About this Item
First Edition (NAP, MDCCCCLII on the title page, separate Erratum correcting page 21, line 17). 'Illustrated by Reproductions of Drawings, Specimens of Types Lettering and Bookwork.' Once listed, this will be the Only copy of the book signed by Jan Van Krimpen that is for sale anywhere on the Internet. The signed inscription reads (in stylish penmanship) 'To Patricia Lauber from J. van Krimpen, July 1953.' (See photo). Patricia Lauber was an author of many children's books. Her 'Volcano: The Eruption and Healing of St. Helens' won the Newbery Honor award in 1987. She was also 'the founding editor-in-chief of Science World, a science magazine for high school students, and she was the chief editor in science and mathematics for The New Book of Knowledge by Grolier, an encyclopedia for young people. She wrote non-fiction as well as fiction for children. In 1983, she won the Washington Post/Children's Book Guild Award for her overall contribution to children's non-fiction literature.' She lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, the town next to mine. You can see the covers in the photos. They are exceptionally clean. There's one small spot on the front and one area on the rear where the burgundy color is a little darker. There is a bump/crease at both the top and bottom corners of the front cover. There's also a little tanning at the spine ends. The gilt lettering on both the front cover and on the spine is nicely bright. All six of the cover edges are in excellent condition. There is only a speck-sized spot of rub-through at the front bottom corner, and a little spot of fraying (without rub-through) at the top corner. The book is very solidly bound from cover to cover with nicely tight pages throughout. There is a slight space over (only) the top half of the juncture between the front inside cover and front end paper. The front cover is tightly bound from top to bottom, no give. The rear cover is tightly bound from top to bottom as well, no spaces at its juncture with the rear end paper. The signed front end paper has a tan shadow over its left half. The rear end paper has a similar shadow, may have something to do with where the dust jacket's flap leaves off. The pages are exceptionally clean. Scrolling through, I haven't found any instances of soiling. There is a small tan area off the top inside corner of the title page, maybe a small slip of paper was left there. There's also a square light tanning on the frontispiece and facing title page. I'm guessing possibly a tissue guard was once there. It is not much of anything and doesn't recur on any other pages. The bump to the top corner of the front cover created a corresponding crease at the top corners of all the pages, far from the print. There are no markings in the book. There are no attachments of any kind. And the signed inscription represents the only writing to be found anywhere. You can see the dust jacket in the first few photos. There are several losses. There are also vertical tears on both sides of the spine (the protective cover, which I've always had on the jacket, mostly conceals this). There are areas at the junctures where there are no tears, so there is no detachment. There is also one small tear going horizontally across the spine, over the letter 'W'. The front, rear and spine are very clean. There's just one very small loss off the top edge of the rear flap. There is spotting/foxing on the rear flap, just a few small tan spots on the front flap. As mentioned, the dust jacket is fitted with a protective cover. 'Jan van Krimpen was a Dutch typographer, book designer and type designer. He worked for the printing house Koninklijke Joh. Enschedé. He also worked with Monotype in England, who issued or reissued many of his designs outside the Netherlands. Van Krimpen was a leading figure of international reputation in book printing during his lifetime. He designed books both in the Netherlands and for the Limited Editions Club of New York, amongst others.'.
Seller Inventory # 005153
Contact seller
Report this item
