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Click here to subscribeJoan Didion: 'Play It as It Lays', London, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 1971, 1st UK edition, original cloth gilt, striking pictorial dust wrapper by Janet Halverson. Scarce first UK edition of Joan Didion's second novel, credited for helping define modern American Fiction. It is known for depicting the nihilism and the illusory glamor of life in Hollywood, as well as capturing the landscape and culture of 1960s Los Angeles.
Sebastian Faulks: 'A Trick of the Light', London, The Bodley Head, 1984, 1st edition, original black cloth lettered in silver, dust wrapper (£7.95 price intact). The author's first novel with a print run of only 1500, some of which were later pulped, scarce to find in collectable condition.
Ronald Searle: 'Forty Drawings', Cambridge University Press, 1946, 1st edition, pp[ii] + 40 monochrome plates, intro. Frank Kendon, 4to, original printed paper covered boards worn. Searle's first book, comprising drawings made between 1941-45, most of which were produced after he was captured by the Japanese and imprisoned at Changi following the fall of Singapore.
Ford Madox Ford (as Ford Madox Hueffer): 'The Good Soldier: A Tale of Passion', London, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1915, 1st edition, 1st issue, with publishers imprint at foot of title page with London listed above New York, and publisher's advertisements at end listing the work as "The Saddest Story", the novel's original title, W.H. Smith circulating library label to front pastedown, 294pp + [16]pp catalogue of ads at end, original cloth, gilt lettered to spine. A very scarce UK first edition copy of one of the great novels of the 20th century, a landmark in modernist writing.
Henry Alken & others: 'The Sporting Repository containing Horse Racing, Hunting, Coursing, Shooting, Archery, Trotting and Tandem Matches, Cocking, Pedestrianism, Pugilism, Anecdotes on Sporting Subjects', London, Kegan Paul, 1904, limited edition, number 39 of 50 hand made paper copies only, 2 volumes bound as 1, 22 colour plates after Henry Alken, Barenger, Dighton, Benjamin Marshall. Faint tide mark to top third of verso blank on FEP and first blank and lesser so to half title and top half of rear free end paper. 4to, half dark blue morocco, spine with raised bands and gilt decorated with sporting motifs in compartments within gilt ruled borders, top edge gilt, others uncut, a fine binding. Armorial bookplate of R.N.H. Moore Stevens to front paste down. Sporting Repository was originally published as a magazine in 1822 and was important for its fine colour plates
Mark Spade [i.e. Nigel Balchin], 2 titles: 'How to Run a Bassoon Factory, or Business Explained', 1934, 'Business for Pleasure', 1935, both 1st editions, both published London, Hamish Hamilton, both original cloth. The author's first two books, written under his pen name Mark Spade. Balchin trained originally as an industrial psychologist, in which capacity he helped Rowntree’s to successfully launch Black Magic chocolates in 1933. He received critical acclaim as a novelist during the Second World War when he wrote Darkness Falls From the Air. It was the first of three evocative novels (including the smash-hit The Small Back Room) that made good use of his wartime employment experiences at the Ministry of Food and later in the army. (2)
(Judaica, Hebraica.) 'The Leningrad Codex. A Facsimile Edition.', edited David Noel Freedman and others, Grand Rapids, MI, William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, and Leiden, Brill Academic Publishers, 1998, 1st facsimile edition, li,1016pp, b/w and colour leaves reproducing the original manuscript, large thick 4to (33 x 29cm), original buckram gilt, mounted colour illustration to front cover. The Leningrad Codex is the oldest known complete manuscript of the Hebrew Bible in Hebrew. Housed in the Saltykov-Shchedrin State Public Library in St. Petersburg, and according to its colophon dating to 1009 C.E., the Leningrad Codex stands as the single most important extant manuscript for establishing the text of the Hebrew Bible and is the basis for virtually all critical editions of the Hebrew Bible. This beautiful scholar's edition is the first facsimile edition of the Leningrad Codex, produced under the auspices of the University of Michigan in cooperation and consultation with the Ancient Biblical Manuscript Center and the West Semitic Research Project. It features a large format that includes 16 full page colour plates that capture in precise detail the Codex's lovely medieval artwork. Includes an introduction to the Leningrad Codex by Astrid Billes Beck. Very scarce
