Coleman, Margery [Kenneth Grahame] – The Kenneth Graham Day Book 1st UK Edition 1937 – Signed and with accompanying letter

Description

A first edition, first impression of The Kenneth Graham Day Book, a compilation of Grahame’s diary entries, produced by Margery Coleman. The book is signed and inscribed by Kenneth Grahame’s wife, Elspeth to an anonymous recipient, but thought to be a Mrs Fulshaw to whom an accompanying note is written. Elspeth Thompson married Kenneth Grahame, a banker at the time in 1899. They had a child, Alastair to whom Kenneth would tell stories to on an evening. One story, overheard by their housemaid became one of the most successful children’s stories of all time (‘The Wind in the Willows’). The success of this drove Kenneth and Elspeth in to a reclusive living and they were only seen by the villagers of Pangbourne once a week in church. The book is thought to have come from Elspeth’s private library at Church Cottage, Pangbourne, Berkshire. Many of the family’s literary belongings were given by Elspeth to the Bodleian Library in Oxford and we can find no other first edition signed by and indeed inscribed by Elspeth for sale. The book is very good+ condition and is bound in blue boards. The wrapper is also very good+ and is not price clipped at 2s 6d.The inscription by Elspeth to the title page reads:With all good Birthday Wishes/ (Hoping you may long / continue to treat our/ old Father Time/as our/ April Fool)/from/Elspeth Grahame/1st April 1939/ Accompanying the book is a letter written on a single A5 double sided sheet of paper and dated 6th April 1939, with the blind stamp of the Grahames (Church Cottage, Pangbourne, Berkshire). It reads:Dear Mrs FulshawI have been away for 2 days running from “dawn to dusk” so to speak of I have therefore not had an instant with which to return this which I now do with renewed good wishes for your still recent birthday the lovely flowers whereof must still be fresh and fragant – lasting indeed longer in the memory than they do ever in reality. I would have brought back the book myself but after being away all day yesterday and day before have every minute of today morning, noon and night mapped out to try and make up time during my hours of absence when letters (…) mount up in an accusing heap against one and must be dealt with prayer and on a very scrambled note. Yours, Elspeth Grahame A must for the serious Grahame enthusiast