{"product_id":"convict-13-a-ballad-of-maidstone-gaol-horatio-bottomley-1st-edition","title":"Convict \"13\": A Ballad of Maidstone Gaol, Horatio Bottomley — 1st Edition","description":"\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"2\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"2\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003ePublication\u003c\/b\u003e: London, Stanley Paul \u0026amp; Co., Ltd., [c. 1927]\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"3\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"3\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eFormatting\u003c\/b\u003e: Crown 8vo, unpaginated, original printed card wrappers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"4\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"4\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCondition Report\u003c\/b\u003e: Very Good. The original printed card wrappers present remarkably well beneath a clear protective sleeve, remaining wonderfully bright, crisp, and largely unrubbed, with the striking cover illustration and typography retaining their deep black ink without any notable fading. The binding remains firm and entirely square, with no creasing to the spine. Internally, however, the volume is let down by pronounced, heavy foxing to the inner covers and preliminary endpapers, which extends in a lighter, more scattered form throughout the text block. Despite the internal spotting, it remains a structurally sound and externally highly attractive copy of a fragile production.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"5\"\u003e\u003cb data-path-to-node=\"5\" data-index-in-node=\"0\"\u003eCatalogue Note\u003c\/b\u003e: First Edition. A genuinely scarce survival, this slim volume represents Bottomley's attempt to capitalise on his notoriety following his release from Maidstone Gaol. Issued in fragile card covers and priced at just one shilling, these ephemeral pamphlets were heavily handled and rarely preserved in such crisp external condition.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"6\"\u003eWhile his simultaneous publication, \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"6\" data-index-in-node=\"36\"\u003eSongs of the Cell\u003c\/i\u003e, was issued in cloth boards, this ballad was produced quickly for the mass market and has consequently become remarkably uncommon on the open market today, particularly without significant wear, creasing, or loss to the wrappers.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp data-path-to-node=\"7\"\u003eFollowing his dramatic fall from grace, from a prominent Member of Parliament and millionaire press baron to a convicted fraudster, Horatio Bottomley penned this sensationalist and self-pitying poem upon his release from a seven-year sentence. Consciously echoing Oscar Wilde's \u003ci data-path-to-node=\"7\" data-index-in-node=\"283\"\u003eThe Ballad of Reading Gaol\u003c\/i\u003e, Bottomley's verses offer a defiant, bombastic, and deeply fascinating piece of 1920s true-crime ephemera, capturing the unrepentant spirit of one of Edwardian England's most infamous rogues.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Broadhursts Books","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55347414303059,"sku":"6107","price":42.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0960\/1469\/6787\/files\/20261012_103032.jpg?v=1791888962","url":"https:\/\/broadhurstsbooks.com\/products\/convict-13-a-ballad-of-maidstone-gaol-horatio-bottomley-1st-edition","provider":"Broadhursts Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}