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DURRELL Gerald : A Zoo in My Luggage

Hart-Davis, London, 1960

8vo - over 7? - 9? tall. unclipped dw has split at bottom half of lower joint, a few short edge tears, chipped spine ends, gift inscription to fep, light foxing to prelims and closed edges, 205pp with 41 line illustrations, author relates how he set up a zoo / wildlife park with much humour. Illustr.: Ralph Thompson. Book Condition: Very Good. Binding: Hard Cover. Jacket: Good

First Edition

DURRELL**, GERALD: : A Zoo in my Luggage

LONDON.RUPERT HART-DAVIS,1960.

ISBN No ISBN.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE/VG.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip (16s. net) to dw/dj. Bright,fairly clean if not lightly grubbed, clean,matt colour pictorial artwork by Ralph Thompson,illustrated front panel+spine of dw/dj with black lettering to both; with minimal shelf-wear,bumping and creasing; some closed tears with some minor loss to edges and some corners - no other major nicks or tears present - 99% of dw/dj present.Both head+foot of spine/ backstrip with some minimal loss - letters unaffected.Top+fore-edges though slightly aged/toned,generally bright,clean and without foxing/spotting; contents bright,tight,clean, solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners, appears unread - apart from my own collation. Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered,publisher's original plain dark blue cloth boards with bright,crisp,blocked silver gilt letters to spine/backstrip,and clean plain white endpapers with ubiquitous but unusually,faint,off-set foxing from dw/dj inner flaps,to both free endpapers.UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,9-205pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,A Word in Advance,Mail by Hand,Pts 1-3 comprising 2, 4 and 3 chapters respectively,41 b/w line illustrations throughout the text and book,by Ralph Thompson,acknowledgements (Britain and the Cameroons); plus [unpaginated] half-title with full-page b/w illustration to its reverse,b/w vignette illustrated title page,a dedication, individual Pts separator pages,and 2pp blanks to rear. How do you start a zoo? To his own cost,but to our delight,Gerald Durrell has found the awkward,complicated and fantastically funny answers to this unusual question,and he offers them in these pages with his usual warm delight in the antics of animals and the oddities of men. Putting (as it were) the cart before the horse, Mr Durrell travelled to West Africa to assemble his stock of rare creatures,ranging from bushbabies and chimpanzees to tree-frogs and green mambas.The Fon of Bafut,his old friend (and ours too),proved once again a resourceful and convivial host,as Mr. Durrell caught and packed his curious luggage and came back to England.So far,so good. But a zoo cannot be kept in your luggage indefinitely,as Mr. Durrell found when he became involved in a protracted battle with the local council over possible sites.Meanwhile,maddening the neighbours,bringing the police,the zoo took up residence in a marquee in Mr Durrell's back garden,to be rescued at last by a happier ending than anyone,least of all Mr Durrell himself, could have imagined. Please contact seller,because of the weight/value of this item for correct, insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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