"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. "
— Oscar Wilde
New Arrivals
That's How it Was.
London: New Authors Limited, Hutchinson, 1962. [Modern literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.221; [3]. Publisher's black cloth, titles in white to spine, dust-jacket with photography by Euan Duff, with printed price of 18s net, with the list of other 'New Authors Limited' titles to the reverse. Internally fine... More about That's How it Was
The Light's on At Signpost. Memoirs of the Movies, Among Other Matters
London: Harper Collins, 2002. [Autobiography] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.xxiv; 338. With two suites of black and white plates. Publisher's hardcover in dust-wrapper. Signed by the author to title-page. Fine/as new. This autobiographical work concentrates on the 'Flashman' author's succesful role as a Hollywood screen-writer, having penned... More about The Light's on At Signpost. Memoirs of the Movies, Among Other Matters
Smiley's People.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1980. [Spy Thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.327; [1], blank. Publisher's blue cloth, plain endpapers, pictorial dust-jacket. A lightly handled copy in similar price-clipped wrapper with very light edgewear and a little sunning to spine; near fine. The acclaimed novel, part of the 'Quest... More about Smiley's People
Odds Against.
London: Michael Joseph, 1965. [Crime thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.256. Publisher's brown cloth hardcovers with illustrated dust-wrapper designed by Broome Lynn, in the style of James Bond jacket artist Richard Chopping. Contents clean, some dustiness to page edges, price clipped jacket with a few marks to flaps;... More about Odds Against
![The Jungle Book [and] The Second Jungle Book. Rudyard KIPLING, Joseph, J. Lockwood KIPLING](/pictures/thumb/53792.jpg?v=1558539814)
The Jungle Book [and] The Second Jungle Book.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1895. [Children's Illustrated] FIRST AND EARLY EDITIONS, volume I being a fourth printing, and volume II a first. Two volumes. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.viii; 212; pp.[6]; 238; [2]. With frequent in-text illustrations by the author's father John, as well as a frontispiece and a number... More about The Jungle Book [and] The Second Jungle Book
The Czar's Spy. The Mystery of a Silent Love.
New York, NY: The Smart Set Publishing Co., 1905. [Spy Fiction] SIGNED COPY, an early book club edition from the same year as the first. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[6]; 314. SIGNED by the author in black ink to the publisher's advertisement facing the title page. Contemporary red half crushed... More about The Czar's Spy. The Mystery of a Silent Love
Tom Brown's Schooldays.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1904. [Children's Literature] FINE PRIZE BINDING. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.xxiv; 308. With frequent in-text and full page wood engravings after Hughes and Hall by D. Cooper. Contemporary red full calf for Heddon Court School by BUMPUS, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine... More about Tom Brown's Schooldays
![The Trial of Madame Laffarge for Poisoning her Husband], The Mystery of Marie Lafarge. Edith...](/pictures/thumb/53324.jpg?v=1558539813)
[The Trial of Madame Laffarge for Poisoning her Husband], The Mystery of Marie Lafarge.
London: Clerke and Cockeran, 1840 and 1951. [Original news clippings scrapbook] First Use of Forensic Evidence, contemporary newspaper reports, with a first edition of the 1951 biography by Edith Saunders. Quarto (29 x 24cm), and octavo (22 x 15cm), 31 leaves with newspaper clippings pasted to recto only in two... More about The Trial of Madame Laffarge for Poisoning her Husband], The Mystery of Marie Lafarge
The Hermit of Eskdale: A Story of a Cumbrian Dale.
London: Frederick Warne and Co., 1933. [Historical Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm), pp.316; [4]. Publisher's blue cloth with black titles to spine and upper board. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Cuneo, priced at 7/6. Neat ownership to flyleaf, light spotting to edges. An especially bright example of the... More about The Hermit of Eskdale: A Story of a Cumbrian Dale
The Intrusion Of Jimmy.
New York, NY: G. Howard Watt, 1929. [Classic Humour] SECOND WATT EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.[6]; 314. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. Top edge orange. Lightly browned. Some light rubbing and marks to cloth, with a bit of worming to upper joint. Gilt... More about The Intrusion Of Jimmy
The Poetical works of Lord Byron. Collected and Arranged with Notes. New and Complete Edition.
London: John Murray, 1876. [Romantic Poetry] FINELY BOUND EDITION. Large octavo (24 x 17cm), pp.[2] xii; 827; [3]. With 12 engravings by various artists, including a frontispiece and vignette title page. Contemporary dark green full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and gilt decoration. All edge gilt; marbled... More about The Poetical works of Lord Byron. Collected and Arranged with Notes. New and Complete Edition
Horse Under Water. Secret File No.2. A Novel by Len Deighton.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. [Cold War spy thriller] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.255; [1]. Publisher's hardback cloth, in a pictorial dust-wrapper designed by Ray Hawkey. Plain black endpapers. With presentation note to half title; "Thanks and | best wishes | Len Deighton". Light general wear, some soiling... More about Horse Under Water. Secret File No.2. A Novel by Len Deighton
The Christopher Robin Verses. Being 'When We Were Very Young' and 'Now We Are Six' With a Preface for Parents. With Twelve Plates in Colour and Text Decorations by Ernest H. Shepard.
