London. The Dropmore Press, 1946. First edition. Quarto. Limited edition, number 76 of 550 copies. [8], 64pp, [4]. Original publisher's navy cloth, lettered and decorated in gilt, printed drab paper dustwrapper. Light shelf-wear, slight chipping to dustwrapper. Internally immaculate. Presentation copy, inked inscription to recto of FFEP: 'Charles Lindsay, with fond but futile hopes for his ultimate education, form Edward Shanks. 9.4.47'. The first, limited, edition of an essay by journalist and literary critic Edward Shanks (1892-1953) warning of the collapse of civilisation and the dangers of an imposed "Universal State" controlled by a dominant minority.