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Robert Lawson – Rabbit Hill – Rare Signed First Edition – Viking Press, New York, 1944 – Newbery Medal Winner

Author/Illustrator: Robert Lawson (1892–1957)
Title: Rabbit Hill
Publisher: The Viking Press, New York
Year: 1944
Edition: First edition (colophon: “First published September 1944”)
Format: Tall octavo (24 × 16 cm; approx. 9.4 × 6.3 in)
Pagination: 128 pp.
Binding: Publisher’s original pictorial cloth boards with floral motifs and central rabbit vignette; spine lettered in black.

Description:
Rare first edition of Rabbit Hill, the most celebrated work by Robert Lawson, awarded the Newbery Medal in 1945, the most prestigious recognition in American children’s literature.

This copy is distinguished by the author’s autograph signature on the preliminary blank leaf — a highly desirable feature, as signed examples of the 1944 first printing are seldom encountered.

The volume is profusely illustrated throughout with Lawson’s charming black-and-white drawings, both full-page and in-text, all bearing his “RL” monogram. The pictorial endpapers present continuous double-page maps of “The Hill” at both front and rear, adding an iconic visual element to the edition.

Printed in September 1944, in the midst of World War II, with the publisher’s note of compliance with U.S. wartime regulations for paper conservation — a poignant historical detail.

Provenance:
– Acquired from an antiquarian bookseller in Vancouver (Canada) in 2002.
– Ex libris and labels of G. David Prowse (Jasper, Alberta).
– Retailer’s ticket: “David Spencer Limited.”
– Contemporary ownership inscription “David Prowse.”

Condition:
An excellent copy, well-preserved and complete. The cloth binding remains fresh, with only minor rubbing to extremities. Pages clean and crisp, with the characteristic uniform toning of wartime paper, but without defects. The autograph of Robert Lawson is bold and clearly legible.

Institutional holdings (bibliographic reference):
Copies of the 1944 Viking Press first edition are preserved in major libraries worldwide, including:
– Library of Congress (LCCN 44008234; record notes First published September 1944; 24 cm).
– National Library of Australia (catalogued as Viking Press, New York, 1944; 24 cm; First published September 1944).

Rarity & Collectibility:
Rabbit Hill is among the most iconic Newbery Medal winners and a landmark of 20th-century American children’s literature. A signed first edition in such fine state of preservation, richly illustrated and with strong provenance, is a true rarity on the market — an exceptional acquisition for discerning collectors of modern first editions and American juvenile classics.

Illustrated, Literature, Young adult fiction - Quantity: 1 - Signed by author - Book

Signed, Robert Lawson (1892–1957) - Rabbit Hill - 1944

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Signed, Robert Lawson (1892–1957) - Rabbit Hill - 1944

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