Gremlins Royal Air Force Story by Dahl Roald (13 results)

Hardcover. Dust Jacket Condition: No dust jacket. Illustrations (Color) (illustrator). First Edition, 1st Printing. unpaiginated Moderate wear to extremities and boards else very good condition. Binding sound. Unusually solid copy of this fragile book. Roald Dahl's first book.

Hardcover. Disney Studio (illustrator). 1st ed. 1st ptg. 4to, cloth-backed pictorial boards, with color and gray-scale illustrations from the Disney Studio. Light wear to board edges. A previous owner added surprisingly appropriate text balloons to the front endpaper drawings. Near fine.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. 4to. Random House, New York. 1943. Unpaginated (75 pgs). Illustrated with one double page and 12 color plates. First Edition/First Printing. Unclipped ($1.00) DJ has light shelf-wear present (DJ is lightly chipped and worn to the edges of the DJ). Bound in 1/4 red cloth and illustrated paper covered boards. Boards have light shelf-wear present to the extremities (bumping to edges and corners). Bookplate present to the front pastedown. Text is clean and free of marks. Binding tight and solid. The Gremlins is the story of Gus, a British World War II fighter pilot, who during the Battle of Britain turned to look out on the wing of his plane only to see an amazing sight: a little man, no more than six inches tall with horns growing from his head, drilling a hole in the plane's wing. Gus was the first man to ever see a Gremlin, and what happened after that would change the war, and the world, forever. Bought by Walt Disney to be produced as an animated motion picture (and considered to be the first story featuring the mythical airplane sabotaging creatures known as Gremlins). Roald Dahl was sent to Washington DC in 1942 as an assistant air attache for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester to pursue his writing talent. He then wrote The Gremlins, a children's story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore, although Dahl claims to have invented the word himself. He sent short story to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who forwarded it on to Walt Disney. ; 4to 11" - 13" tall.

Hard Cover. Condition: Very Good. Walt Disney Artists (illustrator). First Edition. Oversize 9" x 11 1/4" design. Red pictorial boards with bold yellow titles, black spine titles on brick red cloth spine wrap, moderate corner wear, rub. Cover depicts the gremlins at work destroying an RAF fighter plane at front; back cover features similar vignette, hand drill and saw in hand on rear wing. Yellow endpapers feature monochromatic red collage scenes of the horned gremlins playfully using their tools of pickaxe, bombs, oil cans, saws, hammers, etc. with silhouette planes in b.g. Pages very good, clean; no writing. Bind good; hinges intact. Scarce sharp first edition with moderate wear. A whimsical tale of devilish imps creating aerial havoc for the Allied Forces in the skies of WWII. Full page color designs throughout, with b&w illustrations, partial-page imagery and vignettes. Roald Dahl was sent to Washington DC in 1942 as an assistant air attache for the British Embassy. After having a story published anonymously in the Saturday Evening Post, he was encouraged by C. S. Forester to pursue his writing talent. He then wrote The Gremlins, a children's story expanding on a mythical creature enshrined for years in RAF lore, although Dahl claims to have invented the word himself. He sent short story to Sidney Bernstein, the head of the British Information Service, who forwarded it on to Walt Disney. Disney decided to make it into a movie, at one point bringing Dahl to Hollywood for the screenplay. The story was published in Cosmopolitan in December of 1942, and as a book by Random House six months later. The film, however, was sidelined and was never produced. The Gremlins was well received and Eleanor Roosevelt read it to her grandchildren, and even invited Roald to the White House. Apprx. 75 pages. Insured post. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.

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.

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 made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed by Walt Disney. 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.

