BETJEMAN, John.

£3,000 · Offered by Peter Harrington · No longer available

Mount Zion, or in Touch with the Infinite. First edition, inscribed by the poet on the half-title verso with a six-line autograph poem. Loosely inserted is a typescript letter signed by Ray Carter, the politician and cataloguer of Betjeman's works, confirming that this copy, with floral boards, is the first state.The poem reads: "J. Craven Prichard is giving a little party / Not exactly 'lowbrow' and not exactly 'arty' / For us functional folk who like beauty stark / And decorate or rooms with it in Belsize Park / To know Craven Pritchard is a pretty good scoop / He's the live wire behind the twentieth century group / John Betjeman". The poem, which refers to the furniture designer John Craven Pritchard (1899-1992), was likely written for the author and furniture historian John Gloag (1896-1981), whose ownership signature, dated January 1933, is on the front free endpaper. Gloag and Betjeman were acquainted through their shared interest in architecture and furniture.Betjeman's first volume of poetry, Mount Zion is also encountered in striped boards. In the letter, dated 25 October 1995 and addressed to one Michael Collins, Carter (1935-2020) writes that Betjeman "referred to the striped version as 'firework paper'". He is complimentary about the condition of the present copy: "I have seen other copies all suffering from breakup of the spine - yours sounds an excellent copy".

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