A Dance to the Music of Time.: A Question of Upbringing; A Buyer's Market; The Acceptance World; At Lady Molly's; Casanova's Chinese Restaurant; The Kindly Ones; The Valley of Bones; The Soldier's Art; The Military Philosophers; Books Do Furnish a Room; Temporary Kings; Hearing Secret

London: William Heinemann Ltd,, 1951-75. Increasingly warm inscriptions to a pre-eminent bibliophile and "fellow infantryman" First editions, first impressions, an exceptional association set of the complete novel sequence. Each volume is inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to his friend, the auctioneer and historian Anthony Hobson (1921-2014); the latter nine are inscribed to Hobson and his wife Tanya. Complete sets inscribed to the same recipient are rare. The inscriptions in the books chart the development of a rich friendship fostered over luncheons. A Question of Upbringing is inscribed with the cool and unfamiliar, "This volume belongs to Anthony Hobson, signed by the author, Anthony Powell", but The Acceptance World is inscribed "after a delicious luncheon", which evidently did much to thaw Powell, as The Kindly Ones is warmly inscribed to "Anthony & Tanya, with love from Tony, March 1963", and The Valley of Bones, (which charts Powell's experience in the Second World War), is fittingly inscribed "these military memoirs for a fellow infantryman". As their friendship progressed, Hobson and Powell dined at one another's homes. Hobson presumably made the first move: The Soldier's Art and Books do Furnish a Room are inscribed at his residence, Glebe House. Powell returned the favour, as the final two titles are inscribed at his home, The Chantry. The collection of ephemera with this set illustrates Hobson's fastidious bibliographical nature, saving clippings and notes charting the history of his acquisitions. Loosely inserted are an autograph letter signed from Powell to Hobson, remarking that he originally intended A Dance to the Music of Time to be only six volumes: "I did not know quite how long it would be at the beginning, but very long", and three typed letters signed and one autograph letter signed from Powell to reviewer John Davenport, thanking him for reviews of A Question of Upbringing, At Lady Molly's, The Kindly Ones, and The Valley of Bones. A Dance to the Music of Time, likened by Evelyn Waugh to "a continuous frieze in high relief, deep cut and detailed" (Waugh, p. 548), covers more than 50 years in the life of Nicholas Jenkins. "The novel is less about Jenkins than about the world he belongs to, in which the more raffish elements of the establishment commingle with the upper echelons of bohemia, the usual catalysts being their wives, mistresses, and lovers. Observing how these incoherent bodies interact, and the bizarre unions that result, Jenkins discerns a pattern dictated by the rhythm of life - hence the theme of the novel, which is that its characters, like the Seasons in Poussin's painting, are engaged in a ritual dance to the music of time" (ODNB). 12 works, octavo. Original red cloth, spines lettered in gilt on black ground, publisher's blind device on rear covers. With dust jackets. Together with three typed letters signed from Powell to John Davenport (Punch, 30 October 1957; 1 Chester Gate, 24 January 1951; The Chantry, 13 March 1964); one autograph letter signed from Powell to Davenport (Traveller's Club Pall Mall, 10 June 1962); one autograph postcard signed from Powell to Hobson (2 October 1971); one photograph; one manuscript note in Hobson's hand noting that A Question of Upbringing is in the first state; 16 newspaper clippings, and 35 booksellers' and auctioneer's descriptions. Hobson's bookplate on front pastedowns of each volume; bookseller's ticket of The Thackeray Bookshop on front pastedown of The Acceptance World. Spines largely cocked, a few ends bumped, extremities a little rubbed, head of front cover of The Soldier's Art creased, clean and largely bright; slight loss to ends of spine panel of A Question of Upbringing, a few chips and nicks to earlier volumes, spine panels occasionally sunned, slightly rubbed, later jackets very sharp, unclipped: an excellent set, largely near-fine in like jackets. Evelyn Waugh, The Essays, Articles and Reviews, 1983.