The Cat's Cradle-Book. Illustrations by Bertram Hartman.

Publication details: New York: The Viking Press,1940,

Rare Book

Bookseller Notes

Inscribed on the flyleaf: 'For Sylvia Townsend Warner, with warm Christmas wishes from H.A. Rappaport, Brooklyn, N.Y., who was charmed by this book. Xmas, 1954'. Rappaport was a New York book-dealer and collector, who reports a natural response to this collection of feline fairy-tales. Beneath this inscription, the author inscribes the book to her friend: 'For Pat Howard, from Sylvia Townsend Warner - who hopes you will be [i.e., charmed] too. March 1969'. The latter recipient was the wife of Michael Howard at Jonathan Cape, with whom Warner had recently published her acclaimed biography of T.H. White (Pat Howard among those acknowledged).One of the key texts within modernist feline literature - a small category.

Description

FIRST EDITION, a headpiece by Hartman to each story, occasional faint handling mark, trailing pen-mark to p. 139, possibly that of the author (see below) with some erased pencil corrections faintly visible likely also hers, single ink correction (deletion) to p. 25 survives, pp. 180, 8vo, original pink cloth with author's monogram stamped in gilt to upper board, backstrip lettered in gilt, this dulled and the backstrip faded and a little marked, a little fading at head of upper board also with bump to top corner of same, pastedowns a little browned and spotted, the rear free endpaper with sliver of adhesive residue at head, good