"If one cannot enjoy reading a book over and over again, there is no use in reading it at all. "
— Oscar Wilde

New York, NY: The Merriam Co., no date [1894]. [Strange Tales] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm), pp.iv; 211 [1]. With 38 engraved plates, including a frontispiece, by Benett. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles and black and white illustrations stamped to spine and upper. Bookplate of Francis E...... More
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Low and Searle, 1875. Early edition in a fine contemporary brown diced calf with a black title label, intricate and delicate gilt tooling to compartments to spine, the top compartment with a gilt-stamped crouched monkey topped by a crown; gilt rule to boards, marbled end papers..... More
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, & Rivington, 1883. [Strange Tale] THIRD UK EDITION. Octavo (19 x 15cm), pp.xii; 246. With 44 engraved illustrations, including a frontispiece, by Jules Férat and Charles Barbant. Publiisher's green cloth with gilt titles and black decoration to spine and upper. Yellow-coated endpapers. Bookseller's label and..... More
London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, 1891. [Strange Tale] VINTAGE COPY, a later edition. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.174. With ten illustrated plates, including a frontispiece. Publisher's green cloth with black and gilt titles and decoration to spine and upper. All edges gilt. Green ink stamp and pencil ownerships to..... More
London: Sampson, Low, Marston and Co., 1891. FIRST UK EDITION. Crown octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.xii, 313 [35]. With 80 wood engraved illustrations by George Roux, including a frontispiece. In publisher's blue-green cloth with gilt titles and polychrome blocked illustrations to spine and upper board. All edges gilt; foliate endpapers..... More
London: Sampson Low, Marston & Company, no date [1894]. [Polar Adventure] EARLY UK EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.viii, 313 [1]. With a selection of Roux's engraved plates, including a frontispiece. In publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles and polychrome blocked illustrations to spine and upper board. Remains of prize..... More
London: Readers Library, n.d. [1927]. Reader's Library edition, by special arrangement with Sampson Low. Publisher's gilt-embossed cloth in pictorial dust-jacket. Some expected toning to cheap paper, fragile jacket with a few chips and tears, notably to foot of spine with partial loss of imprint. Nonetheless a remarkable survival of a...... More
London: Sampson Low, Marston and Company, [1910]. Classic adventure. 'Author's Illustrated Edition' [most likely the Christmas 1910 'New Illustrated Shilling Series for Boys' noted by Taves and Michaluk]. Crown octavo, pp.174. Bound in publisher decorative red cloth blocked in blue and black, with 'Pears Soap advert to rear cover. Some..... More
London: Julian Wylie, n.d. Sixpenny novel paperback format. 8vo. Publisher's lavishly illustrated card wraps. Minor edgewear and some soiling to white spine and rear panel. Strong and bright with no loss, a very good copy. More
London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle and Rivington, 1878. Author's Illustrated edition, September 1878 (the first was November 1875). Post octavo, pp.262. Bound in nineteenth century half red morocco, gilt, over marbled sides. Some occasoional foxing, ink stamp of Oxford Military Collecge to title, some acceptable wear to binding, headband chipped..... More
London: Atlas Publishing and Distributing Co., Ltd., October 1955. [Crime Fiction] ORIGINAL MAGAZINE. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.64. Publisher's colour-illustrated paper covers, stapled twice and priced at 1s. Spotlessly clean, with some very light handling. Very small chip to head of spine. Almost as-new. This gripping collection of short stories..... More
London: Jonathan Cape, 1935. [Strange Tales] SECOND IMPRESSION. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.288 [20]. Publisher's oatmeal cloth with brown titles to spine and upper. Printed ownership to flyleaf. Spine lightly toned. Very good. More
London: Virago, 2009. [Ghost story] SIGNED LIMITED EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.[6]; 501; [5]. Publisher's red cloth, white titles to spine, and debossed to upper board, patterned endpapers. Red cloth slipcase. Signed by the author, from a limited edition of 1000 copies. Still in the original shrink wrap. Fine..... More
Leipzig: Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1926. [Science-Fiction Short Stories] COPYRIGHT EDITION. Octavo (17 x 12cm), pp.267 [37]. Publisher's plain paper covers; edges untrimmed Blue ink ownership to front cover, and some light toning and rubbing to spine. First gathering coming loose. Unusually well-preserved. Near fine. A collection of short stories which take..... More
London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1897. [Speculative fiction] FIRST EDITION, first Issue. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[viii]; 246; [2] advertisements. With page 1 incorrectly numbered as 2. Publisher's pictorial red cloth titled in gilt to spine and upper with vignette in black to upper. Contents toned as usual, a few..... More
London: Methuen, 1895. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp. [x]; 275; [1], imprint; [32], catalogue, dated November 1896. In publisher's blue cloth, with gilt titles to spine and upper board, edges untrimmed. Internally very clean, adverts mainly uncut although final four pages have been roughly opened. Cloth generally bright..... More
London, Methuen and Co. 1902. Strange Tale. FIRST EDITION, 8vo., with later ads. dated August 1908. A fantasy novel. Bound in publisher's gilt-trimmed red cloth, showing some light, acceptable wear and handling but generally in an attractive state. Wells' little known fantasy foreshadows Franz Kafka's dark fables of the totalitarian..... More
George Bell and Sons, London, 1908, FIRST EDITION. Crown octavo, pps.[viii]; 389. With 16 monochrome illustrations by A. C. Michael. In a robust private binding of grey cloth with morocco label titled in gilt, top edge gilt. Some light spotting else clean, in lightly rubbed binding. Wells' famous 'scientific romance'..... More
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1956. [Crime Mystery] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.222 [2]. Publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by Jarvis. Price-clipped jacket lightly sunned to spine, with some minor chips and closed tears to edges. Near fine. The twenty-sixth of 32..... More
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1952. [Crime Mystery] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth with black titles to spine. With the colour-illustrated dust-jacket. Light offsetting to endpapers. Price-clipped jacket lightly rubbed to edges with some minor closed tears, tape to reverse. Near fine. The seventeenth of 32..... More
London: Hutchinson and Co., no date [1948]. [Occult Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.292. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the colour-illustrated dust-jacket, priced at 12/6. Light toning to edges; a small bookseller's label removed from front pastedown. Gilt heavily faded and a little rubbed..... More
London: Hutchinson, 1973. [Strange tales] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.446 [2]. Publisher's red and black speckled cloth, gilt titles and black rules to spine, suitably atmospheric dust-jacket designed by Val Biro and priced at £2.50 net, map endpapers. Some bruising and a few closed tears to top edge..... More
London: Hutchinson and Co. (Publishers) LTD., no date [1943]. [Short stories] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.208. Publisher's black cloth, gilt titles to spine and gilt publisher's monogram to upper, pictorial dust-jacket with printed price of 9'- net (including extra war costs). Neat gift inscription dated December 1942 to..... More
London: Hutchinson, 1959. [Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 12cm), pp.446; [1], list of countries; [1], blank. Publisher's black cloth with blocking to spine in gilt and lime green, in pictorial dust-jacket designed by Sax with printed price of 15s net, endpapers showing a view of Venice in the 18th..... More
London: Seeley and Co., 1911. [Science Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.328 [24]. With 16 black and white plates, including a frontispiece. Publisher's navy cloth with gilt titles and decoration to spine and upper. Black ownership to fly-leaf dated 1920. Upper hinge split, with a strip of paper..... More