The Cat that Walked by Himself (A Just So Story)

The Cat that Walked by Himself (A Just So Story) Rudyard Kipling Illustrated by William Stobbs London: Macmillan Children’s Books, 1982. First thus / first edition of this illustrated single-story format. Hardcover with original illustrated boards. ISBN 0-333-34136-8 / 978-0-333-34136-0. Approx. 18 × 24.5 cm. Red endpapers. Printed in Italy by New Interlitho, Milan. Condition: Near Fine. A clean, attractive copy with tight binding and bright covers. Neat contemporary gift inscription in ink on the front free endpaper reading “Ross from Aunty Jen”. A few small yellow marks on the first page (see photo); otherwise, the interior is clean and unmarked, with no foxing, tears, or significant wear. One of the most enduring and beloved tales from Kipling’s Just So Stories (originally published 1902). In the earliest days of the world, when all the animals were still wild, the Woman makes a cave into a home and begins to tame the Dog, the Horse, and the Cow. The Cat, however, remains proudly independent. He walks by himself and all places are alike to him. Through a series of clever bargains with the Woman he earns the right to sit by the fire, drink warm milk, and be near the baby—yet he never fully surrenders his freedom. On moonlit nights he still slips out into the Wet Wild Woods, waving his wild tail and walking by his wild lone. This attractive 1982 Macmillan edition presents the complete story as a standalone picture book, newly illustrated in full colour by William Stobbs. The illustrations are rich, decorative, and full of character, perfectly complementing Kipling’s rhythmic, memorable prose. Rudyard Kipling (1865–1936) Joseph Rudyard Kipling was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, on 30 December 1865, the son of the artist and teacher John Lockwood Kipling. After schooling in England he returned to India and worked as a journalist before establishing himself as one of the most popular and influential writers of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras. He is best known for The Jungle Book (1894–95), the novel Kim (1901), the Just So Stories (1902), and poems such as “If—”, “Gunga Din”, and “Mandalay”. In 1907 he became the first English-language writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature, cited for his “power of observation, originality of imagination, virility of ideas and remarkable talent for narration”. The Just So Stories began as bedtime tales told to his daughter Josephine (“Effie”). After her early death he completed and published the collection. Kipling died in London in 1936 and is buried in Poets’ Corner, Westminster Abbey. William Stobbs (1914–2000) William Stobbs was a British author, illustrator, and art educator. Born in South Shields, he trained at the Durham School of Art and later worked as a draughtsman at Rolls-Royce during the Second World War, contributing to the development of the Merlin engine. After the war he became Head of the Design Department at the London School of Printing and Graphic Arts, then Principal of Maidstone College of Art (1958–1979). A prolific illustrator of more than 100 children’s books, Stobbs was especially noted for his strong line work, rich colour, and narrative clarity. In 1959 he was awarded the Kate Greenaway Medal (for outstanding British children’s book illustration) for two titles: Kashtanka (after Anton Chekhov) and A Bundle of Ballads (compiled by Ruth Manning-Sanders). He also illustrated Ronald Welch’s Knight Crusader, which won the Carnegie Medal. His work on this 1982 edition of The Cat that Walked by Himself is characteristic of his later colour picture-book style—lively, decorative, and full of personality. This volume forms part of Macmillan’s early-1980s series of individual Just So Stories newly illustrated by contemporary artists. A handsome, clean example of this attractive Stobbs-illustrated edition of one of Kipling’s finest and most frequently reprinted stories.…