Available Copies from Independent Booksellers
Price: US$2800.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of Dahlâs rare first book, with 14 vibrant full-page illustrations by Walt Disney Productions. Quarto, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Disney animator Bill Justice on the half-title page with a large drawing of a Gremlin, "Sorry Ray That's a lousy Gremlin Bill Justice." Justice joined Walt Disney Studios as an animator in 1937 and worked on such features as Fantasia, The Three Caballeros, Alice in Wonderland, and Peter Pan. He is arguably best known as the animator of the rabbit Thumper from Bambi and chipmunks Chip 'n Dale. He was the director of The Truth About Mother Goose, Noah's Ark, and A Symposium On Popular Songs, all of which were nominated for Academy Awards as Best Short Subject, Cartoon. In total, Justice worked on 57 shorts and 19 features. Good in the rare original dust jacket with some chips and wear. Dahl was sent to Washington in 1942 as an assistant air attachà for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester. He produced The Gremlins, a childrenâs story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore (notwithstanding Dahlâs claims to have invented the word) and sent it to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who sent it on to Walt Disney. Disney decided to make it into a movie, at one point bringing Dahl to Hollywood to work on the screenplay. The story was published in Cosmopolitan in December of 1942, and as a book by Random House six months later. The film project, however, was sidelined and has never been produced. The story was received positively: Eleanor Roosevelt read it to her grandchildren, and invited Dahl to the White House.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
DAHL, Roald. The Gremlins [possibly Roald Dahl's Copy]. Random House, 1943.
Price: US$3810.68 + shipping
Description: Complete with original typed & signed Roald Dahl letter (loosely laid in) on Dahl's "Gypsy House" notepaper dated 27/9/90 - "Dear Mr, Martin/Thank you for your letter. I will buy your "Gremlins" copy. Here's my cheque/Yours Roald Dahl". True first edition, first printing. 4to. A very good+ copy with clean boards. Some edgewear to extremities. Internally very clean indeed with no inscriptions & importantly with this title - non of the usual splitting to Gremlin illustrated endpapers. The very good dustwrapper has a few short closed tears - a couple with old tape strengthening to rear. Some edgewear to other extremities with nicking at spine corners. Original first issue price of $1.00 to top right of front flap. None of the usual fading to red spine. An attractive copy of the true first printing of Dahl's first book complete with original dustwrapper and with a letter which suggests it may have been owned by the author himself just three months before his death on 23rd November 1990. Dahl's first children's book about mischevious little creatures that were part of RAF folklore.
Seller: Julian Roberts Fine Books ABA ILAB PBFA, Lincolnshire, United Kingdom
Dahl, Roald. The Gremlins. Random House, New York, 1943.
Price: US$5000.00 + shipping
Condition: Fine
Description: First Edition, First Printing SIGNED by Dahl on a laid in signature. A wonderful copy. This ORIGINAL sophisticated dustjacket is vibrant in color with NO chips or tears. This First Issue dustjacket has the $1.00 printed price present on the front flap. The book is in excellent condition. The binding is tight with NO cocking or leaning. The boards are crisp with minor wear to the edges. The pages are exceptionally clean with NO writing, marks or bookplates in the book. Overall, a beautiful copy of this TRUE FIRST EDITION in collector's condition. We buy SIGNED Dahl First Editions.
Seller: Magnum Opus Rare Books, Missoula, MT, U.S.A.
DAHL, Roald.. The Gremlins. From the Walt Disney Production.. New York: Random House, 1943, 1943.
Price: US$9688.18 + shipping
Description: First edition, first printing, inscribed on the half-title "To Ann with love from Roald Dahl 9/7/43." Roald Dahl's first book and his only collaboration with Walt Disney, The Gremlins 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 still described on the title and the front cover as being "From the Walt Disney Production", although the Disney studio had written to Dahl in August 1943 cancelling any further preproduction work. Quarto. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco, spine lettered in gilt, single rule to boards gilt, block to front board gilt with multi-coloured morocco onlay of seven cavorting gremlins with a further onlay of the cavorting gremlins to the back board, twin rule to turn-ins, dark green endpapers, gilt edges. Illustrated throughout in colour and black and white. The occasional minor blemish, an excellent copy finely bound.
