THE NEW LONDON SPY: A DISCREET GUIDE TO THE CITY'S PLEASURES.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Book quickly reprinted in November, 1966 and then again in January,1967.]VG+/VG+.Private owner's b/w 'EX LIBRIS' bookplate pasted to front free endpaper along with their handwritten,black ink name/signature.Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,magenta background with black pictograph (an eye) to front lower edge and to top of spine,b/w letters to each,and the rear cover with black letters; jacket design by Jeanette Spencer.A little breakdown of laminate to top edges resulting in minimal rubbing with miniscule chipping and reciprocal miniscule loss to both front+rear edges and at head of spine too - similarly to just the foot of rear's facing spine crease.Two top corners are minimally bumped with reciprocal creasing - both dents leaving concomitant,corresponding uniform crease impressions to those pages' top corners in lessening degrees - the rear corner's dent affecting more pages than the front dent; bottom two corners,sharp and unaffected.Negligible shelf-wear,bumping creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks,tears of splits present.Top edges slightly toned,fore-edges brighter,cleaner with minor blemish at foot of same; contents bright,tight,clean - no foxing/ spotting,no intentional dog-ear reading creases to pages corners - aforementioned page corner creases aside.Bright clean,publisher's original plain black cloth boards with white ink blocked letters to spine, and clean,plain white endpapers.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,13- 296pp [paginated] includes 3 sections: Public Pleasures - Mainly by Day,Private Pleasures - Mainly by Night and Foreign London - each with numerous categories - 13,10 and 7 respectively; from some 28 assorted contributors/writers,b/w drawings by Kaffe Fassett interspersed throughout the text,an index,a British/American English short glossary; plus [unpaginated] b/w part-illustrated half-title+title pages,contributors list/table,an unattributed introduction (assumed the Editor?),contents list/table,and Kaffe Fassett b/w illustrated section separator pages.
Some contributors include David Benedictus,John Betjeman,Anthony Blond,Tim Heald James Henry,Jonathan Routh etc.
Described hard,but fairly and honestly exceptionally better than it reads or sounds!
The book takes it's title from the first published,1703 edition by landlord Ned Ward,of the King's Head,a tavern next to Gray's Inn.He started and finished in a tavern,going round London describing all the pleasures and diversions he found there.In between he visited harlots and astrologers,parties and gaming houses,bated the lunatics at Bedlam with silly questions and watched a woman being whipped at Bridewell.Bit he also described some sedater pleasures,like Covent garden and Westminster Abbey.The topics in this, 'The New London Spy',are equally diverse and entertaining,equally scandalous and sedate.The flavour is eclectic,intimate and epicurean; the information accurate (at time of publication).
Diverse and extraordinary topics include church sermons,Lesbian London,Gentlemen's clubs,the best pubs,what to do on Sundays,girls and boys (free and bought),the underworld,street markets,nightclubs, hotels (where you may or may not),the Irish,West Indians,Australian, Jewish,Indian,Polish quarters,striptease,pornography,drugs etc.,etc., etc.,etc. and advice on how the visitor may conduct themselves in Town in a satisfactory and successful manner. Please contact seller @ rpaxtonden@blueyonder.co.uk ,because of the lighter weight and the value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page!
**N.B. US customers please be aware: US standard AIR postage from UK to US can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. 1/2 to 2/3rds of standard US AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving long before the quoted 42 days - but not always.