Madeline's Christmas (original 1956 version) First Edition - Ludwig Bemelmans

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Madeline's Christmas (original 1956 version)

Ludwig BEMELMANS

Item#: 111017 We're sorry, this item has been sold

Madeline's Christmas (original 1956 version)

“SUDDENLY THERE WAS A KNOCK WHICH MADE HER PAUSE— COULD IT PERHAPS BE SANTA CLAUS?”: FIRST APPEARANCE OF MADELINE’S CHRISTMAS

BEMELMANS, Ludwig. Madeline's Christmas. [New York]: McCall's, 1956. Slim 12mo, original illustrated self-wrappers; pp. [24].

First appearance of this delightful children’s story, a special insert in the 1956 Christmas edition of McCall’s Magazine, a splendid copy.

Madeline's magical adventures on Christmas Eve first appeared in this scarce, fragile form; the hardcover first edition (with enlarged and restored artwork) would not see publication until 1985. "Madeline's Christmas shares the qualities of the other Madeline classics: enchanting Parisian settings, madcap action, fanciful and wacky rhyme and, of course, the incomparable Madeline herself" (Viking Kestrel Publication Announcement). Without extremely scarce original envelope. Pomerance A28a.

A Christmas classic in fine condition.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
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