"Always read something that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it."
— P.J. O'Rourke
Children's Books
Harry Potter Series, Complete Deluxe Set, each with added colour illustration.
London: Bloomsbury, 1999-2001. [Harry Potter] ALL FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTING, IN DELUXE BINDINGS, each book with a fine colour illustration by the artists responsible for the cover artwork, namely Thomas Taylor, Cliff Wright, Giles Greenfield and Jason Cockcroft. Most are additionally dated by hand, 2002-5. Seven hardcover books, with two..... More
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The Harry Potter Gift Set. Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone [with] Harry Potter and The Chamber of Secrets.
London: Bloomsbury, [1998]. [Fantasy] FIRST COLLECTED EDITION, SIGNED, which comprises early reprints of the first two titles (Stone is 4th with 'Young Wizard' jacket, 'Chamber' is 7th printing) housed in the publisher's illustrated card slipcase, priced at £12.99. Both titles are SIGNED by the author to the flyleaf. Publisher's illustrated..... More
Harry Potter Series, Complete Deluxe Set. Being: The Philosopher's Stone; The Chamber of Secrets; The Prisoner of Azkaban; The Goblet of Fire; The Order of The Phoenix; The Half-Blood Prince; The Deathly Hallows; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Quidditch Through the Ages; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
London: Bloomsbury, 1999-2008. [Harry Potter] ALL FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTING, IN DELUXE BINDINGS, the first volume being SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR on the publisher's bookplate, additionally SIGNED by illustrator Thomas Taylor on the cover art. Ten volumes. Octavo (26 x 17 x 36cm). Original harlequin cloth, with gilt decoration, illustrations..... More
Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London, George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. [Fairy tales] FIRST RACKHAM EDITION, SIGNED LIMITED deluxe issue. Large octavo (26 x 19cm), pp.288. With twelve full-page coloured plates with tissue guards and many full page and in-text black and white illustrations. Publisher's gilt-stamped parchment over boards, top edge gilt, others..... More
Boy.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1984. FIRST EDITION, a nice association copy, WARMLY INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR shortly after publication. Octavo, pp.160. Publisher's cloth in original dustwrapper, pictorial endpapers, numerous black and white photographs and sketches throughout. The first volume of Dahl's fascinating autobiography. Edges a little dusty, one neat production crease..... More
The Wind in the Willows.
London: Methuen, 1908. [Children's classic] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 12cm), pp.[viii]; 302; [1], blank; [1], imprint. Frontispiece by Graham Robertson. Handsomely bound in full green polished morocco, gilt, by Trevor Lloyd M.B.E., with raised bands, extra gilt back, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, triple gilt fillet to sides, double..... More
The Story of a Puppet or the Adventures of Pinocchio. Translated from the Italian by M.A. Murray. Illustrated by C. Mazzanti.
London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1892. [Fairy tale] FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH. Octavo (17 x 11cm), pp.[6]; 232. Publisher's white cloth with blue floral decoration, blue title to spine and upper. Edges and endpapers repeating the design of the cloth. Illustrated with a tissue protected frontispiece and numerous in-text illustrations by..... More
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer's Comrade).
New York, NY: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885. [Literature] FIRST EDITION, earliest state of the cloth issue, now finely rebound in full green morocco, with the original cloth covers preserved at rear. Large octavo (22 x 18cm), pp.366. Illustrated throughout. Binding features gilt titles, and raised bands to spine..... More
The Incredible Adventures of Professor Branestawm. With 76 illustrations by W. Heath Robinson.
London: John Lane, The Bodley Head Ltd., 1933. FIRST EDITION. Large octavo. Publisher's orange cloth hardcover, blocked in black, illustrated endpapers, blue topstain, in original dust-wrapper. Coloured frontispiece and full page and in text line drawings throughout. Some edge-spotting to heavy paper, sunned to spine beneath wrapper, some chips/loss to..... More
![His Dark Materials; 1. Northern Lights [Golden Compass] 2. The Subtle Knife 3. The Amber...](/pictures/thumb/47580.jpg?v=1614769957)
His Dark Materials; 1. Northern Lights [Golden Compass] 2. The Subtle Knife 3. The Amber Spyglass.
London: Point, David Fickling and Scholastic Press, 1995-2000. ALL FIRST EDITIONS. First issue of first title, the remaining two books not being subject to issue points. First title with neat production crease to two leaves [pp.183-5], one of which also appears to be a cancel, spine a little sunned, other..... More
Harry Potter Series, Complete Deluxe Set. Being: The Philosopher's Stone; The Chamber of Secrets; The Prisoner of Azkaban; The Goblet of Fire; The Order of The Phoenix; The Half-Blood Prince; The Deathly Hallows; Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them; Quidditch Through the Ages; and The Tales of Beedle the Bard.
London: Bloomsbury, 1999-2008. ALL FIRST EDITIONS, FIRST PRINTING, IN DELUXE BINDINGS, superbly presented. Ten volumes, octavo (26 x 17 x 36cm). Original harlequin cloth, with gilt decoration, illustrations to upper covers, and all edges gilt. The three supplementary volumes housed in a custom green cloth clamshell case designed to match..... More
The Commemorative Limited Edition of the Works of Roald Dahl. Set of novels and short stories including Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Charlie and The Great Glass Elevator, Fantastic Mr. Fox, Magic Finger, Danny the Champion of the World, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, The Twits, George's Marvelous Medicine, The BFG, The Witches, Boy, Going Solo, Matilda, Esio Trot, James & The Giant Peach.
