Maurice Sendak’s First Published Illustrations: Discover His Drawings for a 1947 Popular Science Book

McGraw-Hill/public domain; copy from the Niels Bohr Library & Archives

Once upon a time, long before Maurice Sendak illustrated Where The Wild Things Are (1963), he published, notes Ars Technica, “his first professional illustrations in a 1947 popular science book about nuclear physics, Atomics for the Millions.” Only 18 years old, Sendak provided the illustrations; his physics teacher, Hyman Ruchlis authored the text, along with professor Maxwell Leigh Eidinoff.

According to science historian Ryan Dahn...