Kipling Rudyard

1895 · rif. 7926 — London: Macmillan and Co 1895. First editions. Very Good Near Fine. A handsome set. Publisher's blue cloth bindings stamped in gilt. All edges gilt. Dark green endpapers. Slight wear to the spine ends and corners of The Jungle Book a little foxing internally otherwise very clean and fresh throughout. A Very Good copy. The Second Jungle Book presenting very well indeed front hinge a little tender bookeller's ticket to foot of front free endpaper verso. A Near Fine copy overall. Both volumes illustrated throughout with contributions by J. L. Kipling W. H. Drake and P. Frenzeny in The Jungle Book; the author's father Lockwood Kipling C.I.E. illustrated The Second Jungle Book. This set contained in a custom blue cloth slipcase. Few books have shaped the imagination of childhood quite like Kipling's Jungle Books. First published in 1894 and 1895 these two volumes introduced the world to Mowgli Baloo Bagheera Kaa and Shere Khan. The timeless stories blended fable folklore and imperial adventure into one of the most enduring classics of English literature. The Jungle Book 1894 includes the first appearance of "Mowgli's Brothers" "Kaa's Hunting" and "Tiger! Tiger!" alongside such favorites as "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi." The Second Jungle Book 1895 continued the talesdeepening the Mowgli cycle and adding enduring pieces like "The King's Ankus" and "Red Dog." Together the two books form the complete Mowgli canon. First edition sets in original cloth are increasingly scarce especially when both volumes present well. These are the foundational works of Kipling's career - the stories that earned him the Nobel Prize in Literature 1907 and secured his place in the canon of English storytelling. Based on folktales and legends that Kipling learned during his childhood in India the Jungle Books were met with huge success upon publication and continue to enthrall readers of all ages to this day. According to Professor Edwin L. Miller their publication "caused even severe critics of Kipling's previous work to admit that he is a writer of inspired genius." Largely focused on man's relationship to nature the Jungle Books in part narrate the tales of Mowgli a human "man-cub" raised by wolves as he tries to find his proper place in the world. As he struggles with his own identity he finds allies and adversaries among the animal communities through which he travels. They also include the story of Rikki-Tikki-Tavi the heroic mongoose who would later inspire an animated short voiced by Orson Welles. For contributions like these Kipling became the first English-language writer and the youngest ever to receive the Nobel Prize for Literature. Very Good Near Fine. Macmillan and Co unknown books