PAUVRE officiel CECCO (1925) MARGERY WILLIAMS, ARTHUR RACKHAM, CHATTO & WINDUS 1ÈRE ÉDITION

1925 at title page; Copyright, 1925, by George H. Doran Company - Poor Cecco - B - . Beautifully designed, rare tangible. Oversize 8" x 10 1/4" gift book design. From front wrapper panel: "The wonderful story of a wonderful wooden dog who was the jolliest toy in the house until he went out to explore the world - Illustrated in Colour and Line by Arthur Rackham." Orange full cloth boards, red cover and spine titles, moderate shelf wear. Cover features stylized titles with Cecco and fellow toys on the march. Thick, heavy stock pages very good; toning at endpapers. Bind fine; hinges intact.

Frontispiece tipped-in color plate w/caption uniquely behind side mounted plate; and, six additional full-page illustrations in color with captions to adjacent page, and twenty-four drawings in black and white. Rare original dust wrapper, moderate edge wear, chip, rub; unclipped 7s./6d. net, protected in new clear sleeve. Front panel illustration matches Rackham plate inside: "By tea-time Jessina had washed one hundred and thirteen bundles of laundry, which was certainly, she thought, some help to her hostess, Mrs. Woodchuck..." Rare near fine example and design in near very good original jacket.

"The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real was Margery Williams Biancos first American work, and it remains her most famous. It became an instant classic. After becoming a renowned author, Bianco wrote numerous other childrens books, with her son becoming the namesake of one of them, 1925s Poor Cecco - a distinguished book. This lively adventure story, virtually a novel for children, is a brilliant exception to the sentimentality of Biancos more famous book. Each of the many characters who populate the nursery toy cupboard is a distinct and amusing personality. Their interactions with each other and with the human, animal, and toy members of the world beyond it, whom they encounter on their quest for adventure and search for a lost friend, are individuated with understated humor.

The relationship between the wooden dog Cecco, a natural leader, and Jensina, a highly independent and spirited wooden doll, is both subtle and funny. Superb illustrations by Arthur Rackham are a perfect accentuation to the narrative. While the publisher probably found it more practical to promote the shorter Velveteen Rabbit, Ceccos celebrated illustrator assured its survival." Latimore and Haskell, p. 59; Riall, p. 155. Printed in the United States of America. 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall. 176 pages. Insured post.