HUGHES, Thomas.

£1,250 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

The Scouring of the White Horse; Or, the Long Vacation Ramble of a London Clerk. First edition, pre-publication presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "Author's presentation copy. Wm John Evelyn Esqre. With the kindest regards of his old schoolfellow and friend the author, 1858."Both the author and the recipient (1822-1908), the latter a descendant of the famous diarist, attended Rugby School in the late 1830s and served as members of parliament, Hughes for the Liberals and Evelyn for the Conservatives. In 1870, Evelyn addressed a poem ("The Lesson of the Past") to Hughes, "on an occasion when Mr. Hughes put forward some optimistic social theories which William Evelyn thought destined to disappointment" (Evelyn & Blunt, p. 474).Provenance: 20th-century Evelyn posthumous bookplate on front pastedown - Stephen C. Massey, purchased at Laurence Drizen sale, Sotheby's London, 4 June 2015, lot 71.

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