A & The or William T.C. Baumgarten Comes to Town
New York: Atheneum, 1970. Single volume, measuring 9.25 x 7.25 inches: [32]. Original orange pictorial cloth stamped and lettered in blue; original unclipped color pictorial dust jacket. Color illustrations throughout text. Inscribed and signed by Raskin with ink drawing to front free endpaper. Foot of spine bumped, light toning and edgewear to jacket.
First edition of Ellen Raskin’s linguistically experimental (and pedagogically ambitious) picture book, inscribed with a drawing. Dedicating the book to “everyone who can read a and the,” Raskin sets those indefinite and definite articles in bold throughout the text as visual cues to keep young readers engaged. The wordplay reflects the puzzle at the center of the plot, as a group of children try to decipher the cryptic initials of William T. C. Baumgarten, the new kid on their block. During a classroom lesson on the Bayeux Tapestry, the children come to recognize and appreciate William (The Conqueror’s) uniqueness. Best remembered for her Newbery-winning novel The Westing Game, Raskin first made her mark as a graphic designer; she created the iconic first edition dust jacket for Madeleine L’Engle’s A Wrinkle in Time. The recipient of this copy, Susan Mandel Glazer, was an internationally recognized literacy advocate and Raskin’s close friend, reflected here in the original drawing of William T.C. Baumgarten voicing “love.” A compelling association copy.
Price: $600.00