Description
Inscribed by Mary, Princess Royal, to Major-General Rohan Delacombe, the first edition of Queen Mary 1867-1953 by James Pope-Hennessy, the biography of her mother, Queen Mary of Teck.
Octavo, 685pp, [2]. Blue cloth, title in gilt on spine. Stated “First Published in 1959” on copyright page, no additional printings listed. Solid text block, light foxing to edges, a near fine example. In the publisher’s dust jacket, price-clipped, shelf worn, chipping to edges. Small points of color loss along edges, with a few short closed tears.
Inscribed by Princess Mary on the front free endpaper: “To dear Jumbo / from Mary / Christmas 1959.”
Includes a signed holiday card from 1959 on Princess Mary’s official stationery, from the Harewood House in Leeds. The envelope is addressed to Major General R. Delacombe in Berlin.
Major-General Sir Rohan Delacombe (1906-1991), nicknamed “Jumbo,” served in the British Armed Forces during the Arab revolt in Palestine and World War II. After the war, he returned to staff duties, working his way up to Commandant of the British Sector in Berlin from March 1959 through May 1962. Delacombe was also the 20th Governor of Victoria, Australia, from 1963 to 1974.
Mary, Princess Royal, was the only daughter of King George V. Princess Mary married Viscount Henry Lascelles in 1922. The couple moved to Harewood House of Leeds permanently in 1929 after the death of Henry’s father. This book details the life of Princess Mary’s mother, Queen Mary of Teck.
