News
The 2 main Scout movements in France support the release of the new book "Scouts
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Véronique and Christophe
Documentary research
The search for new drawings was no small feat. We searched private collections, explored dusty archives, and met with key individuals who contributed to the creation of this new edition. Each discovery was a moment of joy and excitement, giving us the feeling of embarking on an adventure in the footsteps of Pierre Joubert and his work.
In the end, nearly 3,000 new drawings will complement this new edition of “Scout,” and we were completely overwhelmed by the number and flow of information we had to manage. Honestly, we were not prepared for this, and it took weeks of work and days of playing Nomads in different archive locations to scan the missing drawings.
It was an exciting adventure.
Véronique and Christophe
The printer
We are pleased to announce that we have selected the French printer who will be responsible for producing our book. After examining several options, we have chosen a printer specializing in the production of art books. This decision was made due to their exceptional reputation for high-quality printing, as well as their experience in producing exceptional books.
We are confident that the selected printer has all the necessary skills to achieve a very high-quality print that will showcase Pierre’s works. We were particularly impressed by their attention to detail and the quality of their work.
The luxury edition will be crafted in the very workshop of this printer. We are convinced that the final result will meet our expectations and that readers will be delighted to discover Pierre Joubert’s works in such a beautiful book.
We would like to thank our printer for their professionalism, collaboration, and commitment to quality. We look forward to seeing the fruits of our collaboration.
We hope this short article is useful to you. If you have any questions or need more information, please do not hesitate to contact us.
Véronique and Christophe
Cleanup of drawings
The process of creating a book about the works of Pierre Joubert involves many steps, and one of the most important is image cleaning. After a long documentary search to find missing drawings, we now need to work to make them conform to the originals once again.
In about 90% of cases, Pierre Joubert’s drawings were made on white or slightly pearly paper. However, over time, these drawings have been damaged by various alterations, including discoloration, stains, and yellowing. To restore the original appearance of these drawings, we must erase the whites and remove the backgrounds that distort the drawing. We are thus working on the restoration of the original work, with patience and meticulousness.
But our work doesn’t stop there. The printing techniques used in the 1930s and beyond were very different from those used today. Pierre’s drawings often have small black dots, defective color markers, and blocked blacks. To restore the original appearance of these drawings, we must clean and restore each drawing meticulously. We are determined that each drawing be treated with the same care and attention to detail as the others.
This lengthy work is essential to preserve Pierre Joubert’s work and make it accessible to readers of the book. We present several examples of our work. You can see below a drawing before and after restoration.
Véronique and Christophe
Mockup in white
The creation of a quality book requires many steps, and one of the most important is the creation of the white dummy. In the context of our project to produce a new edition of the Scout book, this step is essential to allow us to test the paper and finishing, as well as the technical resistance of the book and how it will be packaged for delivery to buyers in the best conditions.
We have thus received the first white dummy of our project. This dummy is the result of meticulous and rigorous work by our printing partner, who ensured compliance with the technical and qualitative specifications we had established.
This white dummy allows us to visualize the book in its final form, with its cover, pages, and finishing. It also allows us to test the quality of the paper, as well as the durability of the book under handling and usage conditions.
It meets all our expectations. We are confident that this high-quality book will meet the expectations of our readers and that its production will be a success.
Véronique and Christophe
Modification of the number of Tome
The new edition of the Scout book is taking shape, but it is facing an unexpected problem: the number of new drawings. Indeed, Pierre Joubert was incredibly prolific, and we have exceeded the number of 3,000 new drawings for this new edition, while we had planned for only a thousand. This has put us in a difficult situation as we have created a blank mock-up to test the paper and finishing quality, as well as the technical resistance of the book and how it will be packaged for delivery to buyers. It is clear that these 3,000 new drawings will not fit on the originally planned 1,500 pages.
It is not feasible to leave some drawings out, as this edition aims to be as exhaustive as possible. At the same time, it is not feasible to jeopardize the technical stability of the book. After exploring different options, we have finally decided to create this new Scout opus in three volumes of 700 pages each.
We are aware that this represents a significant change from our initial plan, but we are convinced that it is the best solution to honor Pierre Joubert’s colossal work. This new edition will thus be a true Scoutism bible, bringing together a very large part of Pierre’s works on Scoutism in a monumental and high-quality book.
Véronique et Christophe
Wonderful original drawings by Pierre discovered by chance
We had the incredible luck to come across seven original drawings by Pierre Joubert, thanks to a fortunate chance encounter. These drawings were used to illustrate the Scouts de France calendar of 1952 and are in a remarkably well-preserved condition. The captions are signed by Pierre’s own hand.
When Pierre Joubert, who worked as an illustrator for the Scouts de France for many years, left his position, a large part of his original drawings were lost, destroyed or simply forgotten. That is why we are particularly happy to see some of his drawings reappear as if by magic.
We immediately had these drawings digitized by a professional photogravure technician in order to preserve them in their current state. These discoveries are truly exceptional and we are delighted to be able to share them with you. They will of course be highlighted in our new book.
