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The History of the
51st (Highland) Division
1914-1918
by
Major F. W. Bewsher, D.S.O., M.C.
Formerly Brigade Major, 152nd Infantry Brigade,
and General Staff Officer, 2nd Grade, 51st (Highland) Division
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This is
the rare 1921 First Edition
Detailing the mixed fortunes of the famous Highland
Division on the Western Front from April 1915,
including Festubert, the Somme and Ancre, then
Passchendaele, and the climactic battles of 1918,
this is one of the rarest of all Great War
divisional histories.
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Front cover and spine
Further images of this book are
shown below
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Publisher and place of
publication
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Dimensions in inches (to
the nearest quarter-inch)
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Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and
Sons, 1921
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5½ inches wide x 8¾ inches tall
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Edition
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1921 First Edition
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[xvi] + 411 pages
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Condition of covers
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Internal condition
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Original red cloth blocked in black. The front
and rear covers are very severely faded with almost total loss of original
colour. The spine has also faded but not to the same extent, but is quite
dull. There is a small diagonal crease across the front top corner, which is
heavily bumped. The spine ends and other corners are also bumped and
slightly frayed, with some very minor splitting of the cloth at the head and
tail of the spine. There is a forward spine lean. The binding is perfectly
serviceable but not particularly attractive. The images below give a good
indication of the current state of the covers.
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There is a gift inscription in ink on the
front end-paper, and the end-papers are very browned and discoloured (please
see the final image below). There is some light scattered foxing, mainly
affecting the end-papers and preliminaries and those pages adjacent to the
illustrations and maps. The top corners are slightly creased due to the
heavy bump to the cover's top corner. There is a small tear in the edge of
page 45/46 (please see the image below). The edge of the text block is
dust-stained and lightly foxed.
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Dust-jacket present?
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Other
comments
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No
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Collated and complete and in quite clean
condition internally, but this rare First Edition has badly faded and bumped
covers.
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Illustrations,
maps, etc
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Contents
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Please see below for details
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Please see below for details
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Post & shipping
information
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Payment options
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The packed weight is approximately
850 grams.
Full shipping/postage information is
provided in a panel
at the end of this listing.
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Payment options
:-
UK buyers : cheque (in
GBP), debit card, credit card (Visa, MasterCard but
not Amex), PayPal
-
International buyers : credit card
(Visa, MasterCard but not Amex), PayPal
Full payment information is provided in a
panel at the end of this listing.
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The History of the 51st
(Highland) Division 1914-1918
Contents
I. Mobilisation
II. Arrival in France — Festubert
III. The Period of Apprenticeship
IV. Training and Reorganisation — The Labyrinth
V. The Battle of the Somme — High Wood
VI. Armentieres and Hebuterne
VII The Battle of the Ancre — Beaumont Hamel
VIII Courcelette
IX. The Battle of Arras
X. The Battle of Arras (Contd.) — Roeux and the Chemical
Works
XI. The Third Battle of Ypres
XII. Poelcappelle
XIII. The Battle of Cambrai
XIV. The German Offensive
XV. The German Offensive (Contd.) — The Battle of the Lys
XVI. With the French in Champagne
XVII. The Capture of Greenland Hlll
XVIII. The Operations towards Valenciennes
XIX. Conclusion
Portraits.
Lieutenant General
Sir G. M. Harper, K.C.B., D.S.O. ..... Frontispiece
Major-General R. Bannatine-Allason, C.B.
T/Major-General G. T. C. Carter-Campbell, C.B., D.S.O.
Maps.
I. Attack Near
Festubert, 15th June 1915
II. High Wood, July 1916
III. Beaumont Hamel, 13th November 1916
IV. Capture of Vimy Ridge, 9th April 1917
V. The Chemical Works, Roeux
VI. Third Battle of Ypres : Advance to the Steenbeek,
31st July 1917
VII. Poelcappelle, 20th September 1917
VIII. The Battle Of Cambrai : Position at 7 P.M., 21st
November 1917
IX. The German Offensive : Disposition of 51st
(Highland) Division, Morning, 21st March 1918
X. The German Offensive : Positions of 51st (Highland)
Division, 21-26th March 1918
XI. The German Offensive. (The Battle of the River Lawe)
: Dispositions of 51st (Highland) Division, Dawn, 12th
April 1918
XII. The Counter-Attack in Champagne : The Advance on
27th And 28th July 1918
XIII. The Final Advance : Dispositions of 51st
(Highland) Division, 5 P.M., 28th October 1918
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The History of the 51st
(Highland) Division 1914-1918
Preface
In compiling the ' History of the 51st
(Highland) Division ' I have been beset by various difficulties,
which have contributed towards the long delay in its publication.
