THE ADVENTURES OF BARON MUNCHAUSEN - illus by Ronald Searle.

UK,Qrto wraps,p/back,1st edn thus.[Paperback 1st edn thus denotes that issues/edn's first format and appearance in print of the book/title. Paperbacks usually follow on from the HB edn,but can be published at the same time as the HB edn.This edn is an amalgamation of 2 previous, earlier issues.] FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price removal to rear cover.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy,b/w artwork illustration,by Ronald Searle, illustrated front cover with purple+black lettering,rear cover also illustrated by Searle and with black lettering; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present - and no reading creases to spine/backstrip.A small closed nick to lower edge of front cover and some minimal oblique crinkling/crease to top front corner; two accidental oblique creases - one each to both top+lower corners of rear cover.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; 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.UK,slim Qrto wraps,s/back original,1st edn thus,ix-xxxiipp+1- 143pp [paginated] includes John Carswell introduction,a preface to the first edition,an advertisement to the second edition,subject's note to the public,4 sections/chapters covering Munchausen's singular travels,other campaigns,adventures and travel,the early/earlier editions of his Travels,profuse full,part and double page b/w art illustration by Ronald Searle throughout the text and the book and a 15pp bibliography.Plus half-title,publisher's advert (other/similar classics in the series) with a b/w Searle illustrated frntis to its reverse,a title page and contents list/ table. For this edition the text used is part of the edition of 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' published by the Cresset Press in 1948,edited and with an introduction by John Carswell.The introduction included in this volume is an edited version and is included with the permission of Century Hutchison Ltd.The illustrations by Roanld Searle were first published in Great Britain in an edition of 'The Adventures of Baron Munchausen' by HARRAP in 1985,and in the USA by Pantheon Books, New York. Baron Munchausen,King of Lies,is one of the immortal figures in the world of comic fantasy.This preposterous saga,first published in 1785, which became a bestseller in English and German in many versions,is now published in paperback in the original English version,accompanied by Ronald Searle's splendid and spirited wash drawings.John Carswell has rescued the text from the many corruptions that have dogged it,and written a fascinating introductory account of Raspe's own extraordinary life and the book's bizarre history.The result is a restoration of the genuine Munchausen that has captured the imagination of generations of readers in many lands for over two centuries. Want more Ronald SEARLE titles? Please search my MODERN FIRSTS, MODERN FIRSTS2,BIOGRAPHY and CHILDRENS/ILLUSTRATED catalogues for other and similar titles. Ronald William Fordham Searle (b. March 3,1920 - d. Dec 30, 2011.) Works as Ronald Searle.Born in Cambridge.Studied at Cambridge School of Art (1936-39).Served in the Army during WW2 and was interned in Japanese PoW camps in Siam and Malaysia for three and a half years.On his release in 1945,he returned to England with over 300 drawings,many of which were published in 'To the Kwai and Back'.He settled in London and began working as a humorous illustrator and caricaturist for books and magazines,including 'Punch' and 'Lilliput'.In 1959,at the invitation of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees,he visited camps in Austria,Italy and Greece,and published a book illustrating his impressions.The following year,1961,he moved to Paris and later married Monica Koenig,settling in France,where he lived until his death.Since 1975 they both lived and worked in the mountains of Haute Provence.In 2007 he was decorated with France's highest award,the Legion d'Honneur,and in 2009 he received the German Order of Merit. Searle has illustrated over 60 books. 'Hurrah for St. Trinian's!' (1948) was among the first of many giving a mock-horrific view of private schools and their denizens; in these and many of his other books,the predominant mood of effervescent humour is offset by sinister or macabre overtones.He early developed a fanciful and strikingly individual graphic manner,subjecting the human form to grotesque distortions (bristling brows,hunched shoulders,matchstick legs and stiletto feet) and by the mid 1950s had become virtually a household name in Britain.He succeeds both at character-invention (favouring a number of well-defined types) and at caricature.He is also a painter in watercolour and gouache,etcher and lithographer and has worked on several films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). Since April 2013,again in March 2015,and in this year too,the UK Post Office has altered it's Pricing in Proportion template,altering it's prices, weight allowances,dimensions and lowered it's qualifying compensation rates too!
So,please contact rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,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!