1907 Rare First Edition - The Peter Pan Alphabet Illustrated by Oliver Herford
Scarce and wonderfully inventive, this 1907 first edition turns J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan into a playful illustrated alphabet, entirely conceived by Oliver Herford.
Author: Oliver Herford.
Title: The Peter Pan Alphabet.
Publisher: New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1907. First Edition. Copyright 1907; published January 1907.
Language: Text in English.
Size: 8.5" x 7".
Pages: Unpaginated.
Binding: Very good original pictorial paper-covered boards with tan cloth spine, the front cover strikingly printed in orange and black with Peter Pan, a lion, and alphabet blocks. Lettering in black to the spine and small decorative device to the rear board. Light general age toning, rubbing and minor wear to the extremities, as shown, but an attractive and well-preserved example of this fragile binding. Protected in a removable mylar cover.
Content: Very good content. Pages are clean and well preserved, with only light age-related toning and occasional minor signs of use. The book remains firm and complete.
Illustrations: Delightfully illustrated throughout by Oliver Herford, with full-page drawings accompanying the alphabet verses, printed in soft monochrome and accented throughout with orange lettering, borders and decorative typography.
Estimate: USD $350–500.
The book: The Peter Pan Alphabet is a scarce and charming early Peter Pan-related book, published in 1907, only a few years after J. M. Barrie’s celebrated play first appeared on the London stage.
Oliver Herford takes the familiar structure of a children’s alphabet book and transforms it into an affectionate, humorous celebration of Barrie’s characters and imaginary world. Each letter of the alphabet introduces a person, object or episode associated with Peter Pan, accompanied by a short verse and one of Herford’s wonderfully light and whimsical illustrations.
The book opens with “A Round Robin to J. M. Barrie,” presented as a playful address from “His Humble and Devoted Servants — The Alphabet.” From there, the letters lead the reader through Peter Pan’s world: “A is for Adams,” “E is the Exit,” “S is the Shadow,” and many other references to the characters and incidents that had already begun to capture the imagination of Edwardian audiences.
The author and illustrator: Oliver Herford (1863–1935) was a British-born American writer, illustrator and humorist, celebrated for the combination of wit, fantasy and elegant drawing found throughout his books for both children and adults. He wrote and illustrated numerous collections of verse, animal books, fairy stories and humorous works, developing a style characterized by delicate line, gentle satire and an unmistakable sense of play.
Herford was particularly well suited to the world of Peter Pan. His lighthearted verses and slightly eccentric illustrations capture something of the mischievous spirit surrounding Barrie’s characters while remaining distinctively his own.