Kenneth Grahame – The Wind in the Willows – First UK Edition 1908 – Presentation Copy
£7,500.00
“The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home…”
The true first edition of one of the greatest works of English literature, an enduring celebration of friendship, adventure and the English countryside. Published in 1908 after Grahame’s earlier stories had appeared in correspondence to his young son, The Wind in the Willows was initially greeted with a mixed critical reception before rapidly assuming the status of a modern classic. Today it stands amongst the most desirable first editions of the Edwardian period, its appeal extending equally to collectors of children’s literature, private presses and landmark works of fantasy.
First edition, complete with half-title and the frontispiece by Graham Robertson. The title-page bears a neat circular blue “Presentation Copy” ink stamp, indicating an early publisher’s issue. One leaf with a small thumbnail-sized loss to the fore-edge, the result of a roughly opened gathering and not affecting the printed text.
Publisher’s original pictorial green cloth, elaborately blocked in gilt to the upper cover and spine, top edge gilt, the remaining edges untrimmed. The spine, joints and extremities show only light rubbing consistent with careful handling over more than a century, the binding remaining remarkably fresh and attractive. A handsome, entirely unsophisticated example, preserved in its original cloth as issued.
Few books have entered the literary imagination so completely as The Wind in the Willows. Grahame’s unforgettable quartet—Mole, Rat, Badger and the irrepressible Mr Toad—have become enduring figures of English fiction, while chapters such as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn are widely regarded among the finest achievements of twentieth-century prose.
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- Description
Description
“The Mole had been working very hard all the morning, spring-cleaning his little home…”
The true first edition of one of the greatest works of English literature, an enduring celebration of friendship, adventure and the English countryside. Published in 1908 after Grahame’s earlier stories had appeared in correspondence to his young son, The Wind in the Willows was initially greeted with a mixed critical reception before rapidly assuming the status of a modern classic. Today it stands amongst the most desirable first editions of the Edwardian period, its appeal extending equally to collectors of children’s literature, private presses and landmark works of fantasy.
First edition, complete with half-title and the frontispiece by Graham Robertson. The title-page bears a neat circular blue “Presentation Copy” ink stamp, indicating an early publisher’s issue. One leaf with a small thumbnail-sized loss to the fore-edge, the result of a roughly opened gathering and not affecting the printed text.
Publisher’s original pictorial green cloth, elaborately blocked in gilt to the upper cover and spine, top edge gilt, the remaining edges untrimmed. The spine, joints and extremities show only light rubbing consistent with careful handling over more than a century, the binding remaining remarkably fresh and attractive. A handsome, entirely unsophisticated example, preserved in its original cloth as issued.
Few books have entered the literary imagination so completely as The Wind in the Willows. Grahame’s unforgettable quartet—Mole, Rat, Badger and the irrepressible Mr Toad—have become enduring figures of English fiction, while chapters such as The Piper at the Gates of Dawn are widely regarded among the finest achievements of twentieth-century prose.
