Crowded Galleries; With Chapters on Tennis by Sir Norman Brookes

William Heinemann, Melbourne, 1956. First Edition. Hardcover (Original Cloth). Very Good Condition/Good. XII, 324pp., acknowledgements, foreword by author, list of illustrations, bibliography and index. Illustrated endpapers, both different, front endpaper shows Napoleon receiving flowers from the Balcombe girls [sisters ], and back endpaper showing an aerial view of Kooyong tennis court. Coloured frontispiece, of Dame Mabel Brookes painted by William Dargie. The text is illustrated with 57 black and white illustrations. Red coloured boards with gilt writing on spine. The corners are slightly rubbed and the head and the heel of the spine are soft. The front hinge is soft. Illustrated dustwrapper, showing a tennis match in progress, with blue background and white writing on front panel and spine. The dustwrapper is faded and slightly rubbed. The corners are likewise slightly rubbed. Dame Mable Brookes and her husband were citizens of the world and for many years were the friends of many of the 20th centuries pre-eminent people. This is a recounting of those friendships and times. ****Dame Mables' ancestor, Sir William Balcombe who was a host and burser to Napoleon on St. Helena. Size: 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Please refer to accompanying picture (s). Quantity Available: 1. Shipped Weight: Under 1 kilo. Category: Biography & Autobiography; Politics -- Australian; History -- Europe; Inventory No: 0100610. .