Cryptic crossword No 1,726

That was great fun Chameleon, thanks for the puzzle! A creative array of tricks and cheeky surfaces throughout, I particularly enjoyed 1a (cracking surface and very neat), 9a (very neat), 13a (cute and clever), 21a (nice), 24a (best use of that device I can remember), 25a (smooth), 1d (likewise), 10d (creative) and 20d (best of this device I've seen in some time) - bravo!

Thanks for sharing this here, Chameleon. Some lovely smiles and PDMs. Loved 10d. Loved 20d. Other favourites were the brilliant 9a 2d 4d and 5a… cheers!

I'm curious as to why this one was a milestone, Chameleon. First published or similar? A nice gentle puzzle apart from 26a which I could not parse due to lack of GK. Faves inc 5a, 10a, 23a, 25a, 1d, 4d, 17d and 20d. Thanks. PM