HAROLD'S TRIP TO THE SKY by Johnson, Crockett - 1957

[New York]: Harper & Brothers, 1957. First edition. About fine in like jacket.. First printing of the third Harold book, in which Harold and his Purple Crayon explore the 1950s fascination with space and go to Mars, rare in such beautiful condition. When working on this installment of the beautiful meta-picture book series, Johnson was "in the midst of a period of bold experimentation" (Nel): going against the standard for children's books, he gave the majority of the pages black backgrounds, as Harold navigated space. Besides becoming immediate bestsellers, the minimalist Harold books - simultaneously simple and profound - have become an influential favorite of many other artists and authors: in his 1982 acceptance speech for the Caldecott Award for JUMANJI, Chris Van Allsburg explicitly thanks "Harold, for his purple crayon"; Maurice Sendak praised the "supreme inventiveness" of Harold; Rita Dove names Harold in her poem "Maple Valley Branch Library, 1967." A stunning entry into the series: "So he climbed down on the stars. It was sure but slow." 5.75'' x 4.5''. Original quarter tan cloth, brown and purple paper pictorial boards. In original price-clipped brown and purple pictorial dust jacket. Illustrated by Johnson in brown, white and purple on every page. [64] pages. Book with contemporary ink owner inscription, else fine; jacket with faint toning to rear panel.