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Now We Are Six by A. A. Milne, Illustrated by Ernest Shepard, First Ed., 1927

About the Item

Milne, A. A. Now We Are Six. London: Methuen & Co., 1927. First Edition. Illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Octavo. In the publisher's original red leatherette boards, stamped in gilt, with new joints and linings, and presented with a new archival ¼ cloth slipcase. Presented is the first edition of A. A. Milne’s iconic children’s poems, Now We Are Six. This collection of verses was published by Methuen & Co, in London in 1927. It is presented here in the publisher’s original gilt-stamped red leatherette boards, with new joints and linings, and filled with E. H. Shepard’s charming illustrations. The book is now protected in a custom, archival red cloth slipcase with gilt stamped inlays. This is a desirable and scarce edition of Milne’s collection of poems. A. A. Milne (1882–1956) and 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 wrote 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). After the huge success of When We Were Very Young, Milne was asked to contribute a story to the London Evening News. "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 Punch in 1924 and later in When We Were Very Young. Winnie-the-Pooh was 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). By the time that Winnie-the-Pooh was published in late 1926, half the poems for Milne’s third book, Now We Are Six, were already complete. Now We Are Six was first published in London on October 13, 1927. Now We Are Six was a stylistic deviation from its predecessor Winnie-the-Pooh; it is a collection of thirty-five verses instead of short stories. Although varied in themes, many of the poems are still a part of the larger Winnie-the-Pooh imaginative world, with references to the Hundred Acre Woods and characters throughout.  Only a few of the poems feature Pooh, yet he appears in eleven of Shepard's illustrations. In the book introduction, Milne addresses this change: "Pooh wants us to say that he thought it was a different book; and he hopes you won't mind, but he walked through it one day, looking for his friend Piglet, and sat down on some of the pages by mistake." The collection was well received by critics and the public alike. It took only two months for Now We Are Six to eclipse the sales records of the previous two books. Published on October 11, 1928, The House at Pooh Corner, the final collection of Pooh stories, rounded out the iconic and now very collectible series. Although 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. CONDITION: Good condition overall. 8vo. In original red leatherette boards with gilt borders and gilt stamped Christopher Robin on the front, gilt titles to the spine, gilt Pooh and Piglet small stamp on the back board. Light bumping to the spine and front corners. New joints and linings. Original charming illustrated endpapers. Toning to half title page. Very clean full title page with "By the Same Author and Artist" page across from full title page. The book is dedicated "To Anne Darlington, Now She IS Seven And Because She Is So Speshal".  Copyright page states "First Published in 1927. Printed in Great Britain." The book is accompanied with a new archival red cloth slipcase with gilt stamped inlay on the front. Book Dimensions: 7 11/16"H x 5 1/4"W x 11/16"D. Slipcase Dimensions: 8"H x 5 7/16"W x 1"D. Accompanied by our company's letter of authenticity.
  • Creator:
    A.A. Milne (Author)
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 8 in (20.32 cm)Width: 5.44 in (13.82 cm)Depth: 1 in (2.54 cm)
  • Style:
    Edwardian (Of the Period)
  • Materials and Techniques:
  • Place of Origin:
  • Period:
  • Date of Manufacture:
    1927
  • Condition:
    Additions or alterations made to the original: New archival slipcase by Felton Bookbinding Ltd. in Ontario, Canada in December of 2024. Repaired: New joints and linings by Felton Bookbinding Ltd. in Ontario, Canada in December of 2024. Wear consistent with age and use.
  • Seller Location:
    Colorado Springs, CO
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: BK11671stDibs: LU909743240462

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