The Death Ray Man. The Biography of GRINDELL MATTHEWS Inventor and Pioneer

Barwell Ernest H. G.

Published by Hutchinson & Co Ltd, London, 1943

About this Item

A former owner has decided to 'restore' this copy - in clean orangy-red cloth boards ('restored' by adding orange colour to patches/edges! ). Apart from this the covers are sound, tight and clean. All hinges tight. In the original publisher's dustjacket - 'restored' to the hilt with a thin masking tape (! ) to the reverse and overlapping the edges to the front, then colouring in where repaired, etc, etc. However, having said all that, this former owner has retained the essence of the marvellous jacket art and preserved the dustjacket, albeit in a way that no book person would ever do. The page fore-edges are lightly 'toned' with age, but clean, no spotting. Internally Very Good - some biro numbers to the front top inner corner of the front free endpaper - X1889/43 - which I believe to be a sellers mark/date. The book is undated, but as far as I can ascertain was published in 1943, so that would make sense. Apart from this there are NO Inscriptions or other marks. Excellent inside. 175 pages, PLUS 20 pages of plates showing 30 b/w illustrations. "Harry Grindell Matthews (1880 -1941) was an English inventor who CLAIMED to have invented a death ray in the 1920s. "By any standards Harry Grindell Matthews led a remarkable life. Born in 1880 at Winterbourne in Gloucestershire, he was educated at the Merchant Venturer's School in Bristol before training as an electrical engineer. During the Boer War he enlisted in the Baden-Powell South African Constabulary and was wounded twice. On his return to Britain he pursued his interest in the burgeoning electrical sciences on the estate of Lord de la Warr at Bexhill-on-Sea. There he displayed a natural aptitude for "thinking outside the box" and began to first visualise and later produce a remarkable series of inventions - many not successful! ." . A rare title - particularly in a dust-jacket! See Images. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall.

Seller Inventory # 114934

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Death Ray Man. The Biography of GRINDELL MATTHEWS Inventor and Pioneer
• Publisher: Hutchinson & Co Ltd, London
• Publication Date: 1943
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition: First Edition.
• Condition: Good+
• Dust Jacket Condition: Fair
• Seller catalogs:
  • Radio. Wireless. TV. Assoc.
  • Military/War Related
  • Biography. Essays. Letters. Diaries
  • Science & Engineering