I have been in the rare and antiquarian book business for over forty years; my family has been in the rare books business since 1876. Rare books are in my blood.
Good-bye Mr. Chips
Boston: Little, Brown, and Company, 1935. Item #06536
The Birthday Edition
A Signed Limited Good-bye Mr. Chips - With Illustrations by H.M. Brock.
HILTON, James. Good-bye Mr. Chips. Illustrations by H.M. Brock. [Boston]: An Atlantic Monthly Press Book. Little, Brown, and Company, 1935.
“Birthday Edition.” Limited to 600 numbered copies signed by the author and the illustrator (this copy no. 561).
Octavo (8 3/8 x 5 1/2 inches; 213 x 140 mm.). xii, [1–2], 3–132 pp. Frontispiece and three full-page illustrations by H. M. Brock, with additional illustrations throughout the text.
Publisher’s quarter parchment over brown boards, spine lettered in gilt, fore-edge uncut. Housed in the original cream paper-covered board slipcase, spine lettered in black and bearing the matching limitation number. A fine copy, slipcase with some light soiling to rear panel, otherwise very well preserved.
A Celebratory Edition of a Modern Classic
Issued in 1935 to mark the extraordinary success of Good-bye Mr. Chips, this “Birthday Edition” represents the first illustrated and most desirable limited issue of James Hilton’s most beloved work. Signed by both Hilton and Brock, it brings together text and image in a form intended for collectors at a moment when the story’s popularity was rapidly expanding on both sides of the Atlantic.
The illustrations by Henry Matthew Brock - one of the most accomplished British illustrators of the late Victorian and Edwardian periods - lend a gentle visual counterpart to Hilton’s nostalgic narrative. Brock’s style, rooted in the tradition of classic English book illustration, perfectly complements the tone of the work, capturing the quiet dignity and emotional warmth of Mr. Chips’ life.
First published in 1934, Good-bye Mr. Chips achieved immediate acclaim for its poignant depiction of an English schoolmaster’s life and legacy. Its enduring appeal lies in its simplicity and emotional truth, qualities that would soon bring it even wider recognition through stage and screen adaptations, most notably the celebrated 1939 film.
One of only 600 copies, this signed limited edition is increasingly scarce in such well-preserved condition, particularly with the original slipcase intact and numbered to match the book.
A finely produced and highly desirable edition - uniting Hilton’s most famous work with the distinguished illustrations of Brock, issued in strictly limited form at the height of the book’s early success.
Price: $500.00