History & Biography
Kings of England: Characters of the Kings and Queens of England; Selected from the Best Historians. To which is added, a Table of the Succession of each, from Alfred to the present Time. With Heads, by T. Bewick, Newcastle.
London: Printed for E. Newbury, 1795. [English Royalty] FIRST EDITION. Duodecimo (14 x 9cm), pp.viii; 204 [4]. With an engraved frontispiece, vignette title page, and a vignette bust portrait for each Monarch, all by Thomas Bewick. Recently re-backed in brown calf, with gilt titles to spine and the original brown..... More
The Missing Diplomats.
London: The Queen Anne Press, 1952. [Espionage] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.50; [1], blank; [1], imprint. Bound in stiff white card covers with title label to upper, yellow dust-wrapper printed in red and black. Jacket a little toned to spine, panels spotted. Very good. Contemporary account of the..... More
The Unexpurgated Beaton. The Cecil Beaton's Diaries as he Wrote Them. Introduced by Hugo Vickers.
London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 2002. [Photographer's Memoirs] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 17cm), ppxii; 418. With three suites of double-sided black and white photographic plates. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the photographic dust-jacket. Some light marking to textblock edges. Jacket price-clipped. Some scuffing and edgewear to..... More
The Second World War. The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
London: Cassell and Co., 1948-1954. [Military history] LEATHER BOUND FIRST EDITIONS. Complete in six volumes. Octavo (22 x 15 x 27cm), pp.xv; 640; pp.xvii; 684; pp.x; 818; pp.xviii; 917; pp.xviii; 673; pp.xviii; 716. With numerous maps and plans, some folding. Elegantly bound in green half morocco, with gilt titles and..... More
The Man Who Supercharged Bond.
Yeovil: Haynes Publishing, 2009. [Biography] SIGNED FIRST EDITION, inscribed 'with best wishes'. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.352. With two suites of sixteen photographic plates. SIGNED by the author in black ink to half-title, together. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine and grey endpapers. With the photographic dust-jacket, priced..... More
Richard Meinertzhagen. Soldier, Scientist & Spy.
London: Secker & Warburg, 1989. [Biography] FIRST EDITION. Royal octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.xii; 292. With a suite of black and white plates. Publisher's black cloth in photographic dust-jacket priced at £14.95 to front flap. Contents clean, edges toned, some offset to endpapers, jacket lightly used. Near fine. Colonel Richard..... More
[Ian Fleming / James Bond reference] The Inner Circle. A View of War At The Top.
London: Hutchinson, 1971. [Intelligence / WWII Operations] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.228. Illustrated with eight photographic plates. Publisher's red cloth in dust-jacket priced at £2.25 /45s. Signature of the author in blue ink to the title page. A fine copy. Joan Bright was a key British Intelligence..... More
Fighter. The True Story of the Battle of Britain.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1977. [Military history] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.304. Publisher's blue cloth hardcovers lettered in gilt to the spine, red endpapers, top edge red, dust-wrapper displays a Paul Nash painting, priced at £4.95. With many photographic plates. Near fine. Deighton's acclaimed account of Germany's first major..... More
Scarne on Card Tricks.
London: Constable. 1953. [Sleight of hand, cheating, gambling] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), Pp. x; 138. Publisher's red cloth lettered in silver to spine, typographic dust-jacket with printed price of 8s. 6d. to front flap. Edges toned, jacket with some edge wear, rubbed to spine. Very good. The..... More
Scarne on Cards Tricks.
New York: Crown Publishers 1959. [Sleight of hand, cheating, gambling] Fourth printing. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.308. Publisher's red cloth in pictorial jacket. Owner label to rear pastedown. Worn wrapper with a some chips and tears, loss to rear corner, taped to rear, spine sunned. The follow-up to Scarne on..... More
Army Diary 1899-1926.
London: Oliver and Boyd, 1960. [Intelligence] FIRST EDITION. Royal octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.viii; 301; [3], blank. With 39 black and white plates and 25 maps printed in colour. Publisher's red cloth in pictorial jacket. Minor spotting to top edge, jacket a little edge worn, with none of the heavy..... More
Diamond.
London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1956. [Gemstones / mining / Colonial history] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.262; [2], blank. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine, illustrated dust-jacket. Subtle ownership to free endpaper. A particularly clean, fresh copy in price-clipped jacket. Traveller, journalist and novelist, Hahn was an..... More
T.E. Lawrence To His Biographer, Robert Graves [and] Liddell Hart. Information about himself, in the form of letters, notes and answers to questions, edited with a critical commentary.
London: Faber and Faber, 1938. [Letters and Biography] SIGNED LIMITED EDITIONS. Two volume box set. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.[2] x; 187 [1]; pp.[2] x; 233 [3]. Each with a black and white frontispiece, and printed on fine, handmade paper. Both being copy 172 of 1000 thus, SIGNED by Graves..... More
The New London Family Cook.
