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 16” color poster is by children’s illustrator Tibor Gergely (Five Little Firemen, The Taxi That Hurried, Tootle). Gergely was among the many European artists who fled their homelands and settled in the US prior to WWII and his illustrations helped create the Little Golden Books line. This Herald Tribune Children’s Spring Book Festival poster is printed on heavy stock, dates from the 1950’s, and is in VG condition. The margins, especially the top and bottom of the poster, have tanned, but the central illustration of a bear reading in a flowery field is bold and clear.