Illustrators Born in the Month of September Miska Petersham • September 20th.
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration
Miska was born Petrezselyem Mihaly in Torokszentmiklos, Hungary, on September 20, 1888, the son of a carpenter and blacksmith. He studied art in Budapest and moved to London and from there to New York, where he met his future wife, Maud Fuller.
The Petershams collaborated on over 30 books and developed a very distinctive style. Their ' work was recognized by the American Institute of Graphic Arts (AIGA). Four of their books were selected for inclusion in the highly competitive AIGA exhibitions in the late 1920s and early 1930s. The titles so honored were Nursery Friends from France, Children of the Mountain Eagle, Tales Told in Holland and Get-A-Way and Háry János.
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration for "The Wise Men"
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration for Little Lady Moon, 1925
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration for "The Story of Clothes"
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration for "Food."
They won the 1946 Caldecott Medal for The Rooster Crows (Macmillan, 1945), a collection of American songs, rhymes, and games.
from "The Rooster Crows" by Maud and Miska Petersham
The “Rootabaga Stories” by Carl Sandberg has always been a particular favorite of mine. Th stylization seems so appropriate for that very stylized work.
Maud & Miska Petersham's illustration for Carl Sandburg's Rootabaga Stories (1922)