Seller: Peter Harrington. ABA/ ILAB., London, United Kingdom
Price: US$11000.00 + shipping
Description: First edition of Dahlâs rare first book, with 14 vibrant full-page illustrations by Walt Disney Productions. Quarto, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Walt Disney on the half-title page, "To Joan With Best Wishes Walt Disney." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Dahl was sent to Washington in 1942 as an assistant air attachà for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester. He produced The Gremlins, a childrenâs story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore (notwithstanding Dahlâs claims to have invented the word) and sent it to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who sent it on to Walt Disney. Disney decided to make it into a movie, at one point bringing Dahl to Hollywood to work on the screenplay. The story was published in Cosmopolitan in December of 1942, and as a book by Random House six months later. The film project, however, was sidelined and has never been produced. The story was received positively: Eleanor Roosevelt read it to her grandchildren, and invited Dahl to the White House. The 1984 film Gremlins, produced by Steven Spielberg and directed by Joe Dante, is loosely inspired by Dahl's characters, featuring evil and destructive monsters which mutate from small furry creatures.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
Price: US$12000.00 + shipping
Description: First editionÂof Dahlâs rare first book, with 14 vibrant full-page illustrations by Walt Disney Productions. Quarto, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication, "To Tim xxx from Roald Dahl 19/6/43 There should be a bowler hat and a tail." Dahl has added a drawing of a hat and a tail on the gremlin. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed in the year of publication. Dahl was sent to Washington in 1942 as an assistant air attachà for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester. He produced The Gremlins, a childrenâs story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore (notwithstanding Dahlâs claims to have invented the word) and sent it to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who sent it on to Walt Disney. Disney decided to make it into a movie, at one point bringing Dahl to Hollywood to work on the screenplay. The story was published in Cosmopolitan in December of 1942, and as a book by Random House six months later. The film project, however, was sidelined and has never been produced. The story was received positively: Eleanor Roosevelt read it to her grandchildren, and invited Dahl to the White House.
Seller: Raptis Rare Books, Palm Beach, FL, U.S.A.
DAHL Roald DISNEY STUDIOS. Gremlins. , 1943.
Price: US$13500.00 + shipping
Description: DAHL, Roald. The Gremlins. A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl. New York: Random House, (1943). Slim quarto, original half red cloth, pictorial boards, pictorial endpapers, original dust jacket. Housed in custom pictorial clamshell box. $13,500.Presentation first edition of Dahl's rare first book, with 14 vibrant full-page illustrations by Walt Disney Productions, twice inscribed by him: on the half title, "To Joe and Steve with love from Roald Dahl 10/5/47," and opposite the half title, "One by one a cow came by/ Howling around for the moon/ They asked me where the hell it was/ I said it's gone you dopesyou're much too soon. R." An exceptionally elusive and desirable Dahl first edition in any condition, particularly in the original dust jacket and inscribed by him.Dahl was sent to Washington in 1942 as an assistant air attaché for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester. He produced The Gremlins, a children's story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore (notwithstanding Dahl's claims to have invented the word) and sent it to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who sent it on to Walt Disney. Disney decided to make it into a movie, at one point bringing Dahl to Hollywood to work on the screenplay. The story was published in Cosmopolitan in December of 1942, and as a book by Random House six months later. The film project, however, was sidelined and has never been produced. The story was received positively: Eleanor Roosevelt read it to her grandchildren, and invited Dahl to the White House. There are three existing editions: American, British and Australian; this, the American edition, is the first. According to Connolly, "This book is virtually unknown" (Modern First Editions, 90); Dahl chose never to republish The Gremlins. Text with two small ink corrections, probably in Dahl's hand.Book nearly fine, with one small rub to front cover. Scarce dust jacket with two small chips and minor rubbing to extremities. A beautiful, near-fine copy.
Seller: Bauman Rare Books, Philadelphia, PA, U.S.A.