"A book should serve as the axe for the frozen sea within us."
— Franz Kafka
New Arrivals
Wolf Hall.
London: Fourth Estate, 2009. [Historical fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.xviii; 653; [1]. Publisher's black cloth, gilt titles to spine, pictorial dust-jacket designed by Andy Bridge, priced at £18.99, decorative endpapers. Trivial shelfwear. A fine copy. The Booker Prize winning novel that charts the rapid ascent of Thomas... More
![Two Tales of the Congo. An Outpost of Progress [and] Heart of Darkness. Joseph CONRAD, Dolf RIESER.](/pictures/thumb/52824.jpg?v=1544288207)
Two Tales of the Congo. An Outpost of Progress [and] Heart of Darkness.
London: The Folio Society, 1952. [Short stories] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.166. Publisher's oatmeal cloth blocked in black, gilt titles to spine, top edge black, dust-jacket with printed price of 18s. net. Illustrated with eight engravings by Rieser. Some offsetting to first and final blanks, edges marhinally... More
Casino Royale
London: Jonathan Cape, 1953. [Spy novel] FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.218; [2], blank. Publisher's black cloth-effect paper over boards with red titles and 'heart' design to upper, tail edge untrimmed, pictorial dust-wrapper priced at 10/ ; a restored, entry-level copy which at the time of writing... More
Murder For Christmas. The New Hercule Poirot Mystery.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1939. [Crime Fiction] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.x; 272 [6]. In publisher's black cloth with titles blocked in lime green, top edge green, others untrimmed, pictorial wrapper by Cobbledick, priced at $2.00. Discreet bookseller ticket to rear pastedown, top edge... More
On Her Majesty's Secret Service (a James Bond novel).
London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. FIRST EDITION, SIGNED LIMITED ISSUE. Octavo (195 x 35mm), pp.288. Colour frontispiece of the author by Charles Amherst Villiers. Signed by Ian Fleming to limitation page marked 'presentation' Publisher's quarter vellum over black cloth with gilt titles to spine, top edge gilt, in a original clear... More
This Sporting Life.
London; Longmans, 1960. FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp.256. Author's debut novel. Publisher's hardback in pictorial dust jacket priced 16s. Some minor handling and edgewear, faint tidemark to fore-edge. A very good copy which shows well. A gritty tale of working class northern England, which won the MacMillan Prize for fiction and... More
The Man With the Golden Gun.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1965. FIRST STATE of the First Issue, bound in Linson cloth with a large 'Gun' motif gilt-stamped to the front board, patterned green endpapers. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.221; [1] blank. In the original pictorial dust-jacket illustrated by Richard Chopping. A very good copy with some faint... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare.
London: Thomas Nelson and Sons n.d. (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, a.e.g. Contents clean... More
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare, With a Biographical Introduction by Henry Glassford Bell.
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
Can You Forgive Her?
London: Chapman and Hall, 1866. [English Literature] THIRD EDITION. Two volumes bound as one. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.320; 320. With 40 illustrations Hablot K. Browne ("Phiz") and Marcus Stone. Publisher's decorative green cloth blocked in gilt and blind, coated yellow endpapers. Internally clean, some mottling to cloth on rear... More
Doctor Amongst the Bedouins.
London: Robert Hale Limited, 1962. [Middle East] INSCRIBED FIRST ENGLISH EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.191; [1] epilogue. Publisher's black cloth, gilt titles to spine, dust-jacket with printed price of 21/- net. Illustrated with eight double sided photographic plates in black and white. Signed and inscribed by the author to... More
![Fragments of Voyages and Travels [to China and the Far East], Including Anecdotes of a Naval Life: Chiefly for the Use of Young Persons. First, Second and Third Series. Captain Basil HALL.](/pictures/thumb/52790.jpg?v=1544199388)
Fragments of Voyages and Travels [to China and the Far East], Including Anecdotes of a Naval Life: Chiefly for the Use of Young Persons. First, Second and Third Series.
Edinburgh: Robert Cadell, 1831-33. [Far East Travel] COMPLETE FIRST EDITIONS. Three series in nine volumes. Small octavo (16 x 10 x 22cm), pp.[2] vi; 338 [2]; pp.[2] iv; 371 [3]; pp.[2] iv; 320 [2]; pp.[4] vi; 334 [2]; pp.[4] iv; 312 [2]; pp.[4] iv; 339 [3]; pp.[4] viii; 363 [3];... More
Elements of the Science of Money Founded on Principles of the Law of Nature.
