Brooks, Walter R.

The Clockwork Twin

New York, NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1937. First Edition. Hardcover. "For romping humor no characters could outdo Mr. Brooks's talking animals. They rollic through amazing adventures. They talk, dance, sing, joke, and work out intricate problems. In this story a clockwork double for the hero is rigged up by an old farmer. A comedy of errors follows. Many of the same animal characters which have appeared in Mr. Brooks's earlier books reappear here." (front flap) The classic children's novel by Walter R(ollin) Brooks (1886-1958), the beloved American author who was the creator of Freddy the Pig & other anthropomorphic farm animals including Mister Ed the talking horse (later the subject of the television show, a childhood memory of this writer). In this especially popular story, the young hero Adoniram R. Smith is gifted with the robot-twin of the title by old farmer Mr. Bean, & Freddy & the other famous animals join the twins on many misadventures. Beyond its status as a children's favorite, this & Brooks' other novels have become recognized as prescient precursors to George Orwell's Animal Farm & the works of Robert A. Heinlein & other great science fiction authors. With charming illustrations by Kurt Wiese (1887-1974), the acclaimed German-American artist, across paste-downs & endpapers, frontispiece & throughout; as well as at front cover, jacket covers & spine. Hardcover in unclipped first-issue dust jacket (with $2.00 price printed on front flap), first edition as stated on copyright page. A primary Brooks collectible, in its increasingly rarest original form. Book in relatively quite fine condition with very mild rubbing, fading & a few small bump-blisters to orange cloth front, back covers & spine (blue lettering, illustration & graphics thereon all bright & completely intact); mild wear at edges & corners of same incl. loss of orange color esp. at upper spine-edge & corners; light rubbing & browning to side & lower edges of text block; light rubbing, scratching & moderate fading to yellow-dyed upper edge of same. Interior very fine with only moderate browning of paste-downs & endpapers; very light browning mostly to blank margins/edges of page leaves; tiny bumps at corners of a few of same. Dust jacket (again relatively) near-fine with moderate-to-medium rubbing, fading, scratching, spotting & spot-staining to front, back covers, spine & flaps; mild-to-moderate wear & some tiny bumps, creases at edges & corners of same; some shallow chipping with slight loss of paper or surface paper esp. at upper spine-edge & corners. Fine / Near Fine. [Item #5399]

Price: $250.00