Ian Ehling
Head of Department
Lot 91
SILVERSTEIN, SHEL. 1930-1999. Original maquette for the Giving Tree, c.1964,
6 March 2020, 10:00 EST
New YorkSold for US$52,575 inc. premium
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SILVERSTEIN, SHEL. 1930-1999.
Original maquette for the Giving Tree, c.1964, with drawings and original manuscript lettering, ink on paper, pasted on board, lettered in ink directly on the board, with gouache corrections, 34 (of 38) pages, 278 x 258 mm, each numbered at lower right in blue pencil, smudges, corners bumped, various pencil notations, part of lower margin of p 30 cut out (lacking pp 2, 3, 4 and 36).
Provenance: Dr. Barbara Sproul.
ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT, A MAQUETTE FOR SILVERSTEIN'S MOST FAMOUS CHILDREN'S BOOK. Critics, readers, poets and philosophers have debated the meaning of The Giving Tree, finding it more than the sum of its parts. It was adopted early on by members of the clergy as a story about giving unconditionally, but has also been regarded as an environmental parable, a short treatise on friendship, a metaphor for the parent-child relationship, and any number of other interpretations. Although divisive and ambiguous in its meaning, it remains one of the most successful children's books of all time, having sold over 10 million copies to date. This maquette was clearly handled by the publishing house, bearing corrections to the text, such as "And she loved a ... little boy" replacing "And the tree was happy because she loved a ... little boy" on p 5. The word "Harper" is penciled on the verso of a few pages, and there are notes for the printers such as "flip" on p 21, suggesting that the artwork should be oriented the other way. Of particular note is the final text on p 38, where the last lines originally read "And the boy ... and the tree ... were happy," but it has been corrected to read And the tree ... was happy."
Provenance: Dr. Barbara Sproul.
ORIGINAL AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT, A MAQUETTE FOR SILVERSTEIN'S MOST FAMOUS CHILDREN'S BOOK. Critics, readers, poets and philosophers have debated the meaning of The Giving Tree, finding it more than the sum of its parts. It was adopted early on by members of the clergy as a story about giving unconditionally, but has also been regarded as an environmental parable, a short treatise on friendship, a metaphor for the parent-child relationship, and any number of other interpretations. Although divisive and ambiguous in its meaning, it remains one of the most successful children's books of all time, having sold over 10 million copies to date. This maquette was clearly handled by the publishing house, bearing corrections to the text, such as "And she loved a ... little boy" replacing "And the tree was happy because she loved a ... little boy" on p 5. The word "Harper" is penciled on the verso of a few pages, and there are notes for the printers such as "flip" on p 21, suggesting that the artwork should be oriented the other way. Of particular note is the final text on p 38, where the last lines originally read "And the boy ... and the tree ... were happy," but it has been corrected to read And the tree ... was happy."