So even back in the day there were lots of Peter Pan books published and he still keeps going, and lots of a print run means less value, so what is this one worth?

This lovely book came in and I set about working out what it might be worth.

Well there were lots of versions but none of them were exactly like ours – I called in our expert and here are the things we needed to think about.

There is no publication date in the book.

So is it a first edition of this version of the book? Well, we are going with that and that means I need to describe it in the listing as ‘first edition thus.’

It certainly isn’t the first edition ever published ( I wish) but it is ( we think) the first edition of this version of this book.

Mabel Lucie Attwell is the illustrator and she is still very popular in a rather charming/kitsch/of her era way.

So, she adds value and though the book is somewhat ‘foxed’ (I’ll explain) that doesn’t affect the plates (the pictures.)

We think, given a bit of research that she did this book in the 1920s but not enough research to find out the exact year……

More of MB Attwell later.

Foxing is the reddish-brown spots or splodges on pages and are apparently caused by age and contaminants.

Infact, did you know and I am pretty sure you didn’t, that there is no foxing in incunabula which (just in case you were not entirely sure) are books printed/created before 1500.

Anyway, back to the book.

It has a cover/dust jacket and that makes a huge difference.

A dust jacket makes the value of the book much more interesting.

Now I don’t want to assume you are not a dust jacket expert, but just in case:

It is the paper cover which has the nice pictures on it and ‘covers’ the ‘boards’ which are the main covers.

They get damaged and some people – including an Oxfam volunteer who was promptly and firmly put right on the matter – think that a scrappy dust jacket should be thrown away and you are left with the rather cleaner board covers of the book. 

Never – just saying.

Another thing that matters is whether it is priced clipped. In case you are not 100 per cent sure what that means, it is whether or not the price always printed on the bottom left hand corner of the dust jacket’s fold into the front inside cover – got that image in your mind?

Who would have thought that mattered, but indeed it does.

So, not where are we up to deciding what this book is worth?

Well, the dust jacket is really important as I said, and it is in pretty good condition.

That means: it has small tears where it has been handled and put in and out of shelves. 

It does not have major tears, rips, scribbled on it, bits missing….

The other thing which is an issue, especially with children’s books is ‘internal markings’ which is anything from polite underlining of words or passages to energetic scribbles across pages.

We have none – except a lovely inscription ‘To Elizabeth with all Mummie’s and Daddy’s love’

Now, back to Mable Lucie Attwell.

She was ‘known for her cute, nostalgic drawings of children.’ 

So, no surprise when she was called on to illustrate a famous children’s story.

‘From1914 onwards, she developed her trademark style of sentimental rotund cuddly infants, which became ubiquitous across a wide range of markets: cards, calendars, nursery equipment and pictures, crockery and dolls.’

‘Attwell’s illustrations caught the attention of Queen Marie of Romania, who wrote children’s books and short stories in English. Attwell was invited to spend several weeks at the royal palace in Bucharest in 1922. She also illustrated two long stories of the queen’s, which were published by Hodder & Stoughton.^‘

So with all that, what have we got to sell – after all, we are raising money for a good cause.

Here is how I will list the book on Oxfam online:

Date unknown but thought to be first edition thus. Circa 1920s. Rare and very good condition dust jacket. Not price clipped. Significant, but relatively light, foxing throughout not affecting 12 colour plates. Many black/white other illustrations. 

Clean with no internal markings except a small ink previous owner’s name on front endpaper/

All in all, a very nice edition of this children’s classic.

£95.00