First edition. xii, 256pp, with tissue-guarded plate frontispiece and several further plate illustrations. Illustrated endpapers. In blue cloth-covered boards with gilt lettering on spine. Signed and inscribed on the front free endpaper by Desmond Coke to his sister Dorothy. 8vo. Cloth is worn and a little marked, rubbed and rounded at corners and spine ends, a little sunned over spine. Dusty text block edges. Slightly tanned endpapers, else internally neat, clean, bright and tight.
Captain Desmond Coke (1879 - 1931) described himself as an 'incurable' collector of objects d'art. He was also a novelist - best remembered for his 1906 novel, The Bending of a Twig) who drew on his experiences as a schoolmaster. He also wrote under the pen-name Belinda Blinders.
