1952 First and Last Loves

Description

First Edition, Illustrated, Original Binding, Publishers' Original Binding, With Dustwrapper

First edition. Illustrated with a folding plate and numerous in-text illustrations. Collated complete. A collection of essays on architecture, including essays on Victorian architecture, London railway stations, coastal architecture, and architecture in Cheltenham, Bournemouth, Leeds and more. Written by Sir John Betjeman, an English poet, writer, and broadcaster who was appointed Poet Laureate from 1972. A passionate defender of Victorian architecture, helping to save St. Pancras railway station from demolition. Illustrated by John Egerton Christmas Piper, an English painter, printmaker and designer of stained-glass windows and both opera and theatre sets. An official war artist in the Second World War, his wartime depictions of bomb-damaged churches and landmarks, most notably those of Coventry Cathedral, made Piper a household name.