"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. "
— Oscar Wilde
New Arrivals
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (a James Bond novel).
London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. FIRST EDITION, SIGNED LIMITED ISSUE (no.73). Octavo (195 x 35mm), pp.288. Colour frontispiece of the author by Charles Amherst Villiers. Signed by Ian Fleming to limitation page. Publisher's quarter vellum over black cloth with gilt titles to spine, top edge gilt, in original clear plastic wrapper..... More
Role Of Honour (A James Bond novel).
London: Jonathan Cape and Hodder and Stoughton, 1984. [James Bond] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.222. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to the spine in pictorial dust-jacket priced at £7.95. Gift note to flyleaf (Xmas 1984), jacket shows moderate use and handling. Very good. John Gardner's fourth 007..... More
Enigma.
London: Hutchinson, 2006. [Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.390. Black cloth with silver titles to spine, pictorial endpapers and typographic dust-wrapper priced at £15.99. Some toning and handling; near fine. An espionage novel set inside Bletchley Park, Britain's wartime code-breaking headquarters. More
Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, the complete Pan paperback 'X' series. Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories inc. From A View To A Kill, Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories)
London: Pan Books, 1960s. [Spy thrillers] JAMES BOND PAPERBACKS. Fourteen volumes, octavo (18 x 12 x 18). A vintage set of Pan paperbacks in the classic 'X' series with cover artwork and bold 'James Bond' lettering after designs by Raymond Hawkey. Expected toning to cheap paperstock, some owner's marks/names/bookshop stamps..... More
Ian Fleming's James Bond novels, the complete Signet paperback series. Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories inc. From A View To A Kill, Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories)
New York, NY: Signet Books, Published by The New American Library, 1958-1967. [Spy Fiction] FIRST SIGNET EDITIONS, all first printings. Fourteen volumes, octavo (18 x 11 x 17cm). Publisher's colour illustrated softcovers, all edges tinted red. Single owner name to 'Octopussy', some handling and wear, expected toning to cheap paper..... More
Wings. Wings, the Third Book of the Gnomes.
London: Doubleday, 1990. [Fantasy satire] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.320. Publisher's yellow cloth with silver titles to the spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Josh Kirby, priced at £8.99. A fine copy. More
The Wee Free Men. A Story of Discworld.
London: Doubleday, 2003. [Fantasy satire] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.320. Publisher's navy blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Paul Kidby, priced at £12.99. A fine copy. More
A Perfect Spy.
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1986. [Espionage novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.463. Publisher's blue quarter cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, with blue cloth over boards and red endpapers. With the typographic dust-jacket designed by Howard J. Shaw, priced at £9.95. A fine, almost as-new copy, with..... More
Lyra's Oxford.
London: David Fickling Books, 2003. [Fantasy] FIRst Edition, Signed by the Illustrator in black ink to the title page. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.55. Publisher's red cloth boards, titles in black to spine, paper title label to upper board. Grey endpapers, with fold-out map. Toned to edges. Light handling to..... More
Billion Dollar Brain.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1966. [Cold War thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.312. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine and white braille design to upper. With the metallic-effect dust-jacket designed by Raymond Hawkey, priced at 21s. Jacket shows some rubbing to edges, with several closed tears, and..... More
Dylan Thomas: 'Dog Among the Fairies.'
London: Lindsay Drummond, 1949. [Literary Criticism] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.159 [1]. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt device to upper. With the typographic red dust-jacket priced at 7/6. Gilt lightly dulled. Jacket toned to spine and edges, with rubbing and light chipping to..... More
Peeps at History: Ireland.
London: A. & C. Black, 1927. [Ireland] SECOND EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.iv; 92. With eight colour-illustrated plates, including a frontispiece, and 20 in-text illustrations. Publisher's blue cloth with navy titles and decoration to spine and upper. With the green dust-jacket titled and decorated in navy, not priced. Heavy..... More
Fish Dream of Trees, and Other Curious Verses.
