Git le Coeur

Paris: Editions Narcisse, 1928. First edition. [96] pp. Printed wrappers with French flaps. Some toning to extremities, spine a little browned.

One of 200 numbered copies printed by Roger Lescaret for Harry and Caresse Crosby. Raised in Wyoming, Gerard Vernon Wallop, 9th Earl of Portsmouth, Viscount Lymington, fell in with the Crosbys in Paris; they "bowled him right over" and he enjoyed various decadences with them, taking a flat nearby at 1 Rue Gît-le-Coeur. This copy is inscribed "for Constance, with Gerard's love, January 4th 1929" with an Autograph Letter Signed laid in from Gerard to Constance. Constance was Constance Crowninshield Coolidge, the Comtesse de Jumilhac, Harry Crosby's "Lady of the Golden Horse," and the closest of his mistresses (Caresse noted years later, "All through the Paris years she was my most formidable antagonist, but I could not help immensely admiring her.") The letter, a single sheet folded, is undated but written from 1 Rue Git le Coeur. A breezy and charming note, Lymington presents his book "which has perhaps one merit- sincerity," along with compliments about their recent luncheon and an offer for her to visit the English countryside. Minkoff A-8.