WILLIAM - THE FOURTH.

UK,8vo HB,minus dw/dj,1st edn. G-. No owner inscrptn but retailer's,2 inked oval (Newsagent,Confectioner, Tobacconist) stamps - one each to front pastedown and to verso of front free endpaper.Age-soiled and slightly darkened publisher's original plain red cloth boards with clear,bright,crisp,printed black ink lettering to front board/ cover,black letters to a heavily darkened,discoloured spine/backstrip,rear board/cover with vertical bleaching marks/blemishes along its fore-edge and lightly aged plain white eps.Front hinge cracked(?) hidden/repaired(?) with translucent white adhesive tape,rear hinge just starting to crack - due to removal of the rear free endpaper(?) and to the rear pastedown,another differing from front endpapers ink stamps,a retailer's adhesive white label with black text: KENDALLS Library and Confectioners RESERVOIR VIEW, PLYMOUTH, with 2 ink partial date issue stamps over terms of lending to body of label.Shelf-wear,bumping and rubbing with some fraying and subsequent loss to bottom edges and corners,similar faults to top edges and corners, and with wear and splits at head+foot of spine/backstrip along with splits of differing lengths to spine/backstrip's front+rear gutter's creases/folds,suspected spine/backstrip re-glued? Top edge heavily dust-soiled and toned but without foxing/spotting, fore-edges toned but to a much lesser degree and therefore brighter and also without foxing/spotting; contents with discoloration and imperfections commensurate with age and therefore some minimal foxing/spotting,no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners.UK,8vo HB,minus dw/dj,1st edn,12- 250pp [paginated] includes XIV (14) chapters,profuse part+whole page b/w line illustrations by Thomas Henry interspersed throughout the text and the book; plus [unpaginated] half-title page with b/w line illustrated frntis to its reverse,title page with Published - 1924 to reverse,and a contents list/ table.Author's 4th 'William' title.
An uncommon survivor from the earlier titles and that era/period.Acceptable but fragile reading copy or gap-filler in a collection.
A highly collected and prolific children's books author in her typical style and format and will be an important and welcome addition to the canon.
Thomas Henry Fisher [1879-1962] worked as Thomas Henry.Born Eastwood, Nottinghamshire.Studied at Nottingham School of Art.He worked as a lithographer (his first job was the 'sailor' trademark for Player's cigarettes) and poster designer before becoming a regular contributor of cartoons and humorous illustrations to newspapers and magazines.Contemporary periodicals included The Boy's Own Paper,The Captain,Chums,Crusoe, Happy Magazine,Home Magazine,The Humorist,the Nottingham Guardian,Passing Show,Punch and The Windsor Magazine amongst others.His forte was the funny side of school life and he illustrated the first 34 of Richmal Crompton's 'William' books in pen and ink in a cheerful, effective and remarkably consistent style.Although the first of these books was published in 1922,Fisher did not meet Richmal Crompton until 1954.
Richmal Crompton,British author,born Richmal Crompton Lamburn in Lancashire in 1890.Studied at London University,subsequently becoming Classics mistress at Bromley High School before being compelled to retire because of illness.Best known for the enormously popular 38 'William' books - two being re-issued with new title(s) - the series beginning with 'Just William', and the last with 'William the Lawless' published posthumously in 1970, although she also wrote several novels for adults. Died,1969.
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