Peter Pan or the Boy who would not grow up

London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1928. The First Authorized Printed Edition of Peter Pan - In the Scarce Dust Jacket

BARRIE, J. M. Peter Pan; or, The Boy Who Would Not Grow Up. London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, 1928.

First edition of the play in book form.

Octavo (7 3/16 x 4 3/4 inches; 183 x 121 mm.). xxxiii, [1, blank], [1]-160 pp. Title-page printed in red and black.

Publisher's original blue cloth, front cover and spine with white paper label printed in blue. In the original cream printed dust jacket, spine only minimally toned. A fine copy.

J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan occupies a unique place in literary history: unlike most classics, it originated not as a book but as a stage play, first performed in 1904. Although the story had already entered print in narrative form (Peter and Wendy, 1911), the play itself remained unpublished in an authorized edition until 1928, making this volume the first opportunity for readers to encounter Barrie's original dramatic text as written for the theater.

The present edition includes Barrie's prefatory material and preserves the distinctive tone and structure of the play, with its blend of whimsy, melancholy, and Edwardian theatricality - qualities that differ subtly but significantly from the later novelization.

Copies in fine dust jacket are notably elusive. The fragile paper wrapper was seldom preserved, and surviving examples - particularly in this condition - are increasingly difficult to obtain.

A cornerstone Peter Pan item.