A Bear Called Paddington.

Paddington's debut

The debut of a certain bear from Peru with a penchant for marmalade sandwiches, a very good copy.

'I bought a small toy bear on Christmas Eve 1956. I saw it left on a shelf in a London store and felt sorry for it. I took it home as a present for my wife Brenda and named it Paddington as we were living near Paddington Station at the time. I wrote some stories about the bear, more for fun than with the idea of having them published. After ten days I found that I had a book on my hands. It wasn't written specifically for children, but I think I put into it the kind things I liked reading about when I was young' (The Author).

This first edition follows the tale of Paddington Bear in his adventures around 1950s London. Although a children's classic, Bond's story appeals to all ages as one follows the bear in his mishaps from Paddington Station to the hearts of the kindly Brown family. This edition is decorated with lovely illustrations by Peggy Fortnum, bringing the magic of the tale to life.

First edition; 8vo (20.5 x 14 cm); illustrated title-page and further black & white illustrations throughout, by Peggy Fortnum, some faint finger-soiling to title-page and one to p.19, all marginal, else internally clean; original publisher's cloth boards, lettered in silver to spine, a few minor marks to cloth, small mark on page edge with sight encroachment to extreme edges of a few leaves, a few light spots to endpapers, not affecting text, illustrated dust-jacket (not clipped, 8s 6d), a few light marks to upper panel and general age-toning to rear panel (as usual), some light rubbing to extremities with a few nicks to top edge of upper panel and spine head, four closed tears, three to spine and one to upper panel, none affecting text or illustration and largely unnoticeable when laid flat, else an impressive example of the beloved children's classic with a boldly bright dust-jacket; 128pp.