In the first place, it has been written in circumstances in which
military duties have afforded little leisure for continuous effort ;
secondly, the work has been carried out in many places, most of them
highly unsuitable for research, such as the desert of Sinai, native
villages and the deserts of Lower Egypt, Jerusalem, Bir Salem, and
at sea.
Not only had the difficulty of transporting from station to station
the large mass of available material to be overcome, but also the
conditions of life in huts and under canvas in an eastern climate
are seldom conducive to clear and consecutive thinking.
Further, the material available has been unequal. Up to the
conclusion of the battle of Arras, no completed narratives of the
operations carried out by the Division were compiled. To this point,
therefore, the only resources were the bald and rather incomplete
entries in the official war diaries and personal diaries, which
threw little light on the operations in their broader aspects.
From the third battle of Ypres onwards a detailed account of all
engagements was published by Divisional Headquarters shortly after
the conclusion of each operation. These have rendered the compiling
of the ' History ' from this point considerably less laborious, and
have allowed it to be carried out in greater and more accurate
detail.
It has been necessary, owing to the increased and increasing cost of
production, to keep the size of this book within certain bounds, and
to reduce as far as possible the number of maps. On this account
there has been no alternative but to restrict the detail in which
actions are described. It is regretted that in consequence much
material which officers and men of the Division and their relatives
have submitted, often at my request, has been necessarily omitted.
It was only thus that the book could be kept sufficiently reduced in
size to prevent its price prohibiting the circulation desired.
The ' History ' is now presented with every consciousness on the
part of the author that full justice has not been done to its great
subject. Indeed, it is doubtful if full justice can be done to the
part played by the British Army in the Great War until a generation
not intimately involved in it has arisen and has come to regard the
burdens sustained for over four years by the British soldier in the
true perspective.
My thanks are due to all those who have assisted me in the
compilation of this work by the loan of diaries, maps, documents,
&c., and in particular to Lieut.-General Sir G. M. Harper, K.C.B.,
D.S.O. ; Major-General R. Bannatine-Allason, C.B. ;
Brigadier-General L. Oldfield, C.B., C.M.G., D.S.O. ; and Colonel
Ian Stewart, C.M.G., D.S.O.
General Bannatine-Allason kindly wrote for me the first chapter, and
spared himself no pains in assisting to procure for me information
concerning the early days of the Division in France. Had it not been
for him and Colonel Ian Stewart, information would have been so
scanty that it is doubtful if the earlier chapters could have been
written.
To Captain A. Scott, D.S.O., M.C., 7th Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders, late staff-captain 154th Infantry Brigade, I am
particularly indebted. Captain Scott has kindly relieved me of the
labour of reading through the proofs and of completing the final
arrangements for the publication of this book, a labour which
residence in the Near East would have made it difficult for me to
perform.
Lastly, I am indebted to Mr James Blackwood, in no small degree, for
taking upon himself, while I have been abroad, much of the burden of
the preparation of this book for the Press, which would normally
have fallen upon the author.
F. W. B.
Headquarters, 3rd (Lahore) Division, Bir Salem, Palestine.
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The History of the 51st
(Highland) Division 1914-1918
Excerpt (The Battle of The
Ancre — Beaumont Hamel):
. . . On 26th October both the
6th Black Watch and the 7th Gordon Highlanders of the 153rd Brigade
entered the enemy's front line, the latter capturing a prisoner of
the 62nd Regiment. On the same night the 7th Argyll and Sutherland
Highlanders of the 151th Brigade made a similar attempt, but could
not find a passage through the enemy's wire. In the raid of the 7th
Gordon Highlanders, Lance-Sergeant Morrison killed four Germans and
disarmed a fifth, who was taken prisoner. At this point Sergeant
Morrison had expended all his ammunition and bombs, and was faced by
two more Germans with fixed bayonets. Appreciating the situation,
Private Louis Thomson rushed past Sergeant Morrison and killed the
first German with his entrenching tool. He then picked up the fallen
German's rifle and with it killed the second. For this exploit both
Sergeant Morrison and Private Thomson were awarded the Military
Medal.
