PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG DOG (First edition - second impression)

Dylan Thomas

Published by J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London, 1954

About this Item

Second impression (first reprint) of the true first edition, published in 1954 to coincide with the publication of "Under Milk Wood" (the first impression was published in 1940). ***Very good in green cloth-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine. Top edge of page block stained crimson by the publisher (as called for). Extremities and head and tail of spine very slightly rubbed. No foxing. Pages clean. Slight spine lean. Spine tight. No inscriptions. ***In a very good colour printed price-clipped dustwrapper. Edges of dustwrapper slightly rubbed and creased. Shallow loss and 3cm closed tear to head of spine of dustwrapper. Head and tail of spine of dustwrapper slightly creased, nicked and rubbed. Very small loss and rubbing to corners of dustwrapper. A small closed tear and associated creasing to top edge of rear panel of dustwrapper. Rear panel of dustwrapper discoloured and rubbed (being white background). No fading. Spine and front panel of dustwrapper bright and unfaded. 194mm x 138mm. 254 pages. ***'Dylan Thomas was born in Swansea in 1914, leaving school in 1932 to become a reporter for the South Wales Daily Post. Many of his works appeared in print while he was still a teenager. In 1934, the publication of "Light breaks where no sun shines" caught the attention of the literary world. While living in London, Thomas met Caitlin Macnamara; they married in 1937 and had three children: Llewelyn, Aeronwy, and Colm. He came to be appreciated as a popular poet during his lifetime, though he found earning a living as a writer difficult. He began augmenting his income with reading tours and radio broadcasts. His radio recordings for the BBC during the late 1940s brought him to the public's attention, and he was frequently featured by the BBC as an accessible voice of the literary scene. Thomas first travelled to the United States in the 1950s; his readings there brought him a degree of fame, while his erratic behaviour and drinking worsened. During his fourth trip to New York in 1953, Thomas became gravely ill and fell into a coma. He died on 9 November, and his body was returned to Wales. On 25 November, he was interred at St. Martin's churchyard in Laugharne, Carmarthenshire.' (Wiki) ***'Dylan Thomas showed in the Portrait (first published in 1940) how the startling originality of his work was deep-seated, native to his whole personality. Though the form is fiction, the young poet is himself here seen as a child, a schoolboy, and a young man during his life in Wales before he came to London.' ***'All who are interested in new reputations should read The Portrait of the Artist as a Young Dog --- he has an imagination of scene and poetic eloquence far superior to those possessed by any of his immediate contemporaries.' (Quote and review quote taken from the front flap of the dustwrapper) ***Second impression (first reprint) of the true first edition - very hard to find complete in its original dustwrapper in collectable condition. ***For all our books, postage is charged at cost, allowing for packaging: any shipping rates indicated on ABE are an average only: we will reduce the P & P charge where appropriate - please contact us for postal rates for heavier books and sets etc.

Seller Inventory # 6130z

Bibliographic Details

• Title: PORTRAIT OF THE ARTIST AS A YOUNG DOG (First edition - second impression)
• Publisher: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 1954
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition
• Printing: Second Impression
• Condition: Very Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Literature
  • First Editions