When We Were Very Young.

“And Teddy worried lots about The fact that he was rather stout. He thought: 'If only I were thin! But how does anyone begin?'”: Exquisitely bound example of A.A. Milne's When We Were Very Young

When We Were Very Young.

MILNE, A.A; Illustrated by Ernest Shepard.

Item Number: 101259

London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1927.

Finely bound edition of the first book in Milne’s beloved Pooh series. Octavo, elaborately bound in full morocco with gilt tooling to the spine, red morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt central motif of a young Christopher Robin within double gilt ruling with cornerpiece designs to the front panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, charming patterned endpapers, illustrated by Ernest Shepard. In fine condition.

“Although Alan Alexander Milne wrote novels, short stories, poetry and many plays for adults, in addition to his work as assistant editor for Punch from 1906 to 1914, it is his writings for children that have captured the hearts of millions of people worldwide and granted Milne everlasting fame” (Silvey, 461). Milne wrote most of these poems at the request of friend and fellow poet Rose Fyleman, who was planning a new children’s magazine. “On a rain-blighted holiday in Wales, [Milne] escaped from the crowd of fellow guests to the summerhouse, and for 11 days wrote a set of children’s verses, one each day… ‘There on the other side of the lawn was a child with whom I had lived for three years [his son, Christopher Robin]… and here within me were unforgettable memories of my own childhood.’ He added more verses when he got home, enough for a book, and allowed some to be published in advance in Punch” (Carpenter & Prichard, 351). Shepard, a Punch staff artist at the time, provided delightful line vignettes, resulting in “a wonderful marriage of verse and vision. His delicately precise and fresh drawings had an instant appeal” (DNB). When We Were Very Young is second issue, as usual, with page ix numbered.

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