Inscribed by Raymond Briggs to Julia MacRae on the verso of the front free endpaper: “For JULIA With Best Wishes and love from Raymond 15 March 1982”. Additionally signed and dated to the title page.
With a program for the theatre adaptation of the book at the Whitehall Theatre laid in.
Julia MacRae 1934–2023 was an important figure in the world of children’s publishing, some of her significant contributions include Eric Carle’s The Very Hungry Caterpillar, and Raymond Briggs’ Father Christmas. During her career she worked as an editor for Constable, Collins and Hamish Hamilton where she became the first female board member and one of the first women in any publisher’s boardroom. In an interview with “Women in Publishing: An Oral History” MacRae speaks about her experiences as the first female member of the board, and how hard she had to work to get there.
In 1979 she left Hamish Hamilton having become not only the managing director of the children’s book division, but also the director of both Hamilton and its parent company Thomson Books. She established her own imprint Julia MacRae Books, initially part of Franklin Watts, then Walker Books, and finally Random Century.
MacRae worked on Briggs’ books while she was at Hamish Hamilton and she would go on to publish some of his works under the imprint she established in 1979.
A very good copy, a little bumping along the edges of the boards.
