J O N K E R S R A R E B O O K S
FROM THE LIBRARY OF EVELYN WAUGH
2. Echo de Paris A Study from Life Jonathan Cape, 1923.
First edition, number 261 of 1000 copies. Original cloth-backed paper-covered boards with title label to the spine. From the li- brary of Evelyn Waugh, with his earliest bookplate to the front pastedown. A very good copy with some fading to the spine and chipping to the spine label. [35965] £1,500 Of the 3500 books from Waugh’s library held by the Ransom Centre at the University of Texas at Austin, “only a handful of earlier books from Waugh’s library bear [this bookplate]” (Richard Oram - Cultural Record Keepers: The Evelyn Waugh Library). Because of the Ransom Centre’s en bloc acquisition of Waugh’s library, books from his library are rarely seen in commerce. Rupert Fremlin and Waugh were at Lancing and Oxford together. At the time of publication of this book, they would be in their first year at Oxford, so it must be assumed that Waugh purloined the book from his friend. Waugh describes Fremlin as, “delightful, mercurial fellow... His alternations of exhuberance and depression - Fremlin’s “states” - later became settled in melancholy. He was with us at university and died very young in West Africa.” (A Little Learning) PROVENANCE: From the library of Evelyn Waugh, with his earliest bookplate to the front pastedown. Also contains the ownership signature of Rupert Fremlin, a friend of Waugh’s from Lancing.
1. Circular Saws Chapman & Hall, 1923.
First edition. Original black cloth with title label to the spine, in pictorial dustwrapper designed by Evelyn Waugh. A fine copy in a very good dustwrapper with wear to the spine ends and corners and a closed tear with minor loss to the joints. [35588] £600 Whilst at Oxford, Waugh considered himself more an artist than a writer and contributed a number of caricatures to the university papers, Cher- well and Isis and to Harold Acton’s short-lived literary magazine, The Oxford Broom. He would also be commissioned by his father, a director of Chapman & Hall, to submit designs for dustwrappers for their au- thors. Wolfe’s book is a collection of whimsical tales which are framed as a series of short stories featuring figures drawn from diverse fairy-tale inspirations. Each story unfolds with humour and irony, reflecting the absurdities of life through clever narratives and whimsical portrayals, and Waugh’s montage of images on the dustwrapper perfectly reflects the fanciful playfulness of the narratives.
4
Made with FlippingBook - Online Brochure Maker