[SMITH, E. A. WYKE]. The Marvellous Land of Snergs. London: Ernest Benn Limited, 1927.
First UK edition. Cloth-bound. Hardcover. Large octavo (21.5cm x 17cm x 3.5cm). Pp. viii, 220. English text, with illustrations by George Morrow. Bound in publisher's original quarter cloth. Initial and terminal blanks plus half-title present. Many wonderful illustrations throughout. Condition: GOOD to VERY GOOD. Binding tight and secure. Slight fading to boards. Interior very well-preserved. Without previous ownership markings.
Notes: Incredibly scarce first edition. The final book written by Wyke Smith, this tale is set on a far off island inhabited by the helpful Snergs, and is credited as a major influence on Tolkien's race of Hobbits. In a letter to W. H. Auden from 1955, Tolkien wrote: "Not any better I think than The Marvellous Land of Snergs, Wyke-Smith, Ernest Benn 1927. Seeing the date, I should say it was probably an unconscious source-book! for the Hobbits, not of anything else." Illustrated throughout by Punch cartoonist, George Morrow.
