Memoirs Of An Aesthete : Signed By The Author

The First UK printing published by Methuen, London in 1948. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Light pushing with a little fading at the spine tips. Gilt titling to the spine remains bright. A hint of rubbing to the corners. Mild offsetting to the blank end-papers. The scarce fragile WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good+ condition. Some edge-wear with small areas of loss to the spine ends and rear upper edge areas. Some brown tape reinforcement to the edges to the verso with some small areas of this visible to the front. Some age related markings, few nicks and short closed tears with some light toning to the edges. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. The book has been inscribed by the author to the front blank end-paper : 'To Anthony Hobson, with happy memories of amazing occasions, with all best wishes, from Harold Acton'. The recipient Anthony Hobson was a noted historian, auctioneer and scholar. Hobson's personal bookplate is present on the front pastedown. 'In this remarkable book, Harold Acton writes a witty and vivid account of his first thirty-five years of his life from his boyhood among the international colony of dilettanti in Florence before the First World War, to his maturity when he discovered his spiritual home in Peking before the old Chinese culture was destroyed. Between the two, he was one of the brilliant generation up at Oxford just after the war and afterwards moved to Paris where he knew many of the literary and artistic figures of the time. It is an outstanding memoir, rightly regarded as a classic' (Faber). A very scarce title with such attributes. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.