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84 MORRIS, William (trans.); HOMER. The Odyssey. London: Reeves & Turner, 1887 Inscribed by William Morris to his mother First edition, fine paper issue, presentation copy from the translator, “to Emma Morris from her loving son William Morris April 22nd. 1887” and “to Emma Morris from her loving son Nov: 12th 1887”. LeMire notes both fine and large paper issues. Eugene LeMire describes this as “Morris’s first experiment with a view to producing a combination of the best quality materials with artistic design”. Morris inscribed these volumes in the month of publication. LeMire suggests that volume 1 was published around 1–15 April and that volume 2 was published around 1–15 November. It appears Morris sent a copy of the second volume to Ford Madox Brown (on 11 November) before he had sent this to his mother. Fiona MacCarthy notes that “Emma Morris was good natured, but she did not like disturbances. She was one of nature’s compulsive glossers over; and the sense of loss so deep and sharp in Morris’s writing is not just a matter of his marital despairs but also derives from a complex knowledge of the hazards of real communication between sons and their mothers”. The volumes are additionally inscribed by Morris’s sister, Henrietta Morris. Upon the death of Emma Morris in 1894, Henrietta evidently helped disperse her mother’s library. She presented this to the English theologian and Orientalist Stanley Leathes (1830–1900), who was by then rector of Much Hadham, Hertfordshire, where Henrietta lived. 2 volumes, octavo (224 × 170mm). Rebacked, retaining original boards and printed paper labels, new endpapers (free endpapers retained), top edge trimmed, others untrimmed. Publisher’s advertisement leaf at rear of volume 1. Housed in later chemises and morocco-backed slipcase. Inscriptions from William Morris to his mother and later inscriptions from Morris’s sister on half-titles. Extremities worn. Minor loss and abrasions to labels, some light foxing and browning, tear to original rear free endpaper of volume 2; very good copies, which are remarkably clean. ¶ Buxton Forman, p. 127; LeMire A–40.01. Fiona MacCarthy, William Morris: A Life For Our Time , 1994. £5,000 [151224]
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85 MUNRO, H. H., as Saki. Beasts and Super-Beasts. London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1914 his last and best collection, Inscribed to Queen Mary’s Maid of Honour First edition, first impression, first issue, presentation copy inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Lady Midleton, with the author’s good wishes, hoping that these stories may counteract the gloom caused by an earlier book. H. H. Munro, June 1914”. This title is rare inscribed, being his last collection and published shortly before he enlisted to fight in the First World War, and was killed in the trenches in November 1916. The recipient was likely Lady Sybil Brodick (1885–1935), daughter of William St John Brodrick, 1st Earl of Midleton. She was a maid of honour to Queen Mary from 1911 to 1912, and in 1912 married the diplomat Sir Ronald William Graham (1870–1949). Lady Midleton was politically active in women’s issues. A Conservative, she was part of the politically broad Central Committee on Women’s Training and Employment, formed under the auspices of Queen Mary. The committee was composed entirely of women, and included many influential social reformers, including the suffrage campaigner Margaret Bondfield (the first female cabinet minister), Dr Marion Philips (Chief Women’s Officer of the Labour Party), and Susan Lawrence (the first woman to be elected to represent a London constituency). Violet Markham, a significant writer and campaigner against women’s suffrage, also sat on the committee, which was chaired by Lady Crewe. Its remit was to investigate initiatives that would help provide employment for women who may have lost work because of the war. The “earlier book” Munro makes apologies for is perhaps When William Came (1913), set after a fictional war between Britain and Germany, which the latter has won, leaving Britain under German occupation. Beasts and Super-Beasts was Saki’s last and best collection of short stories, including the well-known “Laura”, “The Lumber Room”, and “The Open Window”. The title parodies
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