Daniele Varè – Laughing Diplomat. John Murray, London, 1938. First edition in the original dust jacket.

An especially interesting association copy of Varè’s celebrated diplomatic memoir.

The book contains a contemporary manuscript inscription recalling the author personally: “Memories of D.V. the Author, an old friend of the Peking years (1924 to 1930).”

There is also a further signed and dated ownership inscription, 1941.

Varè was an Italian diplomat and writer with a long connection to China, serving as Italian Minister in Peking during the period recalled in the inscription.

The identity of the person responsible for the association inscription has not been established, so no attribution is claimed, but the explicit reference to personal friendship with Varè during the Peking years makes this an unusual copy.

Original illustrated dust jacket present, with age-related wear as shown in the photographs.

An appealing association copy for a collector of China, Peking, diplomatic history or Daniele Varè.