John Marks. First U.K edition. London: Andre Deutsch, 1966. Both unclipped dust jacket (in a protective mylar wrapper) and hardcover are in Near Fine condition. No writing or markings found in this beautifully designed and well-preserved edition, 160 pp. Dust jacket design by Craig Dodd based on a painting by Antonio Casero. Scarce edition.
A highly collectible first UK edition of John Marks’s classic work on the art, history, and spectacle of Spanish bullfighting.
Published in London by Andre Deutsch in 1966, this is the first UK edition of the enlarged and revised edition, illustrated with 32 pages of plates. Marks was an accomplished journalist and authority on bullfighting, and this volume builds upon his earlier To the Bullfight, offering readers a detailed and visually engaging guide to the Spanish national spectacle.
The book has an especially interesting connection to Ernest Hemingway, whose enthusiasm for Marks’s work helped establish its reputation among aficionados of bullfighting literature. Hemingway’s celebrated assessment of Marks’s earlier book—calling it the best book on bullfighting after his own—later appeared on the American edition.
This is an increasingly difficult edition to find in Near Fine condition, making it an attractive addition to collections devoted to Ernest Hemingway, bullfighting, Spain, travel writing, sporting literature, and modern first editions.
The testimonial on the front cover reads: ”This is the best book on the subject - after mine” Ernest Hemingway.
