"Outside of a dog, man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
— Groucho Marx
Poetry & Drama
At Half-Past Eight: Essays of the Theatre 1921-1922.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1923. [Literary Essays] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.238 [2]. Publisher's navy quarter cloth, with a printed paper title label to spine, and checkered paper over boards. Top edge green; others untrimmed. Tobacco-scented, with some offsetting to endpapers. Moderate wear to boards, and some toning to..... More
First Nights.
London: Ivor Nicholson and Watson, 1934. [Theatre Criticism] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.311 [1]. Publisher's cream cloth with gilt titles to navy backing on spine. With the plain dust-jacket, priced at 10/6. Black ink gift inscription to flyleaf, dated 1940. Light spotting to edges and endpapers. Light rubbing..... More
Tea and Sympathy. A Drama in Three Acts.
London: Heinemann, 1957. [American Drama] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.159 [1]. With a frontispiece photograph of a scene from the 1956 film starring Deborah and John Kerr. Publisher's light green cloth with white titles to spine. With the pink and blue typographic dust-jacket designed by Leslie Needham..... More
The Rocky Horror Show: Mask of Columbia.
Los Angeles: Michael White Productions, n.d. [1974]. EPHEMERA FROM ROCKY HORROR SHOW U.S. OPENING. Card cut out mask of Columbia, approximately 26cm x 19cm with removable eyes and mouth, printed with production notes printed on the rear. Produced as a promotional item for the U.S. opening at the Roxy Theatre..... More
The Metropolis. And the Second Part of the Metropolis.
Dublin: John Barlow, 1805 and 1806. SECOND EDITION. Duodecimo. pp. 69, 87. In recent marbled paper-covered boards with navy titles to cream paper label on spine. Top right corner of title page to part two damaged and repaired. Text unaffected. Otherwise a near-fine example in an attractive new binding. An..... More
The Song of Songs.
London: Collins, 1973. [Erotica] FIRST THUS. Small quarto (28 x 21cm), pp.[6] 16 [34]. With frequent line drawings by Erni. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine, and gilt decoration to upper. With the illustrated dust-jacket, priced at £2.95. A fine copy with just a hint of light handling..... More
Birmingham Electrical and Industrial Exhibition, (International) 1889, Programme of Concerts Given in Bingley Hall, On Thursday, August 1st, 1889, at the Opening of the Exhibition by Lady Randolph Churchill. Artistes — Miss Constance Bellamy and Mr. J. W. Turner. Gilmer's Military Band.
Birmingham: printed by J. Upton for the venue, 1889. [Concert Programme] ORIGINAL SILK PROGRAMME. Octavo bi-fold, printed on all sides (22 x 15cm). Cream silk printed in dark blue. Heavy fraying to edges, especially fore-edge, with one large brown mark to the front cover, as well as a few much..... More
Poetical Works of Matthew Arnold.
London: Macmillan, 1913. [Poetry]. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[xii]; 510. Riviere binding of contemporary brown half morocco over purple cloth boards, with raised bands, gilt title and extra gilt to spine, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Presentation note to "Miss D.M. Lapage", the commandant of the Kent 142 Volunteer Ambulance..... More
Collected Longer Poems.
London: Faber and Faber, 1968. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.356. Publisher's blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, typographic dust-jacket, repriced by Faber at £2.50 net with a sticker over the original printed price of 45s / £2.25 net. First and last leaves faintly creased at the..... More
The Magic Flute. An Opera in Two Acts. Music by W.A. Mozart. English Version after the Libretto of Schikaneder and Giesecke.
New York, NY: Random House, 1956. [Opera] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.xviii; 108. With three illustrations by Rouben Ter-Arutunian, including a frontispiece. Publisher's black quarter cloth with silver and coloured titles to spine, and decorative paper over boards. Top edge black and light green endpapers. With the..... More
Letters From Iceland.
London: Faber and Faber, 1937. [Poetry and Travel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.268. With 15 double-sided black and white photographic plates, as well as a frontispiece, seven charts and diagrams, and a folding map at rear. Publisher's green cloth with red and blue titles to spine. Top edge..... More
The Dyer's Hand and Other Essays.
