LITTLE FUR FAMILY, FIRST EDITION, BOUND IN RABBIT FUR AND WITH ORIGINAL BOX

BROWN, Margaret Wise. Little Fur Family. New York: Harper Brothers, 1946. 12mo, original full rabbit fur, original cardboard box. $1800.

Rare first edition, bound in rabbit fur, with the original illustrated box.

Margaret Wise Brown’s most whimsically designed book follows the adventures of a “little fur animal” as he explores his world. Beautifully illustrated by Garth Williams, of Charlotte’s Web and Stuart Little fame, this scarce first edition is bound in real rabbit fur. “The diminutive 1946 rabbit-fur-bound edition had proven difficult to store (moths got into Harper’s warehouse, destroying a large quantity of the first printing)” (Marcus, 33). Consequently, later editions had imitation fur or no fur at all. In the original publisher’s illustrated box with circular cut-out, through which real fur shows. Later editions were also larger than this edition, as its small size made it difficult for libraries to carry on their shelves.

Offsetting to endpages of near-fine book; rabbit fur lightly rubbed. Light wear to box. A lovely copy.