Marrin's Bookshop

Synopsis

Illustrated by the author.

Item Description

FIRST EDITION. 8vo. 9 X 6.25 inches. ix + [i] + 70 pp. Bound in original yellow cloth with red titles, and blocks on front board, in price clipped pictorial dust wrapper, which has edge chips and loss of lower part of spine. Spine sunned and some spotting of edges; otherwise a very good copy with a clean interior. Illustrated throughout by author's drawings in text, many whole page. Map endpapers. Decorated by title page vignette. A satirical history of an imaginary English town, illustrating its architectural growth and making gentle fun of the inhabitants and their fashions. It ends with the traffic infested streets of 1949 and a proposed 'Drayneflete of Tomorrow.' featuring vast expanses of road and numerous tower blocks. Osbert Lancaster (1908-86) was an architectural historian author and stage designer, who became well known as a cartoonist.