William Steig: The Horn Book Magazine Poster

After Maurice Sendak, the second artist asked to create a cover for a year's run of The Horn Book Magazine was William Steig. His cover had its premiere in the November-December 1986 issue. The magazine's name Horn Book always seemed to refer to Randolph Caldecott's hunting horns, but Steig has a new and amusing take on the title. A signed, limited edition poster of the cover was published as well, shown here.

March 5, 2021 Update:  The Horn Book Magazine is named for hornbooks, educational primers consisting of a single page covered by a transparent horn and held in a frame with a handle. Caldecott's hunting horns were a pun on this term, just as Steig's goat is.

Note:  Images of original art and published rarities by William Steig are desired for future blog posts here.

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Maurice Sendak: The Horn Book Magazine Poster

Traditionally, The Horn Book Magazine's cover featured an adaptation of an illustration by Randolph Caldecott showing three huntsmen on horseback blowing their—you guessed it!—horns.

https://www.abebooks.com...

Starting with the issue of November-December 1985, the magazine commissioned an annual cover illustration to run for each of six bimonthly issues. The first of these covers was by Maurice Sendak and it featured an image that included Caldecott himself sketching in the park, Caldecott's cat and the fiddle, and, for good measure, a Sendak Wild Thing. A poster of the cover was issued in a signed edition of 300. One of these posters was recently listed on AbeBooks.

Maurice Sendak
AbeBooks listing accessed February 14, 2021

https://www.abebooks.com/POSTER-HORN-BOOK-MAGAZINE-Sendak-Maurice/30365519100/bd?cm_ven=nl&cm_cat=trg&cm_pla=want_CM&cm_ite=viewbook_high

The original art was offered last year through Christie's Private Sale:

Maurice Sendak
Christie's Private Sale

https://www.christies.com/lot/lot-maurice-sendak-cover-for-horn-book-magazine-6262750/?lid=1&from=relatedlot&intobjectid=6262750&sc_lang=en

Note:  Christie's Private Sales don't retain price information, at least not any that I can locate. I'd like to hear from anyone who knows the asking price for this illustration and, if possible, whether it was sold.

Scans of original art by Maurice Sendak are eagerly sought for future blog posts.

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