Dahl, Roald (1916-1990)
Collection of letters and ephemera ex libris Jonathan Cape art director Ian Craig
Estimate: £600 - £800
Auction: 18 June 2025 from 10:00 BST
Description
Two typed letters signed from Roald Dahl to Ian Craig, 6 & 14 March 1989, the first enclosing new versions of ‘The Dentist and the Crocodile’ (published in Rhyme Stew and ‘the dirty vicar’ (presumably The Vicar of Nibbleswicke), stapled at corner to a photocopy of a related letter from Dahl to Quentin Blake ('Dear Quent, First the dirty vicar. You were right. He was a pederast. This is a crime and it was my mistake …'), and a covering note by Craig or a colleague, the second letter informing Craig of Dahl's absence in Australia, annotated in pencil with a forwarding address in Sydney;
Felicity ‘Liccy’ Dahl (1938-), Typed letter signed to Ian Craig, January 1991, on Dahl's death, legacy and character;
Proof copies of Dirty Beasts (4to, original boards) and Esio Trot (8vo, original wrappers, dust jacket), 1984-90;
Printed invitation to Roald Dahl's 70th birthday, 1986;
Peter Mayer, ‘A Tribute to Roald Dahl’ [printed copy of the eulogy delivered at Dahl's funeral], 29 November 1990, 8vo, 11 pp., original wrappers;
Sketched design for the rear cover of Esio Trot (inscribed at head 'Ian - some sort of arrangement like this for the back?), 42 x 29.5cm
Provenance
Estate of the late Ian Craig.
Footnote
Ian Craig (1944-2023) was Jonathan Cape's art director from 1973 to 1989, overseeing the production of the final published works by Roald Dahl and becoming highly valued by artists and authors including Ralph Steadman. Steadman insisted that Craig continue to work on his books (which continued to be published by Cape) in an independent capacity after Craig's departure for rival publisher HarperCollins, where in 1992 Craig was assigned to work with The Tiger Who Came to Tea author Judith Kerr, initiating a celebrated collaboration between the two which lasted until her death in 2019.