Publisher: Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 1961
First edition, first printing of Roald Dahl’s James and the Giant Peach, with the correct five-line colophon on the colophon page — the earliest issue point of the true first edition. This is Dahl’s first full-length novel for children, published in the United States prior to its UK release. Also in non-price clipped jacket making it even scarcer.
Described by the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography as “rude, naughty, anti-adult, creepy, and sometimes cruel,” James and the Giant Peach marked a bold departure in children's literature and firmly established Dahl’s trademark blend of the macabre and the magical. The book was later adapted into the 1996 stop-motion film, nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Musical or Comedy Score.
Contemporary reviews captured the novel’s daring energy: “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” (New York Times, October 26, 1961).
Description:
Quarto. Original red cloth, gilt lettering to spine, blind-stamped design to front board, green endpapers, top edge yellow. Colour frontispiece and four colour plates, along with numerous black-and-white illustrations by Nancy Ekholm Burkert throughout the text.
Condition:
Near-fine copy. Slight fading to spine, closed tear to page 106, otherwise clean and sharp. The original dust jacket is not price-clipped and retains the $3.95 price at upper flap corner, with light toning to folds, minor edgewear, and a few small marks and nicks — overall a very good example of a notoriously fragile jacket.
A highly collectible copy of this iconic children’s classic — the true first edition of Roald Dahl’s inaugural children's novel.
