Inscribed by Maurice Sendak to Julia MacRae ‘Oct. ’70 Hello Dear Julia! - With all my love - Maurice Sendak’ on the front free endpaper, with a lovely autograph letter in which Sendak discusses the publication difficulties and controversy surrounding In the Night Kitchen.
In the letter, also dated October 1970, Sendak begins by thanking MacRae for her letter, ‘with all my heart!’. He goes on to say how difficult the production process for the book was; ‘The last days before publication were dreadful - I was ill with fatigue + worry over Mickey + everything seemed to [be] going wrong.’ He praises ‘Sue’, likely one of his editors, for getting him through the process: ‘she has such a sound heart + head - + her judgement has always meant much to me.’ He repeats his gratitude to MacRae for her letter which he says he’ll save: ‘just to puff myself up when I start flopping again.’
In the Night Kitchen did cause some controversy upon publication due to Mickey’s nudity in a few of the book’s illustrations, and it is known that some librarians even took the trouble to paint on diapers to solve the ‘problem’. Ursula Nordstrom, Sendak’s editor, defended the book fiercely, and objected vehemently to these actions in a public letter: ‘We, as writers, illustrators, publishers, critics, and librarians, deeply concerned with preserving the First Amendment freedoms for everyone involved in communicating ideas, vigorously protest this exercise of censorship.’
Sendak comments on the already mounting controversy in this letter: ‘I’ve gotten a few hate phone calls already - I fear I’m in for the same old wild things clamor.’ But he concludes, ‘Couldn’t care less. I love my book - my most private lovely book.’
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.
Top corner of the front flap clipped with the new price of $5.11, and with publisher’s mark ‘1070’ denoting the second state dust jacket.
A very good copy, with some wear and tear to the extremities of the jacket, and a Harper sticker across the bottom of the spine. The letter with some creases, but otherwise very good.
