Wanderings and Excursions, a finely bound presentation copy inscribed by then-British Prime Minister Ramsay Macdonald to U.S. Secretary of State Henry Stimson at the 1930 London Naval Conference, at which Stimson led the U.S. delegation J. Ramsay Macdonald Other Fine Bindings,Other Non-Fiction

This finely bound presentation copy of the first "Traveller s Library" edition is inscribed by the author, then-British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald, to then-U.S. Secretary of State Henry L. Stimson. MacDonald s inscription is inked in black in five lines on the recto of the blank preceding the title page: "To the Hon. H. L. Stimson | from his friend | Ramsay MacDonald | London Naval Conference | 1930."The full maroon Morocco presentation binding features raised, gilt-decorated spine bands, gilt rule-bordered spine compartments, gilt-hatched spine ends and cover edges, and gilt rule-bordered covers. The contents are bound with red and yellow silk head and tail bands, all edges gilt, burgundy silk ribbon marker, and fine endpapers framed by gilt dentelle turn-ins. The binder, ink-stamped on the upper left front free endpaper verso, is "BAIN. BINDER. LONDON."Condition is very good overall. The binding remains square, tight, bright, and respectably clean. The chief defect, apart from light soiling and minor blemishes, is scuffing to the joints, with a partial split starting at the lower front joint. Nonetheless, the binding remains intact. The contents are clean, mildly age-toned but with no spotting, soiling, or ownership marks other than the author s inscription. The occasion of the gift, the three-month-long London Naval Conference of 1930, "was the third in a series of five meetings, formed with the purpose of placing limits on the naval capacity of the world s largest naval powers" which included Great Britain, the United States, Japan, France, and Italy. When they met in Geneva in 1927, "Great Britain and the United States could not agree on naval cruiser limits; however, representatives of the two governments continued to work on a compromise measure. By 1930 both sides were anxious to reach a deal to avoid an all-out arms race and, importantly, forced their naval officers to take a back seat to their diplomats in the negotiations." The conference produced an agreement among the US, Britain, and Japan, but France and Italy would not join the treaty and within a few years Japan renounced the treaty s restrictions. MacDonald and Stimson, of course, played dominant roles in the conference, Stimson heading the U.S. delegation and MacDonald hosting the gathering and heading his nation.Scottish Labour party politician (until his expulsion therefrom) James Ramsay MacDonald (1866-1937) was twice prime minister of Great Britain from January to November 1924 and from June 1929 to June 1935. Born to humble circumstances, MacDonald relied, in part, "on the meagre earnings of his pen to make ends meet." American statesman and lawyer Henry Louis Stimson (1867-1950) served vital cabinet roles to three successive presidents. He was President Hoover s Secretary of State (1929-1933) and Secretary of War for Presidents Roosevelt and Truman (1940-1945). The ultimate failures of the Naval Conference efforts were prelude to Stimson s greatest service, as Secretary of War during the Second World War. "As the world moved toward war in the late 1930s, he publicly supported the idea of collective security and the need for a strong American military. In 1940 Franklin D. Roosevelt invited Stimson to join his cabinet as secretary of war" believing "appointment of such a prominent Republican would help to deflect partisan criticisms of his efforts to prepare for the possibility of war."Wanderings and Excursions collected a series of articles detailing MacDonald s travels in the United Kingdom and abroad. Per the publisher s note, "The great bulk of the articles here collected appeared in the Forward," with credits also to Cassell, Contemporary Review, the New Leader, Venturer, Daily Chronicle, and Nation for contributions originally appearing in their pages. The likely prompt for this 1929 "Traveller s Library" edition was the beginning of MacDonald s second premiership in June 1929.References: ODNB; ANB; U.S. Dept. of State