Charming ALS by Caricaturist Max Beerbohm

$150

Item: 23341

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BEERBOHM, MAX. (1872-1956). English essayist and caricaturist. ALS. (“Max Beerbohm”). 2pp. On the first and third page of a single, folded 8vo sheet. London, June 25, 1901. On Savile Club stationery. To a lady.

“By a series of mishaps, too long and tedious to be explained here, your note has only just reached me. It is quite likely that after this lapse of time you no longer need what you asked me to give you. However, I send it to you, on the chance that it may be of use for you. I was so very sorry to hear of the death of your father, who was most kind to me when I met him. With many apologies for the delay, I am yours truly…”

Max Beerbohm’s Drawing “Club Types”

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Born in London, Beerbohm attended Oxford where he became known as a dandy and made the acquaintance of Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, the latter publishing Beerbohm’s essay A Defence of Cosmetics in The Yellow Book in 1894, a piece which made Beerbohm’s reputation. Two years later he published his collected essays for The Yellow Book in The Works of Max Beerbohm. It was followed by his short story “The Happy Hypocrite: A Fairy Tale for Tired Men.” In 1898, Beerbohm succeeded George Bernard Shaw as drama critic for The Saturday Review. In handing over the reins, Shaw wrote: “The younger generation is knocking at the door; and as I open it there steps spritely in the incomparable Max,” bestowing upon him his lifelong nickname. His only novel, set at Oxford, was Zuleika Dobson, or, an Oxford love story, published in 1911.

Beerbohm was also a popular caricaturist whose work first appeared in 1892 in The Strand Magazine, which published his humorous drawing “Club Types” – including one dubbed “Savile” showing a slender man with receding hairline standing in profile and attired in morning dress. In 1913, The Times called Beerbohm “the greatest of English comic artists,” and his caricatures were published in Caricatures of Twenty-five Gentlemen (1896), The Poets’ Corner (1904), Fifty Caricatures (1913), and Rossetti and His Circle (1922).

In excellent condition.

Charming ALS by Caricaturist Max Beerbohm