Scarce as the first issue with the wrapper

Hay, Ian & King-Hall, Stephen ~ The Middle Watch. A Romance of the Navy. Being a more detailed narrative of the unusual events depicted in the play of the same name, with much interesting matter here revealed for the first time

First UK Printing : Hodder and Stoughton, London: (n.d.)1930

8vo., pale blue publisher’s cloth titled in black to upper board; lined and lettered in black to backstrip, with publisher’s device to foot; in the original pictorial wrapper (7/6 net) featuring a design by Eugene Hastian; a Very Good++ copy, slightly sunned to spine and pushed to spine ends; outer edges of text block spotted; endpapers and prelims lightly offset; the Very Good+ WRAPPER toned, particularly to the spine, with age related markings; creased and rubbed along folds, with small losses to the ends of folds and spine tips; one or two small closed tears. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. First edition, first issue with '7/6 net' to the spine of the wrapper. A humorous tale, and the novelisation of the post-war play by the same writers. The plot focuses around a group of women who spend the night on His Majesty's cruiser Falcon. Ian Hay was the penname for John Hay Beith, a British Schoolmaster and soldier who after the war made a living through writing light comedies, often in collaboration with other authors including P. G. Wodehouse and Guy Bolton. He is perhaps best remembered today for The First Hundred Thousand, in which he described with wry humour life in his battalion. It became one of the most popular books of the time, running to multiple editions in both Britain and the USA. Hay here collaborates with Stephen King-Hall, a British naval officer, writer, politician and playwright who provides the insights into Naval life. The play was adapted into a highly-popular film in 1931, starring Owen Nares, Jacqueline Logan, Jack Raine and Dodo Watts.

BINDING: Hardcover
CONDITION: Very Good++
JACKET: Very Good+