Masefield, John.

The Midnight Folk. Heinemann, 1927, first trade edition, original cloth, dust-jacket, [Errington A86(b)], presentation inscription to front free end-paper, dust-jacket slightly frayed at extremities with minor loss and minor adhesive tape repair to reverse; The Box of Delights. Heinemann, 1935, pre-publication proof copy, original wrappers, some spotting, lacking upper wrapper, first leaf detached, slightly skewed and worn; The Box of Delights. Heinemann, 1935, first edition, illustrations by Judith Masefield, original cloth, illustrated end-papers, dust-jacket, [Errington A115(a)], spotting to edges, some spotting to dust-jacket with minor loss (3)

Described by The Times as “two of the greatest children’s books ever written” and influential for Angela Carter, Joan Aiken and Alison Lurie.

The Box of Delights has become a perennial Christmas favourite – from a Children’s Hour serial in 1943 to a radio drama in 1995 (via a television serial in 1985). The proof copy, presented here, displays three examples where text was cut to accommodate illustrations.