Kokoschka. Life and Work : Inscribed And Signed By Oskar Kokoschka In The Year Of Publication

The First UK printing published by Faber and Faber, London in 1947. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Original yellow cloth with gilt titling to the spine gilt on red ground. Cloth a little dulled with a few small rubbed spots. The binding remains tight. Text-block a little toned with a small stain to the lower text block which has just very slightly encroached onto the relevant lower pages. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ condition with some rubbing and creasing in places with a small area of loss at the upper spine. A 3 inch closed tear to the front upper flap fold and a small tear to the upper edge of the rear panel. Small penned number to the upper front flap. The wrapper looks very attractive in the removable Brodart archival cover. There is a tipped-in colour frontispiece and four plates with sixty pages of monochrome plates and illustrations within the text - all in excellent condition. Presentation copy: INSCRIBED and SIGNED in the year of publication by Oskar Kokoschka in red crayon on the half-title page: 'For my dear friend Janos who not merely feels the beat of the pulses but who sees into the heart where all the adventures of the human race originate. You are one of the few europeans left. Have a merry Xmas and a relatively eternal future! OK, London 1947'. The recipient was Janos Plesch (1878-1957), an eminent and somewhat unorthodox Hungarian Doctor who moved in exalted circles and who had listed amongst his patients and friends: Albert Einstein, John Maynard Keynes, Marlene Dietrich, Max Reinhardt and Oskar Kokoschka. This book has come from the library of Plesch's daughter, Honoria. A wonderful association copy and scarce with such attributes. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.