The Escher archive in the Kunstmuseum The Hague includes a little storybook that was published in 1898 – the year Escher was born. Escher ofted read stories to his three sons from the book.
![Om aan de kleintjes voor te lezen [Stories to be read aloud to children], compiled and edited by A.C. Kuiper. 1898](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fprdzoomst01.blob.core.windows.net%2Fescher-production-silverstripe-assets-public%2FUploads%2FImageBlock%2Fomslag_voorleesboek.jpg&w=1920&q=75)
Om aan de kleintjes voor te lezen [Stories to be read aloud to children], compiled and edited by A.C. Kuiper. 1898
His eldest son George had vivid memories of
'feverish nights, lying in bed as a child, while my father read to me by the light of a half-veiled lamp in an attempt to lull me to sleep.'
George mentions, in particular, the story of The Lost Princess which provided the inspiration for the print Castle in the Air, from January 1928. Former curator Mickey Piller explores the origins of this remarkable woodcut.
M.C. Escher, Luchtkasteel, houtsnede, januari 1928
