Chalk Talk Drawings for THE BIG SNOW

[New York]: n.p., 1948. Very good plus overall.. Collection of eight large original charcoal and chalk drawings featuring scenes from THE BIG SNOW, presented as part of a live promotional event for the 1948 NEW YORK TIMES Boys' and Girls' Book Fair. Publication is not the final step in the making of a children's book. After hitting the shelves, the book must now be "made" in the minds of buyers, so promotion becomes the biggest focus. These large chalk and charcoal drawings are a compelling example of book marketing, in this case, Berta and Elmer Hader's THE BIG SNOW. Created during a "chalk talk" - an event in which the illustrator redraws images from their picture book while telling the story in front of an audience - the images instill a dynamism into the Haders' classic story about animals who experience a deep winter snow.
This format of promotion seems built for the Haders. Before beginning his career with Berta, PUBLISHER'S WEEKLY notes that Elmer "took a successful vaudeville stunt called 'A Painting a Minute' across America and Paris"; this certainly prepared him for the high-speed artistry required of a chalk talk (1412). With efficient strokes, the illustrations of THE BIG SNOW were recreated in large format to the delight of the attendees of the 1948 NEW YORK TIMES Boys' and Girls' Book Fair. One drawing, signed by both Berta and Elmer, indicates that their event took place on the Fair's first day, November 19. Only a few months later, in early 1949, THE BIG SNOW was awarded the Caldecott Medal. 48.75'' x 33'' (unrolled). Eight large rolled sheets of charcoal and chalk drawings. Four drawings in color (chipmunk, owl, deer, squirrel), four in black (owl, raccoon, mouse, squirrel). One color drawing inscribed by the Haders, "A souvenir of the New York / Times Book Fair Nov 19 - 1948 / Berta and Elmer Hader." With fragments of original packing paper with label written by one of the Haders, "SKETCHES for COLOR / *CHALK TALK / for N. Y. Times Book Fair" and "#14." Several sheets with some edgewear and chipping, a few with closed tears to margins; scattered foxing. Else clean and bright.