Search Results: Authors starting with D from Peter Harrington

Edinburgh., 1850. Large and accurate map of Asia in two parts, north and south. Although aspects of the map are in a copperplate style, the degree of detail and the date suggest this is a steel engraving. Lizars illustrated natural history books, and also engraved bank notes Steel engraving. Original colour. Very good condition, good margins Size: 87 x 77 cm. MacKenzie, British Prints

Paris: Denys Thierry,, 1681. When I look at you even for a short time, it is no longer possible for me to speak First edition of the first translation of Sappho by a woman, paired with her version of Anacreon, in a contemporary binding and complete with the often-lacking frontispiece. Prior to Dacier, Louise Labé in France and Gaspara Stampa in Italy published poetic imitations of Sappho, but Dacier was the first woman to translate the poems themselves into any modern language. The only daughter of the noted Hellenist Tanneguy Lefèvre, Anne Dacier (c.1654-1720) translated classical works from an early age, beginning with Callimachus and progressing to Anacreon and Sappho. "By choosing to translate Anacreon and Sappho into French, instead of presenting them with a Latin translation, as her father did, Anne Le Fèvre was seeking to introduce these two authors to a larger audience. That is indeed what she says in her preface to Anacreon, specifying that she is particularly thinking about women: 'By… Read More

London., 1892. Size: 255 x 350 mm. Mounted size: 447 x 540 mm. Lithograph from the Graphic Magazine. Hand coloured. Good condition.

Kansas City: Hudson-Kimberly Publishing Company,, 1903. The Boxer Rebellion, as recounted by America's last Union general First edition, first printing, familial association copy, with the ownership signature of the author's daughter Helen Daggett Patterson (1881-1970) on the front free endpaper. Patterson subsequently passed this copy to Trevor Washington Swett Jr, a US Army colonel; his ownership inscription is below her signature. Aaron Daggett (1837-1938) was appointed brivet brigadier general by Andrew Johnson in February 1866, having served with distinction during the Civil War. Following service in the Indian Wars and the Spanish-American War, he was appointed brigadier general in the regular army in 1900, leading the 14th Infantry Regiment during the Boxer Rebellion. By his death, he was the last surviving high-ranking officer to have fought on the Union side. His account describes American and allied troop movements in China, as well as day-to-day experiences of battle and the conduct of key… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1991. Commemorative Edition, first impression, one of 500 copies, this copy unnumbered. Published on the 75th anniversary of the author's birth on 13 September 1991, this is the most lavishly produced edition of Dahl's story ever published from the "Commemorative Limited Edition", and single volumes from the set are uncommon. The story was originally published in 1990. The publishers announced the edition with the statement that "only 500 sets are being produced and no further similar commemorative editions will be permitted for a period of 50 years". The paper used on the boards was a "special paper design... reproduced by courtesy of the Board of Trustees of the Victoria and Albert Museum, the machine plates and film to be destroyed after printing". Furthermore, the text was "redesigned in a uniform typeface, and printed on heavy-weight Consort Royal Sword Tint, especially manufactured for this edition. The text plates and film will be destroyed after printing". The full set… Read More

London: Michael Joseph,, 1960. First UK edition, first impression. Kiss Kiss was originally published in the US earlier the same year and contains 11 of Dahl's short stories for adults, including "The Champion of the World", which the author would later develop into Danny, The Champion of the World. Octavo. Original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt, top edge pink. With dust jacket. Extremities a little bumped and sunned, slight foxing to edges; extremities of unclipped jacket worn with minor loss, spine toned: a very good copy in like jacket.

London: George Allen & Unwin Limited,, 1970. First UK edition, first impression. The US edition was published earlier the same year. Fantastic Mr Fox formed the basis for Wes Anderson's 2009 film of the same name and has been successfully adapted into both a stage play and an opera. Octavo. Original laminated pictorial boards, titles to front cover and spine in red and black. Without dust jacket, as issued. With numerous in-text and full-page illustrations by Donald Chaffin. Head and foot of spine slightly bumped, corners bumped, crease to rear cover, minor dents to top edge of covers, corner of front free endpaper excised, some minor soiling but generally clean: a very good copy.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1991. First edition, "special presentation proof", number 18 of 500 such copies. The Minpins was Roald Dahl's final work written for children and was published posthumously. Minpin was the nickname Dahl used for his daughter, Ophelia, to whom he dedicated the book. Quarto. Original pictorial boards, spine and front cover lettered in red and black, red endpapers. With dust jacket. Colour illustrations throughout by Benson. Light foxing to first couple of leaves, a near-fine copy in the bright jacket, unclipped.

