Bartimeus" [Lewis Anselm da Costa Ritchie] — The Long Trick

London, Cassell & Company, Limited, 1917. First edition. Leather. A smartly bound first edition of this novel from English writer and naval officer Lewis Anselm da Costa Ritchie. First edition. One mild evening in February, inside the huge echoing vault of King's Cross station, the platform was thronged by bluejackets and marines home on leave. In the crowd, an ordinary seaman, walked against the tide of bodies after bidding farewell to his family. Written by "Bartimeus" the pen name of Lewis Anselm da Costa Ritchie, an English writer, naval officer and press secretary to George VI. It is believed he may have used Bartimeus after the biblical Bartimaeus, a blind beggar cured by Jesus, as he was blind in one eye. Bound by Bumpus, Oxford Street. Bound in half calf with cloth covered boards. Externally, smart with light rubbing to the extremities and fading to the spine. The odd small mark to the boards. Internally, firmly bound. Pages are very bright with light scattered spotting to the first and last few pages. Bound by Bumpus, Oxford Street. Very Good . Ill.: None. Very Good .