To the One I Love the Best.

BEMELMANS, Ludwig.

$400.00

Item Number: 145567

New York: The Viking Press, 1955.

First edition of this biographical portrait of the life of the ‘First Lady of Interior Decoration’ Lady Mendl Elise de Wolfe and the author himself. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial boards, frontispiece illustration of Elise de Wolfe by Ludwig Bemelmans, holograph note on photo postcard from Bemelmans to his Viking Press editor, Fanny (Toni) Strassman laid in, the postcard reads, “Thank you Fanny – I think you’re all wonderful regards Ludwig.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Author photograph by Armand de la Rochefoucault.

Author and illustrator of world renowned children's book 'Madeline' series, Ludwig Bemelmans, recounts episodes from the wildly entertaining life of Elsie de Wolfe in 'To the One I Love the Best.' Bemelmans, who was working at MGM, had originally come to the California home of de Wolfe just for cocktails but by the end of the night was firmly established as a member of the family, staying in her sumptuous house and attending the most outrageous parties in Hollywood. The intergenerational friendship between an artist and a grande dame is here presented as an entertainingly eccentric ride through heartfelt times in 1940s Hollywood.