A Gallery of Children is a collection of twelve children's fantasy stories by A. A. Milne, illustrated by Saida (Henrietta Willebeek Le Mair). It was first published in hardcover in 1925 by the Stanley Paul & Co. in London and the David McKay Company in Philadelphia.
The collection was the author's second children's book and first book of prose for children, appearing between his poetry collection When We Were Very Young (1924) and Winnie-the-Pooh (1926).
The twelve Henriette Willebeek Le Mair illustrations were originally commissioned by the Colgate company for a series of magazine advertisements. In response to their popularity, Milne wrote an imaginative tale for each of the Le Mair watercolor drawings. He described the short stories as "a fanciful elaboration of each picture."[1][2] A 1976 review described the "plot and even character [as being] incidental to Milne's fond little jibes in these nursery-sized anecdotes of manners."[3]
In 2021, the book entered the public domain.
Alan Alexander Milne (/mɪln/; 18 January 1882 – 31 January 1956) was an English author popular for his books about the teddy bear Winnie-the-Pooh and children's poetry. Milne was primarily a playwright before the huge success of Winnie-the-Pooh overshadowed all his previous work. Milne served in both World Wars, serving in the main British Army in the First World War and as a captain of the British Home Guard in the Second World War.[1]
Milne was the father of bookseller Christopher Robin Milne, upon whom the character Christopher Robin is based. It was during a visit to London Zoo, where Christopher became enamoured with the tame and amiable bear Winnipeg, that inspired Milne to write the story for his son.