Truly Festive Children’s Stories

Truly Festive Children’s Stories

The magic and wonder of Christmas for many readers starts with the classic Christmas tales that we read as children and the adaptations of those stories that we see on our television screens every year. However, it is with classic children’s Christmas books that we first find much of the imagery and many of the traditions that we have come to associate with the festive season.

Walt Disney, The Night Before Christmas, 1934

Walt Disney, The Night Before Christmas, 1934

 

Indeed, it is perhaps in celebration of these beloved Christmas stories, full of presents and treats and delights, that so many of the best-loved examples of children’s literature are essentially Christmas stories. For many children, Christmas is what creates a sense of magic and wonder in their imaginations and, through gifting, helps to instil a love for great books.

Does this help to explain the extraordinary longevity and emotive freshness of so many Christmas books? How is it that Raymond Briggs’s The Snowman or Father Christmas command such a special place not only with children but our own nostalgia for this time of year? Why is it that the opening lines of Clement Clarke Moore’s A Visit from St. Nicholas fill us with such warmth? We delight in the brash antics and uncouthness of the Grinch, and Dr.Seuss’s illustrations for How the Grinch Stole Christmas are every bit as iconic as the classic image of Santa Claus; a naughty, impish counterpart to the gentle, kindly figure of Father Christmas.

 

Grinch Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1957

Dr. Seuss, How the Grinch Stole Christmas, 1957

 

You cannot mention Santa Claus without bringing up his most famous and beloved compatriot Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer. Noticeably absent from the roll call of magic reindeer named in Clement Clarke Moore’s poem, Rudolph is a later addition who quite literally outshone Comet, Dasher, Blitzen and company. In 1939, Robert L. May wrote a little story for an in-store Christmas promotional giveaway. The department store was called Montgomery Ward: the story was called Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. Two and a half million copies were distributed that year alone, when in 1949 Johnny Marks wrote the famous song about the reindeer who saved Christmas.

 

The first printing of the Rudolph sheet music inscribed “Dear Marlin, Merry Christmas, Johnny Marks.”

The first printing of the Rudolph sheet music inscribed “Dear Marlin, Merry Christmas, Johnny Marks.”

 

While Robert L. May is responsible for creating Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer; where does our modern conception of Santa Claus come from? The image of the jolly Saint Nick with his sack full of gifts, arriving on Christmas Eve on his sleigh drawn by flying reindeer owes much to Clement Clarke Moore’s, A Visit from St. Nicholas. When it comes to Christmas there is arguably no more memorable line than: “Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house, Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.” Not only was this poem largely responsible for many of the conceptions regarding Santa Clause from the nineteenth century on, but it also had a massive influence on popularising the tradition of gift-giving at Christmas.

A Christmas Carol is without question the most famous and well-regarded Christmas story of them all and the story of Ebenezar Scrooge’s redemption and turn toward good has been adapted countless times with both the Muppets and the Flintstones, among other children’s favourites, offering their versions of the classic Christmas tale. While not written as a story for children, Charles Dickens’s novel, much sought after by collectors, has become such an enduring classic that it has transcended its original shape to become a story for all ages celebrated and retold again and again each year.

A Christmas Carol, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1915

A Christmas Carol, illustrated by Arthur Rackham, 1915

 

By 1947 the modern conception of Santa Claus that we have become familiar with was almost fully formed. The white beard, red clothes, reindeer with sleigh festooned with toys. This modern depiction owes much to Valentine Davies’s screenplay and subsequent novelization for Miracle on 34th Street. Davies wrote a 120-page novella after completing the screenplay for the original 1947 film which went on to be adapted multiple times most notably by John Hughes in 1994.

Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street, 1947

Valentine Davies, Miracle on 34th Street, 1947

 

Many of our favourite Christmas stories are films, however, a vast majority of these Christmas films on based on or inspired by early books and short stories. The most notable example of this is It’s a Wonderful Life, the beloved classic starring James Stewart. Based on the short story, The Greatest Gift, by Philip Van Doren Stern, originally self-published as a booklet in 1943 before being published as a book in December 1944, with illustrations by Rafaello Busoni. The story itself was loosely based on A Christmas Carol and owes much to Dickens’s original work.

Other great Christmas stories continued regularly to be written, published, animated and filmed. New classics like Raymond Briggs’s 1978 book and, still astounding, animated masterpiece, The Snowman. A tear-jerking and beautiful tragedy that manages to celebrate the joy and magic of a boyhood dreamscape, the wonder in a child’s heart at the glory of those special days—friendship and love and togetherness—and yet hides none of the bitter sorrow and sadness which mark the passing of years, the loss of fleeting moments. Those who were with us once but are missing now. The Snowman was one of those creations which seemed timeless and eternal from the very start.

Raymond Briggs, The Snowman, 1978

Raymond Briggs, The Snowman, 1978

Every year studios big and small put out Christmas movies good and not so good, and every so often a diamond emerges from the glistening paste. One such masterpiece which, like The Snowman, seemed timeless from the get go, was The Polar Express. The film was nominated for 3 Oscars but the 1985 book by Chris Van Allsburg, upon which the film was based, had gone one better having won the prestigious Caldecott medal for best children’s illustrated book of the year. The Polar Express exemplifies perfectly that quality which links so many of these enduring publications and the motion pictures that walk with them hand in hand. The quality of wonder, of magic, of the purity of childhood faith. It ends:

“At one time, most of my friends could hear the bell, but as years passed it fell silent for all of them. Though I have grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe,”

Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express, 1985.

Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express, 1985.

 

How identify first editions of Peter Rabbit

How identify first editions of Peter Rabbit

One of the most popular children’s books of all time, The Tale of Peter Rabbit has sold more than 45 million copies over the past century.  As well as being a beloved children’s story, the book’s publication history is very interesting, with two private printings appearing before the first commercial edition. And as with Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone,  these early editions are extremely scarce and highly sought after by collectors. What do these early printings of Peter Rabbit look like, and how can you identify first editions?

Peter Rabbit first edition, first printing

Peter Rabbit first edition, first printing. December 1901.

Peter Rabbit began as an illustrated letter written by Beatrix Potter for the children of her former governess in 1893. A few years later she offered the story to a number of publishers and was turned down. There had been  significant growth in the market for children’s books with coloured illustrations, and publishers were uninterested in the forty-two pen and ink drawings with which Potter had illustrated Peter Rabbit. Undaunted, she chose to have 250 copies privately printed and bound in simple grey paper covers, all at her own expense.

The copy shown above is a particularly fine example; the books were usually given to children so they received a great deal of wear and tear. Each copy included a colour frontispiece (the illustration in front of the title page) depicting Peter’s mother feeding him chamomile tea in bed, and forty-one line drawings like the examples below. These copies are not dated and contain no copyright information aside from the word “copyright”.

Peter Rabbit first edition, first printing

Peter Rabbit first edition illustration.

Peter Rabbit first edition illustration.

The 250 copies were distributed to Potter’s family and friends and proved very popular, with Arthur Conan Doyle obtaining a copy for his own children. When the first printing was exhausted Potter arranged for a second private printing, and in February 1902 two hundred additional copies were produced.

These look similar to the first printing but differ from it in two ways: the spine is rounded rather than flat, and the title page states “February 1902” whereas the title page to the first printing is undated.

Peter Rabbit first edition, second printing. February 1902.

Peter Rabbit first edition, second printing. Frontispiece and title page. Note the date February 1902.

Comparison of the spines of the first two printings of Peter Rabbit. The first printing (bottom) has a flat spine while the second (top) has a rounded spine.

Peter Rabbit first edition, second printing, 1902.

Meanwhile, a friend of Potter’s brought Peter Rabbit again to the attention of the publisher Frederick Warne & Co., one of the firms that had originally turned it down. They convinced Potter that she should shorten the book, reduce the number of illustrations, and re-illustrate the entire story in colour. Among the bits lost was an aside about Mrs. Rabbit growing tobacco to sell, illustrated with a plate depicting “…a little old buck-rabbit enjoying a pipe of rabbit-tobacco”.

…enjoying a pipe of rabbit-tobacco.

When it came to the production of the book Potter was a very involved author, making careful corrections to the text, suggesting the colours for the endpapers (though her choice was not used) and binding, and designing the cover and title page.

The result was the first commercial edition of 8000 copies in various bindings, each with a colour illustration on the cover and 31 colour plates alongside the text:

Peter Rabbit first commercially published edition, first printing. October 1902.

Peter Rabbit first trade edition, colour illustration.

While the privately printed editions, with their simple grey covers, are easy to spot, it can be more difficult to distinguish the first commercial edition of Peter Rabbit from later printings.

Some important indicators are the content changes that occurred as Potter refined the book during the first year it was commercially available. In the first three printings of the trade edition the text on page 51 reads “wept big tears”.

Potter changed the wording to “shed big tears” for the fourth printing of April 1903. Copies that use the word “shed” are not early enough to be of collectable value.

Peter Rabbit issue point, “Wept big tears”.

“Peter gave himself up for lost and wept big tears…”

The first five printings of the trade edition also include four colour illustrations that do not appear in later printings, including a self-portrait of Beatrix Potter as Mrs. McGregor on page 14.

As with “wept big tears”, the presence of these illustrations does not definitively indicate a first printing, but their absence is a strong sign that the copy doesn’t have collectable value.

Beatrix Potter as Mrs. McGregor.

First editions also have unique endpapers printed with a delicate floral pattern. These were discontinued in later printings and are a strong sign that you may have a first edition.

Peter Rabbit first trade edition endpapers.

There are several other important points to look for if you think you have a first trade edition of Peter Rabbit:

  • The book should be undated and published by Frederick Warne & Co.
  • Frederick Warne became a limited company in 1917, so any copy with “Limited” or  “Ltd.” after the publisher’s name on the cover or in the copyright information is not a first edition. Lacking the “Ltd.” does not necessarily make the book a first edition, but it’s a good reason to start investigating your copy.
  • The letters O on the spine and cover should have dots in their centers.
  • Any copy sporting a print code or an ISBN number is too new to have collectible value.

If you think you may have one of these early editions of Peter Rabbit please contact us for further information. You can also browse our full stock of books by Beatrix Potter online.