Bambi A Life In The Woods Foreword by John Galsworthy, Translated by Whittaker Chambers

New York: Simon & Schuster. NF/NF. July 1928. 1st American Edition. Hardcover; 1st Printing. 14, 20, 91. This is the 1st edition/1st printing of the trade edition, stating on the copyright page 'First Printing in America, July, 1928' and having the same 1928 date on title and copyright pages. Printed in English for the first time in both the U.S. and U.K. in 1928. Translated by Whittaker Chambers and with illustrations by Kurt Wiese. The book is bound in green cloth with gilt spine printing and a gilt deer on the front panel. The illustrations are B&W, except for the pastedown/end page illustrations which are in greens and browns. The book is straight, clean, tight and has no handwriting or soiling; there is just a very slight amount of shelf-bumping to the cloth of the spine ends, else fine. The well preserved near fine dustjacket is crisp, clean and bright, with the price and 4 flap corners having been clipped, very slight darkening to the spine, 1 tiny edge chip and a few tiny edge nicks to upper spine and flap fold ends. The dustjacket is probably from a later printing, perhaps acknowledging sales in the original German and by the advance subscriptions from the Book of the Month Club, as it has a '75th-85th Thousand' statement at the bottom front panel. Rare to find any dustjacket with this book, particularly one in this condition. Rather a complicated printing history, as stated by the Simon & Schuster pamphlet laid in (so most likely a review copy) issued by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster, stating that 'Bambi was first published in Berlin by S. Fischer in 1921. It sold less than 2,000 copies. In 1926 it was published again in Vienna by Paul Zsolnay. In two years it has sold over 20,000 copies in the new German edition.' The pamphlet also speaks of the then 2-year-old Book of the Month Club having subscribed before publication of the trade edition for 50,000 copies of Bambi for July (same month it was published in trade edition by Simon & Schuster). There is also an 'Inner Sanctum at Simon & Schuster' statement on the page following the last text page, stating that Simon & Schuster were so enthusiastic about Bambi that 'they'd ordered a first edition trade printing of 75,000 copies' (quite large for that time). Made into a Disney movie, beloved by all, in 1942. ; B&W Illustrations; 8-1/16" x 5-5/8"; 293 pages .