AA Milne

This is a complete leather-bound set of A. A. Milne's Classic children's books based on the adventures of Christopher Robin and Winnie the Pooh. The set includes three first edition printings and one later printing signed and inscribed by A.A. Milne. These four volumes are illustrated throughout by Ernest H. Shepard and are bound in beautiful full leather with striking gold embossing, raised gilt spines, and a matching cloth slipcase. A. Milne (1882–1956) & Ernest H. Shepard (1879–1976) were the author and illustrator of the Winnie the Pooh books. Before Pooh, 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 Punch, and by 1906 was an assistant editor. His plays and novels, including the popular detective story The Red House Mystery, were enormously successful. 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 Punch accepted his drawings for the first time, and he became a regular contributor by 1914. In 1924, A. A. Milne had written a series of children’s verses for Punch 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 When We Were Very Young. When We Were Very Young 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 The Times called "the greatest children's book since Alice" (Thwaite p. 286). The popularity of When We Were Very Young ensured the publication of an additional three books : Winnie-the-Pooh (1926), a collection of stories based on the nursery toys...

First edition, Methuen, 1926. An interesting account of the adventures of a slow-witted bear, his best friend Christopher Robin and the rest of his dysfunctional friendship group, who live together in Ashdown forest.

First edition, Methuen, 1930. A delightful calendar books of quotations from Winnie-The-Pooh stories. These quotations are surprisingly witty yet blunt when isolated and a number ...