Clive R Gilbert (2 results)

Hard Cover. Condition: Near Fine. Dust Jacket Condition: Near Fine. 4th Printing. 4th printing (Ford-Smith, Folio 76 #1140). Includes publisher's slipcase. Fine book in near fine slipcase. Slipcase faintly scuffed. Binding tight and square, pages clean, bright, and unmarked. 2003 Hard Cover. 288 pp. A collection of humorous vignettes by various authors, with contributions by William Shakespeare, Samuel Johnson, Charles Dickens, Winston S. Churchill, the Queen of England, G.K. Chesterton, P.G. Wodehouse, Mark Twain, Dorothy Parker, Groucho Marx, etc., etc. Ever since Chaucer's day, when the host of the Tabard Inn in Southwark rose to welcome the Canterbury Pilgrims with a joke, the After Dinner Speech, designed, if possible, to reduce the assembled company to helpless merriment, has presented the ultimate challenge. The best speakers are natural story-tellers - Gerard Hoffnung, reading a selection of letters from continental hoteliers: 'There is a French widow in every bedroom affording delightful prospects'; John Mortimer telling the woeful tale of a man's numerous unsuccessful attempts to murder his wife: 'At no time did Mrs Scott feel that the magic had gone out of their marriage' - and in this collection of post-prandial treasures you will find the very best of them, from Groucho Marx on how to resist a femme fatale, to Ralph Steadman surreally addressing the Lewis Carroll Centenary Dinner. 'Goodness', said a friend on greeting Mae West, 'where did you get those beautiful pearls?' 'Goodness', replied Mae, 'had nothing to do with it.' Shaggy dog stories, practical jokes, sporting anecdotes, rousing toasts, travellers' tales and risque reminiscences rub shoulders in this essential collection with real-life revelations and moments of history. Among the guests are Peter Ustinov, Jilly Cooper, Brian Johnstone, Charles Dickens, Dorothy Parker, Robertson Davies, Henry Grady and A.P. Herbert. There is food and drink in abundance. There is gentle reflection and endearing charm as well as defiant frivolity. Above all there are stories for every occasion - witty, absurd, momentous, philosophical, fascinating, poignant, and forever entertaining.

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine condition. Dust Jacket Condition: VG Jacket (price clipped). First Edition. London: N.A.G. Press Ltd., 1981. Near Fine condition in a bright and shiny Very Good dust jacket (price clipped). A clean, square, tight copy. Hinges are perfect. NO owner's name or bookplate. NOT a remainder. Pages are fresh and crisp. NO underlining. NO highlighting. NO margin notes. Oversize Hardcover. 8.5" wide by 12" tall. Profusely illustrated with 300 b/w photos and 43 color plates. Foreword by the late Sir Gordon Russell. Glossary. Techniques of the Silversmith. Decorative Terms. Bibliography. General Index. Index of Maker's Marks. Bound in the original blue leatherette (imitation leather), lettered in shiny gold on the spine. From the Dust Jacket: "It is the most comprehensive study of the Birmingham silver industry ever written The fourth section contains a list of 2,400 markers' marks (a comprehensive list of silversmith's and their punch marks as registered at the Birmingham Assay Office, most of which have not been previously identified With the aid of this section it will now be possible to identify the marker of almost any piece hallmarked in Birmingham, and will enable many pieces of silver to be identified for the first time.". First Edition. Oversize Hardcover. Near Fine condition/VG Jacket (price clipped). 416pp.