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1 of 253523 objects
Vespers 1922
Manuscript on paper. [26] leaves. | 3.7 cm (Height) x 0.7 cm (Depth) (book measurement (conservation)) | RCIN 1171579
AA Milne (1882-1956)
Vespers / by A. A. Milne 1922
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Full leather bound in vellum A.A. Milne was the author of the stories of Winnie the Pooh, who was based on a teddy bear owned by his son Christopher Robin. The four books, 'Winnie-the-Pooh', 'The House at Pooh Corner', and two books of verse 'When we were very young' and 'Now we are six', were all set in Ashdown Forest, East Sussex, where the MIlne family had a house. The stories were illustrated by E.H. Shepard, who also designed the bookplate for the library of Queen Mary's Dolls' House. Queen Mary’s Dolls’ House was a gift to Queen Mary from the nation; a showcase for contemporary craft and design, it preserved for history the ideal home of the 1920s, at a scale of one foot to one inch. Princess Marie Louise, Queen Victoria’s granddaughter, conceived the idea, and through her influence many famous artists, designers, authors and craftsmen contributed to the project. The dolls’ house library contains, alongside standard works such as four tiny Bibles, miniature atlases and a complete works of Shakespeare, over 200 diminutive editions of contemporary British literature. Princess Marie Louise personally wrote to the most famous writers of the time to ask for either an original composition or a suitable passage from work already published, transcribed by hand or submitted for professional copying. Though most are manuscript, there are a few printed works. The bindings are mostly morocco leather or vellum, some with beautifully precise gold-tooled decoration. The majority of the volumes were bound by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, with the remaining bound by Birdsall & Son, Hatchards, A. Loosely, R. Riviere & Sons and Zaehnsdorf. Each book contains a tiny bookplate designed by E.H. Shepard, the illustrator of Winnie the Pooh.
Provenance
Presented to Queen Mary by A.A. Milne, c.1923
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Creator(s)
Acquirer(s)
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Medium and techniques
Manuscript on paper. [26] leaves.
Measurements
3.7 cm (Height) x 0.7 cm (Depth) (book measurement (conservation))
3.7 x 0.7 cm (book measurement (inventory))
Category
Alternative title(s)
Vespers / by A.A. Milne.