[Sendak, Maurice] [Lindbergh, Charles] Lindbergh Kidnapping Souvenir Wooden Ladder

(Flemington, New Jersey, 1935). Miniature wooden ladder. Manuscript along left side "Flemington, N.J.". 9 1/2 x 2 x 3/8 in. (241 x 51 x 9.5 mm). From the collection of Maurice Sendak.

The Lindbergh baby kidnapping and murder had a profound and unsettling effect on young Maurice Sendak. Although too young at the time to completely understand the matter, it imparted in him a fear of being kidnapped himself. This childhood experience would be reflected in many of his later books, in particular, Outside Over There (1981), a story about a young girl named Ida, who must rescue her baby sister after the child has been stolen by goblins. This connection to the Lindbergh kidnapping is itself shown on the book's title-page, where three cloaked goblins approach Ida and her sister, one holding a version of the famous ladder.

During the 1935 trial of Bruno Richard Hauptmann for the kidnapping and murder of Charles Lindbergh's son, the ladder that was used to enter the second story window of Lindbergh's home quickly became a symbol and focal point of the trial. In Flemington, New Jersey, where the trial took place, souvenir ladders like the above were sold outside of the courthouse to curious spectators. "The streets of Flemington became a gouger's paradise as out-of-town hawkers vied with local shopkeepers in peddling every kind of souvenir imaginable, from 'autographed' photos of Lindbergh to 'certified' locks of the dead infant's hair. Among the best-selling novelty items was a miniature replica of the kidnapping ladder that was being built and sold by a local lad and his brother." (Behn, Lindbergh: The Crime, 1994, p. 240). George Parker and his brother sold these very ladders for 25 cents apiece, and they were then often worn by court spectators on their lapel or hung around their neck.

Sendak, who was deeply obsessed with the sensationalism of the trial, for decades tried to obtain one of these souvenirs, only obtaining one in 2009, three years before his death.

This lot is located in Philadelphia.

Provenance

Hake's Auctions, York, Pennsylvania, March 19, 2014, Sale 211, Lot 1042

From the collection of Justin G. Schiller

[Sendak, Maurice] [Lindbergh, Charles] Lindbergh Kidnapping Souvenir Wooden Ladder