London: Methuen and Co., 1932. [Children's Illustrated] FIRST COMBINED EDITION. Octavo (21 x 16cm), pp.xii; 210; [2]. With Shepard's famous illustrations in-text, and twelve plates in colour, including a frontispiece. Publisher's blue cloth, gilt titles to spine and gilt decoration to upper board, top edge light blue. Light offsetting to... More about The Christopher Robin Verses. Being 'When We Were Very Young' and 'Now We Are Six' With a Preface...
The Pale Horse.
London: The Crime Club, by Collins, 1961. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's orange cloth with black titles to spine, illustrated dust-jacket priced at 15s. A little spotting to edges of text block, no inscriptions, discreet bookplate, jacket slightly toned. A near fine copy. A masterful... More about The Pale Horse
Winnie the Pooh.
London: Methuen and Co., 1926. [Children's classic] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.xi [5]; 158; [2]. Profusely illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge gilt; pictorial endpapers. With the dust-jacket, also illustrated by Shepard, priced at 7/6. Very slight offsetting to endpapers... More about Winnie the Pooh
Hornblower and The Atropos.
London: Michael Joseph, [1953]. [NAUTICAL FICTION] SIGNED BY VAL BIRO. Front panel from the printed dust-jacket for Hornblower and the Atropos presented in a plain mount signed by Val Biro in artist's pencil, the whole framed and glazed. (Overall size 38 x 30 cm). Faint vertical crease to the wrapper... More about Hornblower and The Atropos
The Old Man and the Sea.
London: The Reprint Society, 1953. [Modern Literature] FIRST UK ILLUSTRATED EDITION, preceding Cape's own illustrated edition (published in 1955). Octavo (22 x 16cm), pp.117; [3]. Illustrated throughout with wood engravings by Tunnicliffe and Sheppard. Publisher's green cloth with silver titles to spine against a red background, and a silver leaping... More about The Old Man and the Sea
The works of robert burns. Illustrated by an Extensive Series of Portraits and Authentic Views. With a Complete Life of the Poet: An Essay on his Genius and Character, by Professor Wilson. Numerous Notes, Annotations, and Appendices.
London: Blackie and Son, 1866. [Poetry] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED. Two volumes. Large octavo (26 x 18cm), pp.cclxxvi; iv; 149; [1]; pp.xx; 412. With a total of 83 engraved plates by various artists, including a frontispiece and vignette title page to each volume, and a facsimile example of Burns' handwriting... More about The works of robert burns. Illustrated by an Extensive Series of Portraits and Authentic Views....
The Crock of Gold.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1912. [Modern Literature] FINELY BOUND FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13), pp.vi, 312. Contemporary green half morocco with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine and marbled paper over boards. Top edge gilt; marbled endpapers. A fine copy with just the very lightest of wear to binding. More about The Crock of Gold
The Wind in the Willows.
London: Methuen and Co., 1931. [Children's Classic] FIRST SHEPARD-ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.[8] 312 [8]. With the famous illustrations by Shepard, in-text. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine and gilt decoration to upper board. Top edge green. Maps to endpapers. Illustrated bookplate to verso of fly-leaf... More about The Wind in the Willows
The Apaches of New York.
New York, NY: G.W. Dillingham Company, 1912. [Short Stories] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.272. With 11 illustrated plates including a frontispiece by Thomson. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. Top edge grey. With the remains of the cream dust-jacket and a contemporary newspaper... More about The Apaches of New York
The Poetical Works of Lord Byron.
London: John Murray, 1850. [Romantic Poetry] FINELY BOUND. Octavo (25 x 16cm), pp.viii; 827 [1]. With an engraved frontispiece of the author, a vignette title page showing Newstead Abbey, a facsimile of the dedication to Robert Peel from the 1837 edition, and two double-sided plates showing various examples of the... More about The Poetical Works of Lord Byron
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 about Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers and Other Poems
The Moonstone.
New York, NY: Harper and Brothers, 1868. [Literature] FIRST U.S. EDITION, being the FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION, also first single volume edition. Published the same year as the UK triple-decker. Slim octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.223; [1] blank. Publisher's blind-stamped textured brown cloth (not ribbed, as some copies), with decorative gilt... More about The Moonstone
Gaddings with a Primitive People. Being a Series of Sketches of Alpine Life and Customs.
London: Remington and Co., no date [1878]. [Alpine Travel] FINELY BOUND. 2 volumes. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.[4] iii-xvi; 279 [5]; [4] iii-viii; 270 [4]. In slightly later blue half calf with raised bands, gilt titles to red labels and further gilt tooling to spines. Marbled paper over boards; all... More about Gaddings with a Primitive People. Being a Series of Sketches of Alpine Life and Customs