Kruis, Jan - 1 Original cover drawing - Sjors (magazine) - 1969

Sjors (and Sjimmie) is a long-running comic series, originally American and later also produced and published in the Netherlands. The comic centers around two boys: Sjors and Sjimmie, inseparable friends and pranksters who experience exciting adventures. Both single-page strips and longer serial stories in which they have real adventures have been published. The Dutch version was initially drawn by Frans Piët. He Dutchified the stories by replacing skyscrapers with mills and other familiar Dutch scenes. In the 1930s, the first story appeared in album form. However, with the entry of the United States into World War II, all American comics were banned in Germany and its territories. After the war, Haarlem-born Frans Piët began to adapt the story more to his liking. He had Sjors meet a dark boy, Sjimmie, then still called Jimmy, after a long journey in a circus. They became inseparable. Jimmy was depicted as a jet-black boy with thick red lips, who was much less intelligent than Sjors and spoke in a kind of pidgin ('Sjimmie not know what he must do'). Initially, he had Afro hair, but because the artist found that too laborious, he was given a bald head with a few loose hairs. Sjors and Sjimmie founded the Rebel Club and experienced various adventures, including one inspired by the lion that recognizes his former benefactor, from the hand of the classical Roman writer Aulus Gellius. The stories were also published in book form, in large comic books printed alternately in black-and-white and color. When the magazine Sjors was established, Sjors and Sjimmie became somewhat more well-behaved. During those years, the classic albums Sjors and Sjimmie as journalists, Sjors and Sjimmie and the Gas Bell, Sjors and Sjimmie and the mysterious submarine, and Sjors and Sjimmie and the BMX star were also published. When the magazine Sjors was modernized in the late 1960s, comic artist Jan Kruis began creating Sjors and Sjimmie, giving the characters a more contemporary appearance. He was assisted by scenarist Martin Lodewijk.

In 1969, Jan Kruis took over the comic strip by Frans Piët. He gave the duo a more contemporary appearance and no longer had Sjors & Sjimmie wandering around the world, but instead arranged for them to move with the Colonel and Sally to the small Wadden island Schiermeeuwenoog. There, the Colonel takes on the exciting role of lighthouse keeper. Jan Kruis drew only two stories, the last of which, The Ring of Schiermeeuwenoog, was based on a script by Martin - Agent 327 - Lodewijk. Because Kruis could only draw one page and not two per week, he had to stop and then created Jan, Jans, and the Children for the women's magazine Libelle. Jan Kruis passed away in 2017. In 2019, the Jan Kruis Museum opened in Orvelte, displaying a fine selection of his works. His further artistic legacy was transferred in 2023 to the Museum Allard Pierson in Amsterdam, where they began archiving and restoring Kruis's 4,000 transferred works. The chance of original material by Jan Kruis circulating is therefore no longer possible.

Plot info
This lot contains a preserved original, beautiful, and large (27 x 19 cm!) drawing created by Jan Kruis, which appeared on the cover of issue 50 of the weekly magazine Sjors in December 1969. Jan Kruis made several of these announcements to attract the reader's interest on the front page of the magazine and to refer to the content. It is therefore an original drawing drawn by the great master Jan Kruis that adorned the cover. This is very special because Jan Kruis rarely made covers for Sjors, and there are almost no such drawings in circulation. The drawing now offered has been part of a private collection for many years, and this is a unique opportunity to acquire an original work by Jan Kruis.

This beautiful and large drawing (27 x 19 cm) is a top piece of museum importance.

The 56-year-old drawing is still in excellent condition. Also see the photos, which are part of the description and provide a good impression of the quality of the offered item. The last images (cover weekblad #50) are for illustration purposes and are not part of this lot.

The drawing will be very well packaged and sent by registered mail to the new owner.