Lewis Baumer, Bright Young Things, A Book of Drawings
Baumer, Lewis. Bright Young Things, A Book of Drawings. First Edition. 1928. Book and dust jacket are both in very good condition—endpapers are discolored, and jacket shows mild edgewear and light soiling.
The decadent aristocratic youth of 1920s-era London affected a done-it-all, seen-it-all pose. They considered it a social statement, an act of rebellion against the rigid rules and impenetrable class structure of traditional London society. They were poking fun at their forebears. However, Punch magazine’s Lewis Baumer understand it was just as easy to lampoon the eccentricities and aesthetics of the Bright Young Things as it was the more prudish members of society. This book, published a year before the Great Depression brought the 1920s to a crashing halt, is a collection of Baumer’s work from that fast-moving decade.
Flapper. ‘I say Smithers, have you got an alarm clock?’
Butler. ‘I have, Miss Joan.’
Flapper. ‘Well, just bring it here and set it to cocktail time, will you?’
--Bright Young Things, A Book of Drawings