White, E. B. | The Trumpet of the Swan, inscribed and with an original drawing by White

White, E. B.

The Trumpet of the Swan. New York, Evanston, and London: Harper & Row, (1970)

8vo (203 x 134 mm). Illustrations by Edward Frascino. Publisher's blue cloth, lettered in silver and gold, blue endpapers. Publisher's dust-jacket; a bit worn at extremities.

First edition; presentation copy, inscribed and signed by the author on the front free endpaper to Katharine White's secretary: "Isabel Russell with my best wishes and a loud Ko hoh! EB White, June 1970." (The endpaper also bears a later inscription signed by Russell, "For Jeff and Jane summer of 1996.")

Accompanied by an original pencil drawing by White occupying the upper half of a sheet of wove paper (280 x 217 mm), a few corrections in white, tissue-guard secured over the drawing with masking tape, annotated by the illustrator of The Trumpet of the Swan, "Original drawing by E. B. White published in 'The Trumpet of the Swan'—EF" and by other production hands, "To go with Sam Beaver's diary entry. Chapt. I" and " pic no. 3 p. 5," with a small affixed sticker marked "p 5 50 1/2%." With the drawing is an autograph letter signed by the book's illustrator ("Ed Frascino") to a collector: "Herewith the drawing by E. B. White for "the Trumpet of the Swan." It didn't seem right to offer it for sale along with my illustrations for the book, and, as it is unsigned, how would one price it? As a collector of Mr. White's work I imagine you will get the most pleasure out of having it."

Since White's drawing is rather naive and certainly lacks the finish of Frascino's work, it makes a charming and appropriate stand-in for the hand of eleven-year-old Sam Beaver.