Rare First Illustrated Edition – First Impression: Old Possums Book Of Practical Cats By T.S.Eliot – Nicolas Bentley Drew The Pictures!

First illustrated edition, First impression. The first edition of Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats was published in 1939. This, the first illustrated edition, was published a year later. Eliot wrote the whimsical poems included in this collection throughout the 1930s and included them under his assumed name “Old Possum” in letters to his godchildren. The work was adapted by Andrew Lloyd Webber into the musical Cats, which opened in the West End in May 1981 and on Broadway in October 1982. Both productions became the longest-running musicals in each theatre district. “A classic from the day it was printed and today – partly because of the irrepressible musical, Cats – one of the most famous twentieth-century books of all. This one is a must” (Joseph Connolly). Octavo. Original cream cloth, spine lettered in red, front cover with coloured vignette of two dancing cats. With dust jacket. With numerous colour and monochrome illustrations by Nicolas Bentley. Head and foot of spine slightly bumped, minor browning and creases to endpapers; a near-fine copy. Dust jacket slightly toned, extremities slightly worn; a very good example of an unclipped jacket. Hardcover. Published by Faber and Faber Limited 1940