Véronique and Christophe
Blanket embossing
The new version of our book will consist of three volumes, as announced in the previous article.
To remain consistent with the first version, the dust jackets of volumes 2 and 3 will feature two new embossed drawings on the paper. The original embossing from the first version, depicting the head of Baden Powell drawn by Pierre Joubert, will be retained.
The two new drawings selected for volumes 2 and 3 will be portraits of Scouts. Volume 2 will feature the portrait of a Scout raider with the drawing of raider wings, while volume 3 will have the portrait of a more contemporary Scout.
Embossing is a true work of art and is done by hand by artisans before being placed on type presses to emboss the paper. This will give the dust jackets of volumes 2 and 3 a unique appearance.
We will be happy to share with you the expertise of embossing techniques in a future news article.
Véronique and Christophe
Sketches and drawings
We have made a rare discovery: numerous pencil sketches by Pierre, not yet finalized. These sketches allow us to better understand how Pierre developed his drawings. Some of them are simply in pencil, while others, a little more elaborate, are in color. This exclusive content will be included in our new book “Scout ».
Véronique and Christophe
Our participation in the National Day of the Scouts of Europe
The National Committee of the Scouts of Europe has invited our team to participate in their national day, which will take place from May 6th to 8th at Mont St Michel. We will have the opportunity to present the progress of our new edition of the book “Scouts” during this highly anticipated event.
We have prepared a presentation with prints of the mock-ups, kakemonos, and a collection of eight postcards illustrated with the drawings of Pierre Joubert. We are delighted to be able to share our passion for the history and culture of Scouting with this community.
We would like to warmly thank the National Committee of the Scouts of Europe for their kindness and invitation to this event.
Véronique et Christophe
The Flag: A Little Scout Treasure Illustrated by Pierre Joubert.
In 1938, the national team of Scouts de France decided to release a small 4-page booklet for CPs, in addition to the Scout magazine which was published every two months. The booklet was called “Le Fanion” and was, of course, illustrated by Pierre Joubert.
We discovered the existence of this little Scout treasure during our research. It was very difficult to find copies of this booklet, but fortunately, the Scouts de France kept a copy of every issue in their archives.
The drawings made by Pierre Joubert for Le Fanion were all original and not featured in the Scout magazine, providing a large number of unpublished drawings that readers will discover in our reissue.
One interesting thing to note is that, from 1938 to 1956, the header of the booklet was redrawn five times in different styles, offering a historical and artistic curiosity to discover.
We are very happy to offer readers the opportunity to discover this rare gem in the history of French Scouting.
Véronique et Christophe
Gribouille
For the first time, in this new version of “Scouts,” you will find the complete adventures of Gribouille.
For those who may not be familiar, Gribouilles is a humorous comic book character created by Pierre Joubert. Pierre came up with the idea for this character in the 1950s, while working as an illustrator for the magazine “La Semaine de Suzette.” He first drew Gribouille in black and white, but later added color to give more life to the character.
The character quickly gained popularity among readers of the magazine. The stories were very simple, but the character was so endearing that it was impossible not to smile while reading about his adventures.
Gribouille has become a true icon of French humorous comic books. Readers of all ages have loved this little character who embodies innocence, creativity, and the joy of living. Of course, there are also Gribouille adventures in Scouting.
Pierre’s talent for humor and the creation of this endearing character has inspired many other cartoonists around the world.
Véronique and Christophe
Pierre Joubert's advertisements
In the world of Scouting, Pierre Joubert was an iconic figure as an illustrator. Although he is mostly known for his drawings in Scout books and magazines, he also created numerous advertisements for various products.
It would have been easy to devote an entire chapter to this topic in the new book about his life as an illustrator in Scouting.
Among the most famous advertisements were those for “La Hutte” and the “Signes de Piste” collection, but readers will discover in this book that Pierre left his mark on many other products.
My personal favorite is the advertisement he created for the Coca-Cola brand. Imagine, a Pierre Joubert advertisement with Scouts for Coke… It was truly another era.
Véronique and Christophe
Color Visual Retouching: Meticulous Work to Preserve Authenticity
Color visual retouching is a delicate task aimed at preserving authenticity, primarily focusing on the visuals created by Pierre for the Scouts de France magazines. These illustrations are
abundant between 1934 and 1960.
The process of restoring these color visuals proves to be delicate and demanding. The primary objective is to
restore the original brilliance of these illustrations by eliminating the yellowish tint of the paper. When Pierre Joubert sketched these drawings, they were executed on pristine white paper. Thus, the restoration aims to revive this original whiteness.
The second phase of this meticulous work involves erasing, whenever possible, the texts added later during the magazine layout. The goal is to restore the artwork as the artist initially conceived it, removing any elements that could have altered his artistic vision.
Lastly, special attention is given to restoring the black areas that may have been damaged over time. This step aims to enhance contrasts and restore the intensity of the blacks, preserving the original artistic expression to the best possible extent. Occasionally, it is necessary to correct minor imperfections and flaws resulting from the printing process, which could distract the viewer’s gaze.
