Richmal Crompton | William Does his Bit, 1941, first edition, presentation copy inscribed

Richmal Crompton

William does his bit. London: George Newnes, 1941

8vo (184 x 115mm.), FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY SIGNED BY RICHMAL CROMPTON TO HER NEPHEW THOMAS DISHER, THE "REAL WILLIAM" ("T.G.L.Disher | with best wishes from | the author | Richmal Crompton | May 1941"), annotations by Richmal Crompton, illustrations by Thomas Henry, original cloth, pictorial dust jacket, preserved in wooden box, spotted, binding rubbed, jacket chipped with some loss

Thomas Disher was the nephew of Richmal Crompton, son of her sister Gwen and brother to Margaret Disher. "The original of "William", scrubby, tousle-haired, inky-fingered little schoolboy immortalised by Richmal Crompton ... is now a twenty-three-years-old bank clerk ... he is Miss Richmal Crompton's nephew." 

This is one of the rarest William titles: only 1,336 copies were printed due to wartime rationing.

The annotations by Richmal Crompton are on pp. 35, 81 and 141 and comprise mostly printer's mistakes initialled by Crompton.

Included in this lot is a copy of Margaret Disher's book, Growing Up with Just William by his Sister Margaret Disher.

LITERATURE:

Lofts and Adley 23; Margaret Disher, Growing up with Just William, by his Sister, p.vii

PROVENANCE:

Thomas Disher, thence by descent through his sister Margaret Disher