Ten of the most iconic illustrated children’s books of the 20th century will be featured in a new exhibition opening tomorrow at the British Library in London.

The free show, called Picture This: Children’s Illustrated Classics, has been curated by Dr Matthew Eve and runs from October 4 to January 26, 2014, in the Folio Society Gallery.

The exhibition focuses on 10 classics:

• The Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling (1902)

• The Railway Children by E Nesbit (1905)

• The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame (1908)

• The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett (1910)

• Peter Pan and Wendy by JM Barrie (1911)

• The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien (1937)

• The Borrowers by Mary Norton (1952)

• Paddington Bear by Michael Bond (1958)

• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory by Roald Dahl (1964)

• The Iron Man by Ted Hughes (1968)

The exhibition features attractive and rare first editions with original artwork by illustrators such as Quentin Blake, Michael Foreman, Peggy Fortnum and Lauren Child.

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