FIRST PLAYS

London: Chatto & Windus, 1919. Near fine.. Signed first edition of Milne's first collection of plays, an aspect of his writing career now criminally overlooked. Milne began his theatrical writing career while stationed on the Isle of Wight doing service during WWI: while some officers spent their free time playing bridge or golf, Milne used it to write these plays. In a nice bit of association, it was J.M. Barrie, already established, who helped Milne gain his feet in the theater and produced one of the plays included here, "Wurzel Flummery." (The other plays are "The Lucky One," "The Boy Comes Home," "Belinda," and "The Red Feathers.") Before Winnie the Pooh, this book marks the beginning of Milne's impressive rise as a playwright, becoming "one of England's most successful, prolific and best-known playwrights for a brief period, a fact that now seems almost incredible, when so many people who know his name and love his books have no idea that he ever wrote plays" (Thwaite). Difficult to find signed. 7.25'' x 5''. Original full tan cloth, paper printed spine label. Publisher's catalogue at rear. xii, 222, 32 pages. Signed by Milne on the title page. Label toned, light bumping, else lovely.