London: Jonathan Cape and Harper Collins, 1991. LIMITED EDITION, of only 500 sets of which this is No190. The only major collection of Dahl's works. 15 volumes illustrated by Quentin Blake and others. Octavo (25 x 17 x 35cm). Publisher's gilt-titled quarter blue morocco, over patterned paper boards, top edge..... More
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens. From the Little White Bird. A New Edition.
London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, no date [1912]. [Children's illustrated] REVISED 'BEST' EDITION. Quarto (29 x 22cm), pp.[8]; 126 [2]. With 50 chromolithographic plates by Rackham, as well as further occasional wood engravings. Exquisitely bound in full native red oasis morocco, gilt, by Sangorski and Sutcliffe, with gilt character tools..... More
Harry Potter and the The Half-Blood Prince.
London: Bloomsbury, 2005. [Children's Classic] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.607; [1]. Publisher's glossy pictorial paper-covered boards with matching dust-jacket illustrated by Jason Cockroft, priced at £16.99. A fine copy, boldly SIGNED by the author on a special promotional bookplate to the flyleaf, with colour-printed artwork and the..... More
![His Dark Materials; 1. Northern Lights [Golden Compass] 2. The Subtle Knife 3. The Amber...](/pictures/thumb/41780.jpg?v=1584802503)
His Dark Materials; 1. Northern Lights [Golden Compass] 2. The Subtle Knife 3. The Amber Spyglass.
London: Scholastic Press, 1995-2000. ALL FIRST EDITIONS. 3 volumes, octavos. Publisher's cloth in original pictorial dust-jackets. The set housed in a custom felt lined slipcase. Some water marking to the cloth which had transferred with some colour to the reverse of the slightly edge worn dust-jacket of the first volume..... More
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. Owner's small, vintage address label..... More
The Rhinegold and the Valkyrie With Illustrations by Arthur Rackham. Translated by Margaret Armour.
London: William Heinemann, 1910. [Norse Saga] FIRST RACKHAM ILLUSTRATED EDITION, SIGNED LIMITED ISSUE. Quarto (30 x 24cm). Illustrated with tipped-in colour plates. Publisher's full parchment over boards pictorially blocked in gilt, top edge gilt. A lightly used copy with very gentle spotting, and little marking to covers, silk ties wanting..... More
Cinderella. Together with The Sleeping Beauty. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London: William Heinemann, 1919 and 1920. FIRST EDITIONS thus. 2 volumes, large octavos. Publisher's red and yellow pictorial covers, cloth spines, in red and grey illustrated dust-wrappers. Tipped-in colour frontispiece to each volume and numerous black and white silhouettes and three-toned illustrations. Owner name to 'Cinderella', some edge spotting to..... More
![À Outrance [His Dark Materials]. Philip PULLMAN, born 1946](/pictures/thumb/54504.jpg?v=1566395048)
À Outrance [His Dark Materials].
Fyfield, Oxfordshire: Oak Tree Fine Press, 2009. [Epic fantasy] SIGNED LIMITED EDITION, with signed illustrations and two-line manuscript quote. Copy no.41 of 65. Small folio (34 x 25cm), pp.43; [1], blank; [1], Imprint; [3], blank. Typeset in Caslon, text and engravings printed by Hand and Eye Letterpress, London. Three wood..... More
The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit.
London: Frederick Warne & Co., 1906. [Children's Illustrated] FIRST EDITION. Sexto-Decimo wallet (12 x 10cm), with a 28 segment concertina text and illustration montage backed onto green cloth. In the publisher's green cloth wallet with machine-marbled lilac paper lining, as well as blue titles and a small square illustration to..... More
The Cat in the Hat.
New York, NY: Random House, 1957. [Children's reading book] FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, with all points present. Quarto (23 x 17cm), pp.62. Illustrated throughout. Bound in publisher's pictorial blue boards, in illustrated dust-jacket repeating the cover design. Some wear to extremities, corners lightly bumped, very light discolouration to front board..... More
Winter Holiday.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1933. [Children's adventure novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.360. With illustrations. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine, pictorial endpapers in colour, dust-jacket with printed price of 7s. 6d. net. Single name to first blank, some dustiness to edges, used jacket with chips and..... More
Fairy Tales by Hans Andersen. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
London, George G. Harrap and Co. Ltd., 1932. [Fairy tales] FIRST RACKHAM EDITION. Large octavo (25 x 19cm), pp.288. With twelve full-page coloured plates with tissue guards and many full page and in-text black and white illustrations. Publisher's russet cloth blocked in gilt, illustrated dust-wrapper in original card gift box..... More
The Nursery Alice.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1890. [Children's illustrated] FIRST PUBLISHED EDITION. Quarto (26 x 20cm), pp.[viii]; 56; [1], blank; [3], An Easter Greeting; [1], Christmas Greetings; [2], ads; [1], Specimen Page. Priced at Four Shillings. With twenty coloured enlargements from Tenniel's illustrations to Alice in Wonderland. Handsomely bound in deep red..... More
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. The Magical Car. Illustrated by John Burningham.
London: Jonathan Cape and Queen Anne Press, 2014. [Children's illustrated] DELUXE LIMITED EDITION, one of just 50 sets, accompanied by two prints, measuring 297 x 210mm, SIGNED and numbered by John Burningham. Three volumes plus portfolio, housed in a grey cloth slipcase (34 x 24 x 6cm), pp.48; pp.48; pp.48..... More