The Tar Baby and the Tomahawk: Race and Ethnic Images in American Children's Literature, 1880-1939

I hope you will forgive me my long delay in acknowledging your beautiful letter in the new edition of Uncle Remus.

I thank you most cordially and sincerely for it and assure I feel very proud to be the recipient of such praise. I am very glad that you like the drawings. They were drawn for you, with you in my mind all the time and with the hope that you
cots.har.IMG.0165.jpgwould like them and think that they fitted into the stories. and I am very glad that you are satisfied:

I never enjoyed any work so much: in spite of the fact that I was very much hurried and had to have the drawings done at a certain date, and to deliver them in small batches: I enjoyed it thoroughly: I worked over them as late as I could every day. clear up to dark most of the time. and I did them very quickly: Of course I was hampered in the selection of subjects
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one always is in illustrating a book. You have to lay out the pictures so that they will come on certain pages and not too close together. and you are forced to pass over the very best points very often. I wish I could do it all over again and make just twice as many drawings:

When I did the niggers in "His Sayings" I felt that I was not at home with the subject: the Madison nigger is not the Georgia nigger and I needed to go South and freshen my impressions. but
cots.har.IMG.0167.jpg Time was too short and I had to be satisfied with what was at hand: Your photographs helped out very much: did you recognize the head of the fat chap grinning with his hat over his eyes. The photograph of an Atlanta drayman you sent me?

My dear man! is there any chance of my seeing you? I can't get away to go South. for I am buried in work. Are you coming North this Winter: and if so, when! for I want very much to see you.
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I suppose you are hard at work and pretty tired of Expositions by this time: I wish I could see your Exposition. for it must be fine from what I read of it.

We are all very well at present. We had a very hard Summer, my oldest boy, Arthur Jr. had to undergo a very severe operation for the removal of an abscess from his ear and came very near losing his life. he has been a long tome recov-
cots.har.IMG.0168.jpgering from it. but is very well now: Of course Mrs Frost and I spent an anxious and troubled Summer: I would like to send you a picture of us all in a bunch. and will do so as soon as I can get it printed:

I wish I could write well. I would like to tell you how much you beautiful letter affected me: I can only thank you honestly if clumsily:

Do write an answer to this "blue eyed letter" if you have any
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time to spare:

Please remember me very kindly to Mrs. Harris:

Arthur B. Frost.