Beschreibung:

Autograph Manuscript, the final draft of "Wag-by-Wall".
Sawrey, Ambleside, England: 1943. 4pp., folio (13 x 8 inches; 330 x 202 mm). Dark blue ink on lined paper, with occasional neat corrections and insertions (old folds). [WITH:] Two related autograph letters to Bertha Mahoney Miller, Signed ‘Beatrix Heelis’. Castle Cottage, Sawrey, Ambleside: 23 August and 5 November 1943. 3pp and 2pp, 8vo (various sizes). The first a covering letter which apparently accompanied the manuscript, in which Beatrix Potter gives provisional permission to publish a photograph of her taken by Reginald Hart, and discusses the origin of ‘Wag-by-Wall’ as the name for and old wall clock. In the second letter she gives her permission to delay the publication until the following spring, and gives more details about Reg. Hart: “He is an immensely tall thin man, with lengthy limbs [like] a gibbon monkey. the final manuscript draft of beatrix potter’s final work, written only months before her death, with two typically charming related letters to her friend and eventual publisher bertha mahony miller. Bertha Mahony Miller founded the “Bookshop for Boys and Girls” in Boston in 1916, and in October 1924 she established The Horn Book Magazine, which she edited until 1951 (and continued to advise until her death in 1969). The Horn Book was created to promote quality children’s books through book reviews and related articles (“to blow the horn for good books”). As a bookseller, reviewer, editor, writer, and collector she inspired and encouraged authors, illustrators, and publishers to hold to the highest standardsof text and illustration in books for children. The initial contact between Beatrix Potter and Bertha Mahony Miller took place in the late 1920s. These two important figures in the world of children’s literature never met face to face but, through their letters, a firm friendship was built up. This manuscript represents a final tangible token of that friendship: after much prompting by Mrs. Miller, Beatrix Potter agreed to write a story for publication, and eventually agreed that it should be held and published in the 20th anniversary issue of The Horn Book. [WITH:] POTTER, Hellen Beatrix. Wag-By-Wall ... With Decorations by J.J Lankes. Boston: The Horn Book, Inc., 1944. 16mo (9 x 4 inches, 155 x 113 mm). Printed in red and black. Mounted portrait frontispiece of the author from a photograph by Reg. Hart, title with vignette illustrations after J.J. Lankes. Original cloth with onset paper illustration to the upper cover, with lettering beneath in red, dust-wrapper. first edition in book form of the story.