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109 SMITH, Dodie. I Capture the Castle. Boston: Little, Brown and Company, 1948 “Driving, of course, because of the dogs” First edition, first printing, presentation copy of the author’s debut, inscribed by her on the front free endpaper, “To Jon, with my love, Dodie. Doylestown, Pennsylvania, November 1948”, with an autograph note from Smith laid in, dated 26 March 1949. The recipient was Jon Wynne-Tyson (1824–2020), author, publisher, pacifist, and founder of the Centaur Press. His mother, the actress, writer, and philosopher Esmé Wynne-Tyson (1898– 1972), was a close friend of Smith, and collaborated with their mutual friend Noël Coward on several plays. The note is written on the verso of a change-of-address card, marking Smith’s move from Doylestown, Pennsylvania, where she wrote this work, to 1006 Cove Way, Beverly Hills, California. She thanks Jon for his letter and for sending copies of Enquiry . She continues: “I’ve sent your mother all our reasons for returning to California – for the summer”. She adds that she and her husband, Alec Beesley, intend to leave in April, “driving of course, because of the dogs”, the dogs being their cohort of Dalmatians, the inspiration for her other famous title, The One Hundred and One Dalmatians (1955). I Capture the Castle was published in the USA in October, preceding the UK edition by a year. The novel was filmed in 2004, starring Romola Garai, Bill Nighy, Rose Byrne, and Tara Fitzgerald. Octavo. Original light blue cloth, spine lettered in blue, castle vignette on front cover in blue. With Samuel Bryant designed dust jacket. Change
of address card loosely inserted (90 × 113 mm) written in autograph on verso by Smith. Fly-titles with vignette illustrations by Ruth Steed. With 5 associated newspaper clippings loosely inserted. Spine sunned, with damp stain at foot extending to covers, foxing along spine, extremities, and edges, extending slightly to pastedowns. A very good copy in like jacket, lightly soiled, spine panel browned with some continuation across rear panel, two tape repairs to same, edges a little nicked and rubbed, still a firm, square book in sharp jacket, not price-clipped. £5,000 [158269] 110 SPENDER, Stephen. Ruins and Visions. London: Faber & Faber Limited, 1942 Inscribed to W. H. Auden First edition, first impression, presentation copy of a work rarely found inscribed, to his lifelong friend and fellow poet W. H. Auden on the half-title, “To Wystan, with love from Stephen. March 1942”. This is a key association, inscribed using Auden’s first name, which was reserved for friends. Auden’s first book of poetry was privately printed by Spender in 1928, and they were comrades in arms as well as in poetry: both had involved themselves in the Spanish Civil War, on the Republican side. Auden was a major influence on Spender: “A pontiff where canonical poetry was concerned, Auden struck Stephen as being like a cabinet minister in his aim to set up a collective of new British modernist writing . . . Auden’s touch left an indelible mark – if not on the poetry then certainly on Stephen’s idea of what it was to be a poet” (Sutherland, p. 79–81). Octavo. Original green cloth, title to spine gilt. With supplied dust jacket. Housed in a custom green flat-back folding case. Spine darkened, a little soiling and spotting to cloth, spotting and splashes to rear endpapers, contents otherwise clean and unmarked, in a nice example of the dust jacket, spine slightly faded. ¶ Connolly, The Modern Movement , 91. John Sutherland, Stephen Spender: A Literary Life , 2005. £4,500 [139371]
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All items are fully described and photographed at peterharrington.co.uk
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