MY BROTHER AQUARIUS

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine and upper board, in the author illustrated dustwrapper. Colour frontispiece with the same design as the dustwrapper. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm with a little rubbing and bumping to the extremities, the cloth and gilt are bright and fresh. The contents, with the author's elaborate inscription to the front endpaper are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the very good rubbed, creased, nicked and dust-marked dustwrapper that has a tear to the middle of the spine, without loss. Not price clipped (40/- to the rear flap).

Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the front endpaper "This Book of Poems is / for Mrs Smallwood, / with kindest thoughts from / Cordially and Sincerely, / Stephen Tennant / January 1973 / "The Soul of a Wheel is the space / between the spokes". / (Chinese very old) / A strong mystical "content" / here - the white air: the nothingness, / is the potent thing: / The Eternal, the Inexpressible - / Exstasy [sic]. / Wilsford Manor, Salisbury, Wiltshire". The recipient is Norah Smallwood (1909-1984), pioneering editor, publisher and managing director at Chatto and Windus and The Hogarth Press. A collection of 52 poems, its title derived from a line by Keats in Endymion "Crystalline brother of the belt of Heaven: Aquarius!".