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RAINBIRD, GEORGE & SEARLE**, RONALD: : THE Subtle Alchemist: A BOOK OF WINE. [Illustrated by Ronald Searle.**]

LONDON.MICHAEL JOSEPH,1973.

ISBN 0718111176.

UK,8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.[Originally and first published in UK as 'THE POCKET BOOK OF WINE' by Evans Brothers Ltd. .] FINE/FINE.No owner inscrptn and no price-clip to dw/dj but residual evidence of a superimposed adhesive price label's partial and incomplete removal from over the publisher's original printed price on dw/djs' front inner flap.Bright,crisp,clean, glossy laminated,white background with colour pictorial artwork by Ronald Searle,illustrated front panel of dw/dj with black lettering,rear panel also by Searle but with a b/w cartoon illustration; with negligible shelf-wear or creasing to edges and corners - no major nicks or tears present - tiniest of snicks on top edges in a couple of places.Top edges with slightest of dulling and minimal marks,fore-edges brighter but both generally clean; contents bright,tight,clean,solid and sound - virtually pristine - no dog-ear reading creases to any pages' corners,appears unread - apart from my own collation.Bright,crisp,clean,sharp-cornered - excepting front,lower corner with a minimal bump - publisher's original plain pale mauve cloth boards with stamped vine leaves design and bright,crisp,blocked gilt letters to spine/backstrip,and immaculate plain white endpapers.UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn,5-206pp [paginated] includes contents list/table,an introduction,10 chapters - some with b/w chapter/section headpieces by Ronald Searle,8 full page b/w cartoon illustrations interspersed throughout the text,2 b/w wine districts maps (France + Germany),a glossary,a bibliography,an index; plus [unpaginated] half-title,Searle b/w vignette illustrated title page,a dedication and 2pp blanks at the rear. When this book first appeared (as 'The Pocket Book of Wine) it was described by Cyril Ray as 'an ideal present for any newcomer to winemanship'.That is perhaps even more true of this completely new edition,splendidly illustrated by Ronald Searle. Wine,the fermented juice of the grape,can mean anything from Ch. Laftte '45 to hangover-producing plonk.The author is here addressing those who want something better than the latter but cannot afford the former,which is to say most wine-drinkers.Such people will find here an absolutely practical and realistic guide to wine drinking,written by a considerable expert. After a sensible introduction on the service of wine,the vineyards of Europe and the rest of the world are discussed fully but not laboriously.A keynote of the book is that as much attention is paid to 'little' wines as to the great ones.No artificial snobbery is tolerated,and a number of prejudices are disposed of with decisiveness and wit.The message throughout is,in the author's words,that 'the important thing is to like wine for what it is,to drink only honest wines whether they be cheap or not,and then enjoy them for what they are and not what thay may be.' George Rainbird was the Chairman of the Wine and Food Society and the author of 'Sherry and The Wines of Spain'.He is the founder of George Rainbird Ltd.,the international book production company,and the Deputy Chairman of Thomson Publications Ltd. Ronald William Fordham Searle (b. March 3,1920 - d. Dec 30, 2011.) Works as Ronald Searle.Born in Cambridge.Studied at Cambridge School of Art (1936-39). Served in the Army during WW2 and was interned in Japanese PoW camps in Siam and Malaysia for three and a half years.On his release in 1945,he returned to England with over 300 drawings,many of which were published in 'To the Kwai and Back'.He settled in London and began working as a humorous illustrator and caricaturist for books and magazines,including 'Punch' and 'Lilliput'. In 1959,at the invitation of the United Nations' High Commissioner for Refugees,he visited camps in Austria,Italy and Greece,and published a book illustrating his impressions.The following year,1961,he moved to Paris and later married Monica Koenig,settling in France, where he lived until his death.Since 1975 they both lived and worked in the mountains of Haute Provence.In 2007 he was decorated with France's highest award,the Legion d'Honneur,and in 2009 he received the German Order of Merit. Searle has illustrated over 60 books. 'Hurrah for St. Trinian's!' (1948) was among the first of many giving a mock-horrific view of private schools and their denizens; in these and many of his other books,the predominant mood of effervescent humour is offset by sinister or macabre overtones. He early developed a fanciful and strikingly individual graphic manner, subjecting the human form to grotesque distortions (bristling brows, hunched shoulders,matchstick legs and stiletto feet) and by the mid 1950s had become virtually a household name in Britain.He succeeds both at character-invention (favouring a number of well-defined types) and at caricature.He is also a painter in watercolour and gouache,etcher and lithographer and has worked on several films including Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1965). Please contact seller,because of the lighter weight of this item,for correct shipping/P+p quotes - particularly ALL overseas buyers - BEFORE ordering through the order page! ** N.B. ALL buyers please note,stocks' actual shipping/P+p costs are adjusted and any difference is refunded,after order's receipt and before the order's despatch,especially if the item(s) are offered either P+p included/FREE. ** N.B. US/Canada customers please be aware: Standard AIRMAIL postage from UK to these destinations can now cost more than the price of the book! If speed is not of the essence,then Economy rate is recommended - at approx. anything from a 1/3rd to 1/2 of the standard AIR quote/rate - sometimes arriving sooner than the 42 days - but not always.

UK,slim 8vo HB+dw/dj,1st edn.
Not SIGNED.

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