Toad of Toad Hall
Hard Cover. London: Methuen & Co., 1929. First Edition. Very Good.
First edition, first printing. Signed and inscribed by Milne on the front free endpaper. Publisher's light blue cloth, with a toad illustration stamped in gilt to the front board, spine lettered in gilt, top edge gilt; original cream-colored dust jacket printed in green. Very good or better book, with a touch of toning to spine (gilt very bright), light rubbing to spine ends, mild spotting to text block edges, and light offsetting to endpapers; very good unclipped dust jacket, with some toning to spine, some wear to spine ends with a chip to head of spine, light edgewear with a small closed tear to top of front panel, and a touch of staining to right margin of front panel. With publisher's Toad of Toad Hall order form laid-in. Overall, a beautiful and bright copy, very scarce signed. Toad of Toad Hall is the first adaptation of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows (1908) into a play. Milne, a great admirer of Grahame's children's literature and The Wind in the Willows in particular, selected parts of the original text - mainly the adventures of the titular character, Mr. Toad - which he thought would be best adapted to the stage. He admits, however, in his introduction that this meant he "left out all the best parts of the book" which "for that, if he has any knowledge of the theatre, Mr. Grahame will thank me." Toad of Toad Hall, which included six songs by Harold Fraser-Simon, was first performed at the Lyric Theatre in London on December 17, 1929.
Item #AAM081
Price: $2,500.00
