Books

London: Methuen, 1926. First Trade Edition. Near fine/Very good. Ernest H. Shepard. Crown 8vo, 7 5/8 x 5 in (194 x 127 mm), pp. 158, full-page and text illustrations, illustrated endpapers with map of "100 Aker Wood... Drawn by me and Mr. Shepar Helpd (sic.)" Green cloth, gilt stamping on the front board with an illustration of Christopher Robin and Pooh, gilt lettering on spine, top edge gilt; in very good dust jacket (slightly worn, some dust and finger smudging - primarily affecting back panel, spine panel somewhat sunned, some dampstaining to bottom edge of spine panel, 1/4 inch; 6 mm tear to stop of spine panel, slight chipping with no losses to lettering or design elements). Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard (with exceptions noted). THIS COPY SIGNED IN INK BY BOTH A.A. MILNE AND ERNEST H. SHEPARD ON THE TITLE PAGE. [Haring-Smith C79; Cutler-Stiles p. 116; Grolier, no. 71]. The second in the classic quartet of Milne's cycle based on the teddy bear which belonged to his son,…

Winnie-the-Pooh, also called Pooh Bear, is a fictional anthropomorphic teddy bear created by English author A.A. Milne. The first collection of stories about the character was the book 'Winnie-the-Pooh' (1926), and this was followed by 'The House at Pooh Corner' (1928). Milne also included a poem about the bear in the children's verse book 'When We Were Very Young' (1924) and many more in 'Now We Are Six' (1927). All four volumes were illustrated by E.H. Shepard.

The true first editions of 'Winnie-the-Pooh' were published by Methuen & Co. Ltd in London in 1926. They are characterized by a green cloth cover with gold gilt decorations and would not have a dust jacket. The book has the publisher's name on the spine and title page. Later editions may differ in terms of cover, imprint, and illustrations. True first editions can also be identified by errors on page ix, which list the second chapter as 'Chapter II. In which Pooh Goes Visiting and Gets into a Tight Place' – whereas it was eventually titled '…and Gets into a Tight Place'.