The Blower of Bubbles 1920 Arthur Beverley Baxter SIGNED & Inscribed to Lord Beaverbrook ~ Association Copy

Title: The Blower of Bubbles

Author: Arthur Beverley Baxter

Description: Association copy, inscribed to Lord Beaverbrook on the blank page before the preface. Second printing: '(2)' on final page of text. Burgundy cloth stamped in gilt. Spine toned and rubbed; spine ends a bit worn; bit of sticker residue on spine; minor blemish on front cover. Interior is clean and unmarked. xii, 337, [1] pages.

Baxter's first book, a collection of five short stories, inscribed ''To Lord Beaverbrook / with many kindly / memories of his / courtesies to the / author. / A. Beverley Baxter''. Baxter and Beaverbrook, both Canadians by birth, had met in 1919 and maintained a significant working association for three decades. In January 1920, Beaverbrook called Baxter back to England to work for the London Daily Express. Later that year, Beaverbrook wrote the foreword to Baxter's second book, the novel The Parts Men Play, in which he pays regard to The Blower of Bubbles. The Blower of Bubbles, issued in the January of 1920 in the United States, was already into its second edition by February (ref: Columbus Dispatch, Feb 29, 1920).

Arthur Beverley Baxter (1891-1964) was a journalist, theatre critic and British MP. He wrote parts of The Blower of Bubbles while serving in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War. Following the war, he returned to London to work for Beaverbrook, becoming the managing editor of the Sunday Express in 1922 and of the Daily Express in 1924, and then serving as its editor-in-chief, 1929-1933. During World War II, he was appointed by Beaverbrook to the Ministry of Aircraft Production to the control of factory co-operation in manufacturing. In 1942, Beaverbrook appointed him to another newspaper position, this time as theatre critic for the Evening Standard, a position he maintained until 1951. Both men passed away in the spring of 1964. [add'l ref: The Bookman, December, 1920. 'The Bookman Gallery: Arthur Beverley Baxter,' p. 101-103].

Binding: Hardcover
Condition: Very Good

Publisher: D. Appleton and Company
Place: New York
Year: 1920

Keywords: Lord Beaverbrook, fiction, short stories, association copy,