January 02, 2015
Maurice Sendak's book collection, consisting of 800 rarities, is estimated by his will to be worth approximately $1.65 million. The Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia, however, is now charging that that figure is much too modest. To boot, the Sendak estate holders continue to make (rather bizarre) arguments for why Rosenbach is not entitled to all 800 books.
Reports the Inquirer:
"The financial report sketches out the scale and value of the collection over which the Rosenbach filed its lawsuit. Sendak's will calls for the Rosenbach to receive all of his rare books, but the Sendak estate has turned over only 349 of the 800 volumes, with that portion valued at $720,000.
The Sendak estate apparently aims to keep the rest, 451, for itself, but the Nov. 3 Rosenbach suit asks probate court in Fairfield County, Conn., near where the writer and artist lived, to carry out Sendak's wish that the Rosenbach receive "all of my rare edition books." The estate has not turned over several valuable volumes by "Peter Rabbit" author Beatrix Potter, the suit states, because it considers them to be children's books, not rare books."
According to a financial filing from Nov. 26, the entirety of Sendak's estate is valued at $65.8 million; his works, many of which were long on display at the Center City museum, have an estimated worth of $17.5 million, but are not being contested.
The lawsuit has been ongoing since November, when the Rosenbach first claimed that executors of Sendak's will have not complied with its request that the rare book collection be donated to the museum and library.
Sendak, who authored the popular children's book "Where the Wild Things Are," died in May 2012.
