"A book should serve as the axe for the frozen sea within us."
— Franz Kafka

London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1909. First Rackham Illustrated Edition. Quarto, with 12 colour plates and other black and white drawings. Publisher's red cloth with titles and decoration in gilt to spine and upper, top edge gilt, others tinted green, illustrated endpapers, in original dust-wrapper. Book is near fine, jacket... More
London: J.M. Dent and Co. 1909. First Rackham Illustrated Edition. Quarto, with 12 colour plates and other black and white drawings. Publisher's green cloth with titles and decoration in gilt to spine and upper, top edge gilt, illustrated end papers, original printed dust-wrapper. Lightly rubbed to extremities, edges toned, offset... More
Constable and Co. Ltd., London, 1914. FIRST HEATH ROBINSON EDITION, trade issue, in the first of three publisher's bindings. Quarto, pp. 185. With twelve mounted coloured plates and thirty-two black & white illustrations. All tissue guards intact. Mid-green cloth blocked in gilt and colours. Some light edge-spotting, Constable's catalogue insert... More
London: Aldine House 1898. FIRST EDITION, Illustrated by Paul Woodroffe. Pp.85. With 12 full-page plates with tissue guards. Bound in half dark blue morocco over original gilt-stamped cloth sides, t.e.g., others untrimmed. Tissues lightly spotted else clean within; externally near fine. A handsome copy in a suitable recent leather binding. More
London: J. M. Dent and sons, no date [circa1922]. [Illustrated] FIRST ARMFIELD ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Quarto (28 x 22cm), pp.[10]; 99; [1]. With 12 chromolithographic plates, including a frontispiece. Publisher's grey cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. Pencil gift inscription to flyleaf; light spotting to title page. Lightly... More
London: Printed for John Stockdale, 1784. [Shakespeare's Plays]. FIRST ONE-VOLUME OCTAVO SHAKESPEARE, the first one-volume edition of Shakespeare since the Fourth Folio of 1685. Octavo (24 x 15cm), pp.[20]; 1079 [1]. With a copper engraved frontispiece portrait of the author. With original tan calf boards, recently re-backed to style with... More
London: Printed for John Stockdale [etc.], 1807. [Shakespeare's Works]. STOCKDALE EDITION, the Fourth Edition thus. In three volumes. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[26]; 542; [2]; pp.[6]; 543-1080; [4]; pp.[4]; 1752; [12]. With a frontispiece copper engraving of the Bard to volume I. The plays over two volumes, and the Index... More
Glasgow: William Collins, Sons and Co., 1877. [Shakespeare's Plays]. FINELY BOUND ONE-VOLUME EDITION. Small quarto (26 x 20cm), pp.[8] li; [1] 952 [2]. With 15 etched plates including a frontispiece, and a steel-engraved vignette title page. In contemporary brown full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and extensive... More
Glasgow, Edinburgh and London: William Collins, 1864. [Shakespeare's Plays]. ONE-VOLUME EDITION. Small quarto (24 x 17cm), pp.li; [1] 952 [2]. With 15 etched plates including a frontispiece, and a steel-engraved vignette title page. In contemporary black full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and extensive gilt decoration to... More
Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, no date [circa 1900]. [Poetry and Drama] SMARTLY BOUND. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.viii; 1350; [2]. With a frontispiece of the statue in Stratford-on-Avon. Recent burgundy full leatherette with gilt titles to spine and upper board. All edges gilt, with rounded corners. Black ink ownership... More
London: Henry Frowde, Oxford University Press, 1912. [Shakespeare's plays] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.[viii]; 1315; [1]. Oxford binding of quarter vellum over blue cloth boards, gilt decoration and titles to spine, top-edge gilt, housed in the original card slipcase. Frontispiece from a drawing by Sir George Scharf. Ownership... More
London: Bickers and Son, 1880. FINELY BOUND, fourth edition thus. In ten volumes. Octavo. With a steel engraved frontispiece portrait of the Bard and a facsimile plate of signatures and seals to vol. I. The final volume consists of an extensive glossary. Finely bound in contemporary dark brown full calf... More
