Archives West Finding Aid

This addendum to the Louis Slobodkin Papers consists of manuscripts and sketchbooks, correspondence with publishers, general correspondence, subject files, art exhibition catalogs, book reviews, and royalty statements. The manuscripts, for the most part, are contained in a series of notebooks which also include Slobodkin's sketches. Of special interest is the original copy-edited typesetter's copy of James Thurber's Many Moons which Slobodkin illustrated and which won him the Caldecott Medal in 1944. Another manuscript, Mystery of Twin Moon Mountain, was never published but offers unique insights about Slobodkin's world view. Miscellaneous artwork, sketches and book reviews done by Slobodkin complete this series

Correspondence is divided into two segments: that with publishers and general, both of which are arranged alphabetically. The correspondence with publishers tells the story of Slobodkin's relationship with major New York publishing firms, one that was often strained by his struggle for improved reproduction of artwork. It also documents the unwillingness of some publishers to stock a backlisted book even if it sold well. Of note in the general correspondence are letters from novelist Anne Parrish and Slobodkin's replies to fan mail from children, which throw an interesting light on his character.

The subject files contain a wide range of materials. Among these files are many clippings and tearsheets useful to the biographer, especially in tracing Louis Slobodkin's earlier career as a noted sculptor.

Of special interest is the file on the famous "Lincoln Statue incident" at the 1940 New York World's Fair. (box 12, folder 2)

Art exhibition catalogs trace Slobodkin's career in sculpture, and place his work in the context of his friends and associates in both the Sculptor's Guild and An American Group, organizations in which he was very active. Although he considered monumental sculpture his specialty, Louis Slobodkin nevertheless created a number of successful "floating" pieces, and some of those are documented here. Slobodkin sculptures can be found in museums throughout the United States and elsewhere, including Israel.

The book reviews are indicative of the generally favorable opinion which reviewers held of Slobodkin's efforts. Typically they found his books slight, not very deep, but humorous and entertaining and occasionally moving, all of which accorded well with his own opinion.

The royalty statements trace the career of each book. Though they were not runaway best sellers, Louis Slobodkin's books had an appreciative audience that bought steadily; some books, such as Magic Michael, were in print for over thirty years. Some were translated into French, Spanish, German, Swedish, Norwegian, and especially Japanese, a country where they found a strong readership

A folder of photographic prints and negatives are stored separately under the call number PH156. Most of these are publicity shots relating to book fair appearances, or portraits used on book jackets, bearing no date or other indication of their place in the collection.