London: Collins,, 1949. First UK edition, first impression. The title was first published the previous year in the US, and is notable as the first book about nuclear war to be published there after the bombing of Hiroshima. The final chapter is slightly rewritten and expanded in the UK edition. Dahl would later suppress the novel. Jeremy Treglown notes that "Dahl may... have had Tolkien in mind in writing the story... there are echoes too of Lewis Carroll's mixture of the irrational and the commonsensical. But these elements are combined with the realism of his tougher war stories". Dahl's biographer also suggests that the Leader of the Gremlins in the novel "is a prototype of Mr Willy Wonka" (Treglown, p. 82). Octavo. Original purple cloth, spine lettered in gilt, cream endpapers, lower edge untrimmed. With dust jacket. Extremities a little bumped, crease to front free endpaper, minor foxing to endpapers; unclipped jacket worn with loss to head and foot of spine, closed tear to rear panel, spine… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1985. First edition, first impression. Dahl and Blake had achieved considerable success with The Enormous Crocodile in 1978, and this, another picture book for young children, was a worthy successor. Dahl dedicated the work to his three stepdaughters. When Dahl delivered the typescript to his English publisher, Tom Maschler responded with a note stating "Vintage Dahl. And with new aspects as well. What more could one ask?" A review in the Times Literary Supplement noted "there are better things than this in children's literature but this will fill that space where the ego and the libido run riot, where the only relationship is the camaraderie between fellow gluttons". Quarto. Original illustrated boards, spine and front cover lettered in black, dark blue endpapers. No dust jacket as issued. Illustrated by Quentin Blake. Notably fresh: a fine copy. Jeremy Treglown, Roald Dahl, a biography, 1994, p. 252; Times Literary Supplement, 29 November 1985, p. 1359.

Harmondsworth: Viking,, 1986. First edition, first impression. Published to mark Dahl's 70th birthday, the volume comprises two short stories, "Princess and the Poacher" and "Princess Mammalia", which had never been published before and were intended for an adult readership. Octavo. Original black boards, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Colour frontispiece, and black and white illustrations in the text by Graham Dean. Extremities a little bumped, front pastedown lifting slightly; extremities of jacket slightly rubbed, not price-clipped: a very good copy in like jacket.

London: Michael Joseph,, 1979. Presentation copy inscribed by the author to his half-sister and brother-in-law First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed by the author to his half-sister and brother-in-law on the front free endpaper, "Ellen & Ashley Love Roald 1979". Ellen Marguerite Dahl (1903-1988) was the first of two children born to Harald Dahl and Marie Beaurin-Gresser. Her mother died in 1907 and her father remarried in 1911. Working as a medical laboratory technician she married Arnold Ashley Miles (1904-1988) in 1930. Later Director of the Lister Institute of Preventive Medicine and Professor of Experimental Pathology in the University of London, Ashley Miles received a knighthood in 1966. The novel stars Uncle Oswald, a character who previously appeared in "The Visitor" and "Bitch", two short stories also written by Roald Dahl (both of which were published in Switch Bitch). Octavo. Original dark blue cloth, titles to spine gilt. With dust jacket. Head and foot of spine… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1985. Later impression, inscribed by the author on half-title, "To Adam, Love Roald Dahl". The book was first published in 1984; this is the first reprint. In his autobiographical collection of stories from childhood, Dahl includes his fondness for confectionery, his Norwegian ancestry, and his loathing for most schoolteachers. Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. With black and white photographic illustrations throughout the text and on illustrated endpapers. Extremities a little bumped and soiled, minor foxing to edges; jacket a little rubbed at extremities, price-clipped but with publisher's price sticker (£7.95): a very good copy in a near-fine jacket.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf,, 1972. Inscribed to Mary Berry's children First edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by the author "To all the children of Mary, with love Roald Dahl." The recipients were the children of Mary Berry, "an attractive lady" with whom he sometimes played poker in London (Sturrock, p. 450). The novel was first published in the US and appeared in the UK the following year. Mary Berry and Dahl first met in New York in 1954 when she and her husband were on honeymoon. Mary's son, Edward Berry, subsequently became friends with Dahl's son, Theo. Mary was also the sister-in-law of Dahl's former lover, Pamela Berry, Marchioness of Huntly. Pamela Berry was the daughter of the newspaper magnate Lord Kemsley, the employer of Ian Fleming. Octavo. Original blue cloth-backed grey boards, spine lettered in pink, front cover with illustration in blue, grey endpapers. With dust jacket. With illustrations by Joseph Schiendelman. Spine faded, foxing to covers, head and foot of… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1984. First Quentin Blake edition, first impression, following the edition which was illustrated by Rosemary Fawcett the year prior. This Dahl collection of poetry about animals comprises "The Pig", "The Crocodile", "The Lion", "The Scorpion", "The Ant-Eater", "The Porcupine", "The Cow", "The Toad and the Snail", and "The Tummy Beast". Quarto. Original illustrated boards lettered in black and brown, blue endpapers. No dust jacket issued. Colour illustrations by Quentin Blake. A fine copy.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1989. Inscribed by the author First edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: "To Anna Love Roald Dahl 1990". Inscribed copies of this title are not common and this copy is dated in the year of the author's death. As noted on the dust jacket blurb, "the marvellously dastardly Dahl has joined forces with that bounder Blake to plunder a wealth of nursery heritage for the delight of the older reader in this wonderful addition to the literature of the absurd". Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. With numerous full page and illustrations within the text by Quentin Blake. Foot of spine very slightly bumped; a fine copy in the like dust jacket.

