Three Young Rats and Other Rhymes

New York: Curt Valentin, 1944. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Good-. Alexander Calder. Signed by Author(s). Inscribed by Calder on ffep. Stated first edition of 700 copies (this copy is not numbered). Brown cloth spine with red lettering; yellow papered boards, pictorially stamped on front and rear covers. Exposed board at spine ends and corners. Short non-authorial gift inscription on flyleaf. Dust jacket spine is toned, has some large chips and is very fragile; hinges split (very light archival tissue mending on reverse); front and rear panels show light edgewear and have toning around edges; not price clipped ($12.50); in a clear archival sleeve. 4to. xviii, [4], 130, [6] pages. 12.25 x 9.5 inches. The inscription reads: ''2 (or 4) / A Silver Anniversary / A Calder''. Calder's 85 drawings were executed in the spring of 1944. Printed by S. A. Jacobs at The Golden Eagle Press, Mt. Vernon, in Granjon type, on Arnold Unbleached paper. Rhymes from Mother Goose and other classic sources provide the inspiration for the eighty-five illustrations by Alexander Calder (1898-1976). Originally published in 1944, this compilation of the artist's frank depictions of nudes adds a decidedly adult cast, as well as a new depth and resonance, to a host of familiar chants and verses. James Johnson Sweeney, who selected the verses, contributes an insightful introductory essay. His scholarly study of the significance of the nursery rhyme tradition corresponds in wit and subtlety to the expressive brilliance of Calder's drawings.