Collins Guide To English Parish Churches: Signed And Inscribed By John Betjeman

Published by Collins, London, UK. Date: 1959. First revised edition. Original cloth. Dustwrapper. Size: 15.5cm x 21.7cm. pp. 480. A survey of over 4000 churches edited and with an introduction by John Betjeman. Warmly inscribed to Jimmy Arlott: ‘Jimmy, in gratitude for Tom Bowling & other sea songs from John Betjeman, 1961’. ‘Tom Bowling’ was an 18th century folk song by Charles Dibdin: ‘Here, a sheer hulk, lies poor Tom Bowling, The Darling of our crew…’ Jimmy Arlott was the son of John Arlott, the legendary cricket aficionado and commentator. Jimmy’s life ended tragically at the age of 21 in an automobile accident in 1965. Binding nice and tight. Cloth very bright and clean. Foxing to the endpapers otherwise pages generally bright and clean. Has a small amount of wear and a short tear to the margin of the dedication page, not affecting the text. A very good copy in very good, slightly nicked, chipped and rubbed, price-clipped dustwrapper designed by Clifford and Rosemary Ellis.