London: Two Hoots, 2017. [Children's Illustrated] FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. Large octavo (25 x 18cm), pp.[48]. Illustrated in colour throughout by Scheffler. Publisher's colour-illustrated paper-covered boards with cyan endpapers, untitled. Publisher's illustrated dust-jacket, priced at £12.99. Promotional sticker to jacket. A fine, as-new copy. First published in German in 2016..... More
The Golden Rendezvous.
London: Collins, 1962. [Maritime Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.255 [1]. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by John Heseltine, priced at 16s. Blue ink initials to fly-leaf. Light toning and spotting to edges. Sunning mark to head of spine corresponding the..... More
The Billion Dollar Brain.
New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1966. [Spy Thriller] FIRST US EDITION, the true first edition. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.[2] 312 [6]. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt device to upper. Fore-edge untrimmed. With the dust-jacket. Bookseller's label to front pastedown. Light toning and spotting..... More
The Letters of Vita Sackville-West to Virginia Woolf.
New York, NY: William Morrow and Company, 1985. [Literary Letters] FIRST THUS. Octavo (24 x 17cm), pp.448. Publisher's white quarter cloth with gilt titles to spine, white paper over boards, and brown endpapers. Top edge brown; fore-edge untrimmed. With the photographic dust-jacket, priced at $17.95. Illustrated bookplate to front pastedown..... More
The Second Raymond Chandler Omnibus: The Little Sister, The Long Good-bye, and Playback. With introductory essay 'The Simple Art of Murder.'
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1962. [Crime Fiction] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[6] 550 [4]. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket designed by Patricia Davey, priced at 25s. Heavy toning and a little spotting to edges. Heavy browning to jacket spine and joints; toning..... More
Tom Gates: Yes! No. Maybe...
London: Scholastic Children's Books, 2015. [Children's Illustrated] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 16cm), pp.[8] 264. Illustrated throughout by the author. SIGNED by the author in black ink to illustrated bookplate on verso of fly-leaf. Publisher's glossy illustrated hard covers, priced at £12.99 (no jacket issued). 'Signed by the Author'..... More
Tom Gates: Biscuits, Bands, and Very Big Plans.
London: Scholastic Children's Books, 2018. [Children's Illustrated] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 16cm), pp.[8] 264. Illustrated throughout by the author. SIGNED by the author in black ink to fly-leaf, with accompanying stamp. Publisher's glossy illustrated hard covers, priced at £12.99 (no jacket issued). 'Signed by the Author' sticker to..... More
The African Witch.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1936. [Modern Literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.448. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine. A lovely clean copy internally. Moderate wear to covers; gilt dulled and slightly chipped. Very good. The Irish author's third novel, set in Nigeria, and his first real success..... More
James Bond The Legacy.
New York, NY: Harry N Abrahams, 2002. [James Bond] FIRST EDITION. Quarto (37 x 27cm), pp.320. Bound in black cloth boards stamped in gilt with the 007 device to upper, and black endpapers. With the glossy gold pictorial dust-jacket priced at $49.95. Includes a foreword by the James Bond film..... More
A Delicate Truth.
London: Viking, an imprint of Penguin Books, 2013. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.310; [1], Acknowledgements; [1], blank. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to the spine, navy blue endpapers, pictorial dust-wrapper priced at £18.99. A fine copy. This edition includes a special introduction by the author..... More
British Birds' Nests. How, Where, and When to Find and Identify Them.
London: Cassell and Company, no date [circa 1900s]. [Ornithology] LEATHER-BOUND, a later edition. Large octavo (24 x 17cm), pp.xii; 520. With six colour photographic plates including a frontispiece, six black and white plates showing birds, and 15 black and white egg plates. Contemporary black half morocco with gilt titles to..... More
Horse Under Water.
New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1968. [Espionage Thriller] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.255 [1]. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine, black and blind decoration to upper, and orange endpapers. Fore-edge untrimmed. With the blue illustrated dust-jacket. Quite heavy spotting to edges. Some dulling to..... More
The Beatles. The Authorised Biography.
London: Heinemann, 1968. [Music biography] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.374. With four suites of four black and white photographic plates. Publisher's purple cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the laminated psychedelic jacket designed by Alan Aldridge, with printed price of 30s net. Heavy wear to jacket, with..... More