With a contemporary presentation inscription - Peter Harrington

Peter Harrington
3. ALBEE, Edward.
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Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf. A Play.
New York: Atheneum, 1962 [61790]
Octavo. Original black cloth, titles to spine gilt,
yellow endpapers, red top-stain. With the dust
jacket. In a red quarter morocco slipcase and
chemise. Spine rolled. An excellent copy in the
lightly rubbed and nicked jacket with faint toning
to the edges of the front panel.
£4750
Individual images of all items are on our website
First edition, first impression. Inscribed by the
author to the poet David Posner (1921–1985)
on the front blank, “‘I’m afraid that’s always
the case’, he said, ‘There’s always one who
loves and one who lets himself be loved’. This
copy of the play for David Posner, who is both
a good person and a good poet – Thankfully,
Edward Albee. Buffalo 4.1.63”. Also with a handwritten
Christmas card from Albee to Posner.
Contemporary presentation copies of this work
are very scarce.
www.peterharrington.co.uk Catalogue 76: Modern Literature
4. AMIS, Kingsley.
Lucky Jim A Novel.
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1953 [33827]
Octavo. Original green boards, titles to spine in
gold. With the dust jacket probably supplied from
another copy. Housed in a quarter green morocco
solander box made by The Chelsea Bindery. Some
foxing to fore edge and terminal leaves, contents
sporadically marked, spine a little dull. Very good
in a rather marked dust jacket with a couple of
tears to the rear panel and some minor loss at the
tips.
£9750
With a contemporary
presentation inscription
First edition, first impression. Amis’s epochal
first novel. With the author’s signed presentation
inscription to the front free endpaper, “Sincerest
good wishes to James and Elsa from Kingsley
‘these first-fruits’ January 1954”. The recipients
were James (“Jo”) and Elsa Bartley, a couple
with whom Amis was close friends during his
time in Swansea. It was they who introduced
Amis to the hard-partying Welsh bourgeoisie
depicted in Amis’s second novel, That Uncertain
Feeling. Presentation copies of Lucky Jim in first
edition are very scarce. Only the dedication copy
inscribed to Philip Larkin has appeared at auction
in 35 years. This is the only other example we
have handled.
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