GUINNESS, Bryan. Leo and Rosabelle. A Passacaglia. Illustrated by Roland Pym (Inscribed to Donal O’Sullivan with signed ephemera)

London: Heinemann, 1961. 118. First edition. Small 8vo. Original blue cloth, titled in gilt to upper cover and spine, in the scarce illustrated dust jacket.

A charming and uncommon Bryan Guinness first edition, additionally enriched with a remarkable association archive. This copy is warmly inscribed by Guinness to Donal O’Sullivan in April 1963, with an earlier Christmas card and illustrated keepsake likewise signed and sent by the author. The accompanying card bears an affectionate manuscript note concerning travel plans and Christmas greetings, while the envelope is addressed by Guinness to “Donal O’Sullivan, 40 Anglesea Road, Dublin.” Also included are two attractive printed views of Biddesden, one annotated by Reynold Stone and dated 1960.

Bryan Guinness, later Lord Moyne, occupies a curious and fascinating position within twentieth-century literary and aristocratic circles. Poet, novelist, publisher and patron, he moved among the leading cultural figures of his age, associated with Evelyn Waugh, the Bright Young Things, and the Guinness literary dynasty. Leo and Rosabelle, illustrated throughout by Roland Pym, is among his more elusive later works, especially desirable in dust jacket and with such intimate presentation material intact.

The recipient, Donal O’Sullivan, was the distinguished Irish musicologist and scholar best remembered for his monumental work on Carolan and Irish music history, adding an appealing Irish literary and cultural association to the volume.

A very good copy with light spotting to preliminaries and mild wear to jacket extremities. The accompanying signed ephemera remain in excellent condition. A unique association grouping combining literature, Anglo-Irish cultural history, and private correspondence.

[L3 7D]