THE LITTLE HOUSE
1942
Signed first edition of the classic picture book, one of the rarest Caldecott Award Winners and especially scarce signed.
Very good plus in very good jacket.
Price: $12,000.00
Signed first edition of the classic picture book, one of the rarest Caldecott Award Winners and especially scarce signed.
Very good plus in very good jacket.
Price: $12,000.00
"[A] wise choice for the Caldecott Medal, as it embodies [...] all that a picture book can and should be" — Barbara Elleman
Along with Sendak and McCloskey, Burton is among the handful of picture book creators whose talents were equally accomplished in both roles, as author and artist. Burton was a perfectionist obsessed with design theory, which she explored in the deceptively simple format. In this book, "the Little House is cozily shaped, deliberately personifying rural Americana and emphasizing the building's survival through decades of change" (Elleman, 58) — Burton aiming to convey the wonders of the passage of time. "The rhythmic patterns and variation of color tones that Burton wove into the spreads both quickens and moderates the pace, reinforcing her seamless story" (ibid). A wonderful copy of the picture book that ranks with WHERE THE WILD THINGS ARE and JUMANJI in pure excellence.
Read more: Elleman, Virginia Lee Burton: A Life in Art.
First printing. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1942. 9'' x 9.5''. Original blue pictorial boards stamped in white. In original unclipped ($1.75) color pictorial dust jacket, second state with Medal stickers. Illustrated by Burton in color. 40 pages. Jacket with short closed tears and attendant edgewear, a few small chips, some areas of foxing and rubbing. Book with sliver of sunning to edges, pinprick loss to rear joint, faint irregularity to cloth of rear board (production error). Interior clean; hinges firm.
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