String Lug the Fox

1950. First edition. 224pp., a black and white frontispiece and eleven other full-page black and white illustrations by Nina Scott Langley. David Stephen (1911-1989) was a Scottish naturalist, author and journalist. In 1947 he became nature writer with the Daily Record, then nine years later moved to The Scotsman. In this book he traces the life of String Lug, a Scottish fox, from its birth in Lanarkshire. A vixen's litter is killed by a farmer, but String Lug survives, although his mother is shot and his father deserts him. Slowly he learns the forest lore: what to avoid; how to trick and kill; the smell of steel. He mates and has cubs; he lives through a moor-fire and a hard winter; he fights dogs, weasels and otters; his mate is killed; and the book has an unusual, yet satisfying, ending. The book is bound in the original oatmeal cloth covered boards with black titling and a red illustration of a fox's head on the spine. The case of the book is in very good condition with slight fading to the spine and top 1" of the boards. There is a faint water stain on the bottom 1 1/2" of the spine and part of the bottom edge of both boards. The contents are tight and clean with some light foxing to the free endpapers. There is no inscription. The clipped dustwrapper is in good condition with shelf wear, soiling and some staining. About 1" is missing from the bottom of the spine and near the spine corner of the top front edge and about 1/" is missing from the top of the spine. There are several small tears on the edges and a large tear of about 5" that runs up the bottom of the front spine edge and across the spine. Most of the tears have been repaired on the reverse with document repair tape.…