Abdication 1936 (2 results)
[The Abdication Crisis, 1936: Sir Osbert Sitwell.] Mimeographed copy, marked 'Private', of the unexpurgated version of the satirical poem 'RAT WEEK. / by Osbert Sitwell', the cause of a legal action with 'Cavalcade'.
The Abdication Crisis, 1936 Sir Osbert Sitwell [Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet] (1892-1969) [King Edward VIII and Mrs Wallis Simpson; Abdication, 1936; Cavalcade]
Published by Undated but circa On paper watermarked 'BELFAST BOND / MADE IN CANADA', 1936
- Softcover
- First Edition
- Manuscript / Paper Collectible
Seller: Richard M. Ford Ltd, London, United KingdomRichard M. Ford Ltd
Contact seller5-star sellerCondition: Used
£ 180.00
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Add to basketSee Sitwell's entry in the Oxford DNB. In his 1999 biography Philip Ziegler describes how the 'doggerel polemic Rat Week' 'excoriated' the supporters of the Edward VII and Mrs Simpson: 'Osbert realised that this diatribe, if published, might land him in a flurry of libel actions, but he could not resist having a few copies made…and distributed to his closer cronies; Mrs. Greville, Lady Aberconway, Lady Cholmondeley and Philip Frere among them. They showed it to their closer friends, copies were made, word of it passed around, soon it was known to everyone who was anyone in London.' Sitwell himself has described how it spread 'with the force and urgency of an eighteenth-century ballad: little did I know that it had multiplied and taken to itself wings, that it was being declaimed in drawing-rooms and saloon-bars and the public rooms of hotels, and that strangers were handing garbled versions of it to one another, later to be read aloud in crowded omnibuses or over the subterranean roar of the tube-trains. No contemporary work of which I am cognisant ever obtained a similar immediate popular response.' When the editor of the magazine 'Cavalcade' published an expurgated version, Sitwell sued for breach of copyright. After some litigation the magazine settled out of court for £500. Mimeograph typescript. 3pp, 4to. Fifty-six irregular lines of rhymed verse, in six stanzas. Paginated. On three loose leaves. In good condition, lightly aged and worn. Folded twice. Underlined at top right of first page: 'Private.' Considering the mimeographed nature of the document, the typewriting style, the watermark, and not least the word 'Private', there is every indication that the present item is one of the 'few copies' Sitwell had made. Begins: 'Where are the friends of yesterday | That fawned on Him, | That flattered Her? | Where are the friends of yesterday, | Submitting to His every whim, | Offering praise of Her as myrrh | to Him?' Individuals whose names were suppressed in the 'Cavalcade' version are 'sweet Maid Mendl', 'Colefax - in her iron cage / of curls' and John McMullen. There are also references to 'Balmoral's Coburg Towers', 'dear Fort Belvedere' and 'the Ritz Bar'. Published (Penguin) 1986 (described by dealteers as "First Edition").
Facsimile of the Proclamation of His Majesty King Edward the Eighth (VIII) at St. James's Palace on the 21st January 1936 | H.M.S.O. Reference Code 70-330
Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 - 28 May 1972) was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 1936 until his abdication in December of the same year.
Published by Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office Adastral House, Kingsway, London First Edition 21st January . 1936., 1936
- First Edition
Seller: Little Stour Books PBFA Member, Canterbury, United KingdomLittle Stour Books PBFA Member
Contact seller5-star sellerAssociation member: PBFA
Condition: Used - Very good
£ 150.00
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Add to basketCondition: Very Good. First edition in publisher's original cream card wrap covers (soft back) secured with green silk through three punched holes down the left-hand margin. Medium foolscap. 19½'' x 17¼''. This is a half-scale reproduction of the original parchment document. Upon his father's death in 1936, Edward became the sec…ond monarch of the House of Windsor. The new king showed impatience with court protocol, and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, a constitutional crisis was caused by his proposal to marry Wallis Simpson, an American who had divorced her first husband and was seeking a divorce from her second. After his abdication, Edward was created Duke of Windsor. He married Simpson in France on 3 June 1937, after her second divorce became final. Contains 2 single-sided leaves inside with red stamped seal. Soft fold down the centre, small splash mark to the front cover, else in Very Good clean condition. Sent rolled in a tube with plastic end caps. Member of the P.B.F.A. MONARCHY.
