Autograph Manuscript for the 'Very Young' Calendar 1930
1929.
A sixteen page booklet, formed of four sheets of laid cartridge paper, folded and sewn. 12 x 14cm, the covers with "The "Very Young" Calendar 1930" in Milne's hand to the upper cover and then a page for each month of the year, containing an autograph verse and a "Thought for the Month" from Milne's two books of children's' verse, in ink. Small rust marks from paper clips to the rear few pages and a short tear to the tail of the fold.
The "Very Young" Calendar for 1930 was one of several associated publications spawned by the extraordinary success of Milne's 'Winnie the Pooh' books. It was published with thirteen card leaves in various colours, decorated by E.H. Shepard with illustrations of Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and friends.
This manuscript takes the form of a maquette, but in a much smaller format than the finished product and shows a couple of authorial corrections: in February Milne has drawn an arrow to rearrange the third and fourth stanza of the poem, and he often uses underlining to show what should be italicised or put in bold in the final production.
PROVENANCE: Frederick Muller (Milne's publisher at Methuen); Leslie Smith (who inherited the running of Muller's publishing company); by family descent.
Stock ID: 45971
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