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THE STORY OF FERDINAND

THE STORY OF FERDINAND

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THE STORY OF FERDINAND

by Leaf, Munro

  • Used
Condition
Near fine in very good dust jacket.
Seller
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Silver Spring, Maryland, United States
Item Price
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About This Item

London: Hamish Hamilton, 1937. Near fine in very good dust jacket.. First English edition of the pacifist children's classic, banned in Franco's Spain at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War. The first collaboration of Lawson and Leaf, FERDINAND was a hit with children but caused controversy among adults: the story of the bull who would rather smell the flowers than fight with the other bulls was read politically in the context of the Spanish Civil War. Although he hadn't meant for the book to carry an ideological message, Leaf received angry letters claiming he was "deliberately corrupting children of an impressionable age" (quoted in Davis). A wonderful work, in which the beauty of nonconformity still reads as subversive. Quarto. 8'' x 6.75''. Original quarter tan cloth, red pictorial paper boards. In original price-clipped dust jacket. Yellow pictorial endpapers. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white line drawings by Lawson. [64] pages. Faint soiling to boards, some bumping to corners. Jacket with several closed tears, including a long closed tear on front panel near spine, many repaired with tape on verso, some chipping to spine ends and corners. Red of jacket entirely unfaded.

Synopsis

A true classic with a timeless message, The Story of Ferdinand has enchanted readers since it was first published in 1936. All the other bulls would run and jump and butt their heads together. But Ferdinand would rather sit and smell the flowers. So what will happen when our pacifist hero is picked for the bullfights in Madrid?  The first print run by Viking Press sold 14,000 copies at $1 each. The following year sales increased to 68,000, and by 1938 it was selling 3,000 copies a week - outselling Gone with the Wind (which had won the Pulitzer in 1937). The story is often seen as a political symbol, and was banned in many countries including Spain. Hitler ordered it to be burned in Germany, and after the Germans were defeated in WWII 30,000 copies were printed and handed out to German children as symbols of peace. -

Read More: Identifying first editions of THE STORY OF FERDINAND

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Details

Bookseller
Type Punch Matrix US (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #
15986
Title
THE STORY OF FERDINAND
Author
Leaf, Munro
Book Condition
Used - Near fine in very good dust jacket.
Quantity Available
1
Publisher
Hamish Hamilton
Place of Publication
London
Date Published
1937
Keywords
Banned,20th century,American,Picture Book

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About the Seller

Type Punch Matrix

Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Biblio member since 2020
Silver Spring, Maryland

About Type Punch Matrix

Type Punch Matrix is a rare book firm founded by Rebecca Romney and Brian Cassidy. TPM is a member firm of the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America and upholds their Code of Ethics.

Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

Spine
The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
Jacket
Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
Chipping
A defect in which small pieces are missing from the edges; fraying or small pieces of paper missing the edge of a paperback, or...
Cloth
"Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
Verso
The page bound on the left side of a book, opposite to the recto page.
Quarto
The term quarto is used to describe a page or book size. A printed sheet is made with four pages of text on each side, and the...
Fine
A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...

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