London: Unwin Hyman,, 1989. The Tony Ross edition First Ross edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on front free endpaper, "To Amy, with love, Roald Dahl". This title was first published in the US in 1966 and the UK in 1968. The current edition was the first time a new set of illustrations was used for this title. Dahl had originally begun work on The Magic Finger in 1962, under the original title of The Almost Ducks. In the story, an eight-year-old girl, who hates to see animals killed for fun, develops a special power, similar to that of Matilda. The book was part of a project in which a group of writers was asked to create a story for children with a limited vocabulary. Dahl, who was very much opposed to animal cruelty, wrote this anti-hunting story against "all the brave deer hunters and duck hunters in the country". However, Macmillan, who had originally commissioned the story, refused it. Then Knopf, Dahl's regular US publishers, also turned it down. Both, it has been suggested,… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1983. First edition, first impression. This volume collects 14 of Roald Dahl's favourite ghost stories, including "W.S." by L. P. Hartley, "The Corner Shop" by Cynthia Asquith, "Afterward" by Edith Wharton, "On the Brighton Road" by Richard Middleton, and "The Upper Berth" by F. Marion Crawford. Octavo. Original black boards, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Slight foxing to edges; head and foot of jacket spine a little rubbed, issued without printed price; a near-fine jacket in like jacket.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf,, 1961. A signed copy of the author's first book for children First edition, first printing, with the five-line colophon, signed by the author on the front free endpaper. An early advert for the book stated "one is tempted to say that not since Alice has there been such a wonderland. The difference is that James is all boy and what transpires in the story is anything but Victorian". Described as "rude, naughty, anti-adult, creepy, and sometimes cruel" (ODNB), James and the Giant Peach was adapted into a film of the same name in 1996, which was nominated for the Academy Award for "Best Music, Original Musical or Comedy Score" the following year. Quarto. Original red cloth, spine lettered in gilt, design to front cover in blind, top edge yellow, green endpapers. With pictorial dust jacket. Housed in a custom red morocco-backed folding box by the Chelsea Bindery. Colour frontispiece, 4 colour plates, 1 tinted plate, 19 illustrations to text, of which 10 are tinted, all by Nancy… Read More

London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd,, 1967. First UK edition, first impression, following the US first edition of 1964. For several years Dahl was unable to achieve publication in the UK. Jeremy Treglown, in his biography of Dahl, notes that when he finally achieved UK publication it was "in a way that both pleased him very much and allowed him to use his commercial cunning". Tessa Dahl's school friend, Camilla Unwin, was the daughter of Rayner Unwin, the publisher. Tessa gave Camilla copies of the US editions of James and the Giant Peach and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and, as noted by Treglown, "a letter from Allen and Unwin was soon on its way to the author". Unwin was unaware that the books had been rejected by most established publishers in the UK and Dahl sent him "a poker-player's reply" asking how Unwin might improve on rivals' terms. Allen and Unwin suggested an old-fashioned arrangement: the publishers would print and market the books but without any advance to the author. Treglown notes… Read More