Dazzle (signed)

MOTTRAM, R. H. Dazzle. London: Ward, Lock & Co. 1932. 8vo. First edition. Publisher’s purple cloth lettered in gilt to the spine and in black to the upper board, in the striking, or rather dazzling dust jacket, sadly uncredited. This copy signed and inscribed by the author to half-title, to Henry Buckley—a nice association copy, see below. A very good or better copy. The cloth just marginally marked, the backstrip slightly faded, the extremities a trifle bumped. The binding tight and square, the contents clean, with some mild toning in places. The dust jacket priced 7/6 net to spine, complete, with a few tiny nicks and chips to spine head, some smaller nicks and gentle rubbing to corners and foot, but a very pleasing copy. A romance novel by the author of the Spanish Farm trilogy, published in the midst of his highly industrious period. It follows an idealistic young painter keen to make some form of legacy in the the art world, but struggles to even make an impression on the sleepy town he calls home, all the while the Nonconformist minister’s level-headed daughter seeks to henpeck him. A nice association copy, inscribed by Mottram to Henry Buckley, the Daily Telegraph’s correspondent in Spain during the Spanish Civil War. His account, ‘Life and Death of the Spanish Republic’ (1940) is widely regarded as one of the most accurate portraits of the war. It’s probable the pair united in their attempts to portray the war entirely without glitz or political agenda, focusing particularly on the people whom it affected the most—poorer communities—which was somewhat in contrast to the more famous literature of Ernest Hemingway, Arthur Koestler, or even George Orwell. Uncommon in the striking dust jacket; scarce signed.…