Frank Dobias
Encyclopedia
Frank Dobias was an illustrator of children's books. Among many other works, his illustrations for the Japanese version of Little Black Sambo
made the book a bestseller in Japan
, selling well over a million copies between 1953-1988.
He was born in Austria
and moved to the United States around 1920s, where he started his professional career as illustrator mostly for Macmillan Publishers
books. The illustrations used in the Japanese best-seller were originally drawn for Little Black Sambo
published from Macmillan in 1927, of which the cover is shown in the AskART page of The American Artists Bluebook.
The Macmillan 1927 version was revived from Komichi Shobo Publishing, a Japanese publisher in Tokyo, in 2008.
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
made the book a bestseller in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, selling well over a million copies between 1953-1988.
He was born in Austria
Austria
Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
and moved to the United States around 1920s, where he started his professional career as illustrator mostly for Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers
Macmillan Publishers Ltd, also known as The Macmillan Group, is a privately held international publishing company owned by Georg von Holtzbrinck Publishing Group. It has offices in 41 countries worldwide and operates in more than thirty others.-History:...
books. The illustrations used in the Japanese best-seller were originally drawn for Little Black Sambo
Little Black Sambo
The Story of Little Black Sambo is a children's book written and illustrated by Helen Bannerman, and first published by Grant Richards in October 1899 as one in a series of small-format books called The Dumpy Books for Children....
published from Macmillan in 1927, of which the cover is shown in the AskART page of The American Artists Bluebook.
The Macmillan 1927 version was revived from Komichi Shobo Publishing, a Japanese publisher in Tokyo, in 2008.