Dennis Wheatley's vocation before he became an author was that of wine merchant, inheriting his father's business in South Audley Street, London, in 1927. A moderately successful business, Wheatley moved it upmarket from beer and spirits to fine wines, cognacs, liqueurs and cigars (Hoyo de Montereys, of course !) and was a supplier to the best restaurants and the nobility. He became renowned for his fine cellar and his dinner parties were legendary.
As part of his service to the restaurants, he would often produce their wine-lists for them. To quote from the third volume of his autobiography 'Drink and Ink' (Hutchinson & Co, London, 1979):
"... ... ... a little restaurant on the south-west corner of Leicester Square. It was run by a man named Artaz, who had previously been at Ciro's. It had only about a dozen tables ranged round its walls, but his clientele was most distinguished. Several times I saw one or other of the King's sons there, dining some celebrated beauty of the moment, and the Princesses with handsome escorts.
"For Artaz I produced a special wine list for wealthy connoisseurs. It had on it only thirteen items. They included Clos de Vougeot 1899, Château d'Yquem 1870, Madeira 1849, Berncasteler Doktor 1895, Sherry 1750, Imperial Tokay 1763, collected from the cellars of the Kings of Spain, Saxony and Napoleon III, the Duke of Northumberland, the Marquess of Lansdowne, and the Earl of Bredalbane.
"But such lists and ones like that which I designed for my two hundred liqueurs were not the only ways of advertising with originality. I had a large gilded flagon set up above the entrance to the shop, and on our notepaper, beneath the firm's name and address, had embossed a little gold flagon with the words 'At the sign of the Flagon of Gold'. I had the firm's telephone number changed to 3355, which made it easy to remember, and changed our telegraphic address to Bacchus."
From these wine lists and other advertising publications, three items are always cited as part of the Dennis Wheatley bibliography and as such are highly collectable:
| Historic Brandies From The Palaces Of The Kings Of France | (Wheatley, London, c.1925) | This is the first known printed example of DW's writing. |
| At The Sign Of The Flagon Of Gold | (Wheatley & Sons, London, 1930) | Illustrated limited edition catalogue of 1,500 copies. It includes 13 illustrations made from original engravings that were for many years in the possession of the Tsar of Russia. At the time of publication, the engravings were part of the collection of the author. The engravings are by Jan Van Eyck, Johann Schwartz, Albrecht Durer, Hans Holbein, etc. |
| Old Masters: catalogue of old brandies and a few great wines | (Wheatley & Sons, London, 1930) | An illustrated catalogue, limited to 1,500 copies, produced to advertise a collection of exceptionally fine old cognacs. For each cognac, DW wrote a brief historical essay on its period of origin. The illustrations are from original engravings. |
Due to the kind generosity of Tom Lyons from England, extracts from the second publication are shown below:
| At The Sign Of The Flagon Of Gold | ||
| Cover | Title Page | Page 1 |
 |
 |
 |
| Contents Page | ||
 |
||
This page last updated Copyright © 2002-2006 Bob Rothwell. 2007-10 Charles Beck.