In 1910, Duffy married. The position of the family man obliged him to search for money. At this time he received an offer from his friend, the poet Guillaume Apollinaire, to make illustrations for a book of poems, over which he then worked. This collection was called “Bestiary” and consisted of allegorical quatrains describing various animals.
On each page there was only a quatrain, so there was enough space for a large engraving on the sheet. Here are two illustrations of Dufy to this collection of poems by Apollinaire: “Carp” and “Camel”. Dufy portrayed the animals boldly, vividly and in full accordance with the text of Apollinaire.
Unfortunately, only fifty copies of this book were sold, which led to the ruin of the publisher. Now “Bestiary” – a bibliographic rarity, for which collectors hunt.
