National Velvet - A Signed Presentation Copy of the USA 2nd Printing

Published by William Morrow, New York, April 1935. Hardcover. Second printing of the first US edition, issued in the same month as the first printing. Basis for the celebrated 1944 MGM film starring a young Elizabeth Taylor.

An extraordinary copy. At first glance rather scruffy — not the copy one would seek for condition alone. But never judge a book by its cover.

At the front endpaper, a most remarkable inscription in the hand of Edith Bagnold: “To Miss Busvine, from a querulous, bad-tempered but very grateful author — to a saint. Edith Bagnold, London, March 1936.” Below a small drawing of a horse at the foot of the page, Bagnold has signed a second time, as “Edith Jones” — her married name as wife of Sir Roderick Jones. The illustrations in the book have always been attributed to the author’s daughter, Laurian Jones, who was a child at the time of publication. This second signature raises the intriguing question of whether the mother herself had rather more of a hand in the artwork than has been credited. Fascinating provenance.

Condition: Fair. The book leans, worn at the extremities, corners bumped, edges somewhat grubby. Pink faded from the boards, small stains to the spine. Dustjacket absent. For admirers of the work and of the film, however, a wonderful and deeply personal copy.