Winnie-the-Pooh (1926)

A Methuen first edition of Winnie-the-Pooh, published in 1926 with E.H. Shepard's drawings, is bound in green cloth with a gilt vignette of Christopher Robin and Pooh on the front cover, the top edge gilt, and the map of the Hundred Acre Wood on the endpapers.

What to check:

• Binding: green cloth, gilt vignette on the front, top edge gilt.
• Endpapers: Shepard's pictorial map.
• Jacket: the rear panel advertises When We Were Very Young at its 117th Thousand. Jackets from later impressions carry later figures, so the number is a useful check on a married jacket.
• Copyright page: later impressions add impression statements, so a first should show none.

Methuen also issued special copies alongside the trade edition:

• Large paper issue: 350 numbered copies on handmade paper, signed by Milne and Shepard. This is listed as a separate edition.
• Deluxe leather bindings: in full leather with all edges gilt. Sources disagree about how many were made and in which colours.

The trade jacket is the hardest part to find in good condition, and it carries much of the value. Check the spine panel for fading and chips, and confirm the rear advert matches the first impression.

The American Dutton edition is a different book with its own value.

Sources: Bauman Rare Books, Sotheby's, Jonkers, First and Fine and Nate D. Sanders.