"Everything in the world exists in order to end up as a book"
— Stephan Mallarme
Crime & Thrillers
Uncommon Danger.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1937. [Intrigue] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.314; [6], advertisements. Publisher's pale blue cloth lettered in black, mid-blue endpapers, pictorial jacket by Gibbs, priced 7/6. Trivial toning to edge of text block, jacket with very light rubbing/wear to extremities. Overall a lovely fine copy of..... More
Live and Let Die (a James Bond novel).
London: Jonathan Cape, 1954. [James Bond] FIRST ISSUE, Second State. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.240. Publisher's black cloth-effect paper-covered boards, titled and decorated in gilt, with dust-wrapper, priced twice as issued, at 10/6. With 'author's skill' text incorrectly spaced to the rear panel, as described in the bibliography, page 61..... More
![Rogue Male [aka Man Hunt]. Geoffrey HOUSEHOLD](/pictures/thumb/49232.jpg?v=1574440566)
Rogue Male [aka Man Hunt].
London: Chatto and Windus, 1939. [Classic man-hunt adventure] FIRST EDITION, PROOF COPY, with an original 4-page advert/order form. Octavo, pp.[vii]; 271; [1], imprint. Publisher's brown card softcovers, with printed label to upper, handwritten details to spine. Contents clean, some wrinkling and lean to spine, covers lightly handled. A very good..... More
The Riddle of the Sands.
London: Smith Elder and Co., 1903. [Espionage novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[xii]; 336; [4], advertisements. Illustrated with fold out maps and charts. Publisher's pictorial black cloth, blocked in white to the spine and upper cover. Edges of text block toned, vintage repair to torn leaf at pp.217-8..... More
![An Archive of Books and Letters Belonging to Hutchison's Secretary, Norah Skeggs]: The W Plan...](/pictures/thumb/58580.jpg?v=1607451247)
[An Archive of Books and Letters Belonging to Hutchison's Secretary, Norah Skeggs]: The W Plan [and] The Governor of Kattowitz [and] Colonel Grant's Tomorrow [and] Life Without End [and] The Viper of Luxor [and] Eye for an Eye [and] Arya: The Call of the Future [and] Blood Money [and] Challenge! [and] Minos Magnificent! [and] Pelican Row [and] Scar 77 [and] The K Code Plan [and] According to Plan [and] The Red Colonel.
London: Thornton Butterworth; Hutchinson & Co.; Rich & Cowan, 1929; 1932; 1934; 1931; 1932; 1932; 1933; [1934]; 1934; 1935; 1935; 1935; 1936; 1938; 1938; [1947]. [Collection of Books and Letters] INSCRIBED ASSOCIATION COPIES, WITH LETTERS. Sixteen volumes. Octavo (20 x 14 x 58cm). 1) The W Plan, seventh impression, pp.302..... More
![The Secret Families. [Inscribed Typescript with Associated Correspondence]. John GARDNER](/pictures/thumb/57544.jpg?v=1597078428)
The Secret Families. [Inscribed Typescript with Associated Correspondence].
New York, NY: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1989. [Spy Thriller] INSCRIBED ORIGINAL TYPESCRIPT. 437 sheets of type-written A4 paper, with the title leaf INSCRIBED by the author in black ink: 'To Gary, | With all good wishes — | yours | John Gardner.' Also with a separate Compliments leaf on US..... More
Mr. Standfast.
London: Hodder and Stoughton. 1919. Advance proof copy. 8vo. Publisher's original plain brown wraps, slightly spotted with minor edgewear. Internally clean, unifom light toning to page block. A most unusual and scarce advance proof copy of Mr. Standfast, one of Buchan's scarcer Richard Hannay stories. Protected by a tailor-made brown..... More
Poirot and the Regatta Mystery.
London: Vallancey Press Limted, no date [1945]. [Detective Mystery] FIRST SEPARATE EDITION. Slim octavo (18 x 12cm), pp.16. Illustrated stiff card covers designed by 'Jeffrey', original price 6d. A little dustiness and handling, lightly rubbed; near fine. The first stand-alone printing of this famous short story which had only previously..... More
![The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps], John BUCHAN](/pictures/thumb/50730.jpg?v=1584533210)
The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps],
London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1915. [Espionage thriller]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.253; [1]; [2], publisher's advertisements. Publisher's blue cloth boards with dark blue embossed lettering to spine and upper. Browning to page edges, though less than would normally be expected. Reading lean; spine sunned. Very good, in..... More
N or M?
London: Published for the Crime Club by Collins, 1941. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.192. Publisher's orange cloth with black titles to spine, dust-wrapper priced 7/6. A clean copy of the book without spotting or inscriptions, in a similarly bright jacket with some light edgewear, frayed to..... More
The Return of Sherlock Holmes.
