1911 Rare Book - Peter Pan First Edition - Peter and Wendy by James Matthew Barrie
Author : Barrie, J. M.; F. D. Bedford (illustrator)
Title : Peter and Wendy
Language : Text in English
Publisher : New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911 - First Edition, First Printing, with "Published October, 1911" and the Scribner seal present on the copyright page.
Size : 8 "X 6 "
Pages : 267 pages
Binding : Very good and attractive full cloth binding (hinges fine, overall slightly worn and scuffed with bright gilt decorations) under a removable mylar cover.
Content : Very good content (bright and tight, some foxing and staining- as shown, gift note on half title page, nice exlibris of Mark Verhoeff on first endpaper).
Illustrations : Beautifully illustrated by F. D. Bedford with 12 B&W plates (complete).
Estimation : (USD 600 - USD 2,000)
The book : Rare First American edition of Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up or Peter and Wendy is J. M. Barrie's most famous work, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous little boy who can fly, and his adventures on the island of Neverland with Wendy Darling and her brothers, the fairy Tinker Bell, the Lost Boys, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and the pirate Captain Hook. The play and novel were inspired by Barrie's friendship with the Llewelyn Davies family. Barrie continued to revise the play for years after its debut; the novel reflects one version of the story. A rare find in any condition!
The author : Sir James Matthew Barrie, 1st Baronet, OM (9 May 1860 – 19 June 1937) was a Scottish author and dramatist, best remembered today as the creator of Peter Pan. The child of a family of small-town weavers, he was educated in Scotland. He moved to London, where he developed a career as a novelist and playwright. There he met the Llewelyn Davies boys who inspired him in writing about a baby boy who has magical adventures in Kensington Gardens (included in The Little White Bird), then to write Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, a "fairy play" about this ageless boy and an ordinary girl named Wendy who have adventures in the fantasy setting of Neverland. This play quickly overshadowed his previous work and although he continued to write successfully, it became his best-known work, credited with popularising the name Wendy, which was very uncommon previously. Barrie unofficially adopted the Davies boys following the deaths of their parents. Barrie was made a baronet by George V in 1913, and a member of the Order of Merit in 1922. Before his death, he gave the rights to the Peter Pan works to London's Great Ormond Street Hospital, which continues to benefit from them.