Limited Edition: No. 326 of 350 copies, numbered by the artist on the title page. Includes a heartfelt inscription.
"No. 326 of only 350 copies constituting the entire edition, numbered by the artist on the title page. Added is a heartfelt inscription on the first page by Dronsfield's partner and the editor of this book to a L.E.A. Rackham, who is speculated to be Leah Rackham, a relative of the famous English illustrator Arthur Rackham. The inscription reads: 'To L.E.A. Rackham from Denis Bullough with greetings for Christmas, 1955, and gratitude for the work which achieved such a fine appearance of unity at the John Dronsfield Memorial Exhibition.' In addition to the 36 full-page drawings, there are two pages of Introduction and a List of Drawings. This is Dronsfield's first and only book published during his lifetime."
Born John Marsden Dronsfield in Lancashire, England, the artist studied briefly at the Manchester Art School but was primarily self-taught. In 1918, he enlisted in the Young Soldiers' Battalion of the Cheshire Regiment, receiving a discharge in 1919 due to being physically unfit.
His stage design career began in 1923, working with Sybil Thorndike, after which he worked in London as a stage designer and advertising artist for 16 years. In 1939, he emigrated to Cape Town, South Africa, establishing a reputation as an imaginative designer for ballet and drama while working as an author and graphic artist. His first one-man exhibition took place in Cape Town that same year, followed by the Overseas Exhibition of South African Art at the Tate Gallery (1948) and the Venice Biennale (1950). Two memorial exhibitions were held in his honor: one at the South African National Art Gallery, Cape Town (1955), and another at the Wolpe Gallery, Cape Town (1967).
He and his partner, the art critic and author Denis Hatfield Bullough, held an "open house" for artists and collaborated closely in the 1940s, particularly on Dronsfield's publications. His published work includes Non-Europeans Only: Thirty-six Drawings by John Dronsfield (1942), The Work of John Dronsfield edited by Denis Hatfield Bullough (1944), and posthumously, Satires and Verses by John Dronsfield (1955), along with two portfolios of graphic studies entitled African Improvisations.
A member of the International Art Club of South Africa, his work is held in numerous public collections. Tragically, he committed suicide in 1951.
(Source: ESAT - John Dronsfield)
Overall Condition: A very good copy with some light staining to the covers. The pages are in very good condition with slight tanning to the edges.
- Binding Condition: Wiro-bound/pictorialcardcovers
- Size: Size: 4to (305 x 255 mm)
