Lucy Brown and Mr Grimes

First edition, first printing. [1937]. Unpaginated. In illustrated card covers (boards are rubbed at edges and corners, chipped and starting at ends, mild stain on recto, lightly worn). The numbers 12. 37 have been printed on rear endpaper. Pages printed on one side only, so text and illustrations are interleaved with blanks. Previous owner’s name and address on front paste down. Internally neat, clean, bright and tight, showing off Ardizzone’s rich and vivid illustrations. This is Ardizzone’s second picture book. He wrote it for his daughter, Christina, and it tells the tale of a little girl and her friendship with a stranger. The subject matter sparked controversy when first published and the volume remained out of print for over thirty years. Subsequent editions appeared with a revised text and changes in the story line, making this the only edition to appear as Ardizzone intended. Now hard to find in the original version. Large folio.

Illustrated Books, Edward Ardizzone, Children’s books, picture books