New York, NY: Random House, 1962. [Literary Criticism] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.xvi; 528. Publisher's cyan cloth, with gilt titles to black backing on spine. Top edge black. With the typographic dust-jacket, priced at $7.50. A little spotting to cloth at the head of the spine. Jacket..... More
Academic Graffiti.
London: Faber and Faber, 1971. [Illustrated Clerihews] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 16cm), unpaginated. 60 poems with an illustration by Sanjust to each facing leaf. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket also illustrated by Sanjust, priced at £2.00. Light handling; a fine copy. More
About the House.
London: Faber and Faber, 1966. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION, with the errata slip at p.7. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.94 [2]. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the green and pink dust-jacket, priced at 15s. South African bookseller's ticket to pastedown. The lightest of offsetting to endpapers. Spine..... More
Collected Shorter Poems 1930-1944.
London: Faber and Faber, 1950. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.303 [1]. Publisher's cyan cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the yellow typographic dust-jacket, priced at 15s. Armorial bookplate of Labour politician Woodrow Wyatt to front pastedown. Toning to edges, with a moderate tobacco scent. Jacket toned..... More
The Dance of Death.
London: Faber and Faber, 1933. [Drama] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.38 [2]. Publisher's green paper-covered boards titled in black to spine and upper. A red ownership stamp to flyleaf, with a pencil note stating it refers to C.H. Waddington, and a blue ink note also to flyleaf..... More
Making, Knowing and Judging. An Inaugural Lecture delivered before the University of Oxford on 11 June 1956.
Oxford: at the Clarendon Press, 1956. [Literary Criticism] FIRST EDITION. Octavo pamphlet (23 x 15cm), pp.33 [3]. Publisher's plain typographic paper covers, sewn. Sewing broken; covers detached. Quite heavy wear, and a crease, to covers. Good. More
Thank You, Fog: Last Poems by W.H. Auden.
London: Faber and Faber, 1974. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.[2] 57 [5]. Publisher's blue quarter cloth with gilt titles to spine and light blue paper over boards. With the black and grey dust-jacket, priced at £1.75. Jacket lightly toned to spine, with the lightest of handling to..... More
Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems.
Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1870. [Poetry] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED, a later edition. Quarto (26 x 19cm), pp.[12]; 268. With frequent wood engraved vignettes by the Patons. Contemporary green full morocco by R. and A. SUTTABY of London, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine, and gilt..... More
Poems of Rural Life. In Common English.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1868. [Bucolic Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.xii; 200 [52]. Catalogue dated January 1868. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. Brown-coated endpapers. Bookseller's label to rear pastedown. Spine toned, with moderate wear to cloth, and a few marks. Very good... More
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[Scrapbook].
[Privately produced]. 1892- circa 1903. LATE VICTORIAN SCRAPBOOK. Small quarto (26 x 19cm), pp.[16]; 1-2; 9-68. With three leaves removed near the beginning, and two from the back. Containing a great panoply of decorative monograms, crests and printed signatures and addresses belonging to the English gentry, cut from letters or..... More
The Lady with a Lamp.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1929. [Drama] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 12cm), pp.136. Publisher's black cloth with red paper title label to spine. With the plain dust-jacket, priced at 3/6 for paper, or 5s for cloth. A small blue ink gift inscription to fly-leaf. Quite heavy spotting and offsetting to endpapers..... More
Poems in the Porch.
London: S.P.C.K., 1957. [Poetry] ILLUSTRATED EDITION, a later printing. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.[28]. With in-text illustrations by Piper. Publisher's soft covers titled in blue and red, stapled twice and priced at 2s. Blue ink gift inscription to half-title. Covers toned with some light handling. Very good. Some blank verse..... More
State of the Nation: British Theatre since 1945.
London: Faber and Faber, 2007. [Theatre] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.viii; 435; [5]. With a suite of four double-sided colour photographic plates. INSCRIBED by the author in blue ink to title page: "For Edward | Best Wishes | Michael Billington | 19th November 2007". Publisher's orange cloth..... More
The Horkey.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1882. [Children's illustrated] ILLUSTRATED BY GEORGE CRUICKSHANK (the younger). Slim quarto (25 x 21cm), pp.48. Printed with colour illustrations to every page. Illustrated paper-covered boards, green cloth spine, all edges green. Blind stamp of W.H. Smith Library to flyleaf, some toning and light spotting. Boards rubbed..... More