A Diary with Letters 1931-1950 - Lord Portal’s Signed Copy

Language: English

Published by Oxford University Press, Oxford, 1954

  • First Edition
  • Hardcover
  • Used
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Seller: Arch Books, London, United KingdomArch Books

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AbeBooks seller since January 18, 2023

Hardcover

Condition: Used - Near fine

£ 300.00

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Item description from seller

JONES, Thomas. A Diary with Letters 1931-1950. London: Oxford University Press, 1954. First edition. Thomas Jones, C.H., was one of the most discreetly influential figures in twentieth-century British public life. A Welsh educationalist, civil servant and confidant of prime ministers, he served as Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet from 1916 to 1930, working closely with Lloyd George, Bonar Law, Stanley Baldwin and Ramsay MacDonald. His diaries and letters are valued for their unusually intimate view of Whitehall, Cabinet government, interwar politics, appeasement, war and the remaking of Britain after 1945. Octavo, first edition, first impression. original brown cloth gilt, portrait frontispiece, 582 pp., in the original dust jacket. Signed “Portal” on the front free endpaper, from the private collection of Marshal of the Royal Air Force Lord Portal of Hungerford. Lord Portal belonged to the same high world of British public service and national decision-making. A decorated First World War airman, he rose to become Marshal of the Royal Air Force and Chief of the Air Staff during the Second World War, standing at the centre of Britain’s wartime air strategy. In this copy, Jones’s private record of the political and administrative machinery of government is preserved in the library of one of the senior commanders shaped by that world. A notable Whitehall and wartime association: the reflections of a Cabinet insider, owned by Britain’s wartime air chief. The dust jacket is a little rubbed and chipped to the edges and spine ends, with some soiling to the rear panel; the cloth remains clean and the contents are sound.…

Seller Inventory # ABE-1780400615883

Bibliographic details

Title
A Diary with Letters 1931-1950 - Lord Portal’s Signed Copy
Author
JONES, Thomas.
Publisher
Oxford University Press, Oxford
Publication year
1954
Condition
Near fine
Dust jacket
Very Good
Signed
Signed by Illustrator(s)
Binding
Hardcover
Language
English
Edition
1st Edition
Printing
1st Printing

Arch Books

London, United Kingdom

5-star seller

AbeBooks seller since January 18, 2023

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Store description

Arch Books is a specialist rare book business based in Richmond, London, dealing in first editions, fine bindings, travel and exploration books, illustrated books, military history, historical documents, and antique prints. We help private collectors, interior designers, gift buyers, and institutions source distinctive works on paper, with particular emphasis on condition, provenance, bibliographic accuracy, and presentation. Founded in 2020 by Guy Nathan, his own interest in collecting works on paper began in 2005, following a visit to the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair with his grandmother, Pauline Willes, herself a passionate collector. That experience ignited a lifelong fascination with historical documents, art, scientific illustration, military ephemera and literature. For someone with a deep interest in history, collecting offered a particularly tangible way to understand the past - not simply through the events themselves, but through the objects, images and words by which they were recorded and experienced at the time. Whether a scientific drawing, a piece of military ephemera or a work of literature, each provides its own direct connection to a particular moment in history. The thrill of holding a first edition of Shackleton’s South, for instance, lies in that sense of immediacy: experiencing the book much as its first readers did in 1919, and encountering his extraordinary story through the same pages that introduced it to the world. Website: https://www.archbooks.co.uk Enquiries: guy@archbooks.co.uk Member of the Provincial Booksellers Fairs Association (PBFA)…

Specialty

Fine Bindings, Antique Prints & Rare Books

Seller's business information

Arch Books

United Kingdom

Welcome to Arch Rare Books & Antique Prints
My own interest in collecting works on paper began in 2005. A visit to the Grosvenor House Art & Antiques Fair in 2005, with my grandmother, Pauline Willes, a passionate collector, was the experience that ignited my lifelong fascination with historical documents, art, scientific illustrations, military ephemera, and literature. My love of history made this a fantastic way to learn more about the history of events and how they were documented, whether through art, scientific drawings, military ephemera, or literature of the time. The thrill of holding a first edition of Shackleton's South, for instance, is the thrill of experiencing history firsthand, retracing the steps of those who first encountered his incredible story in 1919.

My family history has profoundly shaped my interests. From my great-grandfather, Vyse Millard, an infantry officer wounded at Ypres in 1915 who later earned a Distinguished Flying Cross with the Royal Flying Corps in North Africa, to my grandfather, Archie Nathan, who led the renowned costumiers L&H Nathans—suppliers to the Royal Family from the reign of Queen Victoria onwards, the Royal Households of Europe, and countless theatrical and film productions.

L&H Nathan's contributions extended beyond the stage. Following my grandfather's World War I service in North Africa, the company, under MI9's guidance, provided specialised clothing for SOE agents operating in occupied Europe during World War II. Some amazing historical keepsakes remain, including original letters from Charles Dickens, childhood drawings by Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) and Princess Margaret, and theatre programmes for plays held at Osborne House during the reign of Queen Victoria, which are still held by the wider family.

The historical items showcased on this site, many from my own collection, reflect a deep personal interest in the past.

It was this interest that led to the creation of Arch Rare Books and Antique Prints (Arch Books) in 2020.

Guy, February 2025

https://www.archbooks.co.uk/pages/about-us