The Du Poissey Anecdotes
To Which Are Joined Some Conversations With A Great Man By Benjamin Harcourt.
Revised & Edited by Hugh McCrae
Printed for Art In Australia Ltd: Sydney 1922 1st Edition
Signed by Author - Limited Edition To Just 600 Copies
"The Du Poissey Anecdotes is an ingenious work of Australian literary satire written in the manner of an eighteenth-century chronicle. Its central figure, Du Poissey, is an eccentric, learned and magnificently self-important gentleman whose opinions, disputes and social misadventures are recorded by the purported author, Benjamin Harcourt. Through episodes involving literature, philosophy, marriage, manners, art and everyday absurdities, Du Poissey emerges as a memorable comic creation—vain, argumentative and forever convinced of the importance of his own observations.
Hugh McCrae carries the joke further by presenting himself merely as the work's reviser and editor, surrounding Du Poissey with real historical and literary personalities including Samuel Johnson, James Boswell, Voltaire and Thomas Chatterton. The antiquated language, mock scholarship, editorial annotations and conversations with celebrated figures deliberately imitate the biographical literature of the Georgian period, particularly Boswell's accounts of Johnson. McCrae's spirited illustrations, decorative initials and caricatures complete the illusion of an old book while amplifying its humour and playful treatment of literary pretension.
Printed in Sydney for Art in Australia Ltd in 1922, this first edition was strictly limited to just 600 copies and is signed by Hugh McCrae beneath the limitation statement. Handsomely produced with black and red typography, an illustrated title page, portrait frontispiece and numerous drawings throughout, it represents a distinctive collaboration between McCrae's talents as writer, satirist and artist. Retaining its original publisher's labelled slipcase, this is a desirable signed limited edition by one of Australia's most individual early twentieth-century literary figures."
Light wear and edge curling to the covers and spine as shown. No inscriptions. No loose pages. Pages clean and well presented. An excellent copy in very good condition overall. Please study photos to further understand condition.
Size 25cm x 19cm x 2.5cm - 157 Pages
