ALS signed “Ernest H. Shepard,” three pages on two sheets, 6.25 x 7, personal letterhead, September 6, 1967. Letter to Evelyn Byrne, in part: “When I was 12 years old my Father read Dickens to us—my sister, brother and myself—I was the youngest. We had David Copperfield, Martin Chuzzlewhit, Dombey & Son, The Old Curiosity Shop and, of course, Pickwick Papers. I think half of my enjoyment of these books came from my father’s reading—Having had experience as an actor he not only read beautifully but also dramatized the parts. For my own reading I had several of Henty’s books and I read R.L. Stevenson when I was 16 to 17. A book that was a great standby was called ‘The World of Adventure’ published by Cassells…Every story was true and well illustrated—Shipwrecks and Fires, Adventures in the Alps, avalanches, polar expeditions, Wild West with Buffalo Bill, battles in India and Zulu land, ballooning, Inventions, Mine Explosions—For lighter reading I had ‘Alice in Wonderland’ of which I have never tired, and Randolph Caldecott’s illustrated rhymes—at the age of 87, I still enjoy these. Since I could hold a pencil I have always drawn pictures mostly of people and was encouraged by both my parents to do so…I still work many hours a day and enjoy it.” In fine condition. Accompanied by the original mailing envelope, addressed in Shepard’s hand. Byrne ran a program at New York City's Elizabeth Barrett Browning Junior High School where she asked major literary and artistic figures for recollections of what books inspired them; some responses were published in the 1971 book Attacks of Taste. Fine content from the influential children’s illustrator about the books that inspired him as a young boy.
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