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""For Esmé—with Love and Squalor" is a short story by J. D. Salinger., published in The New Yorker in 1950.  The short piece of fiction follows the war-raddled mind of the narrator, known only as Sergeant X, who encounters a war-orphaned pair of siblings during his training, and finds both solace and sadness in the innate connections between them.  

This editorial illustration was done as a speculative spread for an 8" x 8" literary magazine.  Composed loosely with pencil, it was then completed with watercolor wash and refined with black technical pen.  The script writing on the header page was laid and inked by hand.  While there are no process photos for this piece, it still remains a favorite due to the many overlapping narrative elements taken from the written words, and the loose watercolor bringing each element to life.  

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