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Rich. BRAGG (Melvyn).

£900.00

INSCRIBED TO LAURENCE OLIVIER

Rich. The Life of Richard Burton.

24 leaves of photographs.

First edition. 8vo. [240 x 160 x 43 mm]. [In box: 251 x 178 x 51 mm]. ix, 533 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in gilt, red end papers. (Spine creased and bumped, boards lightly marked in places, otherwise in very good condition). Housed in a black cloth clam shell box, decorated with two red goat skin labels lettered in gilt.

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1988

Internally very clean. Inscribed by Bragg on the title page, "To Larry, his hero, [and] Joan".

In a published section of Burton's notebooks he speaks of his first film contract, with Alexander Korda, who said 'I have never seen you act but... my friend and colleague Laurence Olivier told me that you are a natural aristocrat & now that I have seen you I know that he is right. I am therefore investing £5000 on a belief that Olivier and I are right'. Bragg repeatedly uses Olivier as a point of comparison by which to judge Burton's status at various stages in his career and asserts that Burton aspired to equal or better Olivier. In a 1980 interview on the Dick Cavett Show, Burton was asked for his opinion on comparing one actor with another, for example himself and Olivier. Burton confessed that: 'I deliberately avoided seeing him, I saw him in two plays my whole life', (John Osborne's The Entertainer and Tony Richardson's Semi-Detached). His reasoning for this was that he did not want to be 'over influenced by him', as he recognised a great number of similarities between himself and Olivier. He explains: 'we were very similar in type, we have the same sort of features... I realised that my voice was very near in its natural way to Olivier's'.

Bragg suggests a (mostly) respectful rivalry between the two great actors. He recounts an occasion when Burton was at lunch with Ken Tynan and Olivier came over to greet them. Burton casually informed Olivier that he was planning a film of Macbeth, a comment calculated to annoy Olivier who had desperately tried to make his own version of Macbeth but had failed to raise the necessary funds. Nevertheless, Olivier refused to take offence and merely wished Burton good luck. Despite years of competition for parts and recognition, the two always remained on good terms.

Stock no. ebc8872

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INSCRIBED TO LAURENCE OLIVIER

Rich. The Life of Richard Burton.

24 leaves of photographs.

First edition. 8vo. [240 x 160 x 43 mm]. [In box: 251 x 178 x 51 mm]. ix, 533 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in gilt, red end papers. (Spine creased and bumped, boards lightly marked in places, otherwise in very good condition). Housed in a black cloth clam shell box, decorated with two red goat skin labels lettered in gilt.

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1988

Internally very clean. Inscribed by Bragg on the title page, "To Larry, his hero, [and] Joan".

In a published section of Burton's notebooks he speaks of his first film contract, with Alexander Korda, who said 'I have never seen you act but... my friend and colleague Laurence Olivier told me that you are a natural aristocrat & now that I have seen you I know that he is right. I am therefore investing £5000 on a belief that Olivier and I are right'. Bragg repeatedly uses Olivier as a point of comparison by which to judge Burton's status at various stages in his career and asserts that Burton aspired to equal or better Olivier. In a 1980 interview on the Dick Cavett Show, Burton was asked for his opinion on comparing one actor with another, for example himself and Olivier. Burton confessed that: 'I deliberately avoided seeing him, I saw him in two plays my whole life', (John Osborne's The Entertainer and Tony Richardson's Semi-Detached). His reasoning for this was that he did not want to be 'over influenced by him', as he recognised a great number of similarities between himself and Olivier. He explains: 'we were very similar in type, we have the same sort of features... I realised that my voice was very near in its natural way to Olivier's'.

Bragg suggests a (mostly) respectful rivalry between the two great actors. He recounts an occasion when Burton was at lunch with Ken Tynan and Olivier came over to greet them. Burton casually informed Olivier that he was planning a film of Macbeth, a comment calculated to annoy Olivier who had desperately tried to make his own version of Macbeth but had failed to raise the necessary funds. Nevertheless, Olivier refused to take offence and merely wished Burton good luck. Despite years of competition for parts and recognition, the two always remained on good terms.

Stock no. ebc8872

INSCRIBED TO LAURENCE OLIVIER

Rich. The Life of Richard Burton.

24 leaves of photographs.

First edition. 8vo. [240 x 160 x 43 mm]. [In box: 251 x 178 x 51 mm]. ix, 533 pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in gilt, red end papers. (Spine creased and bumped, boards lightly marked in places, otherwise in very good condition). Housed in a black cloth clam shell box, decorated with two red goat skin labels lettered in gilt.

London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1988

Internally very clean. Inscribed by Bragg on the title page, "To Larry, his hero, [and] Joan".

In a published section of Burton's notebooks he speaks of his first film contract, with Alexander Korda, who said 'I have never seen you act but... my friend and colleague Laurence Olivier told me that you are a natural aristocrat & now that I have seen you I know that he is right. I am therefore investing £5000 on a belief that Olivier and I are right'. Bragg repeatedly uses Olivier as a point of comparison by which to judge Burton's status at various stages in his career and asserts that Burton aspired to equal or better Olivier. In a 1980 interview on the Dick Cavett Show, Burton was asked for his opinion on comparing one actor with another, for example himself and Olivier. Burton confessed that: 'I deliberately avoided seeing him, I saw him in two plays my whole life', (John Osborne's The Entertainer and Tony Richardson's Semi-Detached). His reasoning for this was that he did not want to be 'over influenced by him', as he recognised a great number of similarities between himself and Olivier. He explains: 'we were very similar in type, we have the same sort of features... I realised that my voice was very near in its natural way to Olivier's'.

Bragg suggests a (mostly) respectful rivalry between the two great actors. He recounts an occasion when Burton was at lunch with Ken Tynan and Olivier came over to greet them. Burton casually informed Olivier that he was planning a film of Macbeth, a comment calculated to annoy Olivier who had desperately tried to make his own version of Macbeth but had failed to raise the necessary funds. Nevertheless, Olivier refused to take offence and merely wished Burton good luck. Despite years of competition for parts and recognition, the two always remained on good terms.

Stock no. ebc8872