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The Jungle Books [Comprising: The Jungle Book/The Second Jungle Book)
by Rudyard Kipling
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Harrogate, North Yorkshire, United Kingdom
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
London: Macmillan and Co. , 1894-5. Set of two first edition, first printings. Published by Macmillan and Co., London, between 1894-5. Both are near fine examples. The first title has some mild rubbing to the spine and the top and tail edges. The gilt is mostly bright, however the pictorial gilt to the front panel is also rubbed. There is slight separation in the cloth at the corners. The gilt text blocks are generally bright and clean, but with slight dulling. The ex-Libris label of David Worth is pasted to the front paste down. There is a gift inscription to the half title page, dated 1894 in black ink. The second title also has slight rubbing to the top and tail of the spine, but it is not as prevalent. There is slight crumpling to the top right-hand corner. The pictorial gilt illustrations are markedly bright and clean, as is the gilt titling and border. The gilt text blocks are also bright and markedly clean. There is a small, neat gift inscription to the second leaf, dated 'Xmas 1895'. The internals are mostly clean, but with some mild toning and discolouration throughout. Overall, this is a great pair of iconic titles, rare in this condition. A collection of stories by Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who is raised in the jungle by wolves.
Synopsis
The adventures of Mowgli, a man-child raised by wolves in the jungle, have captured the imaginations not just of children, but of all readers, for generations.
Reviews
On Jun 11 2011, Feeney said:
Rudyard Kipling's THE JUNGLE BOOK (1894) and THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK (1895) were written in Vermont. There he and his American wife Carrie were expecting their first child. *** The word "Jungle" as used in the two volumes which together constitute THE JUNGLE BOOKS goes far beyond the thick forests of Central India in which are set the childhood and coming to manhood of the human wolf-cub Mowgli "the Frog." The broader jungle even includes the cold climates of the Arctic and Anarctic. And JUNGLE BOOKS animals include not only Kaa the rock python, Baloo the bear, the Bandar Log Monkey People and Shere Khan the malicious lame tiger but also seals, sea lions, walruses and sharks. *** Kipling's Jungle, as Daniel Karlin points out in the Introduction to his edition of THE JUNGLE BOOKS, is "a border area." It is principally inhabited by animals of the land and the sea, but they are not far from humans. Animals communicate with one another and sometimes they can understand the language of men, especially if they have been raised in captivity and serve Queen Victoria's Raj as army elephants, mules, cavalry mounts, artillery bullocks or camels. *** Mowgli, the man cub, separated from his wood cutting parents by a hungry Shere Khan the tiger, toddles fearlessly into a family of wolves, shoves in among the cubs and begins to suckle. In the last tale of THE SECOND JUNGLE BOOK, nearly 17 year old Mowgli is inevitably and by consent of the Jungle creatures drawn back into his human family. The clincher? "... a girl in a white cloth came down some path that led from the outskirts of the village. ... He could almost have touched her with his hand when the warm green stalks closed before his face and he disappeared like a ghost." To the question of Gray Brother, his loyal wolf follower: "And now what is it to be?" Mowgli replies "And now I do not know." Just before he sighted the girl, Mowgli was fully determined to remain among the wolves, poison people (cobras), bears, deer, bees, panthers and other jungle dwellers as their acknowledged ruler. But one sight of a girl and he must, he understands not why, return to his human family. *** THE JUNGLE BOOKS are as fascinating for adults as for children. Baden Powell's Cub Scouts, Boy Scouts and Walt Disney have drawn on their imagery and wisdom. But nothing can substitute for the prose and poetry in Rudyard Kipling's telling of tales of more than one kind of jungle. -OOO-
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Details
- Bookseller
- John Atkinson Books
(GB)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 15451
- Title
- The Jungle Books [Comprising: The Jungle Book/The Second Jungle Book)
- Author
- Rudyard Kipling
- Book Condition
- Used
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Macmillan and Co.
- Place of Publication
- London
- Date Published
- 1894-5
Terms of Sale
John Atkinson Books
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
John Atkinson Books
Biblio member since 2008
Harrogate, North Yorkshire
About John Atkinson Books
Offering rare and unique signed books not available elsewhere with constant changes in stock. Our showroom holds 100 rare first editions
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
- First Edition
- In book collecting, the first edition is the earliest published form of a book. A book may have more than one first edition in...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Half Title
- The blank front page which appears just prior to the title page, and typically contains only the title of the book, although, at...
- Title Page
- A page at the front of a book which may contain the title of the book, any subtitles, the authors, contributors, editors, the...
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
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