"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
— P.J. O'Rourke
Poetry & Drama
The Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer.
London: Bell and Daldy, n.d. (ca.1880). FINELY BOUND. Six volumes, octavo (17 x 11 x 13cm). New and Revised edition of the Aldine Poets, with a memoir by Sir Harry Nicolas. Original red calf, twin title labels, full gilt backs, marbled sides, edges and endpapers. School prize label to pastedown..... More
Akhnaton.
London: Collins, 1973. [Play] PROOF COPY. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.157; [1]. Publisher's mottled red paper wraps, pictorial dust-jacket designed by Andrew Vargo priced at £1.80 net. A scarce proof copy sent out in advance of the first edition. Dust-jacket very slightly creased and rubbed to top and bottom edges..... More
Six String Stories. Eric Clapton. The Crossroads Guitars.
UK: Genesis Publications, 2012. [Rock photo-documentary]. COLLECTOR EDITION, signed by the author. Folio, pp.376. No 1467 of 1650 copies. Comprehensively illustrated with images taken by over eighty of the world's best photographers, including David Bailey, Terry O'Neill, Dominique Tarlé and Lord Snowdon. Printed on heavyweight GardaMatt and GardaPat Art paper..... More
L'Alleluja. Poesie di Ennio Contini e La Prima Decade dei Cantos di Ezra Pound.
Mazara: Societa Editrice Siciliana, 1952. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.131 [5]. All text in Italian. Publisher's soft covers titled in red and black, priced at L.1000. Publisher's promotional slip to preliminaries. Toned throughout, especially to edges. Vertical crease to front cover, with light spotting and moderate wear..... More
Collected Poems.
London: The Cresset Press, 1954. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION, EX LIBRIS NAOMI MITCHISON. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.117 [3]. Publisher's grey cloth with gilt titles to spine. With the green typographic dust-jacket, priced at 10/6. Illustrated bookplate of Naomi Mitchison to fly-leaf. Spine toned and gilt dulled. Jacket heavily toned to..... More
The Works of Mr. Abraham Cowley: Consisting of those Which were formerly Printed; and those which He Design'd for the Press. Publish'd out of the Author's Original Copies. With the Cutter of Coleman-Street.
London: Printed for Jacob Tonson, 1707. [Poetic and Dramatic Works] TENTH EDITION. Complete in two volumes. Octavo (20 x 12cm), pp.[2] lxxxvi; 392; pp.[2] 393-894 [2]. Complete with 28 copper engraved plates, including a frontispiece to each volume, and one folding. Contemporary full speckled and panelled calf, with gilt titles..... More
The Poetical Works of William Cowper.
Edinburgh: William P. Nimmo, 1864. [Poetry] FINELY BOUND AND ILLUSTRATED. Octavo (18 x 13cm), pp.xxviii; 483 [1]. With 10 engraved plates by Cameron, including a frontispiece portrait of the author and a decorated title page. Contemporary red full morocco with raised bands, gilt titles to spine, heavy blind decoration all..... More
Poems: by William Cowper.
London: W. Kent & Co., 1859. [Poetical Works] FINELY BOUND, a later edition thus. Two volumes. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.vii-lxxii; 274 [2]; pp.viii; 336 [2]. With 75 in-text engravings after Gilbert. Contemporary brown full morocco for Hatchard's, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine, and panelled decoration..... More
The Poetical Works of William Cowper.
Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1854. [Poetical Works] FINELY BOUND FIRST THUS. Two volumes. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[2] xxx; 416 [2]; pp.[2] xxviii; 428 [2]. Reasonably-sized print on good paper. Very fine contemporary green full morocco by J. WRIGHT, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to spine, and very fine..... More
Poems by William Cowper, Of the Inner Temple, Esq.
London: Printed for J. Johnson, 1787. [Poetry] THIRD EDITION. Two volumes. Octavo (20 x 13cm), pp.[4] 367 [1]; pp.[8] 359 [1]. Contemporary full tan calf, recently rebacked with the original spines laid over. Gilt titles to red labels on spines. Armorial bookplate of Michael Pepper to front pastedown of each..... More
The Works of the Rev. George Crabbe.
London: John Murray, 1823. [Poetical Works] FINELY BOUND. Complete in eight volumes. Octavo (17 x 11 x 16cm), with three or four engraved plates to each volume. In a highly attractive contemporary black full straight-grained morocco binding, with gilt titles and decoration to spines, further decoration in gilt and blind..... More
Wild Decembers: a Play in Three Acts.
London: William Heinemann, 1932. SIGNED PRODUCTION COPY. Octavo, pp.97. In publisher's maroon cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper board. Flyer for the Apollo Theatre production pasted to front paste-down. SIGNED by the author and nineteen members of the cast and crew from the May production of the following..... More
Terence Rattigan: The Man and His Work.
