PIECE PROFILES
LIBRARIANS ASSISTANT / SPELLBOUND
(Page One of Two)

As you can see from the picture above of both pieces side by side, the base of the piece was positioned differently on the production piece so the dragon is now round at the back

Spellbound
(obstipescere – held as if by a spell)

It can’t be easy being an apprentice to the great librarian, the verbuMMagus. Especially when you have a pet dragonet called Dolus that keeps getting you into trouble.

Tyro is a kind-hearted, earnest fellow who takes his job very seriously but unfortunately keeps bad company, namely, misfortune. From the first day he took up with the diminutive dragon ill fate has stalked him like a shadow. This hapless soul seems quite oblivious to the wicked antics of the reptilian reprobate and whenever danger threatens is invariably the last to know.

The word ‘spellbound’ perfectly describes the episode of the Magic Tower. A precariously poised pile of books, each of them a work of strong enchantment, lured poor Tyro to a great fall. Attracted to the stack of valuable volumes, the student librarian began to read the ascending titles, which imperceptibly formed themselves into an improbably spiral staircase beneath his feet. By the time Tyro had reached the summit of the tower of books and settled uncomfortably on the penultimate tome, the topmost book cradled upon his knees, he was so engrossed in their enchanted content that he failed to notice the mischievous Dolus begin to circle the unstable stack with malicious intent. The dragonet slowly wound his long lead about the book pile until his luckless masters fate was sealed. One good tug was all it would take to topple the tower: Tyro, candles, books and all.

Now, as any experienced librarian will know, the one thing you should never do with a magic book is drop it on the floor (spells and potions have a tendency to slide off the written page and assume a life of their own).  Dolus the dragonet, being long resident in the Great Library would have known this of course, and seeing his master fall under the glamour of the spell books, spotted yet another opportunity to get Tyro into trouble.

What scenes of pandemonium greeted the verbuMMagus when he returned to the Library only those three present can know, but needless to say good-hearted Tyro would accept all the blame and never suspect the involvement of his reptilian friend. It must be noted, however, that the dragonet for his part could not meet the knowing gaze of the verbuMMagus for more than just the briefest moment.

The above text is taken from the certificate that comes with the piece and was written by Andrew Bill

The original version had a wire lead which was replaced with a chain on the production piece

The hand is in a different position (the finger points to a different place on the page) probably done to get the transfer text in place

The writing on the book says 'Handy Hints for Training Dragons' - Invest in a good quality fire proof lead - Reward good behaviour with a lump of coal
(Hand written pages in the original and printed transfer on the production piece)

The nice stripy socks have been left plain boring white on the production piece

The Dragon
Different colour scheme, shorter horns and the collar is linked to the lead from a different position

The legs and feet are thicker on the later production pieces from piece No.10 onwards

Same goes for the end of the tail that was also thickened

The Books
Painted different colours and the book the candle is standing on no longer has writing on it

This is where the bottom part of the book pile is positioned differently. From the "Enchantica" book down it is rotated about 90 degrees around from the original position on the "Librarian" pieces . The gem stone has also changed from clear/white to amber on the decorated book

In the picture below note the cheeky reference by Andrew Bill to his Enchantica past  

Again the books are different colours and the hand written titles on the books have gone

The book clasp lock on the original had an indent but it was filled in for some reason on the production piece

Again the books are different colours & the hand written title on the book has gone. The bottle is a different colour

The gem stone has changed from red to amber on the book with the dragon on

3 Candles, Bottle, Cup, Saucer & Spoon
The candles are cast from resin on the original and silver on the production piece

New casting?

New casting

The cup and saucer are painted a different colour and the spoon was cast from resin on the original and silver on the production piece

The production run didn't have a certificate or proper box ready for the first pieces so Adrian supplied an amusing temporary certificate that was to be exchanged for a proper one when then were ready.

Below is the front and back of the finished certificate designed by Andrew Bill

The three pictures below show what first 9 production pieces were like that had the thin dragon just like the Librarians Assistant 17 pieces, this was altered from piece No.10 to the thicker legs and tail to cut down on breakages (the piece below is the prototype paint trial version)

The writing in the book of this prototype was hand writen (as it was on the Librarians Assistant)

To see pictures of this piece as seen at the 2002 show plus the moulds and master and as an unpainted white click the NEXT button at the bottom of the page or an any of the pictures below

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