With a penned sketch by Morris to the title page

Hughes, Ted & Morris, Jackie [Illus.] ~ How the Whale Became and Other Stories : Signed And Doodled By The Illustrator

First UK Printing Of The Illustrated Edition : Faber and Faber, London : 2000

The First UK Printing of the Illustrated Edition published by Faber and Faber, London in 2000. Small folio., publisher's laminated boards decorated with a wonderful wraparound design of the animals pulling the whale towards the ocean; together in the matching unclipped wrapper (£17.99 to front flap); illustrated throughout in full colour by Morris, who also provides the beautiful landscape endpapers; The BOOK is in fine condition ; The WRAPPER is complete and is in very Near fine condition, with just a couple of very light creases. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First UK illustrated edition featuring a series of watercolour paintings by Jackie Morris. This copy signed 'with love Jackie Morris' to the title, above a small penned sketch showing a watering can and the tail of a whale alongside a series of flying carrots. Hughes had originally penned these creation stories while he was on holiday in Spain shortly after he married Sylvia Plath, but they were not published in an unillustrated edition until 1963, after the birth of their second child. A series of fables which take as their focus the creation of animals, the text here has been reissued with illustrations provided by Jackie Morris. A previous owner has written some provenance notes in pencil to the half title, which explain how the book was signed at the Edinburgh Festival in 2014, and that Jackie Morris had informed them the cottage drawn to the title page belonged to a friend, the cockerel was hers and that the tortoise on page 58 was drawn after a family pet, whose name was 'Shelley'. A lovely copy with these attributes.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Fine
JACKET: Near Fine