NASTY NANCY & HER CAT. A Horrid ABC Book. [THE PRINTER'S ORIGINAL FULL UNCUT SHEET & COVERS FOR THIS CHILDREN'S FINE PRESS MINIATURE]. by Johnson, Fridolf - 1962.

New York: The Mermaid Press, 1962., 1962.. Fine. - A 4-7/8 inch high by 8 inch wide cream colored sheet upon which is printed all 8 pages of Fridolf Johnson's miniature children's alphabet book. Accompanying the printer's uncut sheet is 2-1/2 inch high by 7-3/8 inch wide cream cover printed in red within a red decorative frame on the front cover, and a plain blue sample cover. The uncut sheet is illustrated by Fridolf Johnson with 2 vignettes, a tail piece and decorative letters of the alphabet, printed in colors. Fine.

This preliminary stage of the book was purchased by us from the Estate of Fridolf Johnson.

"Nancy, whom all of us should abhor, had a cat. It is a very sad story. Shed a tear for poor Kitty--and for Nancy, too. She had no idea how bad she was! All day long that wicked girl.... Addled it, Battled it, Clobbered it.... Zounds! What Hell for Poor Kitty.... & now it is Dead.... By the way: Kitty now enjoys another of her nine lives with a boy named Egbert, who is as sweet and gentle as Nancy was bad...."

An illustrator and artist as well as a fine pressman Fridolf Johnson was an editor of American Artist Magazine until his retirement in the 1970's. As a graphic artist, he designed title panels for Hollywood movies and art & typography for advertising as well as dust jacket illustrations. He wrote and illustrated his own children's books in addition to other works. He also compiled and edited the Knopf book "Rockwell Kent: An Anthology of His Work".