Well I Neverland! 1906 limited first edition Peter Pan novel donated to charity shop is worth £800

He was the boy who never aged and now a 100-year-old book about intrepid adventurer Peter Pan seems to share the same trait after it was plucked from a charity shop bin bag in almost mint condition.
The beautifully illustrated first edition of JM Barrie's Peter Pan In Kensington Gardens, was discovered by staff as they rifled through a bin bag full of books and bric-a-brac donated to an Oxfam store in Alderly Edge in Cheshire.
Published in 1906, the novel, which is set prior to the author's most famous work originally called Peter Pan and Wendy, features around 50 detailed illustrations.

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was discovered in a bin bag full of bogs which had been donated to a branch of Oxfam

Illustration of The Kensington Gardens are in London: The novel is one of only 500 copies signed by artist Arthur Rackham himself

The gold-titled A3-sized volume is signed and illustrated by renowed artist Arthur Rackham who was widely regarded as one of the leading illustrators from the so-called Golden Age of British book illustration between 1900 to 1914.
It was donated to the charity shop by a mystery benefactor who left the haul in the black bag and asked that they be put on the shelves - but failed to mention the valuable book.

 

The novel - one of only 500 copies signed by Rackham himself - will now go under the hammer after experts valued it at around £800.
Katie Robb, manager of the Oxfam store, said today: 'A chap came in saying that he had some books that he wanted to donate, but didn’t let on that there was anything special about any of them.
'He brought in a few bin bags of books and the volunteer on at the time took them off him and put them in the back room ready to be sorted through.

Illustrations 'For years he had been quietly filling his stocking', left, and 'Put this strange case before old Solomon Caw' - the book will now go under the hammer after experts valued it at around £800

Illustration of 'He passed under the bridge' - TV antiques expert Adam Partridge said the book should be the highlight of the auction

Illustation of 'Peter screamed out Do It Again', left, and 'After this the birds said they would help', right, the book tells the story of young Peter's adventures in Kensington Gardens

Illustration of Preposterous! cried Solomon - the book features thick, cream-coloured pages in the first half, where the story is told, and then the back half is done on brown paper

'I was going to leave it until the next day as it was near closing time, but I’m glad I didn’t now. As soon as I opened the first bag and took out a couple of books I knew straight away that this was something special.
'I have seen a lot of books since working for Oxfam so I am familiar with when they are something different.
'It’s such an impressive looking book. When I looked in the book the plates are beautiful. It’s around A3 in size, traditional looking but what sets it apart from normal books is that it has very thick, cream-coloured pages in the first half, where the story is told, and then the back half is done on brown paper.
'It’s bound in Velom, which is not available any more, and it’s got gold illustration and also the other big thing is that it is first edition limited to 500 copies.
'Inside are these gorgeous colour illustrations. I knew immediately I’d found something extraordinary. It was very exciting.'

Illustation of A band of workmen who were sawing down a toadstool rushed away leaving their tools behind them

Illustration of The Fairies have their tiffs with the birds - the work is bound in Velom, which is not available any more, and it’s got gold illustration

Illustration of Away he flew, right over the house- its first edition was limited to 500 copies

JM BARRIE'S TALE ABOUT THE TIME PETER PAN LOST HIS ABILITY TO FLY

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens features the youngster's adventures in the famous London park

Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens was written in 1906 although it was based in part on author JM Barrie's first book featuring the boy who never grow entitled Little White Bird, published in 1902.
The book was written two years after Barrie's most famous work originally called Peter and Wendy in which the young hero battles with the evil Captain Hook on the faraway island of Neverland - neither of which appear in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
In the less well known Peter Pan book Peter is younger than in Peter Pan and Wendy and at the start of the novel Barrie states that is a seven-day-old infant who used to be part bird and has the the ability to fly.
He escapes out of the window of his London nursery and lands beside the Long Water lake and heads for Kensington Gardens in the centre of London.
However, upon returning to the famous park, Peter is informed by the crow Solomon Caw that he has lost much of his bird-like abilities including the power to fly.
Stranded in Kensington Gardens Peter can only get around on foot, but he commissions the building of a child-sized thrush's nest which he uses as a boat to navigate the Gardens by way of the Serpentine, the large lake that divides Kensington Gardens from Hyde Park.
Although they are initially frightened by him Peter gains the trust of the fairies. He amuses them with his human ways, and agrees to play the panpipes at the fairy dances.
Eventually, Queen Mab grants him two wishes. The first he uses to return home to his mother.
The fairies reluctantly help him to fly home and he finds his beloved mother asleep in his bedroom.

Peter decides to return to Kensington Gardens one final time to say goodbye to his friends, but after discovering that his mother has given birth to another boy he is left heartbroken, fearing she will no longer want him and he remains in Kensington Gardens
Peter later meets a little girl named Maimie Mannering, who is lost in the Gardens. The pair become friends and eventually marrry.
Maimie wants to stay with Peter but realising her mother must be missing her, she leaves Peter to return home.
Maimie does not forget Peter, however, and when she is older, she makes presents and letters for him. Maimie is the literary predecessor to the character Wendy Darling in Barrie's later Peter and Wendy story.

Throughout the novel, Peter misunderstands simple things like children's games. He does not know what a pram is, mistaking it for an animal, and he becomes extremely attached to a boy's lost kite. It is only when Maimie tells him that he discovers he plays all his games incorrectly.
When Peter is not playing, he likes to make graves for the children who get lost at night, burying them with little headstones in the Gardens.
A bronze statue of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, next to Hyde Park to acknowledge the novel was built in 1912.
The exact location was chosen by Peter Pan's author, J.M. Barrie who lived close to Kensington Gardens.
Barrie began planning the Peter Pan statue in 1906. He took photos of the six-year-old Michael Llewelyn Davies wearing a special Peter Pan costume to help a sculptor recreate his vision. In 1912, he found the man to make the statue, Sir George Frampton, and by 1st May that year, the sculpture was in place in Kensington Gardens.

The timing of the discovery is also remarkable as it coincides with Ms Robb organisation of a local book festival which will take place this weekend (September 15 and 16) to raise funds for Oxfam.
TV antiques expert Adam Partridge said: 'The discovery of this rare copy of Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens is a great development and it should be the highlight of the auction.'
Rackham illustrated many books at the turn of the 20th Century at a time when there was a demand for high quality, illustrated books that typically were given as Christmas gifts.
His images have been widely used by the greeting card industry and many of his books are still in print or have been recently available in both paperback and hardback editions.

Illustration of A Hundred flew off with the string

Illustration of When they think you are not looking

Illustration of When you meet grown up people in the gardens

His original drawings and paintings including those of Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are keenly sought at the major international art auction houses. He died in 1939 from cancer aged 71.
The book is one of four major literary works by Barrie featuring Peter Pan. The little boy first appeared in a section of The Little White Bird, a 1902 novel written by Barrie for adults.
The character’s best-known adventure debuted on 27 December 1904, in the stage play Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up.
Following the highly successful debut of the 1904 play, Barrie’s publishers, Hodder and Stoughton, extracted chapters of The Little White Bird and republished them in 1906 under the title Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens, with the addition of illustrations by Rackham.

Illustrations of When he heard Peters voice he popped in alarm behind a Tulip, left, and The Lady with the balloons, right

Illustrations of Old Mr Salford, left and of There now arose a Mighty Storm

Shop manager Katie Robb said a man came in saying he had some books that to donate, but didn't let on that there was anything special about any of them

Staff at the Oxfam book shop in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, were shocked when an anonymous donor left a bag of books containing a rare first edition of JM Barrie's second Peter Pan book

The Oxfam store in Alderley Edge, Cheshire, where the Peter Pan book was handed in