boy and the archive includes his designs, as well as the original page layouts and correspondence.

He also came up with the title, and received a letter from Dahl saying: “I must thank you for coming up with the first sensible title for my book. ‘Boy’ is fine. We all like it…”

Mr Craig, who grew up in Ipswich, graduated from Edinburgh College of Art and joined Jonathan Cape in 1973, five years before Dahl began a partnership with illustrator Blake.

His widow Kate Craig, who also worked at Jonathan Cape, said: “The publication of Boy was on a very tight publication schedule.

“As Quentin Blake was away on holiday, Ian asked Dahl if he could help with the illustrations.

“Dahl ended up producing a variety of sketches which Ian used as inspiration for his own drawings.

“Ian never got paid for the illustrations, but Dahl did give him one of his trademark blue cashmere cardigans as a thank-you, which he treasured.”

Dominic Somerville-Brown, Lyon & Turnbull’s rare books and manuscripts specialist, said: “It’s absolutely thrilling to see Roald Dahl’s one-of-a-kind, hand-drawn sketches up close.

“They are a unique addition to his canon and allow us to observe the transformation of his childhood memories into the printed form, a medium in which they would be cherished by generations of readers.

“Ian Craig undoubtedly played a key role in Dahl’s publishing success, overseeing not only the production of Boy, but many more of his famous children’s stories.

“This archive gives an insight into the creative processes behind a book still enjoyed by children across the world today.”