A.A. Milne [Ernest H. Shepard] – The King’s Breakfast – First Edition 1925

A first edition, first printing of The King’s Breakfast by A.A. Milne, published by Methuen & Co, London, in 1925, music by H. Fraser-Simson, decorations by E. H. Shepard. This is a very good copy without a wrapper, former owner’s names and dates to the front paste-down and free end paper, ghosting to the prelims, the illustrated boards are mostly clean but with some toning and shelf-wear, rubbing to the corners, a sizeable bump to the lower edge of the rear board, an internally cracked hinge to boards and text block.

The King’s Breakfast brings together A. A. Milne’s humorous verse, music by H. Fraser-Simson and illustrations by E. H. Shepard. Adapted from When We Were Very Young, it recounts a king’s increasingly troublesome request for butter at breakfast, involving his queen, a dairymaid and an opinionated cow. Published by Methuen, this charming musical setting combines playful storytelling with song and expressive drawings, capturing the gentle absurdity and domestic humour of Milne’s celebrated children’s writing.