PETER PAN. Or The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up by Barrie, J.M - 1928

1928. [with letter from Cynthia Asquith] London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1928. Original blue-grey cloth with cover and spine labels, with dust jacket.

First Edition of Barrie's famous play featuring Peter Pan and Tinker Bell, the Darling children and Nana, and of course Captain Hook and Smee. "Peter Pan" first turned up as a relatively minor character in Barrie's 1902 novel, THE LITTLE WHITE BIRD. Then in December 1904 this play was first produced, but it was not published until 1928, as this volume in "The Uniform Edition of The Plays of J. M. Barrie." (In the interim, 1911 to be specific, Barrie wrote a narrative version which was published as the book PETER AND WENDY.) Included in this book is Barrie's 29-page Dedication "To the Five" in which he relates how, decades earlier, he had created (with their help) Peter Pan. Although he identifies them here only as #s 1 through 5, these were the five sons of Arthur and Sylvia Llewelyn Davies, with whom Barrie (according to a biographer) was "obsessed." The boys' names were George, John, Peter, Michael and Nicholas, and in the play they appear as George (the father) Darling, John Darling, Peter Pan, and Michael Nicholas Darling. This volume is in fine condition; the dust jacket is just about fine as well, with a few tiny edge-nicks. Cutler pp 200-201. Loosely inserted is a letter from "C. Greene (for Sir James Barrie)" to Samuel Heiman, dated 21 January 1927, regarding a speech Barrie had made; on the front endpaper (which is browned from the letter) is Heiman's bookplate. "C. Greene" was the pen-name of Barrie's personal secretary, Lady Cynthia Asquith, daughter-in-law of the former Prime Minister -- and herself a published writer.