Rare Book Monthly

Book Catalogue Reviews - September - 2012 Issue

A Summer Catalogue from Peter Harrington

An unsmiling Il Duce in 1932.

An unsmiling Il Duce in 1932.

Here is a picture you might like to hang on your wall. It is a roughly 7” x 10” photograph of Benito Mussolini. Il Duce inscribed this photograph to Edward (Gordon) Craig, a British actor/producer/artist who was drawn to fascism for a while, likely more as he thought it might lead to financial support for his endeavors rather than deep political beliefs. Mussolini, in a somewhat brooding pose, looks down, unsmiling. It is apparently meant to look dignified, or something befitting a man who saw no need to listen to anyone but himself. Item 131. £1,875 (US $2,958).

There's no question what is the most famous mountain climbing expedition. That would be the first successful assault on Mt. Everest, conducted in 1953. Item 92 is the official account, The Ascent of Everest, published that year. The author was expedition leader John Hunt, though Edmund Hillary, and Sherpa Tenzing Norgay, are remembered as the individuals who made it all the way to the top. This copy is signed by both Hunt and Hillary, and nine others who participated in the mission. It took the work of many people who could not go all the way to the top for the mission to achieve its success. £2500 (US $3,946).

Peter Harrington may be reached at +44 (0)20 7591 0220 or mail@peterharrington.co.uk. Their website is www.peterharrington.co.uk.

Rare Book Monthly

  • Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: William Shakespeare.
    The Poems and Sonnets of William Shakespeare, 1960. 7,210 USD
    Sotheby’s: Charles Dickens.
    A Christmas Carol, First Edition, 1843. 17,500 USD
    Sotheby’s: William Golding.
    Lord of the Flies, First Edition, 1954. 5,400 USD
    Sotheby's
    Fine Books, Manuscripts & More
    Available for Immediate Purchase
    Sotheby’s: Lewis Carroll.
    Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found There, Inscribed First Edition, 1872. 25,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: J.R.R. Tolkien.
    The Hobbit, First Edition, 1937. 12,000 USD
    Sotheby’s: John Milton.
    Paradise Lost, 1759. 5,400 USD

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