Original illustration by Bob Dacey from A Sense of Shelter

This is an original watercolor illustration by Bob Dacey. A captivating piece, it captures the emotion of two high school students in the middle of a conversation about their feelings for each other.

This is a tender and youthfully nostalgic piece that was used to illustrate the short story “A Sense of Shelter” by John Updike that appeared in the 1981 The Franklin Library publication “Pigeon Feathers and Other Stories”, which was a collection of short stories by Updike.

The Franklin Library’s Original Illustration Commissions

From its founding in 1973 until its closing in 2000 The Franklin Library produced public domain classic books as well as some limited first editions, releasing them in subscription series such as The Collected Stories of the World’s Greatest Writers. Often released in parallel series including leather bound and a non-leather bound (leatherette), the books were handsomely bound and included numerous original illustrations from contemporary artists.