London: Saunders and Otley, 1825. Eight volumes. Octavo. Bound in contemporary brown calf, with gilt ruling and blind tooling to boards, rebacked to style, with original black labels, raised bands and gilt decoration; all edges marbled, original grey endpapers with bookplate. Bindings show well, boards show some rubbing, with occasional... More
London: William Collins, Sons & Co. 1864. Finely bound 6 volume collection. Small Octavo. pp. cviii, 309; 532; 476; 482; 464; 440. Frontispiece to vols. 1 and 2. In half magenta calf with raised bands and gilt titles and details to spines. Top edges gilt. Red and gold marbled boards... More
London: Macmillan and Co., 1901-1912. FINELY BOUND. In ten volumes. Crown octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.[2] xxii, 389 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 572 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 500 [2]; pp.[2] vi, 494 [2]; pp.[2] viii, 542 [2]; pp.[2] iv, 515 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 521 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 417 [3]; pp.[2] vi, 398... More
London: J. M. Dent and sons. 1922. First Edition thus. Quarto, pp.99. With 12 chromolithographic plates including a frontispiece. Handsomely bound in recent half red calf over red cloth boards, raised bands and gilt titles to spine. Original cloth cover and spine bound in to rear. Slight dustiness to the... More
London: Charles Knight and Co., 1843-1847. [Drama] FINELY BOUND COMPLETE WORKS. Twelve volumes. Small octavo (14 x 9 x 28cm). Each volume with a wood engraved title page, and a wood engraved title page for each play. Ten volumes of plays, with two additional volumes containing poems, biography and criticism... More
London: Routledge, Warne and Routledge, 1862. [Complete Works] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED. Three volumes. Quarto (26 x 19 x 17cm). Liberally illustrated with in-text engravings by the Dalziel brothers, after Gilbert. Contemporary red half morocco with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spines, and red leather-grain-effect cloth over boards... More
London: Routledge, Warne, and Routledge 1860. Octavo. Four volumes. Pp.xix; 526. Pp;528. Pp;560. Pp;553. Green half calf binding with green cloth boards, marbled endpapers. Gilt top edges and gilt lettering and centre tooling to spine with plain raised bands. Occassional pencil underlining and some very light spotting to the prelims... More
London: Thomas Nelson and Sons, no date (circa 1910). [Shakespeare's Plays] INDIA PAPER EDITION. Six volumes, small octavo (16 x 11 x 11cm). With frontispiece illustrations in colour. Attractively bound in full red leather with gilt decoration to spine, raised bands, gilt rule to covers, coated black endpapers, all edges... More
London: Archibald Constable, n.d [c.1910]. FINELY BOUND EDITION. 12 volumes. Crown octavo (19 x 14 x 40cm). Half scarlet calf by The Times Bindery, with green morocco title labels, gilt to spine, matching buckram sides, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Contents a little thumbed, bindings with the odd mark or... More
London: Cassell, Petter, and Galpin. n.d. (c.1870). FINELY BOUND. In three volumes. Quarto. Illustrated with wood engravings throughout. Superb contemporary full calf with gilt raised bands, twin, red and green, title labels, and gilt theatrical-themed tooling to spines; gilt rule to boards with "Second Year's Prize / St. Thomas's Hospital... More
London: J.M. Dent and Co., 1899. 12 volumes; 8vo. Contemporary binding by Riviere in half red calf with gilt titles and gilt to spines, red cloth boards, top edges gilt, marbled end papers. Illustrated with full page and in text drawings. Frontispiece portrait in colour. A lovely set, very lightly... More
London: Duckworth and Co. n.d. [1915]. [Illustrated Poetry]. FIRST ROBINSON EDITION. Quarto (25 x 19cm), pp.240. Illustrated with 12 mounted colour plates, captioned tissues (one slightly short), and numerous two-tone illustrations and letter pieces. Recently bound in full red half morocco with gilt titles to spine, gilt border to covers... More
Routledge, London 1860. 4to, 3 volumes. With 5 mini engraved portraits of the author as frontispiece. Bound in contemporary full tan calf, red and green title labels, extra gilt; gilt rule to boards. Bindings rubbed. Complete and sound. A good sound set. More