A. A. Milne - Winnie The Pooh

(click pictures to enlarge)

Publisher: E. P. Dutton & Co.
Year: 1961
Edition: First
Original Print: 1926
Cost: €11.60 w/ shipping

Story synopsis: Winnie-the-Pooh is the first such volume by A. A. Milne. The book focuses on the adventures of a teddy bear called Winnie-the-Pooh and his friends Piglet, a small toy pig; Eeyore, a toy donkey; Owl, a live owl; and Rabbit, a live rabbit. The characters of Kanga, a toy kangaroo, and her son Roo are introduced later in the book, and the bouncy toy-tiger character of Tigger is not introduced until the sequel, The House at Pooh Corner.

Above: Christopher Robin, A. A. Milne's son, about whom the book was written, and the orginal Edward Bear being bumped down the stairs.
Left: The original books were inundated with illustations, which are so popular that they've been reproduced in most editions, even in colour.The ones on the left I remember from my one-story copy when I was a kid ^-^

This illustration is one of my favourites - I remember reading about Piglet's grandfather Trespassers Will, when I was small. It wasn't until I was much older that I copped what the sign really meant! Random pop culture fact: There is a band named Trespassers Will, who took their name from this sign.

This book was originally published in the 1920's, and while copies are still possible to get, they don't look as pretty. This 1961 version has a nice cover. It also comes with a brown and white dustcover, which I don't like at all. The one on my copy was torn to shreds - but it did mean I paid only $5 for a perfect edition with a torn dustcover, when others were at the same time paying upwards of $30 without any dustcover at all! Great success!