Lot 345
Hardy, Thomas
Rare Books, Manuscripts & Photographs
Auction: 16 January 2008 at 11:00 GMT
Description
A Laodicean, a story of to-day. London: Macmillian and Co, 1903, 8vo, 8vo, volume XI of Macmillan's reprint of The Wessex Novels, inscribed by Edward Dugdale to his daughter Florence Dugdale (later Hardy's wife) ("F.E. Dugdale. | From E.D. | January 12th 1906"), map of Wessex and advertisements at the end, original dark blue cloth, TH monogram medallion in gilt on upper cover, spine lettered in gilt, light browning to endpapers, extremities rubbed
Footnote
Provenance: Florence Hardy (née Dugdale), presentation inscription from her father on upper pastedown.
Florence Emily Dugdale (later to become Hardy's second wife), was one of the five daughters of the schoolmaster Edward Dugdale, who ran a small bookshop in Enfield for a time and encouraged his daughter's early love of literature. She had been an admirer of Hardy's novels for some time before their first meeting in August 1905 (initiated by her), and scarcely a week before she received this book from her father on 12 January 1906, she had received an encouraging letter from Hardy: "...I do not think you stayed at all too long, & hope you will come again some other time...". "From the very first Hardy felt attracted to Miss Dugdale by her quiet seriousness, her large solemn eyes, her literary ambitions, and, not least, her open admiration of him as a great author" (Michael Millgate, Thomas Hardy: A Biography Revisited, p.410).
Edward Dugdale was one of only three people present at the marriage ceremony of his daughter and Thomas Hardy on 10 February 1914.