My Royal Past (First Edition) by Cecil Beaton
Beaton, Cecil. My Royal Past, The Memoirs of Baroness von Bülop (as Told to Cecil Beaton). First Edition. 1939. Book is in very good minus condition; dust jacket is in good condition—endpapers show foxing, and jacket shows foxing, repaired tears, and fraying.
It is obvious from the photos that Cecil Beaton and his friends thoroughly enjoyed themselves in this faux memoir of Baroness von Bülop, a prim, humorless royal dowager. It is written, drawn, staged, and photographed with all the theatrical high spirits that made him such a singular figure. In addition to the black-and-white drawings, friends such as Christian Bérard and Sir Francis Rose posed in elaborately staged photographs, often in drag as formidable royal ladies. The result is part parody, part fancy dress party, part camp royal pageant. Later reissued in a much reduced form, this original pre-war edition is the one to have, with high-quality photogravure plates not found in the reprint. Uncommon in any case, and especially appealing in the dust jacket.
“Like many another honeymoon, mine was not a happy experience. Not that I expected to be happy. I was prepared probably to be made uncomfortable.”
--Baroness von Bülop