Published by Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1970
First Edition, First Printing – with the words “First Edition” on the copyright page.
This is the true first appearance of one of Dahl’s most enduring tales. Though Dahl was British and his works are often thought of in their UK context, Fantastic Mr. Fox was first published not in London but in New York by Alfred A. Knopf in 1970. The UK edition would not appear until 1974, issued by George Allen & Unwin, four years later. Collectors prize the Knopf edition as the genuine first outing of the story - the edition in which Mr. Fox first dug his bold escape tunnels and confounded Boggis, Bunce and Bean.
This copy is a beautiful example. The original dust jacket is bright, unfaded, and wonderfully fresh, retaining its rich colour. The book itself is in excellent condition, and appears unread. The binding is firm and square, with no cocking or leaning; the boards are crisp and unworn. Internally, the pages are pristine - no writing, no marks, no bookplates. A superb survival, especially given that this title was originally marketed for children, and surviving copies are so often found battered and well-loved.
Published at the very height of Dahl’s creative powers, Fantastic Mr. Fox captures his instinct for sly rebellion and his deep sympathy for the clever underdog. Mr. Fox, pursued by three grotesque farmers - Boggis, Bunce, and Bean - turns the tables with ingenuity, burrowing his way not just to survival but to triumph. Dahl’s tale, laced with his signature dark humor and moral sharpness, found its very first readers here in the Knopf edition of 1970.
To hold this copy is to hold the debut of a classic. Before Wes Anderson’s stop-motion film, before the countless reprintings in Puffin paperbacks, before Mr. Fox became a household character, there was this first Knopf edition. In its jacket, gleaming and sharp, and in its pages, crisp and untouched, lies the moment the Fantastic Mr. Fox first outwitted his enemies and scampered into literary history.
