London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1924, 1926, 1927, 1928. First editions. A Fine set in Near Fine jackets. WWWVY in the second state, with IX on the contents page. Slight toning to the jacket spine and a few minor nicks, but much better than typically found. Winnie the Pooh jacket with slight toning to the spine and one short tear at the crown repaired on the verso with archival adhesive. Now We Are Six with some toning to the jacket spine, otherwise a fresh copy. House at Pooh Corner with a few spots of foxing to the closed text block and a touch of soiling at the jacket crown. Overall, a lovely set, preserved in a custom clamshell case.

A set of children's classics treasured the world over, the Pooh Books' "sweet, oft-befuddled bear actually evolved out of A. A. Milne's unquiet time on the Western Front during WWI. Injured at the First Battle of Somme in 1916, his time in the trenches left Milne with 'shell shock' (what we now call PTSD). The following year, he uprooted his family, moving from London to the quieter country retreat of Crotchford Farm. Milne and his only child, Christopher Robin...spent countless hours exploring the woodlands of the Ashdown Forest, often accompanied by his son's stuffed animal collection" (Smithsonian Magazine). From these periods of pain and healing came a series of books about friendship and kindness that continue shaping people's lives from childhood through adulthood. And while film and television produced by Disney have across the decades re-shaped some of the stories and images of "that silly old bear" and his friends, the originals still endure. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket. (Item #5112)

Price: $22,500