NICHOLS, Beverley; Isobel and John MORTON-SALE [Illus.] ~ The Tree that Sat Down.

FIRST UK PRINTING. Jonathan Cape, London: 1945

8vo., green cloth with black peacock device to upper cover; lettered in silver to backstrip with publisher's device to foot; upper edge stained green; in the unclipped pictorial dustwrapper (8s. 6d. net) printed in green, brown, red and white, with illustrations by the Morton-Sales; decorative endpapers; coloured frontis on glossy paper, and numerous other black and white illustrations throughout text; THE BOOK an excellent copy, slightly darkened to spine and pushed to tips; previous ownership ink inscription to front free endpaper; else near-fine; THE WRAPPER also near-fine, a couple of creases to edges and folds. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First UK edition, first printing. A story set in an enchanted wood, in which the protagonist, Judy, helps her grandmother run 'The Shop Under the Willow Tree' selling weird and wonderful objects. When a rival shop is opened by a witch, threatening their business, Judy must save the wood, and its inhabitants, from the forces of wickedness. Nichols was a prolific writer of books and plays across a huge range of genres, and this was his first of three children's books which he penned in the 1940s and 50s. His final children's tale, 'The Wickedest Witch in the World', was published in 1971. "Maybe some of the characters have a modern touch" he writes of this particular title, "the witches, for instance, keep their toads in frigidaires. But otherwise it belongs on the shelf with all the old tales of one's childhood, which begin with the words ...once upon a time..." The wonderful illustrations are provided by Isobel and John Morton-Sale, who first met at Central School of Art, married, and went on to develop a large number of children's illustrations together over the course of their respective careers. A classic work of children's fiction, featuring sleeping spells, wizards, transformations, and animal families including badgers, chameleons and peacocks. Scarce in this condition.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Near Fine
JACKET: Near Fine