London: Privately Printed, 1919-1920. Limited Paperback. Fine condition. The scarce private record of the secret wartime propaganda unit in which Milne, Dunsany and a remarkable group of British writers worked together. Quite likely the scarcest of Milne's publications. Indeed, it was forgotten about until a copy surfaced a decade ago in a skip. The present offering includes four volumes of The Green Book including the Milne volumes. Further to this M.I.7.B. dinner menus from 1921 and 1922, a handwritten undated menu signed by the attendees, and a typed playbill showing some sketches presumably performed at one of the dinners including one, I believe, previously unknown. M.I.7.B.(I) existed to produce propaganda for the war and was, according to the Green Book, disbanded in 1918. Print runs of 1920, 1921 and 1922 were 30, 40 and 50 respectively. Given the membership noted on the inside cover of 1919 totals 29, it's reasonable to assume that no more than 30 copies of this were also printed. The preface to 1920 notes that this is the first civilian issue of The Green Book, and is 'privately printed' whereas 1919 is for private circulation.

[1] The Green Book by M.I.7.B.(I). Number 1, January 1919. Fine with a little tanning to the spine. 26pp. Milne here offers four short poems regarding the difficulties a writer has in producing propaganda, imagining the words from Tennyson, Shakespeare and Cpt Thomas Campbell and Lieutenant Lovelace. H.R. Wakefield also provides a short piece here.
[2] The same, Number 2, 1920. Printed illustration by H.P.C. Pollard, letters to the editor from Dunsany and Wakefield, piece by J.B. Morton. Some light edge wear, but still a fine copy
[3] The same, Number 3, 1921. Numbered 8 of 40 copies. J.B. Morton piece and a piece at the end attributed to D which seems likely to be Dunsany. Fine with light edgewear.
[4] The same, Number 4, 1922. Illustration by H.P.C. Pollard, inscribed by L.J. Farries to the half-title. Additionally inscribed by H.P. Wakefield[?] to page nine, who may have written the entry. By A.J. Dawson, the editor to his entry. Likely by J.B. Morton to his entry, but it's rough and not particularly like his regular signature, the the handwriting is a fair match. R.P.P. Rowe, W.W. Tarn and C.D. Stelling have also signed their pieces. At the end is another piece attributed to D. Presumably good ol' Lord Dunsany. Fine
[5] M.I.7.B. Dinner menu dated 25th January 1922. Printed. Held at the New University Club. Folded card
[6] Hand-written menu, strung card, undated. Signed by 16 attendees including A.A. Milne and J.B. Morton.
[7] Printed menu, folded card, signed by 15 attendees, not Milne.
[8] Single sheet, folded, typed. Outlines the entertainment for the evening of the 25th January 1922. Four plays with the dramatis personae outlined. The writers are somewhat obviously redacted. The first is The Knocker at the Door by J.M. Synge and Russell Thorndike. The second is Trouso by Lord Dunsany, starting F. Heron-Allen as Percy Simkin and A.A. Milne as 'A Woman.' - excellent. The third is The Truth About Dumpty by A.A. Milne with H.R. Wakefield as Derek Shott-Long. And finally, the fourth is Payment on Delivery by Maurice Maeterlinck.

Overall, a superb little collection and an important piece. Likely central to any Milne or Dunsany collection. Fine. Item #13622