Author: POTTER, Beatrix
Title: [Happy Pair, a]
Description: Philadelphia: Sunshine Publishing Company, 1892. Rare American Piracy of Beatrix Potter's First Children's Book "A Happy Pair" POTTER, Beatrix. [A Happy Pair]. (originally issued by Hildesheimer & Faulkner, London, circa 1890) Philadelphia: Sunshine Publishing Company, n.d. [1892].  Oblong 24mo, (3 5/16 x 4 5/16 inches; 84 x 110 mm.). 8 pp. Five color-printed illustrations. Eight small comic vignettes by another artist. Original printed stapled wrappers with advertisements including "Presented by Babbitt Bros. proprietors of the Banner Clothing House, 134 to 140 Lisbon St. Lewiston, Me." on the front cover. The very rare Pirated American Edition of Potter's first work, and the first printing of any of Potter's books in America.  The piracy contains slightly inferior reproductions of Potter's illustrations, and the text comprises the original verse of "Bunny the Postman" and "Benjamin Bunny" from Potter's work written by Frederic Weatherly.  A third verse in this pirated edition, "Waiting for the Train," was not included in Potter's work. The present copy includes advertisements for "Men's, Youth's Boys' and Children's Clothing- Babbit Bros- Lewiston, Me." We are aware of only ten copies of this piracy; remarkably, each one advertises a different company. VERY RARE: The sale of the Schiller collection in 2020 included four copies of this rare piracy, and the catalog for that sale cites only ten known copies of this pirated edition, each featuring advertisements for a different company. This piracy constitutes the first Beatrix Potter book to be printed in America. However, Beatrix Potter's name is nowhere indicated in this volume - nor in any of the other four that appeared at auction in 2020. In the original A Happy Pair she is identified by her initials ("H.B.P."). The piracy contains slightly inferior reproductions of five of the six Beatrix Potter illustrations in A Happy Pair (one of which is now printed only on the cover, while in the original that image appears both inside the book and repeated on the cover). The illustrations now also include captions not present in the earlier publication. The elegant design showing two bunnies passing in the street is the one picture not reproduced in our piracy. The text of the original A Happy Pair comprises six verses composed by Frederic Weatherly (best-known for the lyrics of the popular ballad "Danny Boy"). The present volume includes two of these, "Bunny the Postman" and "Benjamin Bunny," as well as a new poem, "Waiting for the Train," which is clearly influenced by Weatherly's verses. Front wrapper: same color illustration as in A Happy Pair Inside front wrapper: Advertisement for Banning Clothing House - Men's, Youth, Boys and Children's Clothing p.1: "Bunny the Postman" - text + 2 vignettes (by another artist) p.2: "Booklets, cards and letters" - full page color illustration by Potter p.3: Top-half - final text of "Bunny the Postman" / Lower-half - "Benjamin Bunny" + 2 vignettes (by another artist) p.4: "Master Benjamin Bunny" - full page color illustration by Potter p.5: "Waiting for the train" - full page color illustration by Potter p.6: "Waiting for the train" - text + 2 vignettes (by another artist) p.7: "Bringing in the Pudding" - full page color illustration by Potter p.8: "Bringing in the Pudding" - final text + 2 vignettes (by another artist) Inside rear wrapper: Advertisement for Banning Clothing House - Ladies Rear wrapper: Advertisement for Banning Clothing House - Your Photograph Free The US Happy Pair was published in 1892 and is known to exist in only a dozen copies so is actually rarer than the U.K. one which exists in 32 copies. .

Keywords: Illustrated Books


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