Vachell, Horace A. ~ Quinney’s Adventures : With The Scarce Wrapper

John Murray, London: 1924

The First UK printing published by John Murray, London in 1924. 8vo., blue publisher's cloth, lettered in black to upper board, and gilt to spine; with decorative borders to both; central decorative motif to upper cover; together in the pictorial wrapper by Philip Simmonds, priced 3/6 net to spine; author's woodblock device to title; The BOOK is in Very Good+ condition with pushing at the spine tips with two small bumps to the upper edges of the boards ; endpapers lightly offset; spotting to outer edges and prelims, encroaching onto the first and last few pages, and a couple of spots sporadically throughout due to the cheap quality of the paper stock used; light ownership name in purple ink to half title; the Very Good++ WRAPPER with a couple of small losses and nicks to edges, and a little more so to the head of spine; a little shelf wear, but else in superior condition; discretely repaired internally with tape. The wrapper is priced '3/6' to the spine and may possibly be the second state issued with the first issue book. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Horace Annesley Vachell (1861 – 1955) was a prolific writer of novels, plays, and essays, beginning with 'A Drama in Sunshine' (1898) and ending with 'Averil' in 1945. Educated at Harrow and Sandhurst, Vachell later traveled to America, where he married, became a partner in a land company, and is often credited with introducing the game of Polo to Southern California. Returning to England at the turn of the century, Vachell began to write, mostly inspired by his early life and friendships at Harrow, one of the most popular being 'The Hill' (1905) which explores themes of friendship, youth and identity whilst boarding at the prestigious English school. Vachell also penned a number of successful plays, of which 'Lord Camber's Ladies' (1932) was adapted into film by Alfred Hitchcock. In 1914, he produced the comedy-drama play 'Quinneys', which became one of his most successful works. Following the exploits of Joseph Quinney, an endearing but stubborn patriarch of a family of antiques dealers, it led to a series of novels following the family's adventures, of which this is the second in the series. The main character Joseph Quinney is based on the real-life antique dealer Thomas Rohan (1860-1940). Often compared with John Galsworthy for his quintessentially British writing, his works remain little-known today, though early copies such as this are considerably scarce in the wrapper.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good+
JACKET: Very Good++