To Meet the Spring A Book of Travel and Discursion
London: J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd., (1937). First Edition. Hardcover. 8vo. Pp. 296. Frontispiece photograph. Illustrated with b&w photos taken by the author. Endpaper maps. Bright blue cloth with lettering stamped on spine. Slight foxing to edges and top edge with a bit of dust-soiling. Dust jacket spine somewhat faded, and a quarter-sized chip to top of front panel. Very Good / Good+. Item #157 Two years after publication, Antonio Machado fled Franco and died in Collioure, where his grave today serves as a magnet for those who come to genuflect. In the 1940s, Patrick O'Brian moved to Collioure, where he wrote his seafaring novels and lived for the balance of his life. Dust jacket is now preserved in a clear, archival, removable protector.
Collier's travelogue falls squarely in the under-appreciated genre of British travel writing between wars. Literary flourish prevails as the author observes and inspects Collioure, Banyuls-sur-Mer, Argeles, Bandols, Nimes, Perpignan, Cerbere, Port Vendres and other locations throughout greater Languedoc. A typical view: The cathedral at Elne, a big, plain 11th C. structure has been "debased by Spanish exuberance" but the untouched cloister ushers one into the serenity and balance of the 13th C.
Price: $35.00