The Story of Ferdinand.

LEAF, Munro; Illustrated By Robert Lawson.

Item Number: 1643

New York: Viking, 1936.

First edition. Octavo, original half tan cloth. Warmly inscribed by Munro Leaf with three small drawings, one of a bull. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket that shows some of the usual fading to the spine and a small chip to the front panel. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. One of the most sought after children’s book of the twentieth century, particularly scarce in this condition and signed.

"This is perhaps one of the finest 20th-century examples of the inspired wedding of a text and illustrations to make a children’s book that as a whole is even greater than the sum of its parts-which are in themselves very fine indeed. The simple, delightful Leaf story about a Spanish bull who prefers the fragrance of flowers to the roar of the bull-ring is lovingly illustrated by Robert Lawson. The overworked word ‘classic’ is well deserved here. Children have adored The Story of Ferdinand ever since the book was published" (Early Children’s Books and Their Illustrations).