Beschreibung:

"Harry Collingwood". A collection of 30 of the author's sea adventure books, including The Secret of the Sands, 2 vol., the author's first book, inscribed from the author as Harry Collingwood to his daughter Evelyn on front fly-leaves with further signature of the author under his real name on titles, some foxing, covers rubbed and darkened at edges and spines, t.e.g., 1879; The Voyage of the Aurora, inscribed from the author as Harry Collingwood to his daughter Evelyn on front fly-leaves with further signature of the author under his real name on title, 1885; A Pirate of the Caribbees, inscribed to the author's son on half-title, [1898]; The Castaways, signed "Lancaster 1899" followed by later inscription from the author as Harry Collingwood to his daughter on half-title, [1899]; With Airship and Submarine, signed and dated by the author on front fly-leaf with autograph note "Kindly return as soon as read.", advertisements, 1908; The First Mate, inscribed from the author to his son, some bumping to edges, [1914], and 24 others by Collingwood (including one duplicate), all first editions, nearly all similarly inscribed from the author to his daughter or son, plates, some foxing and minor marking, original pictorial cloth, rubbed, a few vol. with slight wear or fraying to spine ends, two vol. worn at head of spine with loss; with 2 works by the author's son Percival Lancaster, as well as an unpublished typescript for a work written by father & son together, with manuscript title and corrections, and a small collection of letters from private secretaries to The Prince of Wales and The King thanking both authors for copies of their books (comprising one A.L.s. from Arthur Bigge, two A.Ls.s. from Henry Hansell and 8 T.Ls.s., together in 8 original envelopes, all on headed paper from York Cottage, Marlborough House or Buckingham Palace), 8vo & 4to (sm.qty) *** An excellent collection of works by this important Victorian & Edwardian children's author, from the private collection of his daughter Evelyn. William Joseph Cosens Lancaster (1843-1922) had joined the Royal Navy at the age of fifteen, having excelled during his education at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, but his naval career was cut short due to defective eyesight as a result of which he instead became a civil engineer specialising in harbours and hydrology. His work allowed him to travel extensively and it was these travels that informed and enabled him to write around fifty compelling nautical tales for children under the pseudonym "Harry Collingwood", hugely popular at their time, the majority of which are represented here in this collection. The typescript by "Harry" and Percival is somewhat out of keeping with the rest of their oeuvre, entitled The Fourth Temptation. The Love Story of Mary Magdalene; if this had a bearing on why it was not published is unknown... Both of Percival Lancaster's solo publications are present here too; the father & son team also wrote another work together, In the Power of the Enemy, published in 1925 but not present in this collection.