Books

First Impression. A Near Fine presentation copy inscribed in ink on the half-title "To Joan Burnett / from her friend / J.M. Barrie / Christmas 1906". Quarto (9 7/8 x 7 3/8 inches; 251 x 187 mm.). xii, 125, [126] pp. Tipped-in color frontispiece and forty-nine tipped-in color plates all mounted on heavy stock dark gray paper, each with a lettered tissue-guard. On the verso of the half-title is another ink inscription "To dear Renée Deschamps / In loving memory of her Cousin / "Joan" / a gift from her / mother / Auntie Amy Donds / With much love to dear Renée / September 27 1922 / 7 New Steine Brighton / England". Bound in publisher's russet cloth, front cover pictorially decorated in gilt, spine decoratively lettered in gilt. Heavy stock dark gray paper end-papers with map of Kensington Gardens. Small (7/8 inch) split at head of spine, very minor rubbing to extremities. Laid in is an original photo postcard (3 3/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 87 x 140 mm.) showing the 1904 cast of the play (including Joan Burnett as Tootles and Hilda Trevelyan (1877-1959) - the original 'Wendy'). The back of the postcard is inscribed (upside down) [by Auntie Amy Dolds] and reads "To Renée / From where / the spot is / The children in bed Wendy / telling them the / story". Also a very old bookseller's description and printed card - and a photographic playbill listing the original cast members. Chemised in a ca. 1930s quarter red morocco over red cloth slipcase, spine with five raised bands, lettered in gilt in compartments, spine of slipcase a little faded. This is an astonishing presentation copy of the first edition of "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens," inscribed by author J.M. Barrie to one of the 'lost Boys' in the original 1904 stage production at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. The play debuted on 27 December 1904 with Nina Boucicault in the title role and Miss Joan Burnett as Tootles--one of the "Lost Boys" who is perhaps the most unfortunate of Peter Pan's crew. Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was born from chapters in Peter Pan, which were published as "The Little White Bird," and which tell the story of how "Peter Pan, who – escaped from being a human when he was seven days old.and flew back to the Kensington Gardens'." (The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature). This was reissued in 1906 as "Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, with colour plates by Arthur Rackham; this was the book which first made Rackham's work famous. It should not be confused with Peter and Wendy (1911), Barrie's novelization of the play Peter Pan" (The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature). "Rackham's illustrations to Grimm, Hans Andersen or Poe show him at his most imaginative and observant of human nature, while his gnomes, fairies and gnarled anthropomorphic trees in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens or A Midsummer Night's Dream represent his more fantastic side. He was - and remains - a soloist in front of an orchestra, a player with the responsibility to interpret and add a personal lustre to great works with variations of infinite subtlety and grace" (Arthur Rackham: A Life). With its strong association and inscription dated at the time of publication, this copy is undoubtedly a significant and desirable example. Arthur Rackham (1867-1939) is perhaps the most acclaimed and influential illustrator of the Golden Age of Illustration. A prolific artist even from his youth, Rackham got his start as an illustrator working for the Westminster Budget Newspaper (1892). Over the next few years, he took on more and more commissions for children's books, hitting his career high in the first three decades of the twentieth century. Rackham turned his imaginative pen to every classic—from Shakespeare to Dickens to Poe. Provenance: James M. Barrie, who scarcely signed books, presented this copy to Joan Burnett (ca. 1890-1922), who played Tootles in the original stage production in December 1904 at the Duke of York's Theatre in London. Joan Burnett died in her early twenties.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is one of J.M. Barrie's works that features the character Peter Pan, offering a backstory to the beloved 'boy who wouldn't grow up.' Originally part of Barrie's book 'The Little White Bird' (1902), these chapters were later republished as a stand-alone story detailing Peter's adventures in London's famous Kensington Gardens. It's a tale of fantasy that explores themes of childhood innocence and escapism.