Peter the Wanderer, by Edward Ardizzone. London: Oxford University Press, 1963. [44p]

First edition hardback with original dustjacket in a plastic protective cover. The dustjacket is in very good condition and is not price clipped.

The illustrated board covers are a little bumped and worn at the edges and with a few marks on the back, but otherwise completely sound, the binding tight and square.

There is a small bookseller's sticker on the inside front cover and a name in ink on the front flyleaf. There are  some smudges on the back endpapers. Internally the pages are in near perfect condition; small marks on the bottom of just a couple of pages. No tears or creases or other blemishes, the colours of Ardizzone's pen and wash illustrations as bright as when it was published.

When Peter finds a golden key lying in the road near his home he sets off to find the old sailor who dropped it. In typical Ardizzone fashion he encounters much kindness as well as some 'horrid' men who are also after the treasure; he travels across the sea, along a valley and up into the mountains before finally finding the sailor, and the box which the key unlocks.

This is a scarce first edition copy in excellent condition, a treasure in itself.