Peter and Wendy (1911): Identifying the First Book Edition of Peter Pan
Peter Pan's story reached readers in stages. That is why identifying a first edition begins by asking: the first edition of which book?
Before Peter and Wendy
J. M. Barrie introduced Peter Pan in The Little White Bird (1902). The character then took the stage in the play Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, first performed in London in 1904. In 1906, the Kensington Gardens chapters appeared separately as Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, famously illustrated by Arthur Rackham. These are important milestones, but neither is the first book edition of the full narrative familiar to readers as Peter and Wendy.
The illustrated novel of 1911
Peter and Wendy appeared in book form in 1911, published in London by Hodder & Stoughton and in New York by Charles Scribner's Sons. The illustration is by F. D. Bedford, not Rackham. A first-edition identification should therefore begin with the exact title, imprint, date and illustrator, rather than the presence of Peter Pan's name alone.
What a collector should inspect
Examine the title page and its verso for publication and printing statements. For the American edition, bibliographical descriptions commonly note the Scribner seal and “Published October, 1911.” Examine the original binding, including its gilt decoration, and check the illustration leaves against a reliable collation. The number of plates may be counted differently when the illustrated title leaf is included, so a bare numerical claim should never replace a careful comparison.
Distinguish an original publisher's binding from a handsome later leather rebinding: both can be collectible, but they represent different histories. Condition, completeness and the survival of original material all matter.
A collector's perspective
The Peter Pan books tell the history of a story in motion—from novel episode to theatre, lavish illustration and a distinct illustrated novel. A precise description preserves those distinctions, giving a copy its proper place in the evolution of Barrie's work.
Bibliographical reading: Peter and Wendy edition identification and publishing chronology.
Further reading at MFLIBRA
Winnie-the-Pooh (1926): A First Edition Collector’s Guide · Edmund Dulac: A Collector’s Guide to His Illustrated Books