Work of Syd Hoff and Madeleine L’Engle Featured in new de Grummond Exhibit

News item published on: 2018-05-09 10:30:34

Grizzwold the bear walking upright through the green forest with green trees all around him. In the image on the right, Grizzwold watches three lumberjacks chopping down trees in the same forest. Two men are operating a two-man saw on one of the trees in the background, and a lone lumberjack is using an ax to fell a tree in the foreground. These pages are from a book dummy created by Syd Hoff for his book, Grizzwold.

Syd Hoff was one of the foremost and prolific cartoonists in the United States, a regular contributor to newspapers, magazines, and children's literature. He is the author and illustrator of such early-reader children's classics as Danny and the Dinosaur, Sammy the Seal, and Grizzwold. The Syd Hoff Papers at the de Grummond Collection contain book dummies, typescripts, galleys, illustrations, and color separations related to forty-six books published between 1958 and 1993. They also include more than 1700 cartoons drawn for newspapers and magazines between 1946 and 1977.

The Humor of Syd Hoff features original art from Henrietta, Circus Star, original art from More Letters from Camp, cartoons featured in various magazines, and originals from his syndicated feature, “Laugh It Off.” There are also book dummies for Grizzwold, Barney’s Horse, and Barkley.

This year marks the 100th birthday of Newbery Award winning author Madeleine L’Engle, and the de Grummond Children’s Literature Collection is celebrating her achievements with a new exhibit of her work that is also on display in Cook Library.

Featured in the exhibit are L’Engle’s original manuscripts, typescripts and proofs from A Wrinkle in Time, A Wind in the Door, Camilla, and The Summer of the Great Grandmother. Also on display are letters from L’Engle to the staff at the de Grummond Collection and the books in both the Time Quintet and Austins series.

The de Grummond Exhibit Room is located on the second floor of Cook Library and is open by appointment only during the summer semester. To visit the exhibit, call 601-266-4349. During the fall and spring semesters, the exhibit will be open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information about the exhibit, contact Ellen Ruffin at Ellen.Ruffin@usm.edu or 601.266.6543.