Book Details + Condition: Adam and Charles Black (London). First Edition, 1905. Hardcover. 286 pages with index. Illustrated with 75 original colored plates by the author, after his paintings. Norman takes the reader on a tour of the buildings that began to vanish from the city at the turn of the century. The following passage is taken from the preface: "The writer, for many years, has employed his spare time in examining those older portions of London which have now been to a great extent 'improved' away; he has visited them again and again, making notes on the spot, with brush and pencil, of picturesque buildings, threatened with destruction and developed his findings into this work." Provenance: Former ownership by Commissioner Frederick Duda, Commissioner of Public Utilities in Marietta GA. Included is a letter to Duda referencing an enclosed introduction from Charles Edward Hodges. Inscribed on the back of the card, "Kindly, accept this is little token of my appreciation." Both the letter and the card are included with the book. Charles E. Hodges was a member of the House of Delegates (1869–1871) from Norfolk County. Born in Princess Anne County, he was the son of free African Americans, he learned to read and write and, with his brothers Willis A. Hodges and William Johnson Hodges, became an outspoken abolitionist." In very good condition, with firm binding; rubbed corners and edges; a bit of discoloration to rear board; interior is clean and free of markings.