London: Longman, 1813. [Economics] FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp. lii; 496. Original tan calf with raised bands to spine, gilt rules, red title label. Spotting to prelims and preface, otherwise contents clean. Binding lightly rubbed, crown of spine worn, tear to rear joint at head and tail. Overall an attractive copy... More
The Man With the Golden Gun (a James Bond novel).
London: Jonathan Cape, 1965. [actually issued late 1964] Pp.221. PROOF copy in publisher's wraps, in the Proof-Only dust-jacket. The jacket features some misprints and typographical or textual differences, most prominently the title and author's name being printed across the spine in bold black tea-chest type, which was removed for the... More
South by Java Head.
London: Collins, 1958. [Naval adventure] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.320. Publisher's green cloth, gilt titles to spine, pictorial dust-jacket. Very light toning to edges, jacket with a tiny nick at crown otherwise fine. More
The Murder of Roger Ackroyd.
London: W. Collins and Sons, 1926. [Crime Fiction] First Edition. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.312. Bound in publisher's dark blue cloth, red lettered title and border, with titles in red to spine. Contents clean, a little spotting to edge of text block, mild rubbing to lower joint, short tear at... More
Thrilling Cities [James Bond In New York].
New York, NY: Signet Books, June 1965. The true first paperback edition. Signet Books' series P2694. Octavo (18 x 11cm), pp.207; [1], advertisement. Publisher's illustrated softcovers with original price 60c to upper panel, all edges tinted red. Light handling and wear only; a near fine copy. Predates the two-part British... More
The Happy Return.
London: Michael Joseph, 1937. [Naval adventure] FIRST EDITION of the first Horatio Hornblower novel. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.287; [1]. Publisher's green cloth in original dust-wrapper illustrated by Rowland Hilder. A little spotting to edges, neat repaired tear to half title, clean bright jacket with one small chip and tear... More
Toad of Toad Hall.
London: Methuen and Co, 1929. [Childrens' classic] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp. xv; 167; [8], advertisements. Publisher's light blue cloth lettered in gilt, printed dust-wrapper. Minor offset toning to endpapers, jacket with one neat tear to rear, lightly creased to same, otherwise a lovely fine, fresh-looking copy. The... More
The Graduate.
London: Constable, 1963. [Modern literature] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.238. Publisher's hardcover in striking original dust-wrapper. Page edges spotted, jacket near fine. An attractive copy of a reasonably scarce printing. Webb's first and most famous novel, documenting the sexual awakening of Benjamin the graduate, with Mrs Robinson... More
Andersen's Fairy Tales. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London, George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. [Fairy tales] FIRST RACKHAM EDITION. Large octavo (25 x 19cm), pp.288. With twelve full-page coloured plates with tissue guards and many full page and in-text black and white illustrations. Publisher's russet cloth blocked in gilt, illustrated dust-wrapper in original card gift box... More
Ruffy's Improved Series of Pocket Books. The ladies' Elegant Repository for 1833.
London: W.J. Ruffy, C. Penny and Son, and Thorpe and Burch, 1833. [Pocket book] ILLUSTRATED. Slim octavo (12 x 8cm), pp.[2]; 127; [1] publishers advertisements. With five engraved plates, including frontispiece. Original leather wallet binding with concertina pouch and pen/pencil holder. Marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Lacking flyleaf, some occasional... More
Get Shorty.
New York, NY: Delacorte Press, 1990. [Hollywood crime caper] FIRST EDITION, INSCRIBED TO ACTOR CHRISTOPHER LEE. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[10]; 292; [2], blank. Publisher's quarter white cloth, black sides, pictorial dust-jacket priced at $18.95. Trivial handling and wear, lower edge a little bumped else a clean fine copy. Legendary... More
Victorian Detective Fiction A Catalogue of the collection made by Graham Greene and Dorothy Glover.
London: The Bodley Head, 1966. [Mysteries] SIGNED LIMITED EDITION, no 188 of 500 copies. Printed on fine mould made paper.Octavo, pp.152. Publisher's green cloth, illustratred endpapers, dustwrapper priced at £5, 5s. net. Signed on the limitation page by Greene, Glover and bookman John Carter, who provided the introduction. Corners bumped... More
Collected Poems 1934-1952.
London: J.M. Dent and Sons Ltd., 1952. [Modern Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.178. Publisher's blue cloth with titles in gilt to spine, dust-jacket priced at 12/6. Neat gift inscription to flyleaf, jacket toned to spine and extremities. A very good copy indeed. More