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.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. First Edition. 1st Australian edition, Sydney: Ayres [sic] and James: Copyright 1943 by Walt Disney Productions) Printed in Australia by Shepherd and Newman. Autographed by Roald Dahl. Dahl's first book. Illustrated with 13 full page (one double page) color plates and black and white drawings by the Walt Disney Studio throughout the text. 29 cm. Inscribed, "Love from Roald Dahl". Roald Dahl Foundation book plate (established by Dahl's widow after her husband's death in 1990. Housed in gorgeous custom made red leather clam shell case with inlaid Gremlins on front. Some restoration work done to binding. Lacking dust jacket. Roald Dahl served in the Royal Air Force as a fighter pilot and Wing Commander. In 1940 Dahl's plane was hit by a machine gun fire and he was severely injured. He was sent to the United States as an attache while secretly working for British Secret Service to elicit American support for the British war effort. "His wartime experiences led him to write The Gremlins, a fantasy about a race of tiny people who live in Air Force planes and cause all the technical troubles that pilots experience; the story was serialized in Cosmopolitan Magazine in 1942 and the film rights were bought by Disney, though filming never took place" (The Oxford Companion to Children's Literature). According to Penguin Press, the book "caught Eleanor Roosevelt's eye and Roald became a not infrequent guest at the White House and FDR's weekend retreat, Hyde Park.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. 1st edition. 4to. Unpaginated circa 28pp. 13 single & 1 double page colour plate + numerous bw illustrations in text. Red paper covered boards, beige cloth spine, yellow lettering + Spitfire aeroplane with 3 little funny creatures on wings on front. Original yellow decorated eps. Covers : shelf knock front top edge, slight rubs corners, tiny snag in fold of cloth spine, else very clean & complete. Contents : very clean & tight. Very clean attractive copy. VG.

First Dark Horse edition, first printing; a facsimile reviving the author's first book, which had previously only been published in the American (1943) and British (1944) editions. The work was originally intended as a promotional device for a feature-length Disney animation which was abandoned before completion. In his preface, Disney historian Leonard Maltin outlines the project's fascinating history. The production had cost Walt Disney $50,000 at the time of cancellation. Part of the difficulties laid in establishing copyright, as Dahl was at that time serving in the RAF where "gremlins" were traditionally blamed for mechanical failures. "It didn't take long for the name to become part of common language. If a book or pamphlet had typographical errors in it, one could always blame it on Gremlins who gummed up the works. [But] this in no way discredits Dahl's charming story or his invention of the details surrounding their origins" (p. vi). In a deal with the British Air Ministry, Dahl gave the royalties to the RAF Benevolent Fund. Quarto. Illustrated in colour and black-and-white, mostly by the renowned Disney animator Bill Justice (1914-2011). Original red pictorial boards lettered in black and yellow, illustrated endpapers. With publisher's wraparound band. No dust jacket issued. A fine copy.

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. Coloured illustrations throughout. Original illustrated boards, red cloth backstrip, spine lettered in black, yellow and red pictorial endpapers. Bookplate of one Roger Marchand to front pastedown, ownership ink stamps to front free endpaper and half-title. Some creases to spine, extremities a little worn with minor colour restoration: a very good copy.

First British edition, first impression, of the author's first book. The book was first published in the US in 1943. Writing in 2006, the Disney historian Leonard Maltin described the volume as "a milestone" and a "charming book". 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, although 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 on the book 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 the American publication cancelling any further preproduction work. Leonard Maltin, "The Gremlins Got 'Em" in Roald Dahl, The Gremlins, 2006. Quarto. Colour frontispiece, 12 full-page colour illustrations (including one double-page illustration), numerous black and white illustrations in text. Original cloth-backed boards, red pictorial front cover lettered in yellow and black, unlettered grey rear cover, red and yellow pictorial endpapers. Issued without dust jacket. Creases and light soiling to spine, extremities slightly rubbed, minor loss to top right corner of front cover, other creases and minor abrasions, hinges splitting as usual, occasional foxing: a very good copy.

First edition, first printing, of the author's first book. As noted by the dust 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 would write to Dahl in August 1943 after publication cancelling any further preproduction work. Quarto. Coloured illustrations throughout. Original red cloth-backed illustrated boards, spine lettered in black, yellow and red pictorial endpapers. With dust jacket. Edges a little worn; dust jacket worn at extremities with some minor loss and tears, some minor colour restoration, minor adhesive tape repairs to reverse, spine slightly sunned, price-clipped; a very good copy in a very good jacket.