Roald Dahl / Walt Disney - The Gremlins- First British Edition - 1944

Rare first edition of the first British edition of 'The Gremlins', the very first book by the renowned master storyteller Roald Dahl. The book was first published in the US in 1943 and a year later in the United Kingdom. Disney historian Leonard Maltin described the book in 2006 as 'a milestone' and a 'charming book'. This is an original copy from 1944 with a name inside.

The book was written as a promotional tool for a Disney feature film that was never produced, partly because the studio could not secure copyright on the 'gremlin' characters (Dahl claimed to have created them, although they had been common within the RAF and had appeared in print at least once before), and partly because the British Ministry of Aviation wanted final approval for the script and production. Ultimately, it was agreed that the royalties from the book would be divided between the RAF Benevolent Fund and Dahl.

The book is described on the title and the cover as 'From the Walt Disney Production'; Disney studio wrote Dahl in August 1943, after the American publication, that they had canceled all further production activities related to the book.