Bohemia In London

Ransome, Arthur (illustrated by Fred Taylor)

Edité par London Chapman & Hall, Limited 1907, 1907

A propos de cet article

First edition. 284 pages + 14 (of 16) black and white illustrations on grey card. With some interesting multi-layered provenance, there is an ownership inscription to the half-title page: "Susan Ransome Oct 1907", this believed to be Arthur Ransome's great-aunt Susan (b. 1834 d. 1909). The book is further from the estate of John Bell (1922-2008), one of Ransome's literary executors, with "return to John Bell" written faintly in pencil to the first blank page, and with a copy of a 1991 letter from Bell loosely inserted confirming that: "the Ransome titles all belonged to AR, though there are I think no markings.", and a further printed note from the recipient of Bell's letter, John Cowen, the notable Ransome collector, confirming that he received this title from Bell, along with three others, in exchange for a first edition of 'Thorstein of the Mere'. The book is bound in the publisher's grey cloth, lettered and illustrated in gilt, black and brown, neatly re-backed, with the original spine-strip laid on grey cloth and new endpapers front and rear, the cloth is stained, rubbed and bumped, with some loss of the original at the spine ends and other minor tears. The text block is age toned, marked and slightly foxed, with some short closed tears to a few page edges. An interesting early Ransome title, his first major success, comparing the historical Bohemian London of Lamb and Hazlitt with its modern equivalent, and with an affectionate nod to London's many faux bohemians, such as the bank clerk, who, using his beard for disguise, goes out in a floppy hat of an evening seeking relief from his humdrum existence. This copy, though in fairly unkempt and battered condition, with excellent provenance, having belonged to a member of the Ransome family, and it would seem, on good authority, to have returned to Arthur Ransome himself at some point after his aunt's death and resided on his own shelf.

N° de réf. du vendeur 7168

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Bohemia In London
• Éditeur: London Chapman & Hall, Limited 1907
• Date de parution: 1907
• Édition: Edition originale