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: Rigaud,, 1716. The first female translator of Homer First Dacier edition, in a beautiful contemporary French binding decorated with small gilt shell tools. Dacier's celebrated translation into French of the Odyssey is considered her "crowning achievement" (Folger, p. 34) alongside her equally successful translation of the Iliad (1711). The only daughter of the noted Hellenist Tanneguy Lefèvre, Anne Dacier (c.1654-1720) began translating classical works from an early age, beginning with Callimachus and progressing to versions of the poems of Anacreon and Sappho. She was a staunch champion of Homer in the Ancients and Moderns debate, in which she defended his works against what she saw as the contemporary decline in standards of taste. Despite literary feuds with Antoine Houdar de la Motte and Thémiseul de Saint-Hyacinthe, and her differences in particular with Alexander Pope, with whom she fundamentally disagreed on how best to approach translating Homer, Dacier was held in high regard by her… Read More

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

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

New York: Farrar, Straus, Giroux,, 1984. An autobiography is... usually full of all sorts of boring details First US edition, signed limited issue, number 197 of 200 copies, signed by the author. 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 brown cloth, spine lettered in gilt, front cover with pictorial design in blind, pictorial endpapers. No jacket as issued. Housed in the publisher's slipcase. With black and white photographic illustrations throughout the text. Minor wear to slipcase with minor cracking to one joint: a fine copy in a near-fine slipcase.

London: Hamish Hamilton,, 1946. The author's first adult book First UK edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed "E. K. / [diagonal line] / R. D. / March '47" on front free endpaper. This collection of stories, based on his experiences in the Royal Air Force during the Second World War, was Dahl's second book, his first of short stories and his first for adults. The US edition was published earlier the same year. Octavo. Original blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt. With dust jacket. Bookplate to front pastedown. Extremities a little bumped, spine lightly sunned; some minor loss to extremities of slightly toned dust jacket, unclipped, a few adhesive tape repairs to reverse: a very good copy in a very good dust jacket.

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,, 1989. First edition, first impression, collecting seven stories written in the Buckinghamshire countryside setting that Dahl called home. He notes in his preface that the stories were composed in the late 1940s and that "rereading them again now fills me with acute nostalgia and with vivid memories of those sweet days many years ago". Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in silver. With dust jacket. Line drawings by John Lawrence. Spine ends bumped, foxing to edges, text mildly toned; bright, price-clipped jacket with occasional crease: a very good copy in near-fine jacket.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1975. An inscribed copy First UK edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: "To Clare, with love, from Roald Dahl". The recipient, Clare A. Shapland, has inserted her bookplate on the front pastedown. As noted by one of Dahl's biographers, "Danny... is perhaps Dahl's most straightforward and lyrical children's book" (Sturrock, p. 467). Inscribed copies are not common. The novel is based on the short story "The Champion of the World", which was first published in The New Yorker Magazine on 23 January 1959. It would be collected within Kiss Kiss (published in 1960). As noted by the dust jacket blurb, the novel is "full of absorbing action and heart-stopping suspense, it is fabulous, irresistible fun". The work was the basis for the 1989 film of the same title starring Jeremy Irons, with his son Samuel in the title role. In the 2023 BBC's poll of "The 100 Greatest Children's Books of All Time", the novel was ranked at number 92. Octavo.… Read More

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.

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: 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.

New York: Random House,, 1943. First edition, first printing, of the author's first book. As noted by the original jacket blurb, "Everybody has heard about the gremlins, the fantastic Little People whose antics have become one of the great legends of the R.A.F." The book was written as a promotional device for a feature-length Disney animation that was never produced, partly because the studio could not establish firm copyright in the "gremlin" characters (Dahl claimed to have invented them, though they had been common currency in the RAF and had appeared in print at least once before) and partly because the British Air Ministry wanted final approval of the script and production. It was eventually agreed that royalties would be split between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl. The book is described on the title and the front cover as being "From the Walt Disney Production"; the Disney studio wrote to Dahl in August 1943 after publication cancelling any further preproduction work. Quarto. Original… Read More