London: Quartet Books, 2010. [Literary Biography] INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR, revised third edition. Octavo (24 x 15cm), pp.[2] 534. INSCRIBED by the author in black ink to title page: 'For Edward | with best wishes | Michael Darlow | 1st August 2011. Publisher's soft covers priced at £22.50. Light wear..... More
![The Tale of Mr. Tootleoo [and] Tootleoo Two. Bernard DARWIN, and Elinor](/pictures/thumb/49527.jpg?v=1634833563)
The Tale of Mr. Tootleoo [and] Tootleoo Two.
London: The Nonesuch Press, n.d. [1925 and 1927]. [Children's Illustrated]. FIRST EDITIONS. In two volumes. Oblong (19 x 26cm), unpaginated. With bright colour illustrations by Elinor Darwin facing every page of text. In publisher's original paper-covered card covers, with red decoration to volume I and blue to volume II. Some..... More
The Guardsman and Cupid's Daughter. And Other Poems.
London: Humphrey Toulmin, 1930. LIMITED EDITION, this being number 289 of 500 copies SIGNED by the Author and Artist. Octavo. Frontispiece and further black and white illustrations by John Austen. Publisher's green cloth, gilt title to spine and pictorial title label laid to upper. Top edge gilt, all other edges..... More
St. George's Day: A Fleet Street Eclogue.
New York, NY: John Lane, 1895. [Scottish Verse] AMERICAN COPYRIGHT EDITION. Octavo pamphlet (19 x 13cm), pp.16. Stapled twice. Some handling and a few small chips to covers. Very good. Part of the second series of Fleet Street Eclogues, expressing dismay at the homogenisation of British and American culture, and..... More
Country Comets.
London: Martin Hopkinson & Company, 1928. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.x; 35 [1]. Publisher's light green paper-covered boards with a plain paper title label to upper. A nice clean copy internally. Spine and upper sunned and toned to grey, with some light handling. Near fine. The author's..... More
This Year: Next Year.
London: Faber and Faber, 1937. SIGNED LIMITED EDITION. Small Quarto, unpaginated. SIGNED by both artist and author in black ink to verso of front free endpaper; hand-numbered 100 of 100 copies. Brightly illustrated throughout with lithographs by Jones. In publisher's colour-illustrated cloth boards, with matching jacket and illustrated endpapers. Some..... More
The Burning-Glass, and Other Poems.
London: Faber & Faber, 1945. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.106 [2]. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Fore and lower edges untrimmed. With the plain typographic dust-jacket titled in black and red, priced at 7/6. A little bumping to boards. Jacket a little rubbed to..... More
The Burning-Glass, and Other Poems.
London: Faber & Faber, 1945. [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.106 [2]. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Fore and lower edges untrimmed. With the plain typographic dust-jacket titled in black and red, priced at 7/6. Black ink ownership to front pastedown. Some toning to edges..... More
![Playbill for] The Exquisites. Telesforo DE TRUEBA](/pictures/thumb/52512DeTruebaExquisites.jpg?v=1547505478)
[Playbill for] The Exquisites.
London: Printed by W. Reynolds, Friday, June 17, 1831. [Musical Theatre] ORIGINAL PLAYBILL. A single sheet of paper (36 x 20cm), backed and mounted with cream card. Advertising a performance of the new Comedy by Telesforo de Trueba, featuring the brilliantly named Madame Pasta and Mademoiselle Taglioni. Lightly browned. A...... More
![Enos Leptou Mazi [One Minute's Together]. Kiki DIMOULA](/pictures/thumb/55974.jpg?v=1612373703)
Enos Leptou Mazi [One Minute's Together].
Athens: Ikaros Publishing, January 1999. [Greek Poetry] THIRD PRINTING. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.66 [6]. All text in Greek. Heavily inscribed with notes in black ink to fly-leaf. Publisher's red soft covers. Light rubbing to covers; near fine. A collection of poetry first published in September 1998. More
Austin Dobson: An Anthology of Prose & Verse.
London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1922. [Miscellany] FINELY BOUND FIRST THUS. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.[6] xxii; 174 [6]. With a half-tone photographic portrait of the author, and a facsimile reproduction of his bookplate. Contemporary blue half morocco by RAMAGE of London, with raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to..... More
![The King of the Foxes [and] The Destroyers [in] The Windsor Magazine. Volume VIII. Arthur Conan...](/pictures/thumb/49910.jpg?v=1512569739)
The King of the Foxes [and] The Destroyers [in] The Windsor Magazine. Volume VIII.
London: Ward, Lock and Co., 1898. [Literary Magazine]. FIRST APPEARANCES. Octavo (25 x 18cm), pp.vi; 3-716. With numerous in-text lithographic illustrations. In publisher's green cloth with red titles to spine and upper board. Brown floral endpapers. With a PSA Book Fund bookplate to front pastedown. Some gatherings a little loose;..... More
The Collected Poems of John Drinkwater. 1908-1922.
London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1923. [Poetry] SIGNED LIMITED EDITION. Complete in two volumes. Octavo (24 x 18cm), pp.xiv; 234 [6]; pp.[2] xii; 240. Number 49 of 230 copies thus, SIGNED by the author in black ink to preface. Printed on fine handmade paper. Publisher's cream buckram with gilt titles to..... More