Gremlins by Roald Dahl (69 results)

Condition: Good. Artists And Writers Guild (illustrator). SHIPS FROM USA. Used books have different signs of use and do not include supplemental materials such as CDs, Dvds, Access Codes, charts or any other extra material. All used books might have various degrees of writing, highliting and wear and tear and possibly be an ex-library with the usual stickers and stamps. Dust Jackets are not guaranteed and when still present, they will have various degrees of tear and damage. All images are Stock Photos, not of the actual item. book.

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. Original red pictorial boards lettered in black and yellow, illustrated endpapers. With publisher's wraparound band. No dust jacket issued. Illustrated in colour and black-and-white, mostly by the renowned Disney animator Bill Justice (1914-2011). A fine copy.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. No Jacket. Illustrated by Walt Disney. Red front cover, yellow cloth spine, grey back cover. Front cover has been drawn on, corners badly rubbed, spine grubby but intact, back cover badly rubbed in one corner (see photo). Contents clean and tight but beginning of wear to hinges. Dirt on back endpaper. From the library of Clive King, the Gremlins appear again in his "Sound of Propellers".

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. Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition, Illustrated Edition. First printing, demy 4to (11.25 x 8.75 inches), pp. (52) without pagination, 12 full page color illustrations including one double-page and b/w illustrations throughout. Original black spine titled red cloth backed color pictorial boards, pictorial endpapers. Very good+ copy with minor wear to edges and extremities, some minor scratches and rubs to boards. H10690 All Items Are Sent Insured. Insurance charges are included in the Shipping & Handling Charges. International buyers please be aware that we are not responsible for and do not include or estimate customs duties, fees or taxes in any way in our listings. We ship all orders within 5 days of cleared payment. We do not create and are not responsible for shipping times or delays associated with customs and international shipping.

Hardcover. Condition: Fair. No Jacket. Walt Disney Productions (illustrator). First Edition. Cover presents with edge wear (including chipping to upper edges), rubbing/scuffing, light scoring (mostly confined to front cover), and corner bumping/wear. Fraying is present at head and foot of spine. Fraying at foot is more severe and has revealed underlying text. Text is otherwise tight in binding. Faint shadowing. Text is clean and free of blemishes throughout. No other markings or indications of note. Due to the size of this ownership, additional shipping charges may apply. Size: 4to - over 9¾" - 12" tall.

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

Hardcover. Condition: Good. First Edition, First Printing. 48p. A large hardcover book with a red cloth spine and pictorial boards. Good+ condition. Slits forming in the cloth on the spine and edges of boards are visibly rubbed. Small scuffs here and there on the surfaces of the boards, due to years of normal shelf wear. Early owner's signature on front endpaper. Scattered foxing, all fairly mild, plus occasional small spots and blemishes on the pages; otherwise, text clean and binding tight. The first edition of Roald Dahl's first book, a children's story based on his experiences as an RAF pilot. The story was originally intended to serve as the basis for an animated Disney feature film, but the film was never made. Measures approx. 11.25" x 9".

First Edition. THE GREMLINS, Ayers & James, 1943, first Australian edition, some wear to the fore edges, else a vg copy bound in the publishers original color pictorial boards (just like the American edition). Illustrated in both color and black and white. Roald Dahl's first book.

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. Original illustrated boards, red cloth backstrip, spine lettered in black, yellow and red pictorial endpapers. Coloured illustrations throughout. 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.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Finely bound in black morroco with gilt title to front board. Gilt borders to front and rear boards. Five raised bands to spine with gilt emblems to each compartment. Housed in custom made slipcase with silk ribbon. First American Edition. Original yellow pictorial endpapers bound in, which show slight fading and a couple of marks. Internally the pages are a little age toned with an occasional mark but generally very clean and bright. Illustrations are all present and in good order.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. 1st Edition. Finely bound in black morroco with gilt title to front board. Gilt borders to front and rear boards. Five raised bands to spine with gilt emblems to each compartment. Housed in custom made slipcase with silk ribbon. First English Edition. Original yellow pictorial end papers bound in, which show slight fading and a couple of marks. Internally the pages are a little age toned with an occasional marks but generally very clean and bright. Illustrations are all present and in good order.

[Childrens classic] FIRST BRITISH EDITION. Quarto (28 x 23cm), pp.[52], with 13 colour plates (one double-page), and many in-text illustrations throughout. In the publisher's red pictorial paper-covered boards, cream cloth spine, pictorial end-papers. Gift inscription (31/10/44) to half title, contents clean, staples rusted and showing, light wear to covers, backstrip a little soiled, rear cover gently sunned. Very good. The author's first book, produced as a tie-in for an unrealised Disney animated film.

