Antiquarian Auctions

Auction #114 begins on 11 Apr 2024

Joy Adamson

Forever Free ( SIGNED )

Elsa's Pride

Published: Collins and Harvills, London, 196

Edition: 1st

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London, Collins and Harvills Press, 1962. 1st Edition. 192 pages. Very good illustrated cloth covers in very good slightly chipped pictorial dust jacket. Contents fine. Pictorial endpapers. Numerous black and white and coloured ills. Signed on the title pages by Joy Adamson.

Joy Adamson is best known for her conservation efforts associated with Elsa the Lioness. In 1956, George Adamson, in the course of his job as game warden of the Northern Frontier District in Kenya, shot and killed a lioness as she charged him and another warden. George later realized the lioness was just protecting her cubs, which were found nearby in a rocky crevice. Taking them home, Joy and George found it difficult to care for all the cubs' needs. The two largest cubs, named "Big One" and "Lustica", were passed on to be cared for by a zoo in Rotterdam, and the smallest, "Elsa", was raised by the couple. 

Using her own notes and George's journals, Joy wrote Born Free to tell the lion's tale. She submitted it to a number of publishers before it was bought by Harvill Press, part of HarperCollins. Published in 1960, it became a bestseller, spending 13 weeks at the top of The New York Times Best Seller list and nearly a year on the chart overall. The success of the book was due to both the story of Elsa and the dozens of photographs of her. Readers had pictures of many of the events of Elsa's life leading up to her release. Subsequent books were also heavily illustrated. Born Free received largely favorable reviews from critics. Adamson worked closely with publishers to promote the book, which contributed to the Adamsons' new-found international celebrity. She spent the rest of her life raising money for wildlife, thanks to the popularity of Born Free. The book was followed by Living Free, which is about Elsa as a mother to her cubs, and Forever Free, which tells of the release of the cubs Jespah, Gopa and Little Elsa. Adamson shared book proceeds with various conservation projects.

  • Jacket Condition: Very Good
  • Binding Condition: Very Good
  • Overall Condition: Very Good
  • Size: 8 Vo
  • Sold By: White Eagle Books
  • Contact Person: Andrew Saidi
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Email: [email protected]
  • Telephone: 020 8997 9894
  • Preferred Payment Methods: Paypal
  • Trade Associations: PBFA IOBA


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