Drummer Hoff

EMBERLEY, Barbara. Drummer Hoff. Illustrated by Ed Emberley. Englewoods Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall [1967]. Oblong 8vo, [32]pp. Dark orange cloth pictorially stamped in black. Blue endpapers; color illustrations on every page. Miniscule puncture hole to cloth where front cover meets spine, spine lightly cocked, else a fine copy in original color pictorial dust jacket (a few small closed tears, medal affixed). Signed by the artist, Caldecott Medalist Ed Emberley, with a 4½” drawing of a cat. Scarce thus.

First edition. 1968 Caldecott Medal Winner! A lively, cumulative folk verse all about the soldiers who put together a cannon. “Seargent Chowder brought the powder, Corporal Farrell brought the barrel, Private Parriage brought the carriage, but Drummer Hoff fired it off.” Emberley’s bright colors printed over his intricate woodcut lines leap from the page to captivate imaginations large and small. Truly a classic!