Beschreibung:

Potter (Beatrix). The Tale of Tom Kitten, 1st edition, London: Warne, 1907, first, second or third issue, half-title, colour illustrations throughout, pictorial endpapers, stitching slightly showing in places (but firm), edges lightly spotted, original grey-green boards, front cover with inset colour pictorial panel, both boards with some slight skinning to fore-edges, spine a little cocked, in original printed glassine wrapper, lightly browned, edges chipped and frayed in places, small loss at head of spine, front panel with small brown spot centrally, rear panel with 3cm closed tear near spine, 16mo (Qty: 1) Linder p.427; Quinby 13. In rare original condition, with the glassine wrapper designed to protect the book during its journey from publisher to customer. Typically, as here, the wrapper was printed with advertisements to the rear panel and the flaps, whilst the front panel was left blank, enabling the book to be identified by the visible wording and illustration on the front cover of the binding. The wrapper was usually discarded by the buyer or, in some cases, returned to the bookseller marked up to indicate which books the customer was interested in purchasing next. Where the wrapper was retained by the reader it rarely survived subsequent handling, and consequently copies are now very rarely encountered with the glassine intact. The wrapper provides fascinating information about Beatrix Potter's books as well as showing the book in its most original and complete form.