Hardcover. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. Disney, Walt (Studios) (illustrator). 1st Edition. Fair copy of this first children's book from Flight Lieutenant, Roald Dahl. Original jacket complete, though torn 2/3 of the way up the front panel, from spine through the "G" in Gremlins. Wear to edges, and a small chip from the bottom edge of front panel. The Jacket has also been price clipped. The book is fair with front hinge separated at ffep, scuffing to edges of boards and tanning to pages. Overall a serviceable copy of a scarce book in jacket. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall.

Hardcover. Condition: Very good. No jacket. Colour and plain illustrations from the proposed Walt Disney film throughout. (illustrator). First UK edition. First UK edition. 4to. Original cloth-backed boards with illustration to upper cover. A very good first UK edition of Roald Dahl's first book, that launched his career as a writer of nuanced children's literature. The story builds on an RAF legend of mischievous/malicious sprites that hamper the missions of fighter & bomber pilots during the Second World War. Boards a little rubbed and bumped at fore-corners, but overall an unusually good example. Book.

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 UK edition, first printing. Published by Collins, London, in 1944. This is a good copy. Issued without a wrapper, the pictorial cloth backed boards, illustrated by Al Dempster, show heavy wear, but are generally clean. There are instances of heavy rubbing and creasing at the corners and slight toning too. The end papers are present in yellow, brown and red - some separation and patches of rubbing patches. The internals are generally clean but with slight toning present. The cloth spine is toned and appears soiled, however is mostly intact but with some slight areas of separation. Overall, this is a good copy of the author's first novel. Dahl's first book and it was written for Walt Disney Productions, in anticipation of a feature-length animated film that was never made.

Condition: Very Good. New York: Random House, 1943. 1st U.S. edition. 4to pictorial hardcover. Unpaginated. B/W and color llustrations. Very Good book and Fair dust jacket. Board edges and corners a just bit worn. The date "8-28-43" in ink to the upper right corner of the front pastown, small and neatly printed, and with the bookplate of "J. Rommel" the lower left. Lighltly toned. The dust jacket, in a protective mylar cover, is a bit edgeworn with chipped spine tips and a 2" tear to the center. A very nice copy! (Juvenile, Fantasy, Great Britain, Royal Air Force, Fighter Pilots, World War II) Inquire if you need further information.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. A very good first edition in a very good dust jacket with some internal tape repairs that have bled through the front of the jacket to be visible on the outside. Small price sticker at top of front paste-down.

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 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 American publication cancelling any further preproduction work. Leonard Maltin, "The Gremlins Got 'Em" in Roald Dahl, The Gremlins, 2006. Quarto. 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. Colour frontispiece, 12 full-page colour illustrations (including one double-page illustration), numerous black and white illustrations in text. Worn at extremities, some light abrasions to front cover, minor split at head of front hinge, internally clean: a very good copy.

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, rubs front corners, slight rubs rear corners, tiny hole in fold of spine, slight mark front else very clean& complete. Contents : faintest fox marks to eps else very clean & tight Very clean complete copy. VG.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Good. First edition. Large thin quarto. Corners bumped else near fine in a good dust jacket with scraping and loss of paper mostly on the front panel. Roald Dahl's first book, ironically enough a children's book. Dahl was recuperating from a crash while serving with the RAF when, encouraged by his friend C.S. Forester, he began writing. A manuscript of this first novel was sent to Walt Disney, who decided to make the story into a film, and Dahl went to Hollywood to help with the screenplay. Though Dahl later claimed he invented the term "Gremlins," the pesky devils had actually been part of RAF lore since the previous war. However, they were unknown in the U.S. and Disney, intending to pave the way for the film in the American market, arranged for the publication of this book. Though uncredited, one of the primary artists for this volume was Walt Kelly. Disney's plan was too successful - Warner Brothers produced two short Gremlin cartoons and shortly afterwards Walt Disney lost interest in the project and stopped production on the film. Eleanor Roosevelt enjoyed reading the book to her grandchildren and invited Dahl to the White House (there have been claims, perhaps self-aggrandizing on Dahl's part, that based upon this introduction Dahl served as an unofficial liaison between FDR and Churchill). A nice copy, in a flawed jacket.

Quarter Cloth and Boards. Condition: Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Fair. First Edition (US). [52], original quarter cloth and boards in DJ, decorative endpapers. DJ chipped to spine ends with loss to head and more seriously to the foot, creased and slightly chipped to edges and spine, corners chipped. Inner joints repaired with cloth, text is quite bright and clean. The first edition with the correct price of $1.00 to DJ (BMC April 2002) Size: 4to.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. First Edition. This is the TRUE FIRST EDITION published by Random House, 1943. This First Issue dustjacket has wear to the spine and edges with several close tears. The book is in nice condition. The boards have some wear to the spine and edges. The pages are clean with a previous owner's name nicely written on the front endpaper. There is NO marks or bookplates in the book. A collectable copy at a reduced price with the ORIGINAL scarce dustjacket.

