Memory of a Large Christmas.

SMITH, Lillian; Illustrated by Constance McMillan.

$650.00

Item Number: 100543

New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1962.

First edition of this “beautifully written book which should be read by families at Christmas time as Dickens’ Christmas Carol used to be” (The New York Times Book Review). Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to George Plimpton, “ForGeorge- who owe still owes me a love letter- Lillian.” Decorations by Constance McMillan. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. An exceptional association.

In Memory of a Large Christmas, writer and civil rights crusader Lillian Smith (1897-1966) remembered fondly the Christmases of her youth. They were certainly big: lots of people ate lots of food in a house with lots of room. It's all recalled here, from the preface of Thanksgiving through the hog-killing, gift-buying, theatricals-staging, stocking-hanging and finally, the main event. It's packaged in a small volume with illustrations and even a few recipes. "Smith has recorded some of her southern memories so evokingly that for a while we are convinced she is writing of a childhood we shared with her. And she does it with the light touch of humor. . . . All the family traditions that make each Christmas part of a splendid recurring rhythm are here" (Christian Science Monitor).