The Wind in the Willows de GRAHAME, Kenneth (1859-1932), [SHEPARD, Ernest H., illustrator]

London: Methuen and Co., 1931. [Children's classic] FIRST SHEPARD ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[vi]; 312; 10, advertisements dated 10.[19]31. Lavishly illustrated by Shepard. Publisher's green cloth with Mole, Rat, and Mr Toad in gilt to front board, gilt titles to spine; top edge green, cartographic endpapers. Illustrated jacket priced at 7/6. Front cover of dust-wrapper shows the three protagonists next to a caravan, with titles and a portrait of Rat to spine, and a bank-side scene to the rear panel. Contents clean, faint spotting to edges, neat gift inscription to blank (Christmas 1931), covers clean and fresh in a bright, near fine wrapper. An attractive copy of the trade edition, now elusive in a decent jacket, presumably as copies were so enjoyed by young readers. Shepard's beautiful illustrations are the perfect companion for Grahame's elegant prose, and this combination does much to explain the enduring attraction of this story. Book Collector No.271, 'The Great Illustrators'.