JUSTER MSS
The Juster mss., ca. 1961-2002, consist of correspondence, notes, illustrations, mock-ups, and drafts of six books by author Norton Juster, 1929- . Juster, a native of Brooklyn, New York, received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1952. He has worked as both a teacher and an architect, in addition to writing books for both children and adults. He has taught at the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn and Hampshire College in Amherst, Massachusetts and holds the title of Professor Emeritus of Design from the latter. As an architect, Juster practiced in various firms, including one which he established, from 1960 to 1999.
The collection is arranged by book title following the biographical materials. Alberic the Wise and Other Journeys (1965) is a grouping of three stories in a medieval setting, all rather fantastical in nature. As: A Surfeit of Similes (1989) is an exploration of the simile in a rhyming narrative. The Dot and the Line: A Romance in Lower Mathematics (1963) is a small picture book containing the tale of a line who falls in love with a dot, a story that was made into an Academy Award winning animated short film in 1965. Otter Nonsense (1982), issued in two different editions, is a collection of puns on animal names. The Phantom Tollbooth (1961), undoubtedly Juster's most acclaimed piece, tells the story of young Milo's adventures in The Lands Beyond. Still in print in paperback, it was made into an animated full-length feature film by MGM in 1970. Finally, Stark Naked (1969) is another small-format book and is set up as a register of the citizens of the town of Emotional Heights, all of whom have names that match either their jobs or their characters.
Correspondence has been kept with the title to which it pertains and includes communications between Juster and publishers, illustrators, and fans. Original artwork by Eric Carle and Jules Feiffer can be found in the Otter Nonsense and The Phantom Tollbooth sections, respectively.
Purchase. 2004
ca. 575 items