Books

First edition. First issue, with 'First edition, I-B' on verso title page as required. Original publisher's pictorial cloth in (supplied) dustwrapper. Author's presentation copy, inscribed to friend and fellow novelist, Elizabeth Taylor on the front end paper, "For Elizabeth Taylor / and I do like Irish whiskey / E B White". A very good copy, with some toning to the spine and a little wear to the spine ends and slight looseness to the initial pages. The dustwrapper is near fine, clean and bright with trivial wear and a thin chip to one corner. Colour dustwrapper by Garth Williams and numerous line drawings in the text also by Williams. Elizabeth Taylor, the critically regarded British novelist, described by Kingsley Amis as "One of the best English novelists born this century", whose writing career was forced into relative obscurity as a consequence of coinciding with the rise of her more famous namesake, the American actress. Her style was in the mould of Ivy Compton-Burnett, Barbara Pym and Elizabeth Bowen, and has only recently been recognized as one of the most important authors of the twentieth century. She wrote twelve novels and many short stories, most of which were originally published in The New Yorker, where E.B. White's wife, Katherine, was her first editor. Taylor rarely traveled to America so did not often meet White, but they became good friends via a long and frequent correspondence. Charlotte's Web was one of Taylor's favorite books and was a story she read aloud to her grandchildren. E.B.White was known to be a great fan of whiskey, often having a bottle to hand to offer guests and storing all his manuscripts in old whiskey boxes. Presentation copies of Charlotte's Web of significant literary association are genuinely rare.

"Charlotte's Web" is the story of a young pig named Wilbur who is saved from the fate of being slaughtered by the clever weaving of a spider named Charlotte. Written by E.B. White and published in 1952 by Harper & Brothers, it's a compelling children's novel that showcases the values of friendship and compassion. Over the years, it has become one of the most acclaimed children's books of all time, frequently taught in schools and cherished by readers of all ages.