Ludwig Bemelmans letters and other material, 1938-1962.

0.21 linear feet (1 box)

English; French; German

Chiefly in English; some material in French and German.

Purchased from Glenn Horowitz Bookseller, Inc. on the Jockey Hollow Fund, 2009.

Arranged chronologically.

Ludwig Bemelmans (1898-1962), author, painter, and illustrator.

Collection of letters, manuscripts, photographs, and printed ephemera relating to Ludwig Bemelmans, author of the Madeleine series of children's books. Collection features approximately sixty letters from Bemelmans to editors and publishers, including Pascal ("Pat") Covici, Marshall Best, David Zablodovsky, Viking Press, and others, with one letter from H. W. Ross. Letters, written and illustrated with wit, document Bemelmans's commitment to his work and his concern with various aspects of the publication process; four letters include illustrations intended for his book On Board Noah's Ark (1962). Other materials consist of five black-and-white photographs, printed ephemera, including clippings and exhibition catalogs, and four typescript manuscript drafts: the first draft of chapter one of his novel, Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep (1944); "In Grandfather's Beergarden," which appeared in the posthumous collection, Tell Them It Was Wonderful (1985); "Don't Worry It All Ends Well"; and one untitled manuscript, dated "Paris, March 1954".

Archives or Manuscripts / Images

December 15, 2009

Ludwig Bemelmans Letters and Other Material. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Ludwig Bemelmans Letters and Other Material. General Collection, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Yale University.

Illustrators.