first edition Hardcover
1969 · London
by Bull, Peter
London: Hutchinson & Co. Ltd.. Near Fine in Near Fine dj. 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. [a very nice copy, just a touch of soiling to top and bottom edges of yellow cloth covers; the jacket is bright and fresh, with only a teensy bit of wear to the extremities, light scuffing to the rear panel]. (B&W photographs) "Here is all Teddy Beardom -- bears on the Matterhorn, bears on the stage, John Betjeman's bear, Donald Campbell's bear, a bear in an Evelyn Waugh novel, Christopher Robin's bear, bears and Theodore Roosevelt, bears as healers, bears with family trees, baronet bears, autobiographical bears, correspondent bears, bears with High Moral Principles, bears on the screen, Valentine bears, monster bears and midget bears, elegant bears and scruffy bears, ephemeral bears and long-life bears, bears in poetry, bears in prose, bears in the Royal Academy, Peter Bull's bear. This is a book about BEARS." British actor Peter Bull (1912-1984), when he wasn't mucking about with Teddy bears (which apparently took up quite a bit of his time and attention), had a long career as a supporting player in films and on the stage -- most memorably as the Russian Ambassador in DR. STRANGELOVE and the Captain of the Louisa in THE AFRICAN QUEEN. In the latter, he delivered with a perfect deadpan the following unbroken string of dialogue: "By the authority vested in me by Kaiser Wilhelm II, I prounounce you man and wife. Proceed with the execution." . (Inventory #: 27069)