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Lord Dunsany (Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett) | First Editions
1878 - 1957
Edward John Moreton Drax Plunkett, 18th Baron of Dunsany (24 July 1878 – 25 October 1957) was an Irish writer and dramatist, notable for his work, mostly in fantasy, published under the name Lord Dunsany. More than eighty books of his work were published, and his oeuvre includes many hundreds of published short stories, as well as successful plays, novels and essays. He is best known for his 1924 fantasy novel The King of Elfland's Daughter.
Dunsany was a prolific writer, penning short stories, novels, plays, poetry, essays and autobiography, and publishing over sixty books, not including individual plays. He began his authorial career in the late 1890s, with a few published verses, such as "Rhymes from a Suburb" and "The Spirit of the Bog", but he made a lasting impression in 1905 when he burst onto the publishing scene with the well-received collection The Gods of Pegāna. Dunsany's most notable fantasy short stories were published in collections from 1905 to 1919. He paid for the publication of the first such collection, The Gods of Pegāna, earning a commission on sales. This he never again had to do, as the vast majority of his extensive writings sold after this point. Most of Dunsany's plays were performed during his lifetime, some of them many times in many locations, including the West End, Broadway and Off-Broadway. At one time, five ran simultaneously in New York, possibly all on Broadway, while on another occasion, he was in performance in four European capitals plus New York.
See below our stock of Lord Dunsany First Editions, fine bindings, sets and other collectible material.
Results 1 - 17 (of 17)
The Fourth Book of Jorkens.
London: Jarrolds, 1947. [Fantasy Short Stories] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.176. Publisher's light blue cloth, lettered in black to spine, illustrated dust-jacket. Spotting to textblock edges, some bumping to boards and rolling to spine, dust-jacket price clipped to front flap, rubbing to jacket spine, tearing to..... More
Guerrilla.
London, Toronto: William Heinemann Ltd, 1944. [Modern literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[4] 175 [1]. Publisher's blue cloth, white titles to upper board and spine. With the typographic dust-jacket priced at 8s 6d to front flap. Tan endpapers. Lightly toned throughout, some spotting here and there, mostly to..... More
If I Were Dictator: The Pronouncements of the Grand Macaroni.
London: Methuen and Co. Ltd., 1934. [Political Satire] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (19 x 12cm), pp.[4] 107 [1]. Publisher's tan cloth with black titles and decoration to spine and upper. Small blue ink ownership to fly-leaf, dated 1941. Gently toned, with a touch of light spotting, otherwise internally clean..... More
Jorkens Remembers Africa.
New York, NY: Longmans Green, 1934. [Short stories] FIRST US EDITION, first impression. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[2]; vii; [3]; 303; [5]. Publisher's black cloth with a cream title label to spine lettered in green, illustrated dust-jacket designed by Allen Lewis, with printed price $2.50 to front flap. Internally clean..... More
The Little Tales of Smethers. And Other Stories.
London: Jarrolds, 1952. [Modern Literature] FIRST EDITION, first impression, second state green cloth binding. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.232. Publisher's green cloth lettered in black to spine, illustrated dust jacket with printed price of 6/- to front flap. Toning to text-block with some spotting along top edge, slight rolling to..... More
The Man Who Ate the Phoenix.
London: Jarrolds, 1949. [Short stories] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.223; [1]. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine, pictorial dust-jacket with printed price of 9s. 6d. to front flap. Slight toning and spotting to textblock, otherwise internally clean. Minor edgewear. Very good. 'The Man Who..... More
My Talks With Dean Spanley.
London, Toronto: William Heinemann Ltd., 1936. [Fantasy] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.vi; 137 [1]. With a halftone frontispiece illustration by S.H. Sime. Publisher's dark green cloth, gilt titles to spine. Heinemann imprint in blind to lower board. Green endpapers. Gentle spotting to first few leaves, page..... More
Plays of Gods and Men.
Boston: John W. Luce and Company, 1917. [Drama] SIGNED FIRST U.S. EDITION, ex libris the San Francisco College for Women. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.207 [1]. SIGNED by the author in black ink to front pastedown. Publisher's black cloth over spine, red card covering boards. Gilt titles to upper board..... More
Plays of Near and Far.
London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1922. [Drama] LIMITED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[12] 150 [4]. Publisher's caramel cloth lettered in gilt to spine and upper board. Machine-marbled endpapers, fore and bottom edges untrimmed. Previous owner's inscription in black ink to flyleaf verso, toning to edges of textblock, toning to..... More
Plays of Near and Far.
New York and London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1923. [Drama] FIRST U.S. EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.[2] vii [1] 245 [5]. Publisher's red spine, typographic card covering boards and spine. With the dust-jacket of matching design. Fore-edge untrimmed. Gentle spotting throughout text, otherwise internally clean. Ownership signature in blue ink..... More
The Strange Journeys of Colonel Polders.
London: Jarrolds Publishers Ltd., 1950. [Fantasy] FIRST EDITION, first impression, second issue cloth. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.208. Publisher's green cloth with black titles to spine, typographic dust-jacket. Dust-jacket clipped and repriced by the publisher at 6/- net. An offset mark from a bookmark to title page, otherwise internally crisp..... More
Unhappy Far-Off Things.
London: Elkin Mathews, 1919. [Essays] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm), pp.xi; 83 [1]. Publisher's grey cloth to spine, grey paper over boards. Black titles to upper board and spine. Edges untrimmed. Lightly spotted throughout, heaviest to endpapers. Small previous ownership inscriptions in black ink to front blanks, dated 1924..... More
Wandering Songs.
London, New York, Melbourne: Hutchinson and Co., 1943. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.87 [1]. Publisher's red card, white titles to upper board and spine. With the typographic dust-jacket. Some faint internal spotting. Light edgewear to card, some minor loss to top of spine. Jacket price clipped. Rubbing..... More
Green and Gold.
London: Allan Wingate, 1948. [Irish Memoirs] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.272. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Philip Gough, priced at 10/6. Blue ink gift inscription to fly-leaf, dated May 1948. Moderately toned throughout, otherwise internally clean. Jacket moderately..... More
Songs of Peace.
London: Herbert Jenkins Limited, 1917. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.110 [2]. Publisher's green cloth with navy blue titles and ruling to upper and spine. Spotting to edges, endpapers, and facing leaves, otherwise internally clean. Light general wear to cloth. Very good. Corporal Francis Ledwidge published..... More
The Queen's Awards. Series 6.
London: Gollancz, 1953. [Crime fiction collection] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's red clothwith black titles to spine, typographical dust-jacket with printed price 10/6 to flap. Contents clean, owner bookplate beneath flap, light spotting to edges, some minor rubs and marks to covers and jacket, which is a...... More
The Wizards of Odd. Comic Tales of Fantasy.
London: Souvenir Press, 1996. [Fantasy Satire Anthology] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.300 [2]. INSCRIBED by Terry Pratchett to the half-title in black ink: 'To Lindsay | odder wishes.' Additionally SIGNED by the jacket artist Josh Kirby, in blue ink to half title. Publisher's red cloth..... More
Results 1 - 17 (of 17)