Dust Jacket Collector Posted 2 September , 2014 Author Share Posted 2 September , 2014 Cataloguing my poetry collection at the moment so turning up the odd inscription. Here's an interesting one in Alice Meynell's 'Collected Poems'. She was the mother of Francis Meynell who was incarcerated during the War as a conscientious objector. It's inscribed to Lady Desborough,a leading light of 'The Souls' and the mother of the poet Julian Grenfell, DSO who was killed in 1915. I wonder if they ever spoke about their respective offspring? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other ranker Posted 2 September , 2014 Share Posted 2 September , 2014 I am chuffed to bits to have just recieved a copy of 'When Armageddon Came' by Wilfred Ewart, a limited edition signed by the editor John Gawsworth 14/50. More interestingly there is page of the original Ewart's manuscript tipped in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stiletto_33853 Posted 2 September , 2014 Share Posted 2 September , 2014 Not such a grand list as some of the above, more regimental based I suppose. Lionel Lord Tennyson "From Verse to Worse" signed by the author to Feau. "Two Men A Memoir" to Janet and Stephen from the White Family "Short History of The Rifle Brigade" from Lord Charles Henry Henniker to the Band 3rd RB "Standing Orders of The Rifle Brigade 1911" D.R. Brandt signed KIA 6/7/15 "Standing Orders of The Rifle Brigade 1905" John Crosbie's signed copy "Rifle Brigade Chronicle 1897" signed by Sir Martin Dillon, died 1913 "Rifle Brigade Chronicle 1894" signed by Sir Cameron Deane Shute, died 1936 Several other Rifle Brigade Chronicles signed by prominent Rifle Brigade officers, especially the earlier ones, including one by Thesiger. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 2 September , 2014 Share Posted 2 September , 2014 Coming to this thread a little late but I have one or two first edition books of WW1 vintage, not signed by any author but from the hand written inscriptions, given as presents from a serving soldier to a relative, loved one or friend.(who may fall into more than one category) Impossible to determine the identities and any additional pecuniary value is nil but I find this quite affecting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seaforths Posted 2 September , 2014 Share Posted 2 September , 2014 It makes you wonder what they would have made of things today. I have a Roll of Honour book. The man that edited it is giving it to his daughter for her 21st birthday in 1923 and has inscribed it as such. He has also told her which pages to look at to find relatives of their family. My daughter got an engraved iPod touch she had been yearning for but I wonder what she would have done if I had given her book with an inscription. My how times have changed... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 3 September , 2014 Author Share Posted 3 September , 2014 I am chuffed to bits to have just recieved a copy of 'When Armageddon Came' by Wilfred Ewart, a limited edition signed by the editor John Gawsworth 14/50. More interestingly there is page of the original Ewart's manuscript tipped in.Thanks for bringing this book back to my attention. I'd wanted it for ages but the only copy I could find on line was £275 - a trifle dear. So prompted I looked on Amazon & there was a copy for a mere £38 & still in its slipcase - now on its way to me. Which piece of text came with your copy? Wouldn't it be nice if todays publishers slipped in a bit of original manuscript with each book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
other ranker Posted 3 September , 2014 Share Posted 3 September , 2014 Hi Dust Jacket Collector. My piece of 'script is about a 'Masquerade Ball'. I have yet to read the book. Several more in the pile before it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 5 September , 2014 Author Share Posted 5 September , 2014 Hi Dust Jacket Collector. My piece of 'script is about a 'Masquerade Ball'. I have yet to read the book. Several more in the pile before it! My copy of 'When Armageddon Came' has just arrived. It's No.9 & has a nice dedication from Gawsworth to his Aunt Eck. The manuscript page is titled 'Man Overboard' but I have all of Ewart's books & it doesn't appear in any of them. Must have been from an uncollected magazine article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GGirl Posted 2 October , 2014 Share Posted 2 October , 2014 Loving the chat about books .. I have always loved the old books in our family, who they were to and from, such a wonderful record of popular culture ! Nothing extraordinary here but a few WW1 books - my grandmothers copy of Rupert Brooke's 1914 ..with some pages pages noted to read