Nicholson, William

8vo (186 x 126mm.), FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ("Apple Tree | Feb 1930 | For Muriel Gore | from | William Nicholson") on the front free endpaper, original green and white pictorial boards, spine chipped with some loses and slightly soiled

Originally drawn simply to amuse himself and those around him, Nicholson agreed to publish his best doodle-like portraits as The Book of Blokes at the end of the 1920s. This pocket-sized volume contains 29 full-page reproductions printed alternately in black, red and green, with covers appearing in each of these three colours.

Nicholson dedicated the book to his friend, the caricaturist Max Beerbohm, and subsequently presented copies to his friends over the years, some of which he embellished with an additional hand-drawn 'bloke'. This copy includes a drawing in the style of the artist.

Muriel Gore, to whom this copy is inscribed, was an acquaintance of Nicholson, having purchased his painting White Anemones from his 1927 exhibition at the Beaux Arts Gallery in 1927.