Wesley Dennis SIGNED letter w/ env. and photo illustrator of MISTY and BRIGHTY

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Seller: hungrytigerboy ✉️ (1,152) 100%, Location: Portland, Oregon, US, Ships to: US, Item: 364814941544 Wesley Dennis SIGNED letter w/ env. and photo illustrator of MISTY and BRIGHTY. Offered here is a wonderful typed-letter from beloved children's book illustrator, Wesley Dennis  to young teen, Carolyn Wilbur. The letter measures 8.5" x 11" and is in very good condition. The letter is signed by Dennis in blue ink and includes the original mailing envelope on Dennis's "horse" stationery with a postal cancellation from Warrenton, VA, January 24, 1954.  The envelope measures 6.75" x 3.75". Also included is an original snapshot photo of Wesely Dennis and his pet crow. The photo measures 3" x 3" (image area is 2 1/8" x 2 1/8").  This letter is on Wesley Dennis's special stationery featuring his illustrations of six horses. Dennis is best known for illustrating nearly twenty of Marguerite Henry's books including Brighty of the Grand Canyon , Misty , Seastar , and others.  Please note that I have also just listed a different auction featuring a similar letter from Newberry-winning author Marguerite Henry . (see my other items for sale). The two letters would make a great companion set! But are offered and sold separately. The letter from Wesley Dennis reads as follows: — Dear Carolyn Wilbur; Thank you for your nice letter. I have illustrated at least 40 books and believe I am sick of it but I don't know any other way to make a bare living. I'm enclosing a snap of myself and my pet crow. He was killed the other day by an automobile and I miss him very much. Best wishes [signed] Wesley Dennis — The letter has been neatly folded (as sent) in its original envelope since 1954.  I will combine shipping on multiple wins. The original recipient of the letter, now in her early 80s, wrote to many children's authors and illustrators back in the mid 1950s and saved all the letters, photos, and ephemera she received in a small handmade binder - only lightly tacking the material in with archival stamp hinges (now removed). Each of the other letters will be offered in separate auctions over the coming weeks. Authors and Illustrators include: Lois Lenski, Maud Hart Lovelace, Stephen W. Meader, illustrator Wesley Dennis, Helen Fuller Orton, Marguerite de Angeli, Col. S. P. Meek (early science fiction author and author of many books on horses and dogs). There will also be separate auctions for letters from Franklin Delano Roosevelt and poet Winfred Rawlins. — John Wesley Dennis [2]   (May 16, 1903 [3]   – September 3, 1966 [a] ) [2]   was an  American   illustrator, known best for fifteen  children's books   about horses that he created in collaboration with writer  Marguerite Henry . [4]   He illustrated over 150 books in his lifetime, [5]   including  Anna Sewell 's  Black Beauty   and  John Steinbeck 's  The Red Pony . [4]   He also wrote and illustrated a few books of his own, among which are  Flip ,  Flip and the Cows ,  Flip and the Morning , and  Tumble .

Dennis was born on May 16, 1903, in Falmouth, Massachusetts.[1]   He grew up on a farm on Cape Cod. He and his older brother Morgan both learned to draw specializing in farm animals, with preference for horses and dogs respectively.[5]

Dennis failed the  US Naval Academy   entrance exam and dropped out of school at age 17. He looked for work in Boston, where Morgan was a newspaper illustrator with the  Boston Herald , and got a similar job at the  Boston American   by showing some of Morgan's work as his own.[5]   He found illustration jobs with several department stores, including  Jordan Marsh   and  Filene's .[1]   He did not intend to become an artist. "Most of my new friends were spending the mornings at the  Boston Museum of Fine Arts   drawing from plaster casts. They wanted to be artists. They usually were broke."[5]   However, Morgan convinced him to try to make a living drawing horses. Dennis began by sketching racetrack winners, hoping to receive portrait commissions from the owners. This brought some success.[5]   He decided to further his education, and traveled to France to study with artist  Lowes Dalbiac Luard , an expert on horse anatomy.[4]

In 1940, Dennis married Dorothy Schiller Boggs.[5]

In 1941, he published his first book,  Flip , a "fanciful story about a pony named Flip and his desire to jump the brook."[6]   His illustrations attracted author  Marguerite Henry , who later wrote, "I had just finished writing  Justin Morgan Had a Horse , and wanted the best horse artist in the world to illustrate it. So I went to the library, studied the horse books, and immediately fell in love with the work of  Will James   and Wesley Dennis. When I found out that Will James was dead, I sent my manuscript to Wesley Dennis."[7]   Thus began a 20-year collaboration which resulted in the publication of 15 books.[4]   (Below there are 20 listings of books "written by Marguerite Henry", including two editions of  Justin Morgan .)

