THOMAS, Dylan.

Inquire · Offered by Peter Harrington

Two Epigrams of Fealty; [together with] Galsworthy & Gawsworth. First and only editions, these copies annotated "Proof. JR" before "thirty memorial copies privately printed for Members of the Court". These two pamphlets, presenting three verses, were written by Thomas at the bar of the "Caves de France" club in Dean Street, Soho. They were omitted from Rolph's bibliography, but included in that by Maud.The pamphlets were privately printed by John Gawsworth who had been drinking with Thomas and remarked later that Thomas "was in an extremely nasty mood that afternoon". Both pamphlets state "Realm of Redonda" on the first page. Redonda is a small uninhabited Caribbean island. Discovered and ignored by Columbus, it was apparently claimed as a dominion by the father of the author M. P. Shiel, who proclaimed himself its monarch - dubbed King Filipe - in 1936. The throne passed in 1947 to John Gawsworth, who ennobled many members of his drinking literary coterie. Thomas thus became "Duke of Gweno".Gawsworth later wrote that Thomas "had been a boon companion of mine... In London taverns, on and off for some seventeen years and a Duke of Redonda since my Succession in 1947 - so I ran off 30 memorial copies to him for the court - though his Fealty was far from respectful!" (Maud, p. 24).Provenance: the collection of Steve Forbes, chairman of Forbes Magazine, and presidential candidate in the 1996 and 2000 US elections.

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