On 29th October a patrol of the 154th Brigade entered the enemy's
front line and proceeded to his second line, which they found
protected by an impassable belt of knife-rests. This patrol
encountered none of the enemy. The absence of the Boche on this
occasion proved rather disconcerting. In consequence, the 4th Gordon
Highlanders and the 9th Royal Scots carried out further raids. In
each case they found the enemy holding the trenches in strength, and
were unable to effect an entrance. This was partly due to the fact
that the ground was so sodden that the troops found it a physical
impossibility to keep up with the barrage.
A further raid attempted on 4th November by the 6th Gordon
Highlanders also met with strong resistance, and made no progress.
It was therefore almost impossible to form an impression of the
strength in which the enemy was holding his line.
On 31st October a deserter entered our lines. He was a miserable
creature, described officially as "undersized and of poor physique."
He stated on examination that the battalion was holding a front of
only 700 yards, and that the rifle strength of the four companies
was about 180 each. His statement, if it was accurate, meant that
the enemy was holding the position in considerably greater force
than was probable. In view of his apparent poverty of intellect, it
was considered that his evidence was unreliable. It, however,
transpired during the attack that his statements were not
exaggerated, and that the enemy was indeed very thick on the ground.
The final preparations for the attack consisted in forming dumps of
ammunition, water, rations, &c, sufficiently far forward to enable
carrying parties to take forward supplies to the advanced troops
after the capture of the enemy's position.
This was a heavy task, as the following figures of supplies which
were carried through the water-logged trenches and placed in the
brigade dumps testify . . .
On one night alone one brigade had 34 waggons and 150 men employed
in bringing forward material for these dumps.
By the time the attack took place sufficient stores had been
accumulated to render it unnecessary for any waggons to be employed
in the forward area on the night after the battle. This was a great
advantage, as the enemy was always liable during a battle to make a
lavish use of high-velocity guns and gas shells to harass our
communications.
Some days prior to the day of the battle, the troops in the line
witnessed an attack on a fairly large scale delivered against the
famous Stuff and Schwaben Redoubts. These were situated just below
the crest on the northern slopes of the Thiepval Ridge, of which a
magnificent view could be obtained from many places in the Beaumont
Hamel sector. The spectacle certainly had an encouraging effect on
all who saw it. The barrage appeared excellent, and several waves of
infantry could be seen following it apparently without difficulty.
Subsequently parties of German prisoners could be seen moving back
to the rear.
These two redoubts were notorious for the strength of their
defences, and had figured largely in recent communiqués, yet as far
as could be judged they were captured behind the barrage exactly
according to plan. This attack therefore gave a most practical
example of the possibilities of the 18-pounder barrage when closely
followed by the attacking infantry.
The assembly of the troops prior to the attack on the 13th was an
arduous performance, some of the battalions being billeted in the
Forceville area some five miles from the front line.
At 9 p.m. on 12th November the march to the position of assembly
began, the last battalions being reported in position at 4.30 a.m. A
halt of three-quarters of an hour was made en route, between
Mailly-Maillet and Auchonvillers, and tea was served to the men from
the field-kitchens there.
The length of time required for this march was due to the deplorable
state of the roads and communication trenches, and to the weight
carried by the men. In addition to battle order equipment, each man
carried on him at least two Mills bombs, a pick or a shovel, and two
days' preserved rations. Moreover, numbers of aeroplane flares, Very
light pistols and cartridges, phosphorus bombs, &c, were distributed
throughout the different platoons.
Owing to the mud in the trenches movement was largely carried out
over the open. The attention of the enemy was not, however,
attracted, and there was little artillery fire before zero.
So many troops had to be assembled that it was necessary for the
leading companies to be in position several hours before those that
were to be the last to assemble. Further, to ensure that the
assembly was completed up to time, orders were issued for the troops
to be ready in their appointed positions one hour before zero.
This allowed a good margin in which to make up for any delays which
might be caused by gas-shelling or bombardments occurring during the
advance to the assembly trenches.
During this period a covering screen of troops, who were not
detailed to take part in the first phase of the attack, lay out in
No Man's Land to prevent German patrols from approaching our
trenches and discovering that assembly for an attack was in
progress.
This period of waiting in assembly trenches for the hour of zero to
arrive is one of the most unpleasant ordeals which a soldier has to
endure. On this foggy November night the troops arrived with their
kilts and hose-tops sodden with water and mud. The duck-boards in
the assembly trenches were in many places under water. The
fire-steps on which men sat, or the parapets and parados against
which they leant huddled together for warmth, were exuding moisture
and occasionally land-sliding into the trenches, bringing down in
their fall a multitude of telephone wires, over which men stumbled
and tripped for the remainder of the night.