London: Albion Press, Printed for James Cundee, 1808. [Cookery]. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.634. Full tan diced calf, respined to style with a red title label, marbled endpapers. With a portrait frontispiece and ten further plates. Textblock is nice and clean with just occasional light spotting, embossed library stamps to..... More
A Zoo in My Luggage.
London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1960. [Animals] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (22 x 14cm), pp.205 [3]. With frequent illustrations by Ralph Thompson. Publisher's blue cloth with silver titles to spine. With the pink dust-jacket, also illustrated by Thompson, re-priced by the publisher from 18s to 16s. A nice crisp copy with..... More
The Normans in the South [and] The Kingdom in the Sun. [The Normans in Sicily].
London: Longmans, Green, 1967-1970. [Mediaeval History] FIRST EDITIONS, first impressions. Octavo (23 x 16cm), pp.xvi, 355; pp.xv, 426. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spines. Yellow / orange end-papers. Both with original pictorial dust-jackets, the first clipped and re-priced to £3.50, and the second priced at £3.50. A small..... More
Sir John Moore's System of Training.
London: Hutchinson & Co., no date [1925]. [Military Training / Napoleonic Wars] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.255 [1]. With 10 illustrations, including a black and white photographic frontispiece. Publisher's blue cloth with gilt titles to spine. A black ink ownership to fly-leaf. Light toning throughout, with some spotting..... More
The Second World War. The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
London: Cassell and Co. Ltd., 1948-54. [Military history] FIRST EDITIONS. Six volumes. Octavo (22 x 15 x 27cm), pp.xv; 640; pp.xvii; 684; pp.x; 818; pp.xviii; 917; pp.xviii; 673; pp.xviii; 716. With numerous maps and plans, some folding. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine; top edges pink, with grey..... More
[Archive of Letters and Inscribed Books]. The Recollections of Rifleman Bowlby: Italy 1944; Order of the Day; Countdown to Cassino: The Battle of Mignano Gap, 1943; Pedigree of the Family of Bowlby from 1552 to 1915, Compiled by Charles Cotsford Bowlby and entered in the records of the College of Arms in January, 1915.
London: Leo Cooper, 1915; 1969; 1974; 1995. [Literary Archive] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITIONS AND LETTERS, including an MS letter from LAURIE LEE. Three octavo books (22 x 15cm; 19 x 13cm; 24 x 16cm), a folding family tree (26 x 19cm), and 10 letters addressed to the author, relating to his..... More
Revolt in the Desert.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1927. [First World War] FIRST EDITION, first impression. Octavo (24 x 18cm), pp.[2] 446. With 16 black and white plates, including a frontispiece, and a folding map at rear. Publisher's tan cloth with gilt titles to spine. Top edge tinted brown, others untrimmed. Crisp and clean internally..... More
Traveller's Prelude; Beyond the Euphrates; The Coast of Incense; Dust in the Lion's Paw. [A Complete set of Freya Stark's four-volume Autobiography].
London: John Murray, 1950; 1951; 1953; 1961. [Travel writing] COMPLETE LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITIONS. Octavo (23 x 16 x 14cm), pp.xii; 346; pp.xiii; 341; pp.xiii; 287; pp.xii; 297. Recently re-bound in green half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles to spine, and matching cloth over boards. All edges lightly trimmed. Crisp..... More
A Person From England. and other travellers to Turkestan.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1958. [Travel] FIRST EDITION, PRESENTATION COPY. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.384. Publisher's blue cloth, gilt titles to spine, photographic dust-jacket and matching endpapers, top edge tinted blue. Illustrated with a map and eight double sided two tone photographic plates. With signed inscription to half title: "Momo /..... More
Battle of Britain [two copies].
London: Jonathan Cape / Coward McGann & Geoghegan, 1980. [Second World War] FIRST EDITIONS, UK & US issues. Small quartos (26 x 20cm), pp.224. Illustrated throughout in colour and black and white. Publisher's blue cloth with silver titles to spine. With the illustrated dust-jackets; UK by Frank Wootton US by..... More
The Second World War. The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
London: Cassell and Co., 1948-1954. [Military history] LEATHER BOUND FIRST EDITIONS. Complete in six volumes. Octavo (22 x 15 x 27cm), pp.xv; 640; pp.xvii; 684; pp.x; 818; pp.xviii; 917; pp.xviii; 673; pp.xviii; 716. With numerous maps and plans, some folding. Elegantly bound in burgundy half morocco, with gilt titles and..... More
Marlborough. His Life and Times.
London: George G. Harrap and Co., 1933-1938. [Biography/History] LEATHER-BOUND FIRST EDITIONS, first impressions. Four volumes, octavos (24 x 17 x 22cm), pp.[4] 612; pp.651 [1]; pp.[2] 608 [2]; pp.671 [1]. With 325 illustrations, including a frontispiece to each volume, black and white plates, folding maps and battle plans, and facsimile..... More