UPDATE: These items have been recovered.

If you know the whereabouts of these items, please contact Larry O’Shaughnessy, Larry@franklinbooks.com, 800-627-3890 or 908-323-3686.

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland [and] Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There by Lewis Carroll, Illustrated by John Tenniel, Signed Full Leather Bayntun Binding

Binding Details:  A beautiful signed Bayntun binding featuring full leather polished calf boards with elaborate gilt decorations and titling in compartments on the spine that has five raised spine hubs. The front and rear covers contain gold gilt characters from the book, double gilt ruling to the boards with floral stops, inner and outer dentelles, marbled endpapers, and gold gilted page ends. The Bayntun Binders stamp appears on the top of the first free endpaper.

Book Details: Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was originally published in 1865 by Macmillan and Company and Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There in 1872 by the same publisher. This is a later reprint (1953 for Alice in Wonderland and 1955 for Through the Looking Glass) by Macmillan and Company that contains the original text of both volumes as well as all of the original wood engraved illustrations by John Tenniel that were contained in the original editions.

Measures approximately 7” x 5” with both books bound into this one volume.

Condition Report:  The binding is in FINE condition with very superficial surface wear. Internally, the book is very clean with no signs of previous ownership. Overall, this a beautiful signed leather binding by Bayntun that houses Carroll’s classic works.

AND

The Gremlins from the Walt Disney Production: A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl, Illustrated by Bill Justice and Al Dempster, First British Edition Published by Collins, London, 1943, Onlaid Leather Binding by The Chelsea Bindery

Binding Details:  Beautiful onlaid full leather binding by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco leather.The front cover is ruled in gold gilt and features a multi-colored morocco leather onlay of seven cavorting gremlins as depicted on the title page. There is gold gilted titling to the front cover and spine, marbled endpapers, gold ruling and decorative gilt to the dentilles, and all page ends are gold gilted. The original cover is bound in at the back of the book. The Chelsea Bindery binder’s stamp appears in gold gilt on the bottom of the inside front cover.

Book Details: This is the first British edition of Roald Dahl’s first book “The Gremlins from the Walt Disney Production: A Royal Air Force Story” published by Collins, Lo

ndon and Glasgow in 1943. The Gremlins was written as a promotional device for a feature-length Disney animation that was never produced because the studio could not establish firm copyright in the “gremlin” characters and the British Air Ministry wanted final approval of the script and production. Although the film was never produced, an agreement was reached that the book could be published and royalties would be split between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl.

Reed Milnes in his article “The Gremlins” and a Tale of Two Storytellers wrote, “In April of 1943, the Disney studio partnered with Roald Dahl to publish The Gremlins: A Royal Air Force Story Penned by Dahl and illustrated by Disney Legends Bill Justice and Al Dempster, and with a cover design by Mary Blair, the book was considered an international success but efforts to reprint the book were stymied by the wartime paper shortage.” In his short story “Lucky Break,” Dahl writes, “Each day, I worked with the great Disney at his studio in Burbank, roughing out the story line for the forthcoming film. I had a ball.” Now known as the imagination behind so many favorite stories that enthrall children and adults alike, it is fascinating to know that Dahl began with The Gremlins—and guidance from Walt Disney.”

Measuring 11.125” x 9”, the book is beautifully illustrated with 12 full-page and 1 double-page color as well as black-and-white illustrations by Bill Justice and Al Dempster from Walt Disney studios.

Condition Report:  The binding is in FINE condition. Internally, the book is very clean with some mild age toning to the paper and some offsetting to the page facing the bound in original front cover. Overall, this is a spectacular onlaid binding by The Chelsea Bindery that houses the first book written by Roald Dahl.

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