Woodmyth and Fable by Ernest Thompson Seton / [Richard Adams] - 1905

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1905. 1st Edition . Very Good. 5.25 x 8.25 inches (13 x 21 cm). Red cloth bindings, small mark to front board, spine faded, small bump to head of spine. Light foxing to page edges and endpapers, a couple of light marks to text. Binding slightly strained in a couple of plates, but securely bound. From the private library of Richard Adams, author of Watership Down, with his attractive bookplate to front pastedown endpaper. Adams was a great admirer of Ernest Thompson Seton and was clearly influenced by his writings, as he explained in his essay 'Some Ingredients of Watership Down': 'I derived a lot of help and comfort from books of Ernest Thompson Seton. He didn't dodge danger, fear, bloodshed and death. Just the contrary - on the straightforward, physical level he laid it on with a trowel. He simply gave it to you perfectly straight. Raggylug and the snake, Molly Cottontail going through the ice, Hekla and the Silver Fox drifting down to death on the ice floes, the nest-building sparrow who accidently hanged himself in a length of horsehair, the murder... of Krag, the Kootenay Ram - I have never forgotten these and similar incidents in Seton. If the physical truth is cruel and terrible, be a man and say so... and you may help your reader more than you know. This idea underlies the crushed hedgehog on the road in Watership Down, Bigwig in the snare and the gassing of the Sandleford warren recounted by Holly.' An excellent association copy. Overall condition is Very Good. International postage will be less than the stated rate. Actual costs are Europe £11.60; Oceania £15.80; Rest of World £15.15. A postage refund will be made after the order has been placed. Size: 5.25 x 8.25 inches (13 x 21 cm). Hardback