London: Collins,, 1949. The author's first novel which he later suppressed First UK edition, first impression, signed by the author on the front free endpaper. The book 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. 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". Treglown also suggests that the Leader of the Gremlins in the novel "is a prototype of Mr Willy Wonka". Octavo. Original purple cloth, spine lettered in gilt, cream endpapers, lower edge untrimmed. With dust jacket. Contemporary ownership signature to front free endpaper. A crisp copy, spine slightly bumped, minor crease to spine, some foxing; extremities of… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1989. Later impression, inscribed by the author on front free endpaper, "To Adam, Love Roald Dahl". The title was first published in 1983 and first featured illustrations by Quentin Blake in 1984. This is the third reprint of the Blake edition. The book presents Dahl's nine poem on animals, including "The Tummy Beast". Large octavo. Original illustrated boards, spine and front cover lettered in black and brown, covers with colour illustrations, blue endpapers. Issued without jacket. With numerous full page and other colour illustrations within the text by Quentin Blake. Bookseller's ticket on front pastedown from Dahl's local bookshop (The Abbey Bookshop, Great Missenden). Head and foot of spine slightly bumped; a near-fine copy.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1977. Inscribed by the author First edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Jonna, with love, Roald Dahl, 30 Nov. 1984". Written for a slightly older readership than his other works, the collection includes two semi-autobiographical stories, in turn based on Dahl's experience as a fighter pilot in the Second World War and exploring his motivation to become a writer. A film adaptation of "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" was released in September 2023. Directed by Wes Anderson, members of the cast include Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in gilt, beige endpapers. With dust jacket. Two pages of photographic illustrations. Bookseller's ticket on front pastedown from Dahl's local bookshop (The Abbey Bookshop, Great Missenden). Head and foot of spine slightly bumped, top edge irregularly stained yellow, light foxing to fore edge; jacket a little worn at top, spine… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1986. First edition, first impression, signed by the author on the half-title. Going Solo continues Dahl's autobiography from his account of his childhood years in Boy, describing his travels in Africa and his experiences in the RAF. Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in gilt, illustrated endpapers. With dust jacket. Portrait frontispiece, 2 maps, numerous photographs throughout text. Jacket unclipped: fine copy in a fine jacket.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1983. A beautifully bound copy First edition, first impression. Winner of the Whitbread Award for Children's Novel in 1983, the book was adapted into a stage play and a two-part radio dramatization for the BBC, a 1990 movie directed by Nicolas Roeg which starred Anjelica Huston and Rowan Atkinson, and an opera by Marcus Paus and Ole Paus. Octavo (222 x 149 mm). Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in bright blue morocco, titles to spine and front board onlaid in pale blue morocco and blocked in black, pictorial onlay wrapped around front and back board after the original dust jacket, twin rule to turn-ins in black, plain blue endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a bright blue flat-back cloth box. With black and white illustrations. A fine copy.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf,, 1974. First edition, first printing, preceding the UK edition by a few months. The four short stories in this book comprise "The Visitor", "The Great Switcheroo", "The Last Act", and "Bitch". They originally appeared in Playboy in 1965, 1974, 1966, and 1974, respectively. The dust jacket blurb proudly notes "Here at last... is a new collection of (adult) stories by the Supreme Master of Nastiness". Octavo. Original orange cloth, spine lettered in gilt, front cover with "RD" and border in gilt, top edge orange. With dust jacket. Foot of spine very slightly bumped; a near-fine copy. Extremities of dust jacket very slightly creased and rubbed in places, slightly toned on reverse; a near-fine, unclipped and bright example.

London: Jonathan Cape,, 1977. Inscribed by the author First edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Hywel, with love, Roald Dahl, 19 Nov. 1982". Written for a slightly older readership than his other works, the collection includes two semi-autobiographical stories, in turn based on Dahl's experience as a fighter pilot in the Second World War and exploring his motivation to become a writer. A film adaptation of "The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar" was released in September 2023. Directed by Wes Anderson, members of the cast include Ralph Fiennes, Dev Patel, Ben Kingsley, and Benedict Cumberbatch. Octavo. Original blue boards, spine lettered in gilt, beige endpapers. With dust jacket. Two pages of photographic illustrations. Gift inscription to front free endpaper dated 1977. Very slightly skewed, extremities a little bumped and sunned, minor foxing to edges, spine of dust jacket slightly sunned, extremities a little creased, price-clipped: a very good copy in a very… Read More