This Is the Forest Edith Thacher Hurd Clement Hurd 1969 Signed Inscribed Coward McCann Goodnight Moon

This one has a remarkable provenance. This Is the Forest by Edith Thacher Hurd, illustrated by Clement Hurd, published by Coward-McCann, New York, 1969, LC catalog card 69-14650. And it is inscribed on the title page, dated 2/5/70, reading "To a special illustrator from a general editor" and signed by Margaret Farrington Bartlett, who is listed inside the book itself as the General Editor of this title.

That inscription is the whole story. Bartlett signed and gifted this book to an illustrator, someone in her professional circle, making this a copy that passed directly between publishing colleagues in the children's book world of 1970. That kind of documented professional provenance is genuinely unusual and adds a layer of publishing history that a standard copy simply doesn't have.

Now for the name recognition: Clement Hurd is one of the most celebrated illustrators in the history of American children's books. He is the illustrator of Goodnight Moon, one of the bestselling and most beloved picture books ever published. Edith Thacher Hurd was his wife and frequent collaborator, and together they produced more than forty books. Clement studied at Yale, trained in Paris, and returned to become a defining figure in mid-century American children's illustration. 

The woodblock-style forest cover in deep green and teal is characteristic of Clement's graphic work.

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