THE LOVE OF FOUR COLONELS. Inscribed, With an Original Photograph.
London: English Theatre Guild Ltd., 75 Berwick Street, W.1. [1951]. First Edition (& 1st printing). Small octavo, original colour pictorial paper-covered boards, black cloth spine lettered in white. 80 pp + [4] pp ads at rear, plus four black & white plates reproducing photographs by Denis De Marney taken at the original production done at Wyndham's Theatre on May 23, 1951. INSCRIBED BY USTINOV on the front free endpaper:"For Peter Cowdery / Best Wishes / Peter Ustinov". Laid in is an invitation to "An Evening With Sir Peter Ustinov", held at the Orpheum Theatre, Vancouver. B.C., on October 16 (the date 1998 in pen at the bottom of the leaf). The invitation states that "Following the performance, the Benefit Reception will be held at the Waterfront Centre Hotel". Also laid in is an ORIGINAL COLOUR PHOTOGRAPH of Peter Ustinov, seated, signing this copy of this book, while Peter and his second wife SandraLee look on. We bought Peter Cowdery's book collection en bloc after his death in 2019; one might say the provenance seems secure. Small bookseller's stamp from Foyle's London, to bottom of front free endpaper, faint rubbing to spine lettering, a very good, bright copy. Rare. Item #314212
¶ Sir Peter Alexander Ustinov (1921 - 2004) was a British actor and humanitarian. An internationally known raconteur, he was a fixture on television talk shows and lecture circuits for much of his career. Ustinov received numerous accolades including two Academy Awards, three BAFTA Awards, three Emmy Awards, an Olivier Award and a Grammy Award. Ustonov's first major writing success was with this play, THE LOVE OF FOUR COLONELS, a fantasy set around military officers from the four Allied Occupation Powers (American, British, French and Soviet) of postwar Germany. According to Wikipedia, it premiered at The Alexandra, Birmingham before transferring to London's West End where it ran for 816 performances between 23 June 1951 and 9 May 1953, initially at Wyndham's Theatre before transferring to the Winter Garden Theare. Our copy states "This play was presented by Linnit and Dunfee Ltd. (by arrangement with Bronson Albery) at Wyndham Theatre on May 23rd, 1951", so the dates listed are likely somewhat incorrect. The original West End cast included Ustinov, Moira Lister, Alan Gifford, Colin Gordon, Eugene Deckers, Theodore Bikel, Paul Hardtmuth, Patricia Jessel and Mary Hignett. Due to the length of the run, a number of replacements took the roles of original cast members including Cyril Luckham, Clifford Mollison, Ruth Trouncer. It subsequently ran for 141 performances at the Shubert Theatre on Broadway in 1953 with a cast that included Rex Harrison and Lilli Palmer. That year it was chosen as the Best Foreign Play by the New York Drama Critics' Circle and won a Donaldson Award.
Price (CAD): $250.00