London: Longmans, Green and Co., 1905. [Detective fiction] First Colonial Edition. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.[viii]; 403; [1], imprint; [8], advertisements. With a frontispiece illustration by Sidney Paget. Publisher's pictorial light blue-green cloth titled and decorated in gilt and black to the spine and front board, 'swan' patterned endpapers. Some..... More
The Best Man to Die.
London: John Long, 1969. [Crime Mystery] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp.184. SIGNED by the author in black ink to title page. A ticket to the Soho Theatre event 'Ruth Rendell and PD James, Head to Head' September 2012, attended by a well-known bookseller, suggests provenance for the..... More
The Secret Agent.
London: Methuen and Co., 1907. [Landmark Spy novel] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[viii]; 442; [1], imprint; [1], blank; [40], advertisement catalogue dated September 1907. Bound in publisher's burgundy coloured cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Edges of text block toned/browned, binding a little sunned to the spine..... More
The Sittaford Mystery.
London: The Crime Club, 1931. [Detective Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo, pp.250; [6], advertisements for new 7/6 detective novels. PUBLISHER'S UNRECORDED VARIANT BINDING of plum cloth blocked in black to spine and upper. Although the typeface used is the same, the brasses are a different size to those used on the..... More
The Valley of Fear.
London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1915. [Sherlock Holmes] FIRST UK EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.[8] 306 [6]. With a black and white frontispiece illustrated by Wiles. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles to spine and upper. Quite heavy spotting throughout, with toned edges and a strong tobacco scent. An..... More
The Cuckoo's Calling, The Silkworm, Career of Evil and Lethal White.
London: Sphere, 2013. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp.449; [7], blank. Black cloth lettered in gilt to backstrip, photographic dust-wrapper priced at £16.99 with Val McDermid quote to upper and quotes to rear from Mark Billingham and Alex Grey. A fine, unread copy. First of the Cormoran..... More
The Boomerang Clue.
New York, NY: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1935. [Murder mystery] FIRST U.S. EDITION. Octavo (20 x 15cm) pp.[viii]; 290; [1], adverts; [5], blank. Publisher's light grey cloth blocked in red, top edge bright red, fore-edge untrimmed, 'red badge detective' design endpapers, illustrated dust-wrapper priced at $2.00. A lovely fine copy..... More
The Stoneware Monkey.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1938. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.288. Publisher's blue cloth lettered in gilt, blue endpapers, pictorial dust-wrapper priced at 7/6. Contents very clean, neat ownership to flyleaf, jacket with trivial rubbing and wear, some discreet (frankly unnecessary) touch-up (no paper repair); a lovely..... More
Vanity Dies Hard.
London: John Long, 1966. [Crime Mystery] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.183 [1]. SIGNED by the author in blue ink to title page. Publisher's black cloth with blue and yellow titles to spine. With the dust-jacket illustrated by William Randell, priced at 15s. Some light rubbing to board..... More
The Big Four.
London: W. Collins and Sons. 1927. [Crime] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.v, 281; [1]. Publisher's blue cloth, titles in red to spine and upper. Some spotting to contents and edges (thick, fluffy paper is susceptible), covers fresh and bright, spine gently toned, lightly worn at tips. A very..... More
Horse Under Water. Secret File No. 2. A Novel by Len Deighton.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1963. [Espionage fiction] FIRST EDITION. Two copies (regular and variant). Octavo (19 x 14cm), pp.255;[1] blank. Publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Black "office stamp" motif and blind-stamped DOWNGRADED TO UNCLASSIFIED on front board, with plain black endpapers. Dust-wrapper designed by Raymond Hawkey. With a...... More
![The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps]. John BUCHAN](/pictures/thumb/50953.jpg?v=1523894672)
The Thirty-Nine Steps [39 Steps].
Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1915. [Espionage thriller]. FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13), pp.253; [blank]; [2 of publisher's advertisements]. Publisher's mid blue cloth, titles in darker blue to spine and upper board. Re-cased with later white endpapers. Textblock somewhat toned as usual. Cloth shows well, slightly rubbed..... More
In Cold Blood. A True Account Of A Multiple Murder And Its Consequences.
New York, NY: Random House, 1965 [1966]. [True Crime Novel] FIRST EDITION together with an ADVANCE REVIEW COPY. Two volumes. Octavo (25 x 18cm), pp.[12] 343 [1]. Publisher's brown cloth with gilt titles and silver decoration, brown endpapers, top edge tinted black, and fore-edge untrimmed. With the dust-jacket designed by..... More
Ordeal By Innocence.
London: For The Crime Club by Collins, 1958. [Crime Fiction] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.256. Publisher's red cloth, titled in black, with typographical dust-wrapper priced at 10/6. Jacket very lightly nicked; a near fine copy of what appears to be a trial jacket - this one with a...... More
Towards Zero.
London: Published by The Crime Club by Collins, 1944. [Crime thriller] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp.160. Publisher's red cloth in dust-wrapper designed by J.Z. Atkinson (the correct issue with the small illustration of a bell on the spine - omitted on reprints). Price clipped, a few tiny taped..... More