On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, Some True Loves Gave to Cotsen…

SIX WILD THINGS!!!

Maurice Sendak, “Before You Jump Online,” a study for print advertisement for Bell Atlantic’s campaign “Wild Things are Happening” (1998). Gift of Dennis M. V. David.

Maurice Sendak, “Stretching the Dollar,” study for American Express’s campaign, “Extended Warranty” 1988.. Gift of Dennis M. V. David.

 

FIVE BOOKS ON BAKING

FOUR LOVELY DRAWINGS

Border, headpiece, and two letters for an alphabet by Elise von Holtorp. Gift of Andrea Stillman.

A preparatory drawing by Richard (Dicky) Doyle. Gift of Andrea Stillman.

                                                                                 

THREE COUNTING BOOKS

TWO BANNED BOOKS

 

AND A PICTURE BOOK ON HANUKKAH…

One of a group of picture books on Hanukkah from an anonymous donor in honor of Lloyd E. Cotsen and Margit Cotsen.

With heartfelt thanks to our generous donors who surprised us in December 2016!

*****

6. The Wild Things: Gift of  Dennis M. V. David. Five preparatory drawings by Maurice Sendak for “Wild Things Are Happening,” the Bell Atlantic advertising campaign for Bell Atlantic Net, a state of the art Internet service launched in 1998.

5. The books on baking: five picture books about birthday cakes from an anonymous donor who bakes.  Sue Aldridge, Children’s Party Cakes (London: New Holland, 1998); Debbie Brown, Enchanted Cakes for Children (London: Merehurst, c2000); Alexander McCall Smith, The Great Cake Mystery.  Illustrated by Iain McIntosh (New York: Anchor, c2012); Helen Oxenbury, It’s My Birthday (Cambridge: Candlewick, 1994); Rosemary Wells, Bunny Cakes (New York: Scholastic, c1997).

4. The original artwork: four drawings presented to the Cotsen Children’s Library by Andrea Stillman.  Hugh Deane, color drawing of a troll king and his two companions; Richard “Dicky” Doyle, sketch of a girl in crown riding a reindeer; Elise von Holtrop, border design, headpiece and the letters A and B for an unidentified alphabet book (possibly unpublished); D. Viel, pen and ink drawing of a crew of elves chopping down a flower.

3. The counting books: gift of an innumerate anonymous donor.  Jennifer Adams.  Jane Eyre: A Counting Primer.  Illustrated by Alison Oliver.  A Babylit Book.  (Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith, 2012); Barbara Barbieri McGrath.  Skittles Riddles Math.  Illustrated by Roger Glass. (Watertown, MA, Charlesbridge, 2000);  Mark Shulman, I’ll Take a Dozen. A Bagel Book. (New York: Grosset & Dunlap, c2002).

2. The banned books: gift of an anonymous donor from Boston.  Arthur C. Gackley [i.e. Bob Staake].  Bad Little Children’s Books (New York: Abrams Image, 2016); Ranim Ganeshram.  A Birthday Cake for George Washington.  Illustrated by Vanessa Brantley-Newton (New York: Scholastic, 2016).

The book on Hanukkah: eleven picture books about Hanukkah in honor of Lloyd E. and Margit Cotsen from an anonymous donor from Los Angeles.  Seymour Chwast, The Miracle of Hanukkah. (Maplewood, NJ: Blue Apple Books, 2005); Woody Guthrie, Honeyky Hanukah.  Pictures by Dave Horowitz. (New York: Doubleday, 2014); Eric A. Kimmel, Simon and the Bear: A Hanukkah Tale.  Illustrated by Matthew Trueman. (Los Angeles: Disney, 2014); Stephen Krensky, Hanukkah at Valley Forge.  Illustrated by Greg Harlin. (New York: Dutton, c2006); Leslea Newman, The Eight Nights of Chanukah.  Illustrated by Elivia Savadier. (New York: Abrams, 2005); Leslea Newman, Runaway Dreidel!  Illustrated by Kyrsten Brooker. (New York: Henry Holt, 2002); Amanda Peet & Andrea Troyer, Dear Santa, Love, Rachel Rosenstein.  Illustrated by Christine Davenier. (New York: Doubleday, 2015); Ronne Randall, The Hanukkah Mice.  Illustrated by Maggie Kneen. (San Francisco: Chronicle Books, 2008), Richard and Tanya Simon, Oskar and the Eight Blessings.  Illustrated by Mark Siegel. (New York: Roaring Brook, 2015); Elka Weber, The Yankee at Seder.  Illustrated by Adam Gustavson.  (Berkeley: Tricycle Press, 2009); Jane Yolen, How Do Dinosaurs Say Happy Chanukah?  Illustrated by Mark Teague. (New York: Blue Sky, 2013).

