The Savage Club (association copy)

" To Brother Savages the Whole World Over. Here is the story of our fifty years, Ragged, perchance, most faulty, incomplete, Dropped stitches and frayed edges here and there, Too much of this and not enough of that, But our story, Howsoe'er 'twere told, It must be smit across with golden gleams To eyes like yours; for, thinking of the past, Proud of the present, 'twere enough to say, 'All these were of us, and all these; and those Who now are of us keep the flame alight That was lit up some fifty years ago.' "

This copy was presented to the Owl Club, Cape Town, by Owl Sir William Thorne [Mayor of Cape Town 1901-1904 and MP from 1906].

Watson's book celebrated the first fifty years of the Savage Club (1857-1907), but the club lives on in London another 110 years later. The Owl Club is hardly less distinguished, dating from 1894 and also still in existence. It has reciprocity with the Savage Club. (See Wikipedia for more on both clubs.)

Full-bound in brown pebble-cloth with black-embossed lettering and decoration to the upper panel and gilt-embossed lettering and decoration to the spine. Top page-edge gilt with the other edges uncut. Maroon illustration to both paste-downs. Photogravure frontispiece "Saturday Night at the Savage Club" with tissue overlay printed with the names of the members and guests. xii + 327 pp of text and index + 68 inserted plates (4 in colour and 64 in sepia), with a further 8 illustrations in the text, including 2 tail-pieces by the noted artist Gustave Dore.

CONDITION NOTES. The copy has been recased in brown Skivertex with the original upper, lower and spine panels laid down. It now presents very well, with the spine in a book-case indistinguishable from the original. New plain endpapers have been added, with the paste-downs trimmed to preserve the original art. The contents are complete and otherwise unmarked and all the illustrations have been checked. The half-title and the following 4 leaves and the last 7 leaves of the text are foxed, but the rest of the book is undiscoloured.