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Lot 71 · The Art of Illustration

"Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors"

Arthur Rackham

Catalog image of "Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors"
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Estimate
£15,000–£20,000 hammer ≈ $24,215–$32,287
Result
Performance
Sale
Sotheby's — The Art of Illustration, London · 12 December 2012
Record ID
TB-2026-4135057
Record
first seen 28 Jul 2026 · updated 6 Sep 2026 · source ↗
Cite this record
TB-2026-4135057 — https://thebasis.art/cite/TB-2026-4135057

Arthur Rackham, "Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors". Sotheby's, 12 Dec 2012, lot 71. result recorded. TheBasis.Art, TB-2026-4135057.

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Arthur Rackham, "Taking the keys of the castle, Jack unlocked all the doors". Sotheby's, 12 Dec 2012, lot 71. result recorded. TheBasis.Art, TB-2026-4135057.

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From the same sale The Art of Illustration · Dec 2012

LotArtistEstimateResult
"Ulalume" Edmund Dulac £15,000–£20,000
"Mustapha doubted much of his ability to refrain from question" Edmund Dulac £10,000–£15,000
"They carried the mirror from place to place" Robinson, William Heath. 1872-1944. £1,500–£2,000
"The Negro compels Udea to Walk" Henry Justice Ford £500–£700
"It is the evil things that we shall be fighting against" Edmund Dulac £10,000–£15,000
The Apple Tree Walter Henry Williams £600–£800

Comparable results nearest sold works, same medium & price band

ArtistLotvs. estimateResult USD, incl. premiumSale
Arthur Rackham "the wayfarer, as he reached him, saluted with a gesture of $31,730 Sotheby's, Dec 2017
Arthur Rackham Fantasy Scene with characters from Alice (1907), A Midsummer Heritage Auctions, Apr 2021
Arthur Rackham "Once Upon a Time" Sotheby's, Dec 2012
Arthur Rackham Moonlight & Romance, Cashmere Bouquet Soap advertisement Heritage Auctions, Nov 2025
Arthur Rackham "he used to console himself by frequenting a kind of perpetu Sotheby's, Dec 2012
Arthur Rackham rackham, "hey! up the chimney, lass! hey after you!", 1907, Sotheby's, Dec 2018
Arthur Rackham rackham, "the wayfarer, as he reached him, saluted...", wate Sotheby's, Jul 2019
Arthur Rackham The Haunted Wood, Arthur Rackham's Book of Pictures interior Heritage Auctions, Oct 2019

The closest sold results by price, artist, and medium — the appraiser's comp set, generated from the corpus. All figures converted to USD at current reference rates.

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