This rare 1st edition would make a great Christmas give

This is a story about the real Santa,...right?

There are a lot of Christmas stories which have been made into movies, but there are only a handful are great. Miracle on 34th St. is a true classic and a rare 1st edition of the book is being offered on the auction block on December 16th. 

Originally a 1947 film written by Valentine Davies, it was  directed by George Seaton, John Payne  starring Maureen O'Hara, Natalie Wood and Edmund Gwenn. It's a story of New York City after the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Parade.  The Macy's Department Store Santa (or is he) has many people believing he is the real Santa Claus.

At the time the movie was produced, the film writer also produced a short print version of the story, published by Harcourt Brace. That's the subject of this article which will be on the auction block offered by Profiles in History in it's Pat McInally Collection of Children's Literature Auction.

The film won Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role (Edmund Gwenn), Best Writing, Original Story (Valentine Davies) and Best Writing, Screenplay. It was also nominated for Best Picture, but didn't win.

Davies also penned a short novella version of the tale, which was published by Harcourt Brace simultaneously with the film's release.

The auction listing description of the book is as follows:

Lot #20. Miracle on 34th Street. Davies, Valentine. (1905-1961) Miracle on 34th Street. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, (1947). Octavo. First Edition. Brick red cloth with spine lettered in gilt. Original priced dust jacket exhibits slight wear at corner tips. Fine condition. Pre-auction estimate: $400 – $600

Anyone may register and place an early bid, or bid in real-time as the auction goes live on December 16th. More information here.

This is part of a series I'm doing on rare Children's literature books, check back for more articles.

Disclosure Statement: As an online columnist who is also licensed auctioneer, appraiser, antiques broker, events speaker and promotor, you can assume that I get conpensated for anything I publish.