Persian rhapsody. Harmonised by Louis Politzer

Ferntree Gully, Vic. :  John T. Kirtley, 1951 . Folio, originally issued in sheets, this copy bound in light blue cloth by F. Binnin & Co. of Adelaide, their label to front pastedown, gilt lettering, light offsetting to endpapers, pp. [10]. One of only ten hand-printed copies, numbered and signed by the author and printer.

The poem is a tribute to ‘Stumpy’, the Persian cat belonging to John Kinmont Moir (1893-1958), the ardent devotee of Australian literature and the co-founder and President of the Bread and Cheese Club. Loosely enclosed is an original photograph of Stumpy.

John Kirtley (1897-1967) is an important figure in Australian printing having produced the first Australian hand-printed books. Introduced by Philip Lindsay to his brother Jack, Kirtley was a pivotal figure in the establishment of the Fanfrolico Press in England. After he returned to Australia he produced Heemskerck Shoals, then the finest work of hand-printing undertaken in Australia.

Rare, with no copies traced at auction or within the trade.

Three of the ten copies created are held in public institutions (SLNSW, NLA, SLQ).

References:

Arnold & Hay, Bibliography of Australian Literature. Brisbane : University of Queensland, 2008, vol. 4, p. 78.

Farmer, Private Presses in Australia, p. 51 (misdated 1950)

Unrecorded by Miller/Macartney.