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COCKERILL, Sir George.
Love's Universe and the Calendar. Sonnet-Sequences.
First edition. This copy inscribed on the front pastedown: "To Elton Cockerill with every good wish from his uncle George, October 1934." Unusual, and seemingly self-published, sequence of highly-polished poems by a long-time intelligence officer, one of the most innovative thinkers in British intelligence in World War I, head of M. O. 5, inventor of the aerial-drop leaflet, and founder of psy-ops. Loosely inserted in this copy is a small pamphlet of poems by Capt. R.C. Cockerill, "Late Indian Staff Corps" (Sir George's brother?) "Songs of the Gods. A Poem," self-published in 1905, and unrecorded. A Capt. R.C. Cockerill was noted in the BMJ in 1897 as protesting against being held as a lunatic at Holloway Sanatorium, and it might be argued that the verses show signs of religious mania.
Octavo. Original plum buckram, title gilt to the spine, single fillet panel in gilt to the upper board with flaming torch centre tool, top edge gilt, the others uncut. In the dust jacket. Device in red to the title page, red initials to each sonnet. Light browning of the endpapers, otherwise very good in slightly soiled jacket, chipped at head and tail.
