I Want to Paint My Bathroom Blue

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good. Sendak, Maurice. First printing, large octavo size, [22] pp., with dust jacket. Ruth Ida Krauss (1901-1993), renowned author of children's literature, is perhaps best remembered for "The Carrot Seed" (published 1945, included in Loker, "A Shimmer of Joy", pp. 148-149) and "A Hole is to Dig" (published 1952); the latter title was a collaboration between Krauss and Sendak, as is this volume.

Illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1928-2012), a children's book author and illustrator best known for the enduring story "Where the Wild Things Are" (published 1964), among (truncated) almost countless others. Sendak's illustrations have a charming magic in their depiction of childhood and its joys.

This work a scarce Sendak book, as of this writing we see only one other copy online. While not overtly stated, one can find an anti-racist message in the story: "I'll make a house the kind I dream about not the kind I see. It's a house like a rainbow. And my friends all live with me there." The accompanying picture of the friends in the house show a rainbow of coloured faces: yellow, blue, green, pink.

___DESCRIPTION: Bound in paper over boards with a black cloth spine, the front board with a Sendak illustration and black lettering, a prior owner gift inscription (dated the year of publication) on the front free endpaper, illustrated title page, all illustrations double-spread and all in full colour with minimal lettering; large octavo size (8 7/8" by 6 3/4"), unpaginated with eleven leaves. Publisher's dust jacket has been price-clipped, the same Sendak illustration on the front panel as the book, black lettering on the spine, summary of book on the front flap, author and artist bios on the back flap, publisher's code on bottom of the back flap "No. 7038A".

___CONDITION: Volume near fine, with clean boards, straight corners with a bare minimum of rubbing, a strong, square text block with solid hinges, the interior is clean and bright, with prior owner markings being the gift inscription referred to above with the year of 1956 (year of publication) and, above that, another mark now crossed out with black marker. The dust jacket a solid very good, mostly clean with a few spots of light soil and light overall wear most noticeable at the head and tail of the spine.

___CITATION: Hanrahan no. A22, with the correct artist paragraph and code on the back flap.

___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard does not always cover costs; please inquire for details.

___Swan's Fine Books is pleased to be a member of the ABAA, ILAB, and IOBA and we stand behind every book we sell. Please contact us with any questions you may have, we are here to help. (Inventory #: CNJWEM103)