MILNE, A. A.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

When We Were Very Young. First edition, first impression, signed by the author on the title page. This copy is in the second state with the page number "ix" present in the preliminaries.When We Were Very Young was the first of the Winnie-the-Pooh books, introducing Christopher Robin and Pooh. Milne had no particular ambition to write for children, but in 1922 a glimpse of his two-year-old son Christopher being taught to pray by his nanny inspired him to compose the verse "Vespers", a gently ironic take on the innocence of childhood intended for an adult readership, which was published in Vanity Fair in January 1923.The verse proved popular, and Milne was asked to contribute to The Merry-Go-Round, a new periodical for children. The success of these pieces led him to consider writing further verses for children, and he composed most of When We Were Very Young as entertainment during a dreary holiday in Wales. Many of the poems first ran as weekly instalments in Punch, illustrated by fellow contributor E. H. Shepard.When We Were Very Young was first published in Britain to immediate acclaim, and the first printing sold out in one day. By the end of the year more than 53,000 copies had been printed of what The Times called "the greatest children's book since Alice" (Thwaite, p. 286).

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