Also in 1941, Dennis visited  Warrenton, Virginia . He purchased a farm there and made it his primary residence.[8]

Dennis was a resident of Warrenton at the time of his death in Falmouth at age 63. Falmouth was a summer residence.[2]   He had been ill for six months.[2]   He had suffered a heart attack.[9]

During 2014 Simon & Schuster initiated a reissue of "deluxe hardcover editions of 20 of Henry's novels. The books feature a uniform cover look, and many include Wesley Dennis's original art, digitally refreshed." [10]   The deal was arranged by an agent for the University of Minnesota, which inherited Henry's rights. The agent told  Publishers Weekly   that Henry had "shared all royalties from the books with Dennis, which is highly unusual", and that the Dennis estate will receive royalties from the new editions. Some of his illustrations had been dropped from latterday paperback editions. He sold most of the originals, which are thus unavailable today; the publisher says it is "cleaning up the artwork digitally to create as clean a scan as we can, working from existing reproductions." [10]

Written by Marguerite Henry [ edit ]

The Henry–Dennis collaborations were published by  Rand McNally   except as noted.

  • Justin Morgan Had a Horse   (Wilcox & Follett , 1945), 89 pp.,  LCCN agr45000372
  • Always Reddy   (McGraw-Hill   Whittlesey House, 1947); also published as  Shamrock Queen
  • Benjamin West and His Cat Grimalkin   (Bobbs-Merrill , 1947) – "by Marguerite Henry and Wesley Dennis",  LCCN  86-28658 ; about the artist  Benjamin West ,  OCLC  300163
  • Misty of Chincoteague   (1947)
  • King of the Wind: the Story of the Godolphin Arabian   (1948)
  • Little-or-Nothing from Nottingham   (Whittlesey House, 1949)
  • Sea Star, Orphan of Chincoteague   (1949)
  • Born To Trot   (1950) – about the  standardbred   line
  • Album of Horses   (1951)
  • Brighty of the Grand Canyon   (1953)
  • Justin Morgan Had a Horse   (revised and expanded, Rand McNally, 1954), 169 pp.,  LCCN  54-8903
  • Wagging Tails: Album of Dogs   (1955)
  • Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox   (1956)
  • Black Gold   (1957) – about the horse  Black Gold
  • Muley-Ears, Nobody's Dog   (1959)
  • All About Horses , with drawings by Wesley Dennis and photos (1962)
  • Five O'Clock Charlie   (1962)
  • Stormy, Misty's Foal   (1963)
  • Portfolio of Horse Paintings , with commentary by Henry (1964) – "Published in 1952 under title: Portfolio of horses."  LCCN  64-22279
Portfolio of Horses   (1952)  LCCN  52-10418   – page-counts and plate-counts do not match the 1964 book
  • White Stallion of Lipizza   (1964) – about the Vienna  Spanish Riding School

Some of the books have also appeared without the Dennis illustrations. Beginning 2014 Simon & Schuster reissues a series of Marguerite Henry novels in "deluxe hardcover editions" with illustrations by Wesley Dennis, where applicable, digitally refreshed from existing reproductions. The first six volumes in the series are Henry–Dennis collaborations:  King of the Wind ,  Brighty , and  White Stallion   (late 2014);  Justin Morgan ,  Sea Star , and  Stormy   (early 2015).[10]

Other books illustrated [ edit ]
  • Serpent’s Credo , written by George Faunce Whitcomb (1931)
  • Flip , written by Dennis (1941)
  • Flip and the Cows , Dennis (1942)
  • Riders of the Gabilans , Graham M. Dean (1944)
  • The Red Pony ,  John Steinbeck   (1945)
  • Holiday , Dennis (1946)
  • Golden Sovereign , Dorothy Lyons (1946)
  • Black Beauty, the autobiography of a horse ,  Anna Sewell   (1946) [1877]
  • Now Listen, Warden , Ray P. Holland (1946)
  • Old Bones: The Wonder Horse   by Mildred Mastin Pace (1956)[11]
  • Palomino and other horses , edited by Dennis (1950)
  • Flip and the Morning , Dennis (1951)
  • Fools Over Horses , Helen Orr Watson (1952)
  • Lord Buff and The Silver Star , George Agnew Chamberlain (1955)
  • Crow I Know , Dennis (1957)
  • Tony the Pony , Lilian Moore (1959)
  • Cammie's Choice , Jane McIlvaine [McClary] (1961)
  • Cammie's Challenge , Jane McIlvaine [McClary] (1962)
  • A Horse Called Mystery , Marjorie Reynolds (1964)
  • Book of Ponies , Suzanne Wilding (1965)
  • Ice Bird, a Christmas legend , Pauline B. Innis (1965)
  • Small War of Sergeant Donkey ,  Maureen Daly   (1966)
  • Tumble, the story of a mustang , Dennis (1966)
  • Illustrator: Wesley Dennis
  • Signed: Yes
  • Author: Marguerite Henry
  • Personalized: Yes
  • Topic: Literary
  • Subject: Children's
  • Year Printed: 1954
  • Original/Facsimile: Original

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