Mummy Laid an Egg!

A charming set of original materials connected with the writing of this classic sex education picture book, winner of the British Book Awards Children's Book of the Year. Included are the author's manuscript dummy, two pieces of original artwork, hand-written correspondence to the publisher, and a copy of the first edition.

Cole's dummy comprises uncoloured pencil sketches of the complete book, with some erasing and over-writing, and contains noticeable differences from the finished work. At 32 pages it is the same length, and is in the same quarto format, measuring just a few centimetres larger. The boards are wrapped in white paper on which Cole has drawn the cover images, and these are covered in laminate, giving the impression of a published book. Along with it are two large, folded sheets of onion-skin paper. One is an uncoloured sketch for the spread of 'funny ways mummies and daddies join together!' and the other is a coloured design for the endpapers featuring 'blob babies' being squeezed out of a tube.

Accompanying the dummy are four autograph letters and two greeting cards to Tom Maschler, the legendary head of Jonathan Cape and founder of the Booker Prize. The first, undated, letter reads, 'Dear Tom, very quickly, to get this in the post to you. This is a book about adult secrets (I must say they worried me when I was a child, that I would have to grow up and deal with them). Anyhow - it's a start.' This letter refers to a different work, for which photocopies of storyboards have been included.

The second, dated April 30, 1990, continues, 'Here's the A/W [artwork] you asked for. I hope it answers the questions!' and discusses the placement of the blurb. This seems to relate to material not present here. The third, dated May 18, 1990, briefly discusses personal matters before Cole writes that she doesn't have anything new to show him.

The fourth letter is dated November 13, 1990, shortly after Cole broke her leg, and reads, 'Dear Tom, here's the revised dummy - I'll await your comments. I think it works pretty well now, there's more "child involvement"! The Americans will love it! Please forgive scrappiness of it and not very good drawings, but it is hard to draw lying down with your leg in the air!' Cole's comment about the US market was ironically prescient - the book would go on to feature on the American Library Association's list of 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books for the decade in which it was published.

First edition; 4to; colour illustrations throughout; publisher's pictorial boards, lightly rubbed, spine a little faded, excellent condition; 32 pp. The dummy comprising a 32-page pencilled manuscript bound in white laminated boards with pencilled illustrations to front and back cover. With 4 single-page autograph letters signed on Cole's letterhead, 2 autograph greeting cards signed, and 2 large illustration spreads in pencil on onion-skin paper.