Paddington: My Book of Marmalade [50 YEARS Anniversary edn.]: A celebration of sticky paws and marmalade memories.

UK,slim square (6" x 6") HB,no dw/dj,as issued,illustrated, 1st edn thus. [First published in hardback,in Great Britain by HarperCollins Children's Books,2008.Illustrations copyright 1958-1962,1964,1968 and 1970.] FINE. No owner inscrptn,and absence of publisher price.Bright,crisp,clean, matt,wrap-around white paper-covered,sharp-cornered boards,with a colour pictorial illustration of Paddington Bear by R. W. Alley to front board,with capitalised,gold colour-lettered author name,part+sub-title and other gold colour illustrator credit,the strap-line and a circular gold coloured roundel with Paddington Bear white silhouette illustraion inside and 50 Years white lettering and nemeration; a gold coloured with white lettering and publisher's colophon,rear board with gold coloured thumbnal illustration of a marmalade jar+spoon and gold coloured text 'bears like marmalade. . . and immaculate plain white endpapers with orange paw prints traversing across both sets of the endpapers.Negligible shelf-wear, bumping,creasing to edges and corners - no nicks,tears or splits present.Top+fore-edges clean without foxing/ spotting; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corner tips,appears unread,other than my own collation.UK,slim square (6" x 6") HB,no dw/dj,as issued(?), illustrated,1st edn thus,32pp [unpaginated and excluding free endpapers) with pen+ink pictorial illustrated artwork by Peggy Fortnum throughout the text and the book. Visually the exterior appearance is exceptional and particularly internally,is also in an exceptional condition/ state of preservation and presentation,for a book of its 15+ year-old age and nature, i.e. a child's book. It really is an exceptional,exemplary example for its cleanliness, brightness and lack of detracting faults. The classic story of the small bear from Darkest Peru who stowed away on a ship headed for England.He arrived at Paddington Station with nothing but a suitcase,a half-empty jar of marmalade anda label that read,'Please look after this bear'. Mr and Mrs Brown discovered him,named him Paddington and welcomed him into their home,where he has lived ever since. For nearly five decades,stories of Paddington Bear have delighted children all over the world. Michael Bond (1926-2017) started writing about Paddington Bear while working as a BBC television cameraman on the children's television show Blue Peter. When not at work, Bond wrote about an anthropomorphised bear from "darkest Peru" with a fondness for marmalade sandwiches. Unsure whether anyone would publish his story,he entrusted the manuscript to his agent at the BBC, Harvey Unna (1911-2003).A few days later, Bond received a phone call from Barbara Ker Wilson (1929-2020) at Collins publishing company. She suggested Peggy Fortnum (1919-2016) as the illustrator for Bond's children's book. Her b/w pen-and-ink drawings captured Paddington's charm and worked perfectly with the storyline. On 13th October 1958, 'A Bear Called Paddington' went on sale. It proved extremely popular and sold out by Christmas. Peggy Fortnum was the very first person to draw Paddington. She was commissioned to illustrate the very first book 'A Bear Called Paddington' and went on to illustrate the rest of the novels in the series. Although her wonderfully distinctive pen and ink drawings were originally done in b/w, some of her work has subsequently been coloured by other artists, including her own niece, Caroline Nuttal-Smith,but most noticeably by R. W. Alley The classic Paddington Bear books by Michael Bond have been illustrated by him in colour,for twenty-five years. His style is similar to Fortnum's, and he made sure Paddington was still recognisable in his blue duffle coat and hat. Margaret Emily Noel Fortnum (b. 23rd December,1919 – d. 28th March,2016) was an English illustrator,best known for illustrating the children's literature series 'Paddington Bear'. Briefly attended Tunbridge Wells School of Art in 1939, before enlisting in the A.T.S. (Auxiliary Terrotorial Service in WW2 .Whilst in the military she sustained serious injuries when she was run over by a truck,requiring a prolonged period of recovery.With her recovery she attended the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London. She worked as an art teacher,painter,and textile designer before becoming a full-time book illustrator.As of 2015 she had illustrated nearly eighty books. Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight and smaller size of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always. **