CATALOGUE 85
Introduction An author’s presentation copy carries a certain magic. These are not the edition deluxe , produced for purely commercial ends, nor copies where the author’s signature has been solicited under duress. These books have not only been handled by their author, but have also been the subject of their consideration, in choosing the recipient and often in the wording used in the inscription. This magic takes the appeal of the first edition, that physical manifestation of a point in time in which author’s narrative emerges from the chrysalis of his imagination as a fully formed literary butterfly, a step further. These copies, often directly from the pub - lisher, are the ones that the author has chosen to distribute themsleves, usually with a personalised inscription. The motivation for this is varied: friendship, pride, thanks, admiration or in the hope of help or support. In this catalogue we see Rupert Brooke give his first book of poems to fellow poet Wilfred Gibson, shortly before going off to WWI and his death. In a peculiar parallel, Sylvia Plath gives her only book published in her lifetime to Ted Hughes’s aunt as a thank you gift for her hospitality. Affection presents itself in different forms: Raymond Chandler’s last book is concisely inscribed to Ian Fleming after (one hopes) a suitably bacchanalian lunch, whereas the copy of Robert Graves’s first book he gave to his sister has extensive annotations to each poem. Kingsley Amis, in giving an early work to Brian Aldiss and Anthony Powell doing the same for Edith Sitwell, were both young authors overtly expressing gratitude to the senior author for favourable reviews. Eve- lyn Waugh inscribes two books to Graham Greene and one to Nancy Mitford. Mitford inscribes a book to an Chilean playboy and Greene’s own copy of The Basement Room was given to nobody, but used it for marking up in preparation for the screenplay of The Fallen Idol. Ian Fleming’s heavily marked up typescript of Diamonds Are Forever and A.A.Milne’s letter to E.H.Shepard both give a clear insight into their respective creative processes. The list goes on, each one a unique point of intersection of the au- thor’s life and their work. Each a small but intensely relevant piece of literary history, the handling of which confers a visceral and quite tangible thrill.
Offered for sale by
Jonkers Rare Books 27 Hart Street Henley on Thames RG9 2AR
01491 576427 (within the UK) +44 1491 576427 (from overseas)
orders@jonkers.co.uk
www.jonkers.co.uk
All items are unconditionally guaranteed to be authentic and as described. Any unsatisfactory item may be returned within ten days of receipt. Payment is accepted by cheque or bank transfer in either sterling or US dollars and all major credit cards. All items in this catalogue may be ordered via our secure website. The website also lists some 3000 books, manuscripts and pieces of artwork from our stock, as well as a host of other information.
Front cover shows a letter from C.S.Lewis to Leo Baker (item 44) in the background and the hand- writing of Lewis Carroll (item 8) used for the title.
Christiaan Jonkers Henley on Thames, 2021
Frontispiece: the titlepage from Ian Fleming’s market up typescript of Diamonds are Forever (item 21).
5
Made with FlippingBook - Online catalogs