Kipling first edition found at daughter's former home

Librarians said they have discovered an inscribed first edition of Rudyard Kipling's The Jungle Book at the former home of one of the writer's daughters.

The book, published in 1894, was found in the library at Wimpole Hall, a stately home near Cambridge owned by the National Trust.

Rudyard Kipling wrote an inscription to his young daughter, Josephine, who died of pneumonia in 1899 aged six, said trust officials.

The author's second daughter, Elsie, lived at Wimpole between 1938 and 1976. The trust said the book was among a collection of Rudyard Kipling's works which belonged to Elsie.

A trust officials said the book was found when librarians were cataloguing the hall's library.

"The inscription, which reads, 'This book belongs to Josephine Kipling, for whom it was written by her father, May 1894', is unsigned but, based on many other items in the Kipling archive, is believed to be his handwriting," said the official."

She added: "The book is from a collection of Kipling's works that belonged to his second daughter, Elsie, who lived at her marital home of Wimpole Hall from 1938-1976...

"The book, which is now on display at Wimpole Hall, has only recently come to light following a three-year project to catalogue the extensive library."

Mark Purcell, the trust's Libraries Curator said: "There are nearly 7,000 books in the Wimpole library and this has been a big project to catalogue them all properly, but as one of the nation's favourite children's books of all time, this first edition of the Jungle Book with its rare inscription is very special."

Wimpole Hall curator Fiona Hall added: "This inscription is very touching, especially when you consider that Kipling lost not only Josephine, but also his youngest child, John, who died in the Great War. As Kipling's only remaining child, Elsie would have really treasured this book."