SATIRIST

The recipient Philip Dosse was proprietor of Hansom Books, publisher of a stable of seven arts magazines including Books and Bookmen and ‘Plays and Players’. 2pp, small 4to. Addressed to ‘Dear Philip Dossé’ [sic] and signed ‘Richard Ingrams’. He is enclosing ‘a rather rude review of the Clive James book for the June B & B’, and sends renewed apologies for missing the May issue. He will ‘do Thurber next’ and reminds Dosse that he still has ‘the biography of Thurber which you sent me many moons ago’: ‘Would it be too late to embrace that as well?’ He thanks him for ‘continuing to print the P.

Printed in black on one side of a 12.5 x 16.5 cm piece of card. A charming image, framed within the drawn curtains of a theatre stage, showing four snowmen, dressed as toff in top hat, flat-capped figure with spade, lady with shawl and umbrella, and bowler-hatted figure with muffler and broom. At head of image 'A Merry Christmas', and at foot, 'from E. V. & Mary Knox'. In blue ink in border at foot of page: '110 Frognal. N.W.3.' and 'Hampstead 7330.' Mary Knox's father E. H. Shepard was the illustrator of the Winnie the Pooh books.

52 pages, 8vo. In original blue printed wraps, which are folded around endpapers, the rear of which bears publisher's advertisements. In poor condition: paper browning and spotting with age, binding loose and wraps frayed and worn, especially at spine. The front wrap has a long closed tear at head, and the indentation of a paper-clip, which attaches the typewritten letter (1 page, 8vo, discoloured and worn at extremities), headed 'Room 102, | Surrey Street. | 7.4.52', from 'Christine' to 'Ita'.

Dimensions of card roughly two and three-quarter inches by four inches wide. Good, with light creasing to corners. Clear signature reads 'Yours very sincerely | Max O'Rell | 18 March 1895'.