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131 MILTON, John. Lycidas. Paris: Jack Kahane at the Obelisk Press, 1933 PUBLISHER’S PRESENTATION COPY First Obelisk Press edition, presentation copy, printed with the recipient’s name Harry A. Woodruff on the limitation page, and accompanied by a presentation card inscribed by the publisher to Woodruff and loosely inserted: “Please accept this small edition of one of the finest pieces of English, done to please myself. Jack Kahane”. Harry Adsit Woodruff (1903–1952) was a business student of the École des Roches and the Ecole des Sciences Politique in Paris around the time of publication. In 1941, he “served as vice consul in Tunisia under Robert D. Murphy. He took an active part in preparing the American landings in North Africa. For his liaison work between the French and Americans he received the Medal for Merit, the French Croix de Guerre and the Legion of Honor” ( New York Times ). The limitation declares that the edition consists solely of 25 copies, each reserved for the publisher’s presentation and printed with the name of the intended recipient. However, Neal Pearson notes the existence of some copies printed “hors de commerce”; he explains that, “whether these copies are part of the declared print run of 25, and Kahane simply ran out of dedicatees, or whether there were 25
personally dedicated copies as well as an additional number of hors de commerce copies, is unknown”. Jack Kahane’s son Maurice Girodias rebranded the Obelisk Press as the Olympia Press in 1953, and published Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita (1955); the Obelisk and Olympia Presses also published Henry Miller. Octavo, pp. 12. Original cream wrappers, front cover lettered in red and black, edges untrimmed. Housed in the original blue marbled slipcase and chemise. Front wrapper, title page and running titles printed in red and black. A few light marks to wrappers and pastedowns, contents fresh. A very good copy indeed, the slipcase chemise sunned with slight rubbing and wear to edges, small tear to head of slipcase. ¶ Pearson A24. “Former Diplomat is a Suicide Here”, New York Times , 13 January 1952. £1,750 [153053]
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Octavo. Uncut in the original boards, printed paper label. Complete with the full list of subscribers, the terminal subscriber’s leaf added later and not always present. Early ownership signature of one William Johnston to front free endpaper. A fresh example in the original boards, joints and inner hinges intact, with only light rubbing, gentle toning to contents yet unmarked. An excellent copy. ¶ ESTC T116481. £1,000 [151563] 130 MILNE, A. A. Now We Are Six. London: First edition, deluxe issue. Now We Are Six was printed in an edition of 50,000 copies, of which 5,000 were bound in leather by the Ship Binding Company: 1,500 in blue, 1,500 in green, and 2,000 in the present red. Octavo. Publisher’s deluxe red sheep, lettering to spine in gilt, vignette to front cover in gilt, pink pictorial endpapers, gilt edges. Housed in a custom red cloth chemise and red morocco slipcase. Illustrated throughout by E. H. Shepard. Minor foxing to endpapers; a fine copy. Minor fading to slipcase and loss to chemise ribbon. ¶ John R. Payne, “Four Children’s Books by A. A. Milne”, Studies in Bibliography , University of Virginia Press, vol. 23, 1970, pp. 127–139. £1,250 [153494] Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1927 DELUXE RED BINDING
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All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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