"Outside of a dog, man's best friend is a book. Inside of a dog, it's too dark to read."
— Groucho Marx
Literature
The Anti-Death League. A Novel.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1966. [Modern Literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.352. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket designed by Raymond Hawkey, priced at 30/- net. Some spotting to preliminaries and offset toning to endpapers. Some spotting to top edge, edges toned. Light sunning..... More
The Anti-Death League. A Novel.
London: Victor Gollancz, [1966] 1972. [Modern Literature] SIGNED EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.352. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket designed by Raymond Hawkey, priced at £2.75. One of an unspecified small number of the second printings issued on behalf of the New Fiction Society..... More
The Green Man.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1969. [Strange tale] UNCORRECTED PROOF of the FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.253. Publisher's green softcovers in proof-only pictorial dust-wrapper priced at 30s. A fine, unread copy of the book in near fine, lightly rubbed oversized jacket. A ghostly tale set in an english medieval coaching..... More
My Enemy's Enemy, Stories.
London: Victor Gollancz. 1962. First Edition. Octavo, pp. 224. Red publisher's cloth with gilt titles to spine, in strikingly restrained yellow dustwrapper. Top and fore edge slightly browned, slight bumping to head and tail caps. Some wear to the top and bottom edges of the dustjacket with some marking and..... More
The Disputed Crown. A Novel of Eleventh Century England.
London: Chatto and Windus, 1982. [Historical Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.xxii; 297; [1]. Publisher's brown cloth with silver titles to spine. With the brown dust-jacket reproducing an image from the Bayeux tapestry. Some spotting to top edge and a very slight reading lean. A crisp, clean near..... More
Gildenford.
London: Chatto and Windus, 1978. [Historical Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[10]; 323; [3]. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Walter Hodges. Some spotting to top edge, otherwise a crisp, clean, near fine copy. The author's first novel, set in the..... More
The Norman Pretender.
London: Chatto and Windus, 1980. [Historical Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[2]; xiv; 410; [6]. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Walter Hodges. Top edge spotted, otherwise a crisp, clean, near fine copy. A sequel to 'Gildenford' (1978), this novel follows..... More
The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen.
London: George Newnes, 1899. [Children's Illustrated] FINELY BOUND, FIRST STRATTON ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Quarto (28 x 22cm), pp.[2]; xvi; 320; [2]. With over 400 in-text wood engravings by Stratton. Contemporary green full morocco dated 1900, with raised bands, gilt titles to spine and gilt decorations to upper board. All edges gilt;..... More
Stories from Hans Andersen. With Illustrations by Edmund Dulac.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1911. [Illustrated children's classic]. FIRST DULAC ILLUSTRATED EDITION. Quarto (29 x 23cm), pp.viii; 250; [2]. Publisher's green cloth blocked in gilt to spine and upper board, illustrated endpapers. With twenty eight tipped in colour plates. Some light spotting to endpapers, preliminaries, and edges, a couple of..... More
Family Secrets. or hints to those who would make home happy.
London: Fisher, Son and Co., no date [1843]. [Literature] ILLUSTRATED Three volumes, octavo (21 x 14 x 8cm). Brown half calf over brown cloth sides, gilt titles on darker brown calf squares to spine. Each volume with an engraved frontispiece and half title page plus another twenty-five plates spread between..... More
L'Historien Vertueux ou le Modele de l'Adolescence et de la Jeunesse. Dedie au jeune age.
Paris: Louis Janet, 1822. Sextodecimo. Bound in beige paper boards, all edges gilt. Binding shows wear, particularly to corners and spine ends. Text shows some spotting, including to illustrations. A calendar is printed at the rear. The title of one notable and worringly un-ironic plate is, roughly translated, "The charity..... More
The Life and Times of Dick Whittington: An Historical Romance.
London: Hugh Cunningham, 1841. First Edition. Octavo. Bound in original publishers cloth, rebacked; boards decorated with blind panelling, with gilt titles, and gilt portrait of Whittington and cat to spine; all edges uncut. With 22 illustrations. Binding is rubbed, gilt to spine somewhat faded. Text is clean, but illustrations show..... More
Romantic Stories of the Legal Profession.
