Coincidentally two bits of news about the This is New York and This is San Francisco reissues came my way today. Firstly, an email from Pam Sommers, Publicity Directory at Rizzoli USA (of which Universe is an imprint) to say that the books are now available, with a copy of the official press release, and news that they were reviewed by Peter Terzian in Newsday on Sunday, and that they will be reviewed in The New York Times Home section this Thursday (26th June). So word is getting out at last.
Secondly, a review from Publishers Weekly which explains the background to the books' reissue - and exciting news about the possibility of reissuing the whole series. Get shopping everyone...
If you don't have the books yet, Amazon have added a "Look inside" option so you can see exactly how good the illustrations are, and how the reissues have been slightly updated for the 21st century.
See
This
is New York >>>
See This
is San Francisco >>>
There has been a lot happening since the site began. Huge thanks to everyone who has written in. The most exciting things are two new (old) Sasek books to discover. The earlier of the two (and the earliest on the site so far) is Benjamin a tisic morskych dasu Kapitana Barnabase published in 1947. Words and pictures are by Sasek. It is written in Czech, and the titles translates as something along the lines of Benjamin and Captain Barnaby's thousand sea monsters.
Read more about Benjamin a tisic morskych dasu Kapitana Barnabase >>>
The same goes for See the city! A beginner's guide to San Francisco - a pamphlet written by Effie Lee Morris and illustrated by M. Sasek for the American Library Association's 1967 conference. This turned up recently on ebay so if the lucky winner happens to be reading this do get in touch - no hard feelings ;-)
Read more about See the city! >>>
Thanks to Ulrike, a London based Sasek fan, there is some new information on an early Sasek book, Sedm mamlasu or Die sieben schlemihle by Eduard Petiska. This was published in German in 1950 and illustrated by Sasek. It is a charming tale of 7 small boys and their crazy adventures.
Read more on Sedm mamlasu >>>
Welcome to This is M. Sasek, a new website devoted to Miroslav Sasek's life and works. Please help us develop the site by having a look round, sending comments, passing the address on (www.miroslavsasek.com) and linking to us. Thanks! Send your email address to subscribe@miroslavsasek.com if you would like to get Sasek news updates.
Miroslav Sasek's This is New York and This is San Francisco are being republished by Universe Publishing in May 2003. $12.57 - what a steal. They're two of the best. You can pre-order from Amazon:
Order This
is New York >>>
Order This
is San Francisco >>>
Few details are available prior to release but it looks like the books are faithful facsimiles of the originals. More details when they arrive.
In March 2003 the United Nations Postal Administration issued two sets of 5 postcards in the denominations of 23¢ and 70¢, and two 37¢ pre-stamped envelopes with illustrations from Sasek's This is the United Nations. Postcards are 108mm x 152mm and can be ordered from the UN site using item numbers 321.2876 ($1.15) and 321.2877 ($3.50) respectively. Envelopes are 321.2874 (standard size, 48¢) and 321.2875 (large, also 48¢). They are very nice!
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© This is M. Sasek, 2003-5