Maurice Sendak's foundation and the Rosenbach Museum fought for two years in a Connecticut probate court over his rare-book collection

Maurice Sendak deposited thousands of books and drawings at the Rosenbach Museum and Library in Philadelphia from the 1960s, was a board member from 1973 and honorary president from 2003, but never gave them formally. His will told his executors and the Rosenbach to negotiate and sent his rare editions to the museum. About 10,000 items were on deposit. In November 2014, 2.5 years after his death, the Rosenbach sued in probate court in northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, against the executors and trustees of the Maurice Sendak Foundation. It asked for an order stopping transfers, delivery of the disputed items and an accounting. Disputed items included Beatrix Potter books, which the estate called children's books, and two illuminated William Blake books that might sell for several million dollars. The museum believed some items were in a Christie's sale planned for 21 January 2015. A ruling in late 2016 favored the estate on the bulk of the collection^†, and the parties settled on confidential terms at the end of 2016. The Rosenbach's share arrived by February 2017.