Beschreibung:

JAMES MARSHALL (1942-1992) "A Few Unpretentious Drawings for Kenneth Maples." As titled on opening page of a personal sketchbook created by Marshall during his time at The New England Conservatory of Music and gifted to his high school friend, circa 1964. Single unbound Quaker Artist Tablet containing 22 numbered full-page watercolor and ink drawings, some mounted, others drawn directly onto the page, a final sheet ("the end / Love, J"). Notebook measures 253x350 mm; 10x14 inches, drawings vary in size; spine perished, but contents seem to be complete, cover signed "Marshall / 78 Gainsboro [sic] 3A Boston 02115" in lower right corner. Laid in is a loose, separate drawing titled, inscribed, and signed by Marshall: "Aesop / Kenneth, this is the one about the blackbird who disguises himself to enter the beauty contest. The old fool. Jim." 5 1/4x4 1/2 inches, image, on 9x8 1/4-inch paper, laid into notebook. Provenance: Kenneth Marshall; gift of the artist to friend Kenneth Maples; private collection, San Antonio, Texas. A thoroughly charming sketchbook by beloved children's book author and creator of the famous "George and Martha" series of books about the friendship and adventures of a witty hippopotamus couple. Created for a close friend from his early years in San Antonio, presumably before Marshall planned a trip to Europe, the humorous drawings feature scenes in classic Boston area locations including the MFA, New England Conservatory, Locke-Ober, Gainsboro Street, The Bar of the Other Side on Charles Street, Hayes-Bickford's, The English Tea Room, Newbury Street, and Aladdin's Cave. Some drawings include his bulldog Irene (whom he often featured in his books), two self-portraits, and other curious animals and characters whose physical details nod to the style and types he would develop in his later work. Marshall attended The New England Conservatory of Music where he studied viola until a nerve damage in his hand caused him to leave. Not long after switching studies and graduating from Southern Connecticut State College in 1967, he began working as a freelance author and illustrator, and his first book for children, "Plink, Plink, Plink" by Byrd Baylor was published in 1970. Although he had no formal art training, Marshall illustrated more than 70 books before he died at the early age of 50 from AIDS-related causes. In 2007 the American Library Association posthumously awarded him the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal for a "substantial and lasting contribution" to American children's literature.