H. Stanford London, The Queen’s Beasts, Newman Neame Limited, 1953, HC, VG

London, H. Stanford. London: Newman Neame Limited, 1953. 

English, First Edition, Very Good, Hard Cover, 4to, 8 ⅝” x 11 ¼,” 56 pp.

Red paper over boards, full-color image of heraldic bull to front, white text to front, black text to white spine, genealogy print to pastedowns, in publisher’s dust jacket with the same image to front, black text to tan spine, black text to white inside flaps. Mild edgewear, mild aging, minor bumping to head and tail of spine, otherwise clean throughout and excellent. In a Very Good publisher’s dust jacket now protected in a Mylar sleeve. Mild shelfwear to front and back, mild soiling to front and back, edgewear, mild aging, otherwise good. 56 pp. Replete with full-color images and black-and-white photographs throughout. Text by H. Stanford London, foreword by The Hon. Sir George Bellew, illustrated by Edward Bawden and Cecil Keeling. “An account with new drawings of the heraldic animals which stood at the entrance to Westminster Abbey on the occasion of the Coronation of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2 June 1953” (from the title page). The creatures described include the Lion of England, the Griffin of Edward III, the Falcon of the Plantagenets, the Black Bull of Clarence, the White Lion of Mortimer, the Yale of Beaufort, the White Greyhound of Richmond, the Red Dragon of Wales, the Unicorn of Scotland, and the White Horse of Hanover (from the Contents). Knowledgeable text describing the importance and symbolism of the heraldic creatures present at the coronation, touching on the long history of heraldry. From the dust jacket: “Here is the full romantic story of those beasts–their symbolic significant and their long and colourful history–told by two distinguished experts in the mysterious art of heraldry, and illustrated by the two most outstanding British book illustrators.”