1973 Exquisite Bayntun-Riviere Binding - Winnie-The-Pooh Omnibus. (Complete Four books).

A 1973 omnibus of A. A. Milne’s four Pooh books, illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard and finely bound in red morocco by Bayntun-Rivière.

Author: A. A. Milne; illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard.
Title: When We Were Very Young; Winnie-the-Pooh; Now We Are Six; The House at Pooh Corner.
Publisher: London, Methuen Children's Books, 1973.
Edition: Four works collected in one volume; later fine binding by Bayntun-Rivière.
Language: English.
Pages: xiii, 100; xi, 158; x, 102; xi, 176.
Size: 7.5 × 5 inches.
Binding: Full red morocco by Bayntun (Rivière), with raised bands, gilt spine lettering and decorative gilt panels. The upper board bears a gilt vignette depicting Pooh, Eeyore and Christopher Robin. All edges gilt. Protected by a removable mylar cover.
Content: Fine; pages clean, bright and firmly bound.
Illustrations: Illustrated throughout with Ernest H. Shepard’s original drawings.

Estimate: USD 1,500–2,000.

The book: This 1973 Methuen omnibus brings together the four volumes associated with A. A. Milne’s Winnie-the-Pooh: the verse collections When We Were Very Young and Now We Are Six, and the story collections Winnie-the-Pooh and The House at Pooh Corner. Ernest H. Shepard’s illustrations accompany the texts and remain integral to their visual identity.

The copy is distinguished by its full red morocco binding by Bayntun-Rivière, with gilt tooling to the spine and a pictorial gilt vignette on the front board. The raised bands, gilt edges and careful finish place this example within the tradition of English fine binding. The binding presents all four works as a single volume without implying that the 1973 printing is a first edition of the original texts.

The author: A. A. Milne (1882–1956) was an English author and playwright whose poetry and stories about Christopher Robin and Winnie-the-Pooh became enduring works of children’s literature.

The illustrator: Ernest H. Shepard (1879–1976) was a British illustrator whose drawings for Milne’s books established the familiar appearance of Pooh and his companions.