Rifles and Lewis guns needed the greatest care to prevent them from
becoming clogged with mud and unserviceable. Silence was enforced
and smoking forbidden, for fear that the arrival of a large force of
men in the front line — a sure indication of an impending attack —
might be disclosed to the enemy. Men were forbidden also to use
their water-bottles before zero hour, partly because the need for
water would become acute later during the battle, and partly on
account of the noise which a half-emptied water-bottle is capable of
producing, particularly when silence is most desired.
During this anxious and seemingly endless vigil, the morale of even
the boldest depreciates. The most unimaginative loon, particularly
if it is not his maiden fight, knows that there are many men
assembled with him who in an hour or two will see the dawn break for
the last time. The stoutest-hearted cannot help reflecting on what
his own fate is to be, and on the odds for or against his being hit
; if hit, will the wound be a " cushy " one, or will he, in the next
few hours, be transformed from an able-bodied soldier into a
permanent cripple or a dead man?
These are not pleasant reflections, particularly when the solace of
speaking and smoking is denied.
As a rule, when the assembly is complete there is too much
congestion for officers and N.C.O.'s to move about amongst their
men. Then walking along the trench is like passing to one's seat in
the centre of the stalls after the curtain has gone up ; in the
darkness the floor seems carpeted with feet, and one stumbles along
what appears to be a narrow passage with its walls bristling with
projecting knees.
The time spent in the assembly trenches hangs heavily. The throats
of the men get dry, partly because they are told they must not
cough, and partly perhaps for other reasons. In these circumstances
men have a peculiar desire to cough, just as a congregation has
towards the end of a long and tedious sermon. If one man begins, the
rest take it up. The noise thus made appears deafening. To obviate
this, petrol tins of water and tea in hot food-containers have been
dumped about the assembly positions, so that men may from time to
time moisten their mouths and throats. Further, a tot of rum is
served to all. Bum played a great part in the war. It produces a
marvellous and immediate effect, dispelling depression, creating
warmth, and stimulating the morale. Even the staunchest teetotallers
will drink rum with avidity in the assembly trenches.
There is a further disquieting thought which occurs during this
period, particularly to commanders. Will the enemy discover that our
foremost trenches are packed solid with humanity, that almost all
our eggs are in one basket ? Has that infernal listening machine
overheard details of the day and hour carelessly spoken over the
telephone, in spite of the many orders on the subject ? If he
discovers we are here, he will produce what he pleases to call
annihilating fire, in which he concentrates his guns and
trench-mortars on our assembly position.
When he has been successful in doing this, the results have been
indescribable. Each shell that falls into the trench bursts in the
midst of a closely-packed group of men. The members of the various
headquarters therefore anxiously listen for any signs of an enemy
bombardment, and are only relieved of their anxiety when the arrival
of zero hour is denoted by the opening of the British barrage.
The reserve troops of the two leading brigades were safely
accommodated in deep dug-outs, secure from any bombardment which the
enemy might open in reply to the attack.
The 154th Brigade in reserve lay at Mailly-Maillet Wood, out of the
range of field howitzers, their headquarters being at the Cafe
Jourdain.
The signal for zero hour was to be the explosion of a mine. In the
attack that had been launched against Beaumont Hamel on the first
day of the Somme offensive, a mine had been exploded just short of
the enemy's front line. As the attack had failed, the enemy had been
left in complete possession of this mine. He had fortified it with
dug-outs and made considerable use of it both as an observation-post
and as a position for snipers. Arrangements had therefore been made
to run out another shaft and lay a fresh charge in chambers
constructed below this crater.
At 5.45 a.m. this mine was successfully exploded, and the artillery
opened an intense bombardment of the German position. At this time
dawn had only just begun to show signs of breaking. The darkness was
further accentuated by a fog, similar to a typical London November
fog, which did not lift throughout the day. This fog was a definite
asset to the attack, as, though it made the maintenance of direction
more difficult, it concealed the movements of the attackers, and
prevented the enemy gunners from seeing the artillery signals fired
by their infantry. The result was that the hostile artillery barrage
on the British front line and in No Man's Land was ragged, and did
not open with any intensity until 6.15 a.m. In consequence, the
losses from hostile artillery fire in the assembly trenches and
while the troops were crossing No Man's Land were negligible.
