The Adventures of Sir Paladin: He goes a-giant-killing
by Smith, Thayer
- Used
- very good
- Condition
- Very Good
- Seller
-
New York, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Half Calf. Very Good. A gory original monster epic with exceptional, and graphic, artwork deemed to shocking for children at the time! Oblong, 24 by 33.5 cm. Unpaginated, 48 pp. With mounted artwork on 23 of those pages, 22 of which are pen and ink work, and one, a watercolor. The story can be viewed as a broad, but adulatory, parody of Malory, Tennyson and all the epic literature of chivalrous knights going out to slay the foe. Here the story is told in a matter-of-fact, pared down prose style, until the end when the point of the tale is imparted in a poem. The entertainment value of the manuscript resides decidedly in the tightly drawn, deliciously gruesome illustrations. We see limbs lopped off, squirting blood, human carcasses hung on meat hooks, and all kinds of repugnant imagery that was as sure to produce a belly laugh as shock the children to whom the tale was dedicated. We know the identity of the author artist of this manuscript children's tale from notes written in the front, which we accept as true. There it is also stated that Thayer Smith was the godfather to the Hills Family of High Head Castle, Cumberland, in England -- the castle was destroyed by fire in the 1950s. One of the children for whom this story was prepared, John Waller Hills (1867-1938) was a British Liberal MP from 1906 until his death and was due to be conferred a baronetcy but died prior. Rebacked. Scuffs and rubbing to binding corners, and light soiling to the pebbled cloth. A few leaves with soiled margins, and moderate general wear, including a few minor closed tears, crease lines, etc.
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Details
- Bookseller
- White Fox Rare Books and Antiques (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 004227
- Title
- The Adventures of Sir Paladin
- Author
- Smith, Thayer
- Format/Binding
- Half Calf
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
Terms of Sale
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
30 day return guarantee, with full refund including shipping costs for up to 30 days after delivery if an item arrives misdescribed or damaged.
About the Seller
White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
Biblio member since 2010
New York, New York
About White Fox Rare Books and Antiques
By appointment. Antiquarian and rare books with strengths in illustrated plate books, the decorative arts, costume, sporting, foreign language literature (in the original language), with growing emphasis on early printing.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Calf
- Calf or calf hide is a common form of leather binding. Calf binding is naturally a light brown but there are ways to treat the...
- Rebacked
- having had the material covering the spine replaced. ...
- Soiled
- Generally refers to minor discoloration or staining.
- Rubbing
- Abrasion or wear to the surface. Usually used in reference to a book's boards or dust-jacket.
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Leaves
- Very generally, "leaves" refers to the pages of a book, as in the common phrase, "loose-leaf pages." A leaf is a single sheet...
- Pebbled
- Pebbled cloth or leather describes the covering of a hardcover book with a decorative texture of repeated small raised bumps,...