Quality Street

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1913. A School for Genteel Children
In The Publishers Box

[THOMSON, Hugh, illustrator]. BARRIE, J.M. Quality Street. A Comedy in Four Acts. Illustrated by Hugh Thomson. [London]: Hodder & Stoughton, [n.d., 1913].

First trade edition. Large quarto (10 3/8 x 7 7/8 inches; 263 x 200 mm.). [2], vii, [1], 197, [2], [1, blank] pp. Frontispiece and twenty-one mounted color plates, with descriptive tissue guards. Numerous black and white text illustrations.

Publishers violet cloth over boards, front cover and spine pictorially stamped and lettered in gilt and green. Pictorial endpapers. Light foxing on half-title, ink signature on front free endpaper. A fine copy in the original cardboard box with a duplicate of the color plate facing page 3, pasted on top. Box strengthened at corners.

Hugh Thomson was born in County Coleraine near Londonderry, on 1 June 1860. He gained praise and influenced many young artists through his book illustrations. He notably illustrated editions of William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, Charles Dickens and J.M. Barrie.

Quality Street is a comedy in four acts by J. M. Barrie, written before his more famous work Peter Pan. The story, set in Napoleonic times, is about two sisters who start a school "for genteel children".

"The important commission for... Quality Street by J.M. Barrie, and in November [1910] the cover design and title-page were "under weigh". Early in December came a note from the eminent author to the artist asking him to lunch in order that they might "have a talk about the pictures", and a few weeks later the first drawings were done, Sending them on to his intermediaries, Hugh wrote that he took it for granted that Barrie would formally pass them even if they are not all he would like them to be. I don't see how an author ever can like illustrations of his work which must be so different to his own mental pictures. A surprise awaited him, however, for the drawings drew from Barrie a pleasant and welcome tribute: The pictures are quite delightful. I love to think such work is done for a play of mine, and am quite sure Quality Street could not have found such another illustrator in broad England. My criticism is that Phoebe as the schoolmistresss looks too young. I like you the better for this, and am in the plot with you. So don't you go and alter. I hope you will soon be better. Phoebe and Susan ought to give you some of the nice things sent to Miss Livvy. "I am very happy of you", as they would say." (Spielmann and Jerrold. Hugh Thomson. pp. 181-182).