84, Charing Cross Road

Andre Deutsch. London: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1970 8vo., red publisher's boards, spine lettered in blue; complete in the original unclipped pictorial dust jacket (£1.45 net), featuring a design by Janet Halverson to the upper panel, and a black and photograph of the shop in question to the lower (Alec Bolton); pp. [viii], 96; with double-page title featuring copies of postage stamps; a lovely clean example with small bump to foot; very light offsetting and the odd spot to the endleaves; the jacket near-fine, perhaps a tad toned with some very light rubbing and creasing to the extremities; a vibrant copy.  First edition.    Set between the eponymous address in London, and Hanff's own address in New York City, this memoir brings together over twenty years of correspondence between the freelance writer living in America, and Frank Doel, chief buyer of antiquarian books at Marks and Co. In 1949 Hanff had contacted the bookshop in her search for obscure titles which she was unable to find in the US, and over time her search developed into a close working friendship. Although the pair never met, they shared Christmas gifts, post-war food parcels, and their common love of books, all explored here through a series of letters which discuss topics as diverse as yorkshire pudding recipes and the sermons of John Donne.  A very fresh example.  . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1970.