Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm

Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Comany, 1954. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/good +. Sendak, Maurice. First printing, octavo size, 128 pp. An early Sendak title, third (of five) in the series about the delightful Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, who "lives in an upside down house, smells like cookies, and was married to a pirate who buried his treasure in the backyard!" (N.B., quote from dust jacket flap, quoting the Philadelphia Inquirer). The character remained so enduringly popular that a new title was published in 2016 featuring the character's great-niece, "Missy Piggle-Wiggle and the Whatever Cure" (N.B., from Wiki).

___DESCRIPTION: Green cloth boards with a vignette on the front in dark purple of a small girl and boy holding hands, dark purple lettering on the spine, plain endpapers, pictorial title page (with illustrations spreading over two pages), "First Edition" stated on copyright page (correct for first printing per Hanrahan), wonderful in-text illustrations by Maurice Sendak throughout; octavo size (text block 8" tall), pagination: (1)-128. Dust jacket has original (and correct) $2.00 price on the lower front flap, wrap-around illustration in purple with, on the front panel, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (with a pirate on her shoulder as befits the wife of a pirate) with a small boy following her who is beckoning to (on the back panel) the small girl and boy holding hands, with a small dog bringing up the rear, all upon a background of white with green highlights, purple lettering on the spine; text on flaps in purple, the front flap with a summary of this title, publisher's ads on back flap for the first two books in the series.

___CONDITION: Volume is near fine overall, with a strong, square text block, solid hinges, the corners are straight with a bare minimum of rubbing, the interior is clean and bright, the only prior owner marking is a gift inscription in red ink "To Susan / Christmas 1957" on the front free endpaper. The dust jacket is good or better; it is not price-clipped and is entire; there is sunning to the spine, a small chip (size of a dot) out of the spine not affecting text, overall edgewear with minor loss to the head and tail of the spine (not affecting any lettering), foxing to the creases and a small stain where the back panel meets the spine.

___CITATION: Hanrahan A13.

___POSTAGE: International customers please note that additional postage may apply; please inquire for details.

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