Unspun Socks From A Chicken's Laundry And Other Children's Verse
Bedtime Stories Picture Book British Humor Collectible First Edition Children's Poetry Absurdist Humor Illustrated Verse
First-edition hardcover copies of Spike Milligan’s 1981 picture-book treasure Unspun Socks from a Chicken’s Laundry and Other Children’s Verse rarely surface in collectible condition, so finding one with a bright, price-intact dust-jacket and clean, unmarked pages is a genuine event for fans of British comic genius. This vintage 64-page anthology gathers Milligan’s most gloriously silly rhymes—“On the Ning Nang Nong,” “The Land of the Bumbly Boo,” “Yesterday’s Lullaby for Tomatoes”—each illustrated in riotous full colour by the author himself. The marriage of his anarchic word-play and whimsical artwork makes the book feel like a lost Monty Python sketch aimed squarely at 9-12-year-olds, yet stuffed with the absurdist Easter eggs that adults quote at dinner parties.
What sets this copy apart is its provenance-friendly state: no ex-libris stamps, no inscriptions, no childish scribbles, and only the faintest shelf rub to the jacket edges—effectively as close to “fine” as 40-year-old paper allows. Because Milligan’s children’s back-list stayed in print for short runs, first impressions are scarce; most surviving copies are library discards or family hand-me-downs with torn leaves and crayon murals. Owning a tight, square, smoke-free example means you can gift or display it without apology and watch the value climb as Milligan’s centenary tributes reignite demand.
For collectors, this is the cornerstone volume of the “Unspun Socks” mini-series and the perfect gateway drug to Milligan’s wider world—once kids giggle at socks escaping chickens, they inevitably hunt down Silly Verse for Kids and The Bald Twit Lion, completing the set you wisely started here. Bedtime readers love its sturdy picture-book format: large pages survive repeat readings, and the self-contained poems let you dip in for two-minute giggles or read cover-to-cover under the covers with a torch. Whether you’re curating a vintage children’s shelf, hunting 1980s British firsts, or simply want the definitive copy of the poem that taught the world that “mud is mud but chocolate’s rude,” this edition delivers the full, unfiltered Milligan magic in its original, jacketed glory.
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