Letter from Esphyr Slobodkina with a note by Margaret Wise Brown (December 16, 1948)

I am often asked about my favorite items in the de Grummond Collection. I find it hard to make that kind of choice! There are too many to name. Plus, we find new things every day. When researchers write to us with various reference questions, we look deeper into an author’s or illustrator’s papers—making our discoveries endless.

One surprise is the correspondence in the Esphyr Slobodkina papers. Originally from Russia, Slobodkina grew up in a family that appreciated literature and the arts. It was not unusual for there to be as many as twenty guests at the dinner table. Those dinners would often erupt into impromptu concerts, recitations, and performances by the children. That lifestyle ended when Slobodkina and her family moved to the United States in the 1920s, when Russia was overtaken by the Bolsheviks.

During the Depression in New York City, Slobodkina found several odd jobs, painting trays and wastepaper baskets, serving as an assistant dress designer along 7th Avenue, and later she worked as a designer and foreman in an experimental printing textile shop in New Jersey. It was during this time that Slobodkina was introduced to the children’s author Margaret Wise Brown (author of Goodnight, Moon).

Brown is the one who encouraged Slobodkina to enter children’s picture bookmaking. Noting her unusual artistic ability, Brown convinced Slobodkina to write stories as well as illustrate them. Slobodkina and Brown collaborated on several books until Brown’s untimely death in 1952. Their books include The Little Fireman (1938), The Little Cowboy (1948), The Little Farmer (1948), and Sleepy ABC (1953).

Slobodkina’s classic, Caps for Sale, brought her critical success. The book, now a classic, also brought commercial success. Slobodkina was ever watchful over her books and their sales.

In her correspondence files, there is a letter written to William R. Scott, Inc., Slobodkina’s publisher. The letter, written in 1948, lambasts Powell for his lack of support for his artists. She reports of an experience at the Lord & Taylor department store. It was in the book department where Slobodkina encountered a disinterested store clerk. When the author requested a copy of her book, the clerk fished it out from the bottom shelf and handed it to her.

Slobodkina was incensed with the air of disinterest, and in the letter to Scott, she cites the clerk’s behavior, but she also accuses Scott of a similar lack of interest, stating that his talent deserves more from their publisher. The letter is two type-written pages, and Slobodkina begins with accusing Scott of threatening her with a “nose-dive” in the sales of her books if she did “thus and so.”

The funny part is at the top of the letter where Slobodkina wrote in red pencil to Margaret Wise Brown: “Margaret, I have not sent this letter yet. Should I? Phyra.”

Brown’s response, handwritten in black ink, says, “Dear Phyra—I suggest you drink two bottles of red wine, start a fire with this letter & relax. Margaret.”

There is no other record of the letter in the archive, so we don’t know if William R. Scott received a copy or not!

If you would like to view this letter, visit Special Collections on the third floor of McCain Library & Archives. The library is open Monday-Friday from 9am – 4pm.

If you have any questions, contact Ellen Ruffin at or 601.266.6543.

Text by Ellen Ruffin, Curator of the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection.