Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia: Being the Adventures of Prince Rigio's Son. This, a fine piece of Etoniana.

Andrew Lang

Published by Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd.,, Bristol; London, UK, 1893

About this Item

Description: First Edition. Small 8vo. Original cloth. Illustrated by Gordon Browne.

Provenance :
A significant Association Copy with a detailed presentation inscription to the front flyleaf. Inscribed in a scholarly hand: "Christophero Reynolds Stone / hoc LIBRUM / D.D. [Dono Dedit] / W.J.S. / a.d. XVII Kal. Nov. 1894." * Recipient: Christopher Reynolds Stone (1882-1965), noted Etonian and later the UK's first radio disc jockey.

Inscriber: Identified by the initials W.J.S. as his brother, William Johnson Stone (1876-1901), the brilliant Etonian classical scholar whose early death was a significant loss to British philology.

Literary Significance: Below the dedication is a handwritten Latin elegiac couplet:
"Mortuus est Prigio: quare tibi, Grixe, Ricardo / Sufficiat, multo debitus ante die." This verse is a clever contemporary "insider" joke within the Andrew Lang circle. It refers to Lang?s previous hero, Prince Prigio, being replaced by Ricardo. The poem is addressed to "Grixe," the nickname of Lang's close friend Charles John Guthrie. The presence of this specific verse in a Stone family copy highlights the intimate social and intellectual link between the Stone family, Eton scholarship, and the author Andrew Lang.

Condition:
Spine slightly leaned, rubbing to corners, internal pages clean and bright. The inscription remains sharp and deeply inked. Front and rear endpapers are separated, but the book block is solid. Please see our photos.

Seller Inventory # aw56rc

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Prince Ricardo of Pantouflia: Being the Adventures of Prince Rigio's Son. This, a fine piece of Etoniana.
• Publisher: Bristol: J.W. Arrowsmith; London: Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co. Ltd.,, Bristol; London, UK
• Publication Date: 1893
• Language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Gordon Browne
• Edition: 1st Edition
• Printing: 1st Printing
• Condition: Good
• Dust Jacket Condition: No Jacket
• Weight: 1 pound
• Seller catalogs:
  • Inscribed
  • Association Copies
  • Fiction