Wag-by-Wall

London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., 1944. Limited Edition of Beatrix Potter’s “Wag-by-Wall”

POTTER, Beatrix. Wag-by-Wall. London: Frederick Warne & Co., Ltd., [1944].

First limited edition. One of 100 numbered copies (this copy being No. 74).

Twelvemo (5 3/8 x 4 3/16 inches; 137x 107 mm.). 23, [1] pp.

Publisher's green cloth. Front cover lettered in gilt within a gilt single rule border. Spine lettered in gilt. Original cream-colored dust jacket printed in dark green. Jacket slightly foxed and with a neat closed tear at top of front panel. An excellent copy of this notoriously scarce Beatrix Potter (truncated) title.

“This little story was written by Beatrix Potter/late in the autumn of 1943 for publication in the Anniversary Number of/’The Horn Book’ (U.S.A.) May 1944” (verso of title-page).

“The story of Wag-by-Wall dates back to November 1909, and at that time it was called The Little Black Kettle…The unfinished story of 1909 was then put on one side and it was not touched again until 1929, when it was rewritten as a part of The Fairy Caravan—but it was eventually taken out of The Fairy Caravan manuscript and never published in that form. In the 1929 version of the story, the title was altered to Wag-by-the-Wa’…Another ten or more years passed, and then towards the end of 1940 Mrs. Miller asked if she might print the story in The Horn Book Magazine, suggesting that it could be made into a Christmas story with its setting on Christmas Eve. In response to her request Beatrix Potter again rewrote it, this time leaving out all references to her Fairy Caravan characters…Mrs. Miller decided that she would like to hold back the story for the twentieth anniversary number of The Horn Book Magazine [to be published in May 1944]…Beatrix Potter never saw the final proofs, for seven weeks later she died” (Linder, pp. 328-329).

Wag-by-Wall was originally conceived in 1909 as The Little Black Kettle and subsequently rewritten in 1929 to be included in The Fairy Caravan. In the end it was left out and it was not until 1940 that it was again revised for inclusion in the Christmas issue of The Horn Book, but instead held back for a special anniversary issue in 1944.

Linder, p. 432. Quinby 32 (describing The Horn Book edition). (Inventory #: 06120)