Nicholas Bentley — All Fall Down! or the Nonesense Fancier&Apos;S Assistant

London, Ivor Nicholson & Watson Ltd. [1932]. First edition. Hardback. The first edition of this scarce, charmingly illustrated anthology of nonesense poetry from Nicholas Bentley, in the original dust wrapper. First edition. Scarce. In the publisher's original, yellow, pictorial boards, accompanied by the matching, clipped dust wrapper. Illustrated throughout with drawings by Nicholas Bentley. Undated, dated from copies held by the British Library and University of Oxford Libraries. A delightful anthology of nonesense poetry, compiled by Nicholas Bentley, a British writer and illustrator, who achieved fame in the 1930s and 1940s for his cartoonish drawings, including in Hilaire Belloc's New Cautionary Tales and T. S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats. This work includes contributions from Bentley's godfather G. K. Chesterton, as well as the likes of Rupert Croft-Cooke and J. B. Morton. In the publisher's original, yellow, pictorial, paper-backed boards, accompanied by the matching, clipped dust wrapper. Externally, smart with minor bumping and rubbing, leading to minor loss of paper to the extremities. Slight marking and discolouration. Front hinge a little weak, boards remaining intact. Dust wrapper features a number of small closed tears and chips, namely to the edges, and in particular to the spine head and tail, with one further minor chip to the rear. A little marked and discoloured, including with a couple of tide marks to the front cover. Internally, binding strain between the front free endpaper and title page, otherwise firmly bound. Bright and clean with the occasional spot, more common to the first and last few pages and more discoloured to the endpapers. Good . Ill.: Nicholas Bentley. Good/Good.