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FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED BY PLAYWRIGHT & CAST. 8vo. Original green cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Extremities worn, grubby and rubbed, some discolouration. Edges toned and spotted. Inscribed by the playwright in black ink on ffep: "Leo Gunn, who nobly stood in the forefront of the battle, with the gratitude of Charles Morgan. 15.9.38", Tony M. Chance's ex libris to front pastedown, plus additional inscriptions from Gunn's fellow actors to blank verso ([p.37]) facing 'Cast' list and a later signed b/w publicity photograph of Gunn attached by photo corners to rear pastedown, occasional foxing. Else, clean and tight. Good+ A unique association copy of The Times' theatre critic's first play and West End hit, inscribed to his leading man, Leo Genn "who nobly stood in the forefront of the battle" during its run at the Lyric Theatre, and signed too by the original cast, including Margaret Rawlings, Anthony Ireland and Roger Maxwell. With printed dedication "To Margaret Rawlings", who played the brilliant mathematician (and love interest), Karen Selby the only civilian member of a small military team developing a secret weapon on a secluded island in the Atlantic. Genn (1905 1978), an actor and barrister, played Commander Henry Carr, R.N., second in command; a role foreshadowing his selection, seven years later, as senior investigating officer of the No. 1 War Crimes Investigation Team at Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Jewish Genn also served as a prosecutor in the Belsen War Crimes Trials. He was awarded the Croix de Guerre in 1945 and subsequently returned to acting full-time, his screen pinnacle an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as Petronius in Quo Vadis (1951). From the library of Tony M. Chance. A bibliophile and collector from Bromsgrove, Chance amassed a significant collection of signed modern literature, as well as history and arts books. He frequently extra-illustrated his books with related ephemera, often signed. Seller Inventory # 2884
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