Three Lionel Edwards Illustrated Sporting Verse Books | Roger Gresley's Hunting Library | 1925 to 1929 | Gresley Family Provenance | Good Condition

Three books, three crossed-out names, one act of love in June 1947.

This is a set of three beautifully illustrated sporting verse books, all published by Constable and Company and all illustrated with eight tipped-in colour plates by Lionel Edwards — one of the finest painters of the horse and the English hunting landscape that this country has ever produced. They were collected by Roger Gresley across the late 1920s, given to him year by year, some by his mother at Christmas. And then in June 1947, Roger gathered every one of them, struck his own name through in each, and gave them to Timothy — with love, signed simply "Bone."

The three volumes are as follows.

Scattered Scarlet by Will H. Ogilvie, illustrated by Lionel Edwards. London: Constable and Company, 4th impression, 1925. A collection of hunting verse in the original red cloth with gilt facsimile signature of Ogilvie to the front board. Eight colour plates by Edwards, all present and bright. The front endpaper carries three distinct layers of inscription: "Roger Gresley 1926" struck through, beneath it "For Roger / from Mother / Xmas 1926 / with my love" also struck through, and beneath that in pencil "Timothy / with love / Bone / June 1947." The frontispiece plate has come away from the binding — noted honestly and consistent with the age of the volume.

A Handful of Leather by Will H. Ogilvie, illustrated by Lionel Edwards. London: Constable and Company, first edition, 1928. Forty horse-themed poems in the original cloth with eight vivid tipped-in colour plates by Edwards, all present and bright. The front endpaper reads "Roger Gresley / Xmas 1928" struck through, then "Timothy / with love / Bone / June 1947."

Somewhere in England and Other Hunting Verses by Captain Edric G. Roberts, illustrated by Lionel Edwards. London: Constable and Company, first edition, 1929. Hunting verse in the original royal blue cloth with gilt lettering. Eight colour plates by Edwards, all present and bright. The front endpaper reads "Roger Gresley / 1930" struck through, then "Timothy / with love / Bone / June 1947." Some foxing to the endpapers as is typical of this period.

None of the three volumes carries a dust jacket, which is the norm for surviving copies of these editions.

Lionel Edwards (1878 to 1966) was the pre-eminent British painter of hunting and equestrian subjects of his generation. The colour plates throughout these three volumes — riders taking hedges, hounds in full cry, the muted palette of an English November morning — are characteristic of his finest work and remain actively collected in their own right.

Roger Gresley was a member of the ancient Gresley family of Derbyshire and Staffordshire, one of the oldest Norman families in England, descended from a follower of William the Conqueror and holders of their Derbyshire seat for nine centuries. He built this small hunting library as a young man, book by book through the late 1920s. Then in a single moment in June 1947 — striking through his name in each volume before passing it on — he gave the entire collection to Timothy, signing himself with the family nickname "Bone." It is not known what occasion June 1947 marked. It may have been a birthday, a coming of age, or simply a father choosing the right moment. Whatever the reason, the gesture was deliberate, complete and entirely legible across three endpapers a lifetime later.

Condition: Good throughout. The colour plates in all three volumes are present and bright — the most important consideration with Edwards illustrated books. Scattered Scarlet — red cloth boards with some fading and marks, frontispiece plate detached from binding, text and remaining plates clean. A Handful of Leather — cloth boards faded and marked, text and plates clean and bright. Somewhere in England — royal blue cloth boards with some surface marks, foxing to endpapers, text and plates clean. All three are honest, genuine survivors of a well-used and well-loved sporting library.

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