Letters to Frank Harris, & Other Friends
Andoversford / London: The Whittington Press & William Heinemann, 1980. First, Limited Edition. Royal 8vo, 9 7/8 x 6 1/2 inches (250 x 165 mm); 107 pp. Hand-set in 12-point Caslon and printed in black and brown on Arches cream mould-made paper. Illustrated with five lithographic reproductions of photographs and drawings, tipped in. Bound by Weatherby-Woolnough in Laura Ashley patterned cloth with an oval photographic portrait of Enid Bagnold mounted on the upper cover and a cream spine label; top edge stained red, other edges deckled. Endpapers reproduce two pages from Bagnold’s journal in line-block facsimile. Housed in the original brown paper-covered slipcase, lightly rubbed at bottom opening.
Copy 41 of 400 copies signed by the author on the limitation page
[Butcher 48].
A handsomely produced collection of letters by Enid Bagnold, revealing her literary friendships and social world through correspondence with figures including Frank Harris and other contemporaries. The letters combine wit, literary observation, and personal reflection, offering insight into British literary and theatrical circles of the early twentieth century. The tipped-in illustrations and facsimile journal pages add a documentary quality well suited to the intimate nature of the text.
The decorative Laura Ashley cloth binding, together with the mounted portrait and carefully arranged typography, gives the edition a distinctly personal character, reflecting the memoir-like quality of the correspondence while maintaining the high production standards associated with the Whittington Press.
Enid Bagnold (1889–1981) was an English novelist, playwright, and memoirist best known for her novel National Velvet and the play The Chalk Garden. Associated with literary and artistic circles in London and Paris, she wrote with wit and independence across fiction, drama, journalism, and autobiography over a career spanning much of the twentieth century.
Condition: Fine.
Item number: 2385
Price: $100.00
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