 

Weird Books in the Cotsen Stacks!

the bronte castle alphabet

(Cotsen 60766)

Today, we turn the blog over to the one and only Dr. Dana Sheridan,Cotsen’s scrumdiddlyumptious Education & Outreach Coordinator. This post is based on the program that she and Cotsen curatorial assistant, Ian Dooley, dreamed up for the Cotsen Critix based on collections materials. It’s cross-posted on the two Cotsen blogs for everyone’s enjoyment. Take it away, Dr. Dana and Ian!


The Cotsen Children’s Library is part of the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections at Princeton University, but it also houses a whimsical gallery space and outreach programs that promote a love of literacy in children. Today, I’d love to share a collections education presentation we hosted for Cotsen Critix, our literary society for children ages 9-12.

cotsen critixThe session was entitled “Weird Books,” and our goal was to give kids a deeper appreciation for the unusual formats books can take. The books were selected and presented by Cotsen’s curatorial assistant, Ian Dooley – a frequent contributor to this blog (here, in fact, is his most recent post on Dickens).

The first book Ian presented was a tiny volume stashed inside a leather-hinged walnut shell. It’s The Bronte Castle Alphabet by Elmira Smith Wilkey (Bronte Press, 1981). The book is a mere 3 cm (1.18 inches) in height!

ian displays miniature bookIn contrast to the miniature book, Ian brought out an extremely oversized one – the aptly titled Let’s Count Big Book (World Book Co., c1953). He discussed how this book might have been used in a classroom, and why it needed to be so large.

let's count big book

(Cotsen 23000)

And what about books that have no pages? While the kids puzzled this question over, Ian brought out two horn books. The first was an Urdu horn book created in Lahore, Pakistan by Mubarak’s Sons Stationers. While undated, it’s most likely 20th century.

urdu horn book

(Cotsen 151623)

Here’s another, very different horn book. The illustrated blocks on the face of the horn book depict the 6 days of Creation. The illustrations appear to be printed from blocks used in the Coverdale Bible, which means that this object dates back to 1535. The kids were simply stunned by its age.

wooden horn book

(Cotsen 63377)

And then there are books made out of unusual materials. Such as this metal book, L’Anguria Lirica (Edizioni Futuriste di Poesia, [ca. 1933]). It’s a collection of poetry by Tullio D’Albisola, illustrated by Bruno Munari. The text and illustrations are color lithographed on tin.

l'anguria lirica

(Cotsen 26541)

Some books might appear normal, but they contain a secret. This 1877 edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Macmillan and Co.) has a hidden fore-edge painting. Fan the pages just so, and you are treated to John Tenniel’s illustration of the Mad Hatter’s Tea Party (Ian describes the fore-edge painting of this book in much more detail in this post).

alice fore-edge

(Cotsen 30998)

And speaking of Alice, Ian thought the kids might recognize this famous artist’s interpretation of the story.

dali alice

(Cotsen 26631)

The melting clock is the giveaway, really. This is a 1969 folio edition of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland (Maecenas Press, Random House) with illustrations by Salvador Dali. One very unusual thing about Dali’s Alice is the binding. It doesn’t have one! The chapters float freely apart and are stacked and stored inside a clam shell box when not in use.

Ian also brought out a lift-the-flap book and a book on wheels for the kids to examine. He remarked that while we might not find these formats unusual today, at one time, they would have been extremely novel to young readers. He added that early movable books and shape books like the ones below also helped push the boundaries of what can be traditionally considered a “book.”

early lift the flap book

Die Praxis des modernen Maschinenbaues : Modell-Atlas (C. A. Weller, Berlin [191-?]) (Cotsen 28687)

a ride to fairyland


A Ride to Fairyland (Valentine & Sons, Ltd., London [ca. 1915]) (Cotsen 11891)

The presentation’s grand finale was a book so lengthy, we needed to display it on a 6 foot table! It’s The City Park (Viking, 1981), a reproduction of an antique German toy book by Lothar Meggendorfer. The book unfolds into multiple arrangements that can display different scenes and perspectives in a 19th-century city park.

the city park fold out

(Cotsen Reference PZ7.M5143 Ci 1981)

the city park close upAll in all, “Weird Books” was a fantastic presentation full of surprises and revelations for the kids. Ian was kind enough to stay for 30 minutes after his presentation ended, answering questions about rare books, Cotsen’s collections, his job at the library, and inexplicably, robots. Thanks so much Ian!

To see more books from the Cotsen stacks, visit our virtual exhibitions!