My Favorite Things

My Favorite Things

<p></p><p>From Maira Kalman, the author of the bestsellers <em>The Principles of Uncertainty</em> and <em>The Elements of Style</em>, comes this beautiful pictorial and narrative exploration of the significance of objects in our lives, drawn from her personal artifacts, recollections, and selections from the collection of the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum.</p><p>With more than fifty original paintings and featuring bestselling author and illustrator Maira Kalman’s signature handwritten prose, <em>My Favorite Things</em> is a poignant and witty meditation on the importance of both quotidian and unusual objects in our culture and private worlds.</p><p>Created in the same colorful, engaging, and insightful style as her previous works, which have won her fans around the world, <em>My Favorite Things</em> features more than fifty objects from both the Cooper-Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum and Kalman’s personal collections: the pocket watch Abraham Lincoln was carrying when he was shot, original editions of <em>Winnie-the-Pooh</em> and <em>Alice in Wonderland</em>, a handkerchief in memoriam of Queen Victoria, an Ingo Maurer lamp, Rietveld’s Z chair, a pair of Toscanini’s pants, and photographs Kalman has taken of people walking towards and away from her. A pictorial index provides photographs of the actual objects and a short description of them, enhancing the reading experience.</p><p>As it speaks to the universal experience and importance of beloved objects in our lives—big and small, famous and private—this unique work is a fresh way of examining and understanding our society, history, culture, and ourselves.</p>