Quite Wild Animals
London: William Heinemann Ltd., 1923.
First Edition. Hardcover.
First Edition. Quite scarce! Ink notation on first free endpaper. Richard Macy Noyes – from Miss Sylvia Beach, Paris 1923. Richard Macy Noyes (1919-1997) was a renowned physical chemist and a professor at the University of Oregon from 1959-1984. He was a child of four when this book was said to have been presented to him in Paris. Perhaps it inspired his interest in science!
Charming children’s book with 15 imaginary characters pictured and described - written and illustrated by the author of biographies of Anthony Trollope, Elizabeth Chudleigh & Queen Anne and published when she was only 22 years old.
A general rundown of the quite wild animals here contained:
Growp – cannot taste and is very likely to eat his visitors. He claims to be lonely but the author thinks he’s really just hungry.
Doolyboo – everybody loves her because she is well-mannered & accommodating – “whene’er she drinks from glass or cup, She puts her little finger up.”
Bawgum – is so chubby that his doctor advised him to eat only tadpoles for 3 months, but within 3 days there were no more tadpoles so he had to go back to his former diet.
Queek – is so lazy that he built himself a house, but never managed to go inside.
Gorrible – each foot weighs as much as an omnibus with three people inside so it is a terrible effort for him to walk.
Bolla – ate too much rich food at a birthday party and from then on ate only feathers – and is liable to blow away in any gust of wind.
Golophos – has a giant neck and head and had to remove one wall of his house to fit inside. He is so proud that he feels certain that all will enjoy being able to witness his every move.
Squilly-wiggle - tried to make up for his lack of dignity by putting a hyphen in the middle of his name which the other animals think to be quite conceited of him.
Sloot – wasn’t supposed to be in this book but his appearance made it so hard to tell if he was coming or going that the author made the mistake of thinking that he was going.
Blumpleby – an old and ill-mannered beast who hung pictures on the walls of his hut that he claims to be of himself as an attractive young beast. Most people don’t believe him
Skoonk – whose voice is so shrill and squeaky that it irritates the rest of the animals, so he writes newsy letters on his typewriter and uses a blackboard when he throws a party.
Pufftuffin – is a warm and soft animal that people land on in the cold. He charges for this service in the winter but is so kindly that he provides the service to children at half price.
Skutch – is very tall and balances on one foot. His great ambition is to be a coat-of-arms when he grows up.
Spinicum – was very popular at parties because he had two tails, until he lost one….
Shimmyhonk – a vain and dainty lady who is the only animal that knows how to play a musical instrument and bores her companions and students with her picture postcard collection.
Item #9015076-3/4 x 8-1/2", quarter black cloth, illustrated yellow paper over boards, 15 illustrations.
Soiling and edge-wear to paper over boards, hinge cracked at copyright/dedication page, general soiling to leaves, fair to good.
Price: $100.00