{"product_id":"the-house-at-pooh-corner-by-a-a-milne-illustrated-by-ernest-h-shepard-first-edition-in-original-boards-1928","title":"The House at Pooh Corner by A. A. Milne, Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, First Edition, in Original Boards, 1928","description":"\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cem\u003eMilne, A. A. The House at Pooh Corner. London: Methuen \u0026amp; Co., 1928. First Edition. Illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Octavo. In the publisher's original orange boards, stamped and bordered in gilt on the front board, titled in gilt on the spine. Illustrated endpapers and illustrated throughout.\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePresented is the first edition of A. A. Milne’s iconic children’s book \u003cem\u003eThe House at Pooh Corner.\u003c\/em\u003e This first edition was published by Methuen \u0026amp; Co., in London in October of 1928. It is presented here in the publisher’s original orange boards, the front board stamped and boarded in gilt, with gilt titles on the spine, illustrated endpapers, and filled with E. H. Shepard’s charming in-text illustrations. This is a desirable and scarce edition of Milne’s fourth and final “Winnie the Pooh” story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eA. A. Milne (1882–1956) \u0026amp; Ernest H. Shepard (1879–1976) were the author and illustrator of the \u003cem\u003eWinnie the Pooh\u003c\/em\u003e books. Before \u003cem\u003eWinnie the Pooh\u003c\/em\u003e, Alan Alexander Milne had a thriving career as a humorist and playwright. In 1904, shortly after graduating from Cambridge, he published his first piece in \u003cem\u003ePunch\u003c\/em\u003e, and by 1906 was an assistant editor. His plays and novels, including the popular detective story \u003cem\u003eThe Red House Mystery\u003c\/em\u003e, were enormously successful. Artist Ernest Howard Shepard showed aptitude for drawing from an early age. While attending the Royal Academy Schools he began submitting illustrations to magazines, and this gradually became his primary occupation. In 1906, \u003cem\u003ePunch\u003c\/em\u003e accepted his drawings for the first time and he became a regular contributor by 1914.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eIn 1924, A. A. Milne had written a series of children’s verses for \u003cem\u003ePunch\u003c\/em\u003e and Shepard was suggested as the illustrator. The artist’s drawings had an instant appeal, and the verses and illustrations were published the same year in book form as \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e is the first and the scarcest of the four Pooh books with an initial print run of 5,175 regular trade copies. It was first published in London on November 6, 1924 to immense acclaim, and the first printing sold out in one day. By the end of the year more than 53,000 copies had been printed of what \u003cem\u003eThe Times \u003c\/em\u003ecalled \"the greatest children's book since Alice\" (Thwaite p. 286).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eThe popularity of \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e ensured the publication of an additional three books : \u003cem\u003eWinnie-the-Pooh \u003c\/em\u003e(1926), a collection of stories based on the nursery toys belonging to Milne’s son Christopher Robin; \u003cem\u003eNow We Are Six \u003c\/em\u003e(1927) another collection of verses; and \u003cem\u003eThe House at Pooh Corner\u003c\/em\u003e (1928), the final collection of Pooh stories.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter the huge success of \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e, Milne was asked to contribute a story to the \u003cem\u003eLondon Evening News\u003c\/em\u003e. \"The Wrong Sort of Bees,\" published on Christmas Eve in 1925, was based on a bedtime story that Milne had told his son Christopher. It starred Christopher's stuffed bear, which had made his first public appearance in the poem \"Teddy Bear,\" published in \u003cem\u003ePunch\u003c\/em\u003e in 1924 and later in \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e. The original toy was a top-of-the-range Alpha Farnell bought at Harrods for Christopher Milne's first birthday, known initially as Edward or Edward Bear, then later rechristened Winnie-the-Pooh, after a favorite bear cub at London zoo.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cem\u003eWinnie-the-Pooh \u003c\/em\u003ewas first published in London on October 14, 1926 in an edition of 30,000 regular trade copies. The book was an immediate success and garnered even more enthusiastic reviews than its predecessor, with one critic writing, \"When the real Christopher Robin is a little old man, children will find him waiting for them. It is the child's book of the season that seems certain to stay\" (Thwaite p. 317).\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAfter the publication of \u003cem\u003eWhen We Were Very Young\u003c\/em\u003e, Milne began planning a second book of poetry for children. In a January 1926 letter to his brother Ken he included it as number one in a list of \"things which ought to be done\". He described \"a book of verses (about 15 done to date) to appear in 1927 or 1928\" (Thwaite p. 293). \u003cem\u003eNow We Are Six\u003c\/em\u003e was published on October 13, 1927. It took only two months for \u003cem\u003eNow We Are Six\u003c\/em\u003e to eclipse the sales records of the previous two books.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eMilne began planning his final Pooh book in 1927. Three years of publicity and demanding writing schedules were taking their toll on the family, and Milne longed to return full-time to adult literature, telling his brother that \"after one more Pooh book I must think of something else. In fact, it's time I tried a novel\" (Thwaite p. 328). Christopher Robin was growing up, soon to leave for boarding school, and \u003cem\u003eThe House at Pooh Corner \u003c\/em\u003ewould be a farewell to the cherished childhood series. But first there was an introduction to be made. Milne had bought his son a stuffed tiger, \"Tigger\", and told Shepard that he was longing to see the illustrations for this new character, which would become one of the author's most popular creations.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePublished on October 11, 1928 in an edition of 75,000 regular trade copies, \u003cem\u003eThe House at Pooh Corner \u003c\/em\u003ewas received by critics with a delight, tinged with sadness for the end of the series (Thwaite p. 336). Though both men continued producing work for adults, the four Pooh books established Milne and Shepard as one of the most important partnerships in children’s literature.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eCONDITION: \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003eVery good+ condition overall. First edition. 8vo. In original orange boards with gilt borders and gilt stamped Christopher Robin, Pooh, and Piglet on the front, gilt titles to the spine. Light bumping to the spine and front corners. Sun fading to spine cloth, fading of gilt. Surface stains to cloth. Original charming illustrated endpapers, toned. Past owner's name and date in ink on flyleaf. \u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eSome pages splitting from board visible in a few places internally. Clean interior pages, with light toning close to inner hinges. Illustrated by E. H. Shepard throughout. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp dir=\"ltr\"\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cmeta charset=\"utf-8\"\u003eDimensions: 7 7\/8\" H x 5 1\/4\" W x 11\/16\" D.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAccompanied by our company's letter of authenticity. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Great Republic","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48571308277989,"sku":"BK1338","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0285\/3070\/files\/the-house-at-pooh-corner-by-a-a-milne-illustrated-by-ernest-h-shepard-first-edition-in-original-boards-1928-8205208.jpg?v=1774637353","url":"https:\/\/www.great-republic.com\/products\/the-house-at-pooh-corner-by-a-a-milne-illustrated-by-ernest-h-shepard-first-edition-in-original-boards-1928","provider":"The Great Republic","version":"1.0","type":"link"}