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Wilson, Nerissa : Gypsies and Gentlemen: the Life and Times of the Leisure Caravan

Columbus Books, London, 1986

Remainder mark lower edge, else fine in fine dust jacket, Small 4to, 200 pp.

1st

WILSON, NERISSA: : GYPSIES AND GENTLEMEN: THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE LEISURE CARAVAN

LONDON.COLUMBUS BOOKS LIMITED,1986.

ISBN 0862872979.

UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn.FINE+/FINE+.No owner inscrptn,but price-clip to dw/dj. Bright,crisp,clean,glossy laminated,green background with sepia line illustration to upper panel of dw/dj,with white and yellow lettering,and a sepia and b/w contemporary photographic illustrated rear panel; with negligible shelf-wear and creasing to edges and corners - no nicks or tears present.Top+fore-edges bright and clean; contents bright,tight,solid and sound, clean and pristine - virtually as new - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners - appears possbly unread? Bright, crisp,clean,generally sharp-cornered (upper board's top right-hand corner minimally bumped - others unaffected), publisher's original,textured plain, air-force blue cloth boars with bright, crisp,blocked silver gilt letters to spine /backstrip,a blue+white striped headband and immaculate plain,pale blue endpapers. UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn,7-200pp [paginated] includes 14 chapters,profuse contemporary b/w line illus and b/w photographs (the majority) and 8pp of contemporary colour illus/paintings by various assorted artists,in one block between pp96/105; footnotes,a bibliography and picture acknowledgements.Plus [unpaginated] half-title page,recto of which has b/w contemporary b/w photographic frntis,title page and contents list/table. This is the chronicle of a vehicle which only a hundred years ago (then 1986) was the plaything of the rich,a new invention borrowed from the tinkers and gypsies . . . Yet there is no word for 'caravan' in the Romany language.Caravans only became a practical proposition when metalled roads began to be introduced,in the mid-nineteenth century.Since then,they have been the height of fashion and the symbol of low necessity,enjoying popularity and scorn in equal measure. People from every walk of life have taken to the open road - shepherds and farmworkers,fairground and circus people, tinkers and menagerie-owners,travelling salesmen,eccentric writers and artists, social reformers,political agitators, missionaries and cranks.The rich bohemians,who loved the doll's-house quality of the caravan,and the fact that so much could be contained in so little space,set out on the newly-made roads with their servants,their pianos,paintings and antiques to fulfil their quest for good health and the Simple Life.The Salvation Army crammed its 'forts' with evangelist soldiers,Bibles and copies of 'War Cry'. Isambard Kingdom Brunel lived in a caravan when he was supervising railway construction; war photographer Roger Fenton covered the Crimean War from one; Augustus John was much taken by the gypsy lifestyle,and his son was born in a caravan on Dartmoor; and Field Marshal Montgomery directed the North African campaign from his,permitting only Winston Churchill and George VI to stay overnight. But besides these famous names there were the equally fascinating eccentrics of the caravanning community: Dugald Semple, advocate of divorce on demand,sunlight baths and 'vegetable-arianism'; retired surgeon,rogue and drunkard Dr Gordon Stables,who set off every summer with his valet,his coachman,his Newfoundland dog and his parrot; Eva Hasell,the bossy and formidable purveyor of religion who established Sunday schools throughout sparsely populated Canada; and George and Peggy Bankes,who toured France in their red-wheeled 'Escargot'. All these and more are brought to life in Nerissa' Wilson's diverting biography of the caravan.As her story unfolds,we feel we are witnessing the birth of leisuretime itself - and we suddenly realize why the love of the open road has more to do with free-wheeling in the soul than with mere transport for the body. Please contact seller,because of the weight and the value of this item for correct,insured shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas customers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. UK and all overseas buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded, after order receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if item is offered P+p included or postage free.Free P+p available UK only. ** N.B. US customers please be aware: US standard AIR postage from UK to US can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. between 1/2 to 2/3rds of standard US AIR quote/ rate - sometimes arriving within a week or so,and sometimes before the quoted 42 days - but not always.

UK,Qrto HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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