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, “Sendak agreed to do the work for 1% of the royalties, of which he received an advance of $100, about $1600 today.” Not bad for a teenager creating his first credited work.
At Physics Today, you can read Dahn’s new article on Sendak’s early physics illustrations. You can also read/view all of Atomics for the Millions on the HathiTrust website.
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