Chopin's Winter in Majorca; 1838-1839. Foreward by Robert Graves. Translated by Alan Sillitoe. by Ripoll, Luis - 1955

Palma de Mallorca: [s.n.], 1955. FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, SIGNED BY THE TRANSLATOR, 8vo, pp. xvi [misprinted as xiv], 115, [1] + 12 double sided leaves of black and white plates. Title-page printed in red and black. Original green and white patterned paper boards with black illustration to front board, dustjacket printed in blue and black, pale green patterned endpapers. One tiny edge tear to a single leaf. Dustjacket a little rubbed and creased to extremities. Signed by the translator (later in life) to title-page along with the ink stamp of Valldemosa. The first published work of English writer Alan Sillitoe (1928-2010), his translation of Luis Ripoll’s account of Frédéric Chopin’s stay in Majorca with George Sand in Valldemosa, a recently abandoned monastery, where he composed some of his famous preludes. The stamp of the monastery on the title-page here may indicate that this copy was purchased at the private museum dedicated to Chopin and Sand, which began operation in the 1930s in the room in which they had stayed.