Norman Rockwell Storybook - First Edition - Signed - Norman Rockwell - Bauman Rare Books

Norman Rockwell Storybook

Norman ROCKWELL | Jan WAHL

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Norman Rockwell Storybook

“BACK TO THE TIME OF PUPPY LOVE, CRACKER-BARREL PHILOSOPHY AND FOLKSY GOIN’S-ON”: THE NORMAN ROCKWELL STORYBOOK, INSCRIBED BY HIM

(ROCKWELL, Norman) WAHL, Jan. The Norman Rockwell Storybook. New York: Simon and Schuster (Windmill Books), (1969). Slim quarto, original pale blue cloth, original dust jacket.

First edition of this creative collaboration between children’s author Jan Wahl and the beloved American illustrator Norman Rockwell, with 24 full-page color illustrations by Rockwell, inscribed to the grandson of his cook (whose cookies Rockwell claimed in a letter to Grandma Moses are “the best ever”), “My very best wishes to Mrs. Nellie Srodulski’s grandson Jimmy. Sincerely, Norman Rockwell.”

This wonderful children’s book, illustrated by the “American Hogarth,” presents 20 short stories by Jan Wahl based on Norman Rockwell’s paintings. Though Rockwell died in 1978 having made his greatest mark in the world of advertising and magazine illustration, his impact proved far more enduring. “The name ‘Norman Rockwell’ continues to be invoked by writers and politicians, sometimes reverently, at other times sardonically. References to ‘Rockwell values’ and to ‘Rockwellian small town images’ are phrases in an American mythic shorthand that conjures up memories of a time when life was simpler… He was an artist of remarkable accomplishments who possessed an extraordinary eye for detail and was beloved by the American people” (ANB). These engaging children’s stories by Jan Wahl were written from paintings Rockwell produced for The Saturday Evening Post, front covers of which served as Rockwell’s private showcase for over 40 years. “All the people still in mourning for The Saturday Evening Post will love this book, for to look at the pictures and to read their accompanying stories is to step back in time, back to the time of puppy love, cracker-barrel philosophy and folksy goin’s-on” (Publishers Weekly).

Inscription fine, small spotting to bottom of front cover, a few closed tears to original dust jacket. A nearly fine inscribed copy.

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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.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
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Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
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Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
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Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
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Engraving Illustration produced by carving lines into a metal plate. This is an intaglio process, in which ink is poured over the plate, then wiped from the surface, leaving ink only in the recesses made by the engraver’s tools. The image is then transferred by pressing thick dampened paper against the metal plate with great force—requiring engravings to be printed on a separate stock and separate press from any text.
Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
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Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
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Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
Marginalia Handwritten notes made in the margins by a previous owner.
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Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
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