with date 1915 and her copy of a military history of Perthshire with the compliments of the Marchioness of Tullibardine for the soldiers of the VAD hospital they bring the history into reality Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 2 October , 2014 Share Posted 2 October , 2014 I have 'Fighting Bob Evans', a biography of the American Admiral Robley Evans (1846-1912) by Edwin Falk. The book is inscribed 'For Admiral George A Ballard RN with the esteem and respect of Edwin A Falk July 1935'. Ballard (1862-1948) was known to Falk, I assume, as a naval historian and author of, amongst others, 'The Influence of the Sea on the Political History of Japan.' He was appointed Director of Naval Intelligence by First Lord Churchill before the Great War and during the war became Senior Officer in Charge at Malta. Of niche interest, I know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 8 October , 2014 Author Share Posted 8 October , 2014 My copy of 'When Armageddon Came' has just arrived. It's No.9 & has a nice dedication from Gawsworth to his Aunt Eck. The manuscript page is titled 'Man Overboard' but I have all of Ewart's books & it doesn't appear in any of them. Must have been from an uncollected magazine article. To answer my own question, the piece of text is quoted by Stephen Graham in his 'Life and Last Words of Wilfrid Ewart'. It was originally published, much altered, in an American magazine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 22 January , 2015 Share Posted 22 January , 2015 I have a few signed books, my favourite being Sassoon's ' Memoirs of an Infantry Officer ' (No 49 of 750 printed). One thing that slightly grates on me is when people try and remove a previous ownership inscription, I don't necessarily agree with writing anything in a book but once written it becomes part of the book's history, I have several books with previous owners names erased ,either by ink or tippex , or cut from the endpaper with scissors, sometimes the whole endpaper has been removed.I don't understand what this achieves, other than damaging the book, we only own a book until we die or decide to sell it ,after all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 22 January , 2015 Author Share Posted 22 January , 2015 I agree, I generally leave previous inscriptions undisturbed. However I do have a small bookplate that goes into each book and it often goes on top of any name scrawled in Biro ( or in the interests of family harmony on top of the price I've paid!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Maria Posted 22 January , 2015 Share Posted 22 January , 2015 I agree, I generally leave previous inscriptions undisturbed. However I do have a small bookplate that goes into each book and it often goes on top of any name scrawled in Biro ( or in the interests of family harmony on top of the price I've paid!). Never thought of that, I will have to get myself a few hundred bookplates Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simond9x Posted 23 January , 2015 Share Posted 23 January , 2015 Nothing so rare as the items above but I've got a couple of signed books:- 'A Hilltop On The Marne' - Mildred Aldrich (Second Impression 1915) inscribed "Dearest Germaine, Remember the old days and your loving Aunt Mildred". 'The Blocking Of Zeebrugge' - A.F.B. Carpenter (8th printing, completing 12,577 copies) signed by the author. Neither has a dust jacket. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 29 January , 2015 Share Posted 29 January , 2015 Again not in the same league as much of the above but I have a signed first edition of 'Journey's End' - not the play unfortunately but what would now be called the 'novelisation' published in 1930. It's rather a curiosity appearing to do the very thing authors often rail against - giving their characters a life outside of the confines of the original work. I didn't know of its existence until I saw it in a second hand book shop and didn't realise it was signed until I got it home. Two pleasant surprises with a third being I really enjoyed it David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeyH Posted 31 January , 2015 Share Posted 31 January , 2015 A friend rang a few days ago to say that in going through some of his fathers old books in the loft he had found one with a signed notation by Lady French. He brought it over later in the day, volume 2 of a History of the Great War, suspect it was published either as a part work during 1914-18 or as a set of volumes shortly after. The handsome coloured full page equestrian portrait of Field Marshal French, did have a note on the rear by his good lady, but I had to gently point out it was in fact a facsimile, but a very good one. He left I think still not fully convinced that it was not a genuine hand written note and signature. Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle George Posted 31 January , 2015 Share Posted 31 January , 2015 Some years ago I ordered 'From Private to Field-Marshal' from the City (Plymouth) central library; it was available, but only as a Reference copy. I was surprised to see that inside the front cover was Robertson's signature. But it was not a signed book: the signature was on a slip of heavy paper, which had been glued into the book. But even so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nigelcave Posted 31 January , 2015 Share Posted 31 January , 2015 I have the 23rd Div History signed by the Prince of Wales for General Cadorna; got it for €10 near Rovereto (in the Trentino region, on the old front line). No dust jacket, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Filsell Posted 31 January , 2015 Share Posted 31 January , 2015 No hijack - but a separate thread on annotated books would be interesting. While I do not seek them out, I have enjoyed finding a couple with old sweats comments in them Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 15 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 15 April , 2015 A rather interesting volume I've managed to obtain from the latest Turner Donovan catalogue. Official History of Australia in the War : Vol.III The A.I.F. In France 1916. Published in Sydney in 1929, it's not a particularly scarce volume but this copy belonged to J.E.Edmonds who was responsible for producing the British Official History. The first of his own volumes on 1916 came out in 1932 & It seems he was using this book to gather background information for that, particularly as it came with some 8 pages of pencilled notes written on Historical Section (Military Branch) headed notepaper. Unfortunately his handwriting is not terribly clear so it's a struggle to read. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HQTANKS Posted 19 April , 2015 Share Posted 19 April , 2015 Amongst my books I have a few with interesting attributes RETREAT by Herbert Read with a presentation inscription from Siegfried Sassoon to J. C. Dunn who was his Medical Officer and author of 'THE WAR THE INFANTRY KNEW. There are some annotations in Sassoon's hand PUSHED AND THE RETURN PUSH with a presentation inscription from the author to General Freyburg V.C. FALKLANDS,JUTLAND AND THE BIGHT with inscription from the author Barry Bingham V.C. DE BELLO GERMANICO with inscription from Edmund Blunden HQ TANKS 1917-18 with inscr. from E.Charteris K.C. JACKA'S MOB with pres. insc. from the author to John Masefield with a signed photo of E.J.RULE in uniform ADVENTURES ON THE WESTERN FRONT with lengthy pres. insc. From RAWLINSON AN INFANT IN ARMS Lengthy P.I. from GREENWELL PURPLE PATCHES p.i. from T. PRINCE BACKS TO THE WALL p.i. from G.D. MITCHELL I have many more but can't find them at the moment SOMME HARVEST p.i. from G.EYRE Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dust Jacket Collector Posted 19 April , 2015 Author Share Posted 19 April , 2015 Impressive list, HQTanks, particularly Read's Retreat.I have a letter from Sassoon inserted into my copy of his 'Picture Show', but an inscription to Dunn is especially nice. Thanks for your recommendation of 'Students under Arms' in another thread. I've taken it off the shelves to be read ASAP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
auchonvillerssomme Posted 19 April , 2015 Share Posted 19 April , 2015 My best is Sagittarius Rising signed Cecil Lewis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartH Posted 19 April , 2015 Share Posted 19 April , 2015 Amongst my books I have a few with interesting attributes RETREAT by Herbert Read with a presentation inscription from Siegfried Sassoon to J. C. Dunn who was his Medical Officer and author of 'THE WAR THE INFANTRY KNEW. Their are some annotations in Sassoon's hand PUSHED AND THE RETURN PUSH with a presentation inscription from the author to General Freyburg V.C. FALKLANDS,JUTLAND AND THE BIGHT with inscription from the author Barry Bingham V.C. DE BELLO GERMANICO with inscription from Edmund Blunden HQ TANKS 1917-18 with inscr. from E.Charteris K.C. JACKA'S MOB with pres. insc. from the author to John Masefield with a signed photo of E.J.RULE in uniform ADVENTURES ON THE WESTERN FRONT with lengthy pres. insc. From RAWLINSON AN INFANT IN ARMS Lengthy P.I. from GREENWELL PURPLE PATCHES p.i. from T. PRINCE BACKS TO THE WALL p.i. from G.D. MITCHELL I have many more but can't find them at the moment SOMME HARVEST p.i. from G.EYRE Very fine list. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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