This restoration endeavor represents a painstaking effort, requiring meticulous care to preserve the integrity of Pierre’s drawings. The ultimate goal is to revive the splendor of these illustrations, bringing them as close as possible to their original state. It is a meticulous task that revives Pierre’s works in all their beauty, preserving
their artistic legacy for future generations.
The Scouts Book is now in the SUF Malle
Véronique and Christophe
A new section is born: The Cubs.
It is a subject that had been overlooked in the first edition of our book; it did not receive the attention it deserved. At that time, we had not taken into account the Louveteau magazine, for which Pierre had created numerous illustrations between 1941 and 1957. Not to mention the numerous progress notebooks associated with it. It was time to address this gap by creating a dedicated section to the adventures in the Jungle.
Véronique and Christophe
The drawings of the 1937 pavilion.
In 1937, during the International Exhibition of Arts and Techniques in Paris, the Scouts of France unveiled their own pavilion dedicated to scouting. This exhibition brought together pavilions from many countries around the world, showcasing technological advancements and artistic achievements of their respective nations. The exhibition attracted millions of visitors and was considered a significant event of the interwar period.
Designed from a model by Albert Boekholt, this pavilion was created thanks to the contribution of volunteers. Inside, squares made of isorel measuring one meter on each side were adorned with frescoes drawn by Pierre Joubert. These panels were painted with Stic-R before being assembled to form frontons measuring approximately 12 square meters, as well as 1-meter high friezes. We were lucky enough to find the original sketches by Pierre, which is an especially rare discovery.
Véronique and Christophe
If the Scouts had been there
During his long career with the Scouts de France, Pierre Joubert illustrated numerous scout magazines, always with a great sense of humor. He skillfully depicted the adventures of the scouts, creating endearing characters and amusing situations. But that’s not all, as a history enthusiast, he also illustrated many stories about the glorious figures in French history. With his illustrations, he brought legendary characters such as Joan of Arc, Bayard, and Du Guesclin to life.
However, it was in the series “If the Scouts had been there” that Pierre Joubert truly displayed all of his talent. This series of eight panels is a real masterpiece. It skillfully mixes history, humor, and scouting. Pierre succeeded in creating a fascinating historical fresco, featuring the scouts in significant events from biblical, ancient, or French history. Famous characters such as Vercingetorix, Adam and Eve, Achilles, and Hector are humorously and sensitively sketched.
Today, these eight panels are available in our book, entirely cleaned and restored to their full integrity.
Véronique and Christophe
A wink off topic…………Mickey at the Moisson Jamboree
The Moisson Scout Jamboree of 1947 was the sixth World Scout Jamboree and was held in the town of Moisson, France. This event brought together over 24,000 scouts from 71 different countries. The main theme was “Peace and Brotherhood.” The Moisson Jamboree is considered an important event in the history of scouting, as it was the first jamboree since World War II and contributed to promoting reconciliation and peace among nations.
As a small aside on the subject, you will discover the numerous restored drawings that Pierre drew for the Jamboree Journal. Restoring one of them, which is on a double page and features nearly 150 characters, took us more than 10 days. But that’s not what I wanted to show you.
During this Jamboree, Walt Disney hand-drew and signed a beautiful picture of Mickey as a scout proudly displaying the Jamboree of Peace patch. We found a printed version of this drawing in the depths of dusty archives. Unfortunately, the original has been lost.
Paper Delivery, Delayed Delivery
In a recent development regarding the highly anticipated book, we have just received a crucial paper delivery, marking a significant milestone in the production process. However, this news has been accompanied by an unexpected disappointment for fans, as the delivery has been delayed by 15 days from the initial schedule.
Part of the responsibility for this delay lies in the substantial increase in the number of pages planned for the three volumes of the book. This expansion required the addition of an extra 10 tons of paper for production, which had an impact on the initial planning.
Unfortunately, it is almost certain that this delay will result in a shift in the production schedule and, consequently, in the delivery timeline initially set for December. We are currently awaiting feedback from our printer and bookbinder, but everything indicates that printing will be delayed due to year-end festivities and increased production workload in January. This will likely lead to a new delivery date in February.
We understand the disappointment this may cause to all those eagerly anticipating the book, and we would like to offer our apologies for this delay, which is beyond our control.
To mitigate this disappointment, our printer has made a proposal: for those who have already pre-ordered the book, they will receive a numbered separate print on art paper of one of Pierre’s drawings, based on an original that we will select. We acknowledge that this may not fully compensate for the delay, but we hope that this small gift will accompany the book and help alleviate expectations.
Véronique & Christophe
Selection of Exclusive Art Print as a Gift for Registered Orders: A Special Privilege for Fans
In a proactive and highly responsive effort, we have closely collaborated with our
printer to choose Pierre’s drawing, taken from a unique original, which we will produce in a limited edition of only 1,114 copies. This exceptional piece will
be printed in full color on high-quality art paper, featuring discreet
numbering on the reverse side. All of Pierre’s art in the 1950s…
We genuinely hope that this token of appreciation will bring you great satisfaction. It’s
our way of thanking you for your ongoing support and patience.
Véronique and Christophe