Inscribed by the Author
CRISP, Quentin. The Naked Civil Servant. London: Jonathan Cape. 1968.
8vo. Purple cloth boards with silver lettering to spine; Black and white illustrated dust wrapper with title lettering in red; author's inscription to 'Miss Rudd' on front end-paper; pp. (6) 7-217 (4); spine a little faded with signs of scuffing to head and tail; spine of dust wrapper with minimal sunning; otherwise very good.
First edition, a rare presentation copy, of this iconic memoir by one of Britain's gay icons.
This "piquantly written account of a life apart; desolate, yet funny and memorable" (blurb) follows the trajectory of Quentin Crisp's flamboyant life, from childhood to middleage, during an era in which admission of homosexuality was a criminalised offence. The title itself originates from Crisp's role as an artists' model and the origin of the book stemmed from a radio interview with eccentric Crisp's similarly unconventional friend Phillip O'Connor that was subsequently adapted into a 1975 film.
#2120860