Heroes and Heroines of Bitter Sweet

London: Leadley, 1931. First and Limited Edition. Quarter Vellum Portfolio. Paper pastedown on boards. Very Good Plus. Max Beerbohm. No. 716 of 900 copies in the limitation. Beerbohm's inimitable caricatures of the six leads in Noel Coward's hugely successful 1929 operetta, which in its first West End run ran from 1929 to 1931. Besides Coward himself, who multi-tasked as he often did, writing the libretto, the music and the lyrics, as well as starring in the production, other performers captured by Beerbohm include a young Peggy Wood, George Metaxa, Ivy St. Helier and Charles Cochran. The large portfolio is 41 by 29 cm. There are eight leaves, all of substantial card stock, housed loose under the three flaps within: a title leaf, a Contents leaf, and then six large folded sheets, each with a plate within. The first plate is a facsimile of a handwritten note of Beerbohm regarding the musical production, then one folded sheet for each of the subjects of Beerbohm's deft pen. The caricatures are mounted, and although printed, they could almost pass as the original artwork. They are each 33by 23 cm. The plates are all Fine, even pristine. All the card leaves are clean, with mild age toning around their edges. The cover, both the vellum and the paper pastedown boards, have a fair amount of soiling and some wear along the edges. The gilt lettering on the front remains fairly bright. The flaps within have minor tearing. So the contents we would grade as Fine, the binding, Very Good Minus, and overall, we come up with Very Good Plus. (Inventory #: 20448)