Collections of an Only Child: Seventy Years a Bibliophile, the Library of Justin G. Schiller

THE Presentation Copy of This Timeless Classic, Inscribed by Author Kay Thompson to Illustrator Hilary Knight

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955. First edition. 4to. 65 pp. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by Thompson on front free endpaper to her illustrator, Hilary Knight: "For my darling Hilary--My God...can you even believe it...Isn't it wonderful--Oh Hilary--I love you Kay and Me Eloise." Profusely illustrated by Knight. Publisher's cream pictorial cloth, stamped in red and in black, unevenly toned, extremities lightly rubbed; illustrated endpapers; in original illustrated dust-jacket, small chipping and wear along edges, rear panel separated, spine chipped and starting, closed tear at top of front panel.

An important and fantastic presentation copy of this enduring classic, inscribed by the author, Kay Thompson, to the book's illustrator, Hilary Knight.

"Eloise never would have happened as a book had it not been for D.D. Ryan badgering Kay and putting us together", explained Hilary Knight (Irvin, Kay Thompson, 2010, p. 205). Kay Thompson first devised the Eloise character as a child and later used the persona to entertain friends and party guests. D.D. Ryan, a friend of Thompson's and a junior fashion editor at Harper's Bazaar, believed that this alter ego was ripe for a book adaptation—especially if the right illustrator could be found (Irvin, p. 205). Ryan was neighbors with Knight, who would frequently slip drawings under her apartment door. One drawing in particular caught her attention, that of "a fat little prissy pretty girl with frizzy blonde corkscrews. She had a satin ribbon in her hair and a bulging belly, and she was facing a girl who looked just like Eloise." (Irvin, p. 206).

Keen to connect the two, Ryan arranged for them to meet at the Persian Room in the Plaza Hotel, in December 1954. "When Kay saw Hilary's drawing of the two little girls, she was intrigued. 'The prissy one Kay would call Dorothy Darling,' Hilary explained. 'The other suggested the wicked school girls of Ronald Searle.'" (Irvin, p. 206). From this meeting would blossom one of the greatest writer-and-illustrator collaborations in American publishing, and result in one of the most beloved characters ever put to page, the Plaza Hotel’s enfant terrible, Eloise.

When conceiving Eloise, Thompson and Knight culled from a variety of artistic and real-life sources. For her look, Knight looked to his artistic influences, including his own parents (artists in their own right), as well as illustrators such as Ernest Shepard, Edmund Dulac, and Louis-Maurice de Boutet Monvel. Thompson would later claim (and disclaim) Eloise was based on herself, but also drew inspiration from her many famous friends and theatrical colleagues. Shortly after their first meeting, Knight sent Thompson an illustrated Christmas card depicting Santa soaring through the sky on a Christmas tree. Thompson later reflected, "On the end of the tree, grinning a lovely grin, her wild hair standing on end, was Eloise. It was immediate recognition on my part. There she was. In person. I knew at once Hilary Knight had to illustrate the book." (Irvin, p. 207)

Eloise was published in November 1955 and became an instant runaway sensation, selling over 40,000 copies by early the following year. The book eventually spawned four sequels by Knight and Thompson (Eloise in Paris, Eloise at Christmas, Eloise in Moscow, and Eloise Takes a Bawth), a music record and televised play, as well as an abundance of Eloise-themed toys and merchandise. To date the book has sold more than two million copies.