Starting in 1937 and slightly reconfigured in 1941, the New York Herald Tribune began to award prizes to outstanding children’s books each spring. At the time, these awards were considered by many, both inside and outside the publishing world, as the equivalent of the Caldecott and Newbery medals. Each year, a major children’s illustrator would create a poster for the festival, the vast majority of which were destroyed following the celebration.

This original 22 x 17” color poster by acclaimed children’s author/illustrator Maurice Sendak (Charlotte and the White Horse, Where the Wild Things Are, In the Night Kitchen) is printed on heavy stock and is in About Fine condition. Two small areas have grey color missing: in the crook of the arm holding the book and across the bottom of his jacket. Among the rarest and earliest (possibly THE earliest) examples of a Sendak poster; this is drawn in a style that precedes his later and more recognizable work.