1963 1st Edition “Where the Wild Things Are” will be auctioned by Boston-based RR Auction.
Signed book: Where the Wild Things Are. First edition, first printing. NY: Harper & Row, 1963. Hardcover with first-issue dust jacket. Wonderfully signed and inscribed on the half-title page in black felt tip, “For Jonathan Ward, Maurice Sendak, Sept. 71,” incorporating a fantastic original sketch of Carol, saying, “Hi!”
This extraordinary book boasts all identifying points for the first edition, including: “Library of Congress catalog card number: 63-21253” on title page; dust jacket price of $3.50; no mention of the Caldecott award; codes 40-80 and 1163 at bottom of front inner flap; three-paragraph blurb about the book on front inner flap; and three-paragraph blurb about the author on the rear inner flap.
Bound in the publisher’s pictorial white boards and gray cloth, illustrated with Sendak’s wraparound drawing of a wild thing, his habitat, and Max’s boat, lettered in black.
“An exemplary specimen of this classic children’s work,” said Bobby Livingston, Executive VP at RR Auction.
Among other items to be featured is an extraordinary pairing of letters from Tolkien to Mary Fairburn, an artist who sent him paintings of several scenes from Lord of the Rings.
Several other Tolkien related lots are featured including a unique pairing of Tolkien letters discussing allegories, critics, and characters: “I was particularly pleased that you find allegorical interpretation of The Lord of the Rings unnecessary; it was simply meant to be a history as it appears.”
The Fine Autographs and Artifacts auction from RR Auction began on April 20 and will conclude on May 9. More details can be found online at www.rrauction.com.