London: Sampson Low, Marston. Searle and Rivington. n.d. Octavo, pp. 323. Collection of gems of law infused literature; including "Touch-and-go with a Great Estate", "The Missing deed", and "The Heiress of Warlow Castle". Bound in red cloth with gilt titles to spine, and black decoration to all faces. Slight lean..... More
A Panoramic View From Bunker Hill Monument.
Boston, MA: Luther Stevens, c.1848. LARGE FOLD-OUT. Octavo (24 x 18cm), pp. 16; [1], panoramic fold-out. Bound in publisher's dark green card boards, cloth spine, Victorian lettering and presentation of publisher's details printed in black to front cover, matching decorative border to rear. Some discolouration to front board and noticeable..... 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 Ceremonies in Honor of the Right Honorable Winston Spencer Churchill.
Cambridge, MA: Harvard University, 1943. Presentation Copy. Octavo. Bound in red cloth, with gilt titles and arms of the university to front board. Includes a signed compliment card. Rare in hardback issue. The binding is pristine, with no marks of wear or signs of fading. Internally clean, with slight residual..... More
Literary Amusements; or, Evening Entertainer, by a Female Hand.
Dublin: Printed by T. Henshall for S. Price [etc.], 1782. RARE FIRST EDITION. In two volumes. Duodecimo, pp.[8], 234 [4]; pp.[8], 236 [4]. In later burgundy half morocco with gilt titles and decoration to spines. Marbled boards and endpapers. Black ink annotations to p.74 of vol. I; black ink ownership..... More
The Man Who Killed Hitler.
London: T. Werner Laurie, 1939. [Anti-Nazi Novel] UK FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.113, [1]; [14] publisher's advertisements. Publisher's black cloth with titles in yellow, in yellow typographic dust-jacket showing printed price of 3/6 net to the spine. Binding is tight, printing crisp with no spotting. Dust-wrapper is bright..... More
The Club Cricketer. Hints by "Cricketer" of the Manchester Guardian.
Manchester: Manchester Guardian, n.d. FIRST PUBLICATION OF CARDUS. Slim octavo, pp.3 [ads]; 54. Bound in publisher's orange paper covers with illustration of cricketer to front panel. Includes diagrams and charming contemporary advertisements for golfing trousers, etc. Shows very well, excepting one crease to rear of pamphlet which continues into contents..... More
The New Instructive History of Miss Patty Proud: or the Downfall of Vanity, with the Reward of Goodnature.
New-Haven: Sidney's Press, 1809. [Children's Antiquarian]. EARLY EDITION. Quadragesimo-Octavo (10 x 7cm), pp.32. With occasional vignette wood engravings. Contemporary decorative paper covers, sewn. Quite heavy wear to covers and edges, but a miraculous survival nonetheless. Fair. More
Sam Sheridan: The Secret Service Special, or, the jamboree at "Early Bird" bar. The Aldine "Boys' First-Rate Pocket Library." No. 178.
London: Aldine Publishing Company, n.d. [1893]. ORIGINAL PAMPHLET. Octavo, pp.32. In original colour illustrated paper covers. text heavily browned and extremely brittle. Some chips to leaf edges. Covers much less brittle, also chipped in places. Spine reinforced with archival tape. Good considering paper stock. More
The Talking Horse and Other Stories.
London: Smith, Elder, and co., 1893. Presentation Copy, "New Edition". Octavo. Bound in publisher's red cloth, with panelling embossed in black to boards, titles to front board, and titles in gilt to spine. Binding is rubbed, with noticable fading to spine; somewhat shaken, linen visible in joint at p.1, and..... More
The Secret Trail A Jimmie Rezaire Story.
London, Methuen 1928. A Secret Service thriller. FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp256. Publisher's hardcover in dustwrapper. A very good copy with owner name, loss to jacket at base of spine affecting imprint, faded beneath at same, one or two other minor nicks or tears (one taped at rear) spine sunned. A...... More