Isabel Reed : Her Book

Dunedin: W. Reed. Very Good- in Very Good- dust jacket. [1939]. First Edition. Hardcover. Exlibris bookplate, Frank G. Glen. Dewey classification stickeron front cover. Rubber stamp "Glen Historic collection" (private library). ; This copy inscribed and signed by the author "Mr & Mrs A. J. Coveney / with kindest regards / A H Reed". This copy with an additional printed sheet by the author included: "M.S. describves you as a saint. And so you were, though a very human and lovable one - no 'plaster saint' you, and blessed with a rare gift of quaint, vivacious humour, And so you will enjoy this glimpse of your early childhood received just after your little book was printed, and which I must set down. - 'She was a bright, lovable child' writes May from the Isle of Wight, ' very excitable and passionate at times. When very annoyed with someone I have heard her say, 'I hate you; you are more cruel than those who crucified Jesus. After such an outburst she would sit on the stairs and cry, over and over, 'Oh I do wish I had not been so naughty.'" 102 pages + portrait frontispiece. Card boards with printed dust-jacket pasted down. Page dimensions: 151mm x 105mm. Written by the author A. H. Reed (1875-1975) about his wide Isabel Reed (1866-1939). "[T]he more I dwell upon our forty years' companionship, the more do happy and inspiring memories come crowding in, and to do justice to all of these would require many books. And if I wrote and rewrote it every year for a dozen years - should I not hear your welcoming voice before then - I should still want to alter it everytime, and should still feel, I know full well, that it failed lamentably in presenting the picture of you that should be portrayed." - from page 3. [Reference: Bagnall R265] .