The infantry had crept close to the barrage before it had lifted, so
that when it moved forward they succeeded in entering the trench at
most points. Indeed, so close did they get to the bursting shells
that many of them reported that they were waiting on the outskirts
of the remnants of the enemy's entanglements while the barrage was
still down in the Boche front fine. The 6th Black Watch pressed
forward so close to the barrage that they sustained some casualties
from it.
The two right companies of the 7th Gordon Highlanders took the first
line without difficulty. They continued keeping close up to the
barrage, each successive wave capturing its objective, until they
had occupied the Green line according to the programme. These two
companies could not have carried out their task in a more exemplary
manner. Throughout this advance on the right flank touch was
maintained with the left of a Royal Marine Light Infantry battalion
of the 63rd Naval Division.
On the rest of the front the attack bore no resemblance to the
traditional form of attack as pictured in the illustrated weeklies,
or demonstrated by the bayonet-fighting expert. There was no wild
charge of Highlanders with flying kilts and glittering bayonets. On
the contrary, it was carried out at the rate of an advance of
twenty-five yards per minute. As the barrage lifted off a trench,
the troops made their way into it as quickly as they could, but a
steady double was the most that they could manage. In many cases
even that was found impossible.
The men floundered in the dark in mud over their ankles ; the weight
they carried was enormously augmented by the moisture that their
clothing had absorbed and by the mud which glued itself to their
kilts and which clung to their boots ; the ground was ploughed up
into a sea of shell-holes half filled with water ; stooks of cut
strands of wire and overturned knife-rests lay everywhere. Forward
movement of any kind called for considerable physical effort ; to
charge was out of the question. In some places men even became
bogged up to their waists, and were unable to extricate themselves
from the morass, until parties of German prisoners could be
organised to dig them out.
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Please note: to avoid opening the book out, with the
risk of damaging the spine, some of the pages were slightly raised on the
inner edge when being scanned, which has resulted in some blurring to the
text and a
shadow on the inside edge of the final images. Colour reproduction is shown
as accurately as possible but please be aware that some colours
are difficult to scan and may result in a slight variation from
the colour shown below to the actual colour.
In line with eBay guidelines on picture sizes, some of the illustrations may
be shown enlarged for greater detail and clarity.
There is a gift inscription in ink on the
front end-paper, and the end-papers are very browned and discoloured:
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IMPORTANT INFORMATION FOR PROSPECTIVE
BUYERS
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U.K. buyers :
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the postage figure. I make no charge for packaging materials and
do not seek to profit
from postage and packaging. Postage can be combined for multiple purchases.
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Packed weight of this item : approximately 850 grams
Postage and payment options to U.K. addresses:
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Details of the various postage options (for
example, First Class, First Class Recorded, Second Class and/or
Parcel Post if the item is heavy) can be obtained by selecting
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Please contact me with name,
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Finally, this should be an enjoyable
experience for both the buyer and seller and I hope you will
find me very easy to deal with. If you have a question or query
about any aspect (postage, payment, delivery options and so on),
please do not hesitate to contact me, using the contact details
provided at the end of this listing.
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International
buyers :
To estimate the
“packed
weight” each book is first weighed and then
an additional amount of 150 grams is added to allow for the packaging
material (all
books are securely wrapped and posted in a cardboard book-mailer).
The weight of the book and packaging is then rounded up to the
nearest hundred grams to arrive at the shipping figure.
I make no charge for packaging materials and do not
seek to profit
from shipping and handling.
Shipping can
usually be combined for multiple purchases
(to a
maximum
of 5 kilograms in any one parcel with the exception of Canada, where
the limit is 2 kilograms).
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Packed weight of this item : approximately 850 grams
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Payment options for international buyers:
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Payment can be made by: credit card (Visa
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Finally, this should be an enjoyable experience for
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with. If you have a question or query about any aspect (shipping,
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(please note that the
book shown is for illustrative purposes only and forms no part of this
auction)
Book dimensions are given in
inches, to the nearest quarter-inch, in the format width x height.
Please
note that, to differentiate them from soft-covers and paperbacks, modern
hardbacks are still invariably described as being ‘cloth’ when they are, in
fact, predominantly bound in paper-covered boards pressed to resemble cloth.
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Fine Books for Fine Minds
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I value your custom (and my
feedback rating) but I am also a bibliophile : I want books to arrive in the
same condition in which they were dispatched. For this reason, all books are
securely wrapped in tissue and a protective covering and are
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The Royal Mail, in my experience, offers an excellent service, but things
can occasionally go wrong.
However, I believe it is my responsibility to guarantee delivery.
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Thank you for looking.
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