Beatrix Potter, [1918]

POTTER, Beatrix (1866-1943). The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse. Londo[n]: Frederick Warne, [1918].

Presentation for Mrs. Cannon of one of the earliest copies of the first edition, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: “For Mrs. Cannon with all good wishes and kind remembrance / from Beatrix Heelis / Christmas 1918.” Mrs. Cannon was the wife of the Potter’s farm manager at Hill Top, John Cannon. She features in the frontispiece for Jemima Puddle-Duck and it was Mrs. Cannon’s belief that ducks are poor incubators of their own eggs and that the eggs should be given over to hens for better success that is thought to be the inspiration for that story. Mrs. Cannon’s children, Ralph and Betsy, are the dedicatees of Jemima Puddle-Duck. The earliest copies of Johnny Town-Mouse, as here, omit the final “N” from the publisher’s imprint. Linder, p. 430; Quinby 25.

12mo. Color frontispiece and 26 color plates by Beatrix Potter (fading to presentation inscription, few thumbsoils). Original gray-brown boards with pictorial cover label, pictorial endpapers (minor rubbing/sunning). Provenance: Mrs. Cannon (presentation inscription).