First Edition. THE GREMLINS, Random House, 1943, first edition, upper fore edge corner tips gently bumped, light wear to the lower fore edge corner tips, rubbing and light wear to the bottom board edges, else a bright vg+ copy in a vg dust-wrapper with some modest wear and tear and chipping. Profusely illustrated in full color. Roald Dahl's first book.

Pictorial boards. Condition: Near fine. Dust Jacket Condition: very good. The first edition of The Gremlins by Roald Dahl, in the publisher's scarce illustrated dust jacket. (illustrator). First Edition, First Printing. Quarto, [52pp]. Red cloth spine, title in black on spine. Vibrant pictorial boards and illustrated endpapers. No additional printings mentioned. Solid text block, light rubbing to corners, a near fine example. In the publisher's dust jacket, $1.00 retail price on front flap, sunned spine, short closed tears along top edge. Archival tissue repair to verso to stabilize the hinge at the spine. A bright example of a scarce dust jacket. Complete with twelve full-page color illustrations and a color frontispiece. The Gremlins was Roald Dahl's debut novel, and his only one to be initially published by Random House. The story describes the experience of a Royal Air Force (RAF) pilot whose plane is damaged by a gremlin - a folkloric creature imagined by 20th century military members to explain odd faults in machinery. The RAF pilot convinces the gremlins to unite against the common enemy of Hitler and the Nazis. This book was originally designed by Walt Disney Productions to be released in tandem with a full-length animated film of the same story, but the film was never made.

First edition, sole printing; 4to (28.6 x 23 cm); colour frontispiece, 11 full-page colour illustrations and one double-page colour illustration, plain line illustrations throughout, pictorial patterned endpapers, with additional black & white photographic print (image size: 288 x 143mm, sheet size 305 x 202mm); publisher's red cloth-backed pictorial boards, minor chaffing along the bottom edge of the boards but a superb copy in the somewhat frayed, price-clipped dust jacket with a couple of very minor chips. A very smart first edition copy of Roald Dahl's first book The Gremlins, a collaborative effort with Walt Disney for a feature-length film which was originally planned to include live-action and animation. Although Dahl's collaboration with Walt Disney in Burbank was successful, wht the book appearing in 1943, by then the public were growing tired of war-related films and the project was shelved. This was also due to copyright issues revolving around the 'gremlin' characters, since they were not an original creation (RAF pilots referred to them throughout WWII). Fortunately the planes and Air Force pilots featured in the story had better luck getting off the ground, but only to be subsequently plagued by these mischievous sprites with mechanical failures and worse. Laid into this copy is a black and white photograph of Walt Disney, with one of his team literally knelling at his feet, looking at a story board with concept artwork.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Included. 1st Edition. Random House: NY (1943). Color illus, 11 x 9", cloth backed pict boards, unpaged, most pp with clean short tears at bottom, eps spotted, ink inscription, stamped dates & two labels on rep, one bottom edge with very minor stain, in torn, worn, chipped but very scarce dw. Dahl was a Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant at this time. FIRST EDITION OF AUTHOR'S FIRST BOOK.

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: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 1st Edition. First edition, First Printing A beautiful, clean, Near fine First edition, First Printing, with the Original Scarce First edition dust jacket. Roald Dahl?s first book. Please see images. The book is in a large format hardcover (about 9? x 11?) and is profusely illustrated throughout in both black and white, and in color. The boards are in great condition, still maintaining their original sheen. The boards have no edgewear. The corners are ever so slightly rounded with one small tip bump. The binding is tight and square. The original end papers are clean with a repair to a small intact tear, otherwise the end papers have bookplates, no bookstore stamps no inscriptions, and no stains. The internal pages are very clean, bright and flat but a scant few small faded handling marks. Otherwise with no writing, no stains, no bent pages, and no foxing. A very crisp, clean example of this book which is most unusual as children?s books are usually ?well loved? The very scarce original first edition, first printing dust jacket has benefited from some slight restoration by an expert paper conservator and presents as a near fine example. The jacket has strong vibrant colors with no edgewear, no chips, no rips, no stains, no rubbing and no fading. Touch of very slight toning to the rear panel. The dust jacket is NOT price clipped and has a stated price of $1.00. Stunning jacket presenting the book beautifully. Please see images. A very handsome example presenting very well with the stunning scarce original jacket and clean, crisp interior at a great price for this title! Would make a great addition to a Roald Dahl collection. ADDITIONAL IMAGES AVAILABLE UPON REQUEST. Please see our ABE store for other landmark Children's books.