The Talking Parcel – Gerald Durrell – 1974 First Edition / First Impression
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The Talking Parcel Gerald Durrell 1974 First Edition / First Impression Collins Original Liza James Dust Jacket
An increasingly difficult edition to find in South Africa with its original illustrated dust jacket still present.
Publisher: William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd., London
Publication year: 1974
Edition: First Edition / First Impression
Printed: Great Britain
ISBN: 0-00-184828-3
Pages: 190
Genre: Children's Fantasy / Classic Children's Literature
Dust-jacket design: Liza James
Vintage hardcover with original illustrated dust jacket unrestored and sold as is. Features a handwritten gift inscription in ink on the front endpaper (To Britt with love from Shavaun) and minor pencil notations at the top corner. See Photos.
Pale blue hardcover binding with gold lettering. There is a slight smudge/mark to the upper corner and light bumping/bending to the top and bottom of the spine consistent with age and use. The page edges show-age related foxing, generally clean clear and readable.
Dust Jacket: retaining its wonderfully vibrant and distinctive fantasy artwork. The jacket shows age-related wear, particularly scuffing along the upper and lower edges, with small tears in two areas. Please refer carefully to photographs for the exact condition.
The book has not been restored or repaired. L:21.5cm; Width 14cm: Height 2cm; Weight 0,354 Pages: 190
A particularly collectible copy of Gerald Durrell's classic children's fantasy, The Talking Parcel, in its original 1974 Collins first edition, complete with the colourful Liza James dust jacket.
Durrell dedicated the book to his goddaughter, Deirdre Alexandra Platt, opening with a playful letter from her "loving Godfather, Gerry" that deliberately blurs the boundary between real animals, folklore and fantasy.
Gerald Durrell is best known for his writing about animals and the natural world, including My Family and Other Animals, but The Talking Parcel shows another side of his imagination: a humorous fantasy adventure written specifically for younger readers.