Where the Wild Things Are, Signed First Edition

Where the Wild Things Are, Copyright 1963, Harper & Row Publishers. True first edition with original first-issue dust-jacket, with $3.50 price and "40-80" on front flap, as well as three-paragraphs on front and three on rear flaps (with no mention of Caldecott Award). Signed, dated and dedicated in ink by the author: "Feb.'73 For Peter Caponera, gardener. Affectionately, Maurice Sendak". With a whimsical sketch of a 'Wild Thing' figure holding a potted plant and wearing a shirt with 'P' marked on it. Book in very good overall condition, slight foxing/staining on cover, book jacket in worn condition, see photos. Maurice Sendak was one of the pre-eminent children's book authors and illustrators of the twentieth century. Sendak studied at Art Students League. Sendak's reputation as a children's book illustrator was firmly established with his drawings for Ruth Krauss's book A Hole Is to Dig (1952). Sendak's stories are enjoyed in thirteen languages, and 3,000 of his drawings are housed in the A.S.W. Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia. In 1988 he became artistic director of the Sundance Children's Theatre, a newly created branch of Robert Redford's Sundance Institute. Sendak has also taught at Yale University and the Parsons School of Design.Size: 10 1/2 x 9 1/2 in.