Nursery Rhymes. by SACKVILLE-WEST, Vita - 1947

London: The Dropmore Press,, 1947. By the little gift of poetry and music do the nursery rhymes abide in our hearts First edition, first impression, number 54 of 550 copies on handmade paper. This is Sackville-West's examination into what lies behind some of the old English nursery rhymes and proposing that many of them are far from nonsense, but insights into English history. A review in the Manchester Guardian on 28 October 1947 stated that "Miss Sackville-West's inquiry is often conjectural but always entertaining, and she knows the magic that sometimes brings the nonsense of the nursery song near to pure poetry" (p. 3). Quarto. Original half vellum by Evans, orange cloth sides, spine lettered in gilt, front cover with vignette in gilt, fore and lower edges untrimmed. With dust jacket and original cardboard sleeve. Title page, first page, and last printed in pink and black. Binding sharp, contents clean; jacket faintly soiled, a little rubbed at folds, spine toned, a couple of shallow chips; a… Read More

London: The Dropmore Press, 1947. Pp. [vi]+66+[4](blank, colophon), the title, one decorative initial and publisher's device at colophon printed in red; tall cr. 4to; blue cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt; the fore and bottom edges uncut, partly unopened; dust wrapper, the backstrip browned, edges slightly chipped; The Dropmore Press, London, 1947. First edition limited to 550 numbered copies. Cross & Ravenscroft-Hulme A.45(a). *Fourth in the series of Dropmore Essays, being an essay on the history and meaning of nursery rhymes.

London: The Dropmore Press, 1947. First Edition thus. Hardcover. Fine in Very Good+ DJ and Very Good- Slipcase. First Edition thus. Hardcover. A very handsome copy of this scarce volume. Genuinely rare in its uncut form. Tight, bright and unmarred. DJ shows touch of wear at head and midpoint (aligned with tabs in slipcase), spine slightly toned. Slipcase shows moderate shelf wear at corners and bottom, back strip missing. Blue cloth boards, gilt lettering and decorative elements, inner gilt dentelles. 4to. 66pp. Limited Edition, this being 526 of 550. Printed on a hand press on hand-made paper. This copy is completely uncut.

London: The Dropmore Press,, 1947. Signed and specially bound First edition, signed limited issue, number 15 of 25 signed and specially bound copies; from a total edition of 550 copies. A copy of Sackville-West's examination into what lies behind some of the old English nursery rhymes and proposing that many of them are far from nonsense, but insights into English history. A review in the Manchester Guardian on 28 October 1947 stated that "Miss Sackville-West's inquiry is often conjectural but always entertaining, and she knows the magic that sometimes brings the nonsense of the nursery song near to pure poetry". Quarto. Original half vellum by Evans, orange cloth sides, spine lettered in gilt, front cover with vignette in gilt, fore and lower edges untrimmed. With dust jacket and original cardboard sleeve. Title page and initial letter printed in pink and black. Corners slightly rubbed, natural colour variance to vellum, as usual, gatherings largely unopened; a near-fine copy. Spine of dust jacket… Read More

London: Michael Joseph,, 1950. The dedication copy, inscribed to her lover First trade edition, first impression, the dedication copy, inscribed by the author on the dedication page, "for Anna, her private copy, with the author's love. Christmas 1950", with the printed dedication struck through. This copy was bound for presentation by Sangorski & Sutcliffe. The recipient, Anna "Mac" Macmillan (d.1962), became Vita's secretary at Sissinghurst in 1936, and her lover in 1938. Their affair began in autumn, when war with Germany seemed inevitable: "the household was issued with gas masks, and a trench dug in the orchard... Vita's response to the tension had been to allow Mac, her Scottish Presbyterian secretary, to fall in love with her" (Glendinning, p. 295). Macmillan left Sissinghurst during the war to become a nurse with the Queen Alexandra Nursing Service; Sackville-West wrote to her almost every day until her return in 1945, and their affair continued intermittently until 1953, when Sackville-West… Read More