1928 Rare First Edition - BAMBI a Life in the Woods by Felix Salten, Illustrated
Author: Felix Salten.
Title: Bambi. A Life in the Woods. Foreword by John Galsworthy.
Publisher: New York, Simon and Schuster, 1928. First edition in English, first printing (July 1928).
Language: Text in English (translated from the German by Whittaker Chambers).
Size: 8.25" x 5.5".
Pages: 293 pages + publisher's add.
Binding: Near fine original publisher's green cloth binding, with gilt-stamped spine and a gilt deer vignette on the upper board (hinges fine - as shown) under a protective removable mylar cover.
Content: Internally near fine, save for a discreet paper clip mark and mild toning on the first page —likely from an old note or clipping long since removed.
Illustrations: Complete with lovely pictorial green and brown forest-themed endpapers and charming black-and-white vignette illustrations throughout.
The book: A rare and important First American Edition of Bambi. A Life in the Woods (1928), published the same year as the original German edition (Bambi: Eine Lebensgeschichte aus dem Walde) and translated by Whittaker Chambers. This edition introduced English-speaking readers to one of the most enduring animal stories ever written. Felix Salten’s delicate yet profound portrayal of a young deer’s coming of age in the forest is imbued with empathy, ecological insight, and an elegiac tone that resonated well beyond children's literature. The foreword by Nobel Prize laureate John Galsworthy praises its literary merit and emotional depth, calling it “a little masterpiece.”
The author: Felix Salten (1869–1945) was an Austrian author and critic best remembered for Bambi. Born Siegmund Salzmann, he was part of Vienna’s vibrant intellectual and literary circles. His life and career were disrupted by the rise of Nazism, prompting his emigration to Switzerland. While Disney’s adaptation would catapult Bambi to global fame, Salten’s original text remains a powerful and nuanced reflection on nature, survival, and human encroachment.