With an autograph letter loosely inserted from Maurice Sendak to Julia MacRae incorporating a small original illustration of the Little Bear by Sendak to the bottom left corner with a speech bubble exclaiming ‘Thank you Julia!’ in Sendak’s hand.
In the letter dated October, 1968, Sendak thanks Julia for her ‘lovely, warm, enthusiastic letter’, and expresses his feelings on A Kiss For Little Bear; ‘I see Little Bear (a kiss for) as such a melancholy book - (not the words) - my pictures. A kind of Farewell - To - All - That. But then - I always see my work in a drizzly light.’ He goes on to say how much he is looking forward to seeing her in New York. He mentions Judy (likely Judy Taylor Hough) and asks that she send on his love.
Julia MacRae (1934-2023) was an important figure in the world of children’s publishing, some of her significant contributions include Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas. During her career she worked as an editor for Constable, Collins and Hamish Hamilton where she became the first female board member and one of the first women in any publisher’s boardroom. In an interview with ‘Women in Publishing: An Oral History’ MacRae speaks about her experiences as the first female member of the board, and how hard she had to work to get there.
In 1979 she left Hamish Hamilton having become not only the managing director of the children’s book division, but also the director of both Hamilton and its parent company Thomson Books. She established her own imprint Julia MacRae Books, initially part of Franklin Watts, then Walker Books, and finally Random Century.
Judy Taylor Hough MBE, another key figure in British Children’s book publishing, was great friends with Sendak. She was the children’s book editor for Bodley Head when Sendak’s Where the Wild Things Are was first printed in the UK.
A very good copy, with some gentle rubbing to jacket tips as well as the top and tail of the spine panel. Lower corner of the front flap clipped though retaining the original price of $2.50.