Seven Victorian novels in yellow wrappers, similar to hardback Yellowbacks, including Sam Slick: 'The Clockmaker', London, Frederick Warne & Co, [nd], c.1870, original pictorial yellow wraps, plus 6 others similar published Warne, George Routledge and Adam & Charles Black, including 'The Blunders of a Bashful Man', by the author of "A Bad Boy's Diary" [i.e. Metta Victor (née Metta Victoria Fuller], American novelist, credited with authoring one of the first detective novels in the United States, author of more than 100 'dime novels', pioneering the field, J. Fenimore Cooper: 'The Deer Slayer', etc etc. Developed in the 1840s to compete with the "penny dreadful", yellowbacks were marketed as entertaining reading. They had brightly coloured covers, often printed by chromoxylography, that were attractive to a new class of readers, thanks to the spread of education and rail travel. By the later 19th century, yellow-backs included sensational fiction, adventure stories, "educational" manuals, handbooks, and cheap biographies. (7)
John Wesley (1703-1791), Church of England clergyman and a founder of Methodism. Autograph Letter Signed, “JWesley”, London, Saturday November 15, 1789, to Miss Elizabeth Padbury, at Whittlebury, near Towcester, Northamptonshire, “My Dear Betsy, It is not improbable that you will see me before you receive my letter. For as I am to set out on Monday morning, I shall probably be at Whittlebury about four in the afternoon, --- I c--- --- by con---- without sending you a l--- ---- it only, to assure you that I am, My Dear Betsy, Yours most affectionately JWesley”, 11 lines of manuscript text, 1 leaf (approx. 19 x 13.5cm), chain lined, laid paper, bearing crown of Britannia watermark to left hand side, with the original postally used envelope addressed in Wesley’s hand “To Miss Padbury, at Whittlebury, near Towcester, Northamptonshire”, chain lined, laid paper, bearing the adjoining part of the Britannia watermark to that on the letter, approx. size 14.5 x 18.5cm, both toned with some age wear, some small perforations to margins. Several letters from John Wesley to Miss Elizabeth Padbury are recorded, though this example appears unpublished. “Whittlebury in Northamptonshire is not exactly the hub of the universe, but it was a place very dear to Wesley's heart. It is a hamlet on the road from Towcester to Buckingham, a little to the west of the old Watling Street. Methodism came to Whittlebury in 1760 through the preaching of Thomas Grover, and tradition says that the first Methodist society was formed by John Murlin. Elizabeth Padbury...was the eldest of thirteen children born to Thomas and Judith Padbury. She was born in 1751, and her father was a farmer and baker. The first services were held in his house (now the village post-office), and he became a pillar of the Methodist society. Wesley visited the hamlet more than twenty times, and once described the society as "the flower of all our societies in the circuit, both for zeal and simplicity ". An article in the Methodist Times stated that on one occasion Wesley was accompanied to Whittlebury by Fletcher and Coke, and that they all stayed at Padbury's house. Telford gives a variant of this story: "Wesley once met his brother Charles and Fletcher at Whittlebury" but I can find no evidence to substantiate either version. The building of the little chapel at Whittlebury was begun in 1763, but local opposition, led by the rector, delayed its completion for nearly twenty years. It was finally opened in 1783, and Wesley gave three donations totalling £14 towards its cost. Though it was enlarged in J812, the chapel, still in use, seats only one hundred people. The society account book, begun in 1762, contained many interesting items relating to Wesley's visits. Unfortunately the book has disappeared, but some of its contents are given in the Methodist Times article referred to. ‘Proceedings of the Wesley Historical Society’, volume XXXII, 1959, p.188, edited by Rev. Wesley F. Swift.
(Municipal Art Jerusalem, Palestine, Islamic Architecture.) C.R Ashbee (Editor); Ronald Storrs (preface): 'Jerusalem 1918-1920. Being the Records of the Pro-Jerusalem Council during the period of the British Military Administration.', London, John Murray for the Council of the Pro-Jerusalem Society, 1921, numerous photo plates, text drawings, maps & plans, complete as called for. (Bound together with) Ashbee (Ed.); Storrs (preface): 'Jerusalem 1920-1922. Being the Records...During the first two years of the Civil Administration', L, John Murray for the Council ..., 1924, plates, folding maps etc complete as called for, two volumes in one, large 4to (30 x 22cm), original publisher's quarter cloth over paper covered boards, with text and ornament to front cover; cloth spine.
(Ukiyo-e, Floating world, Japanese Art.) Three large folio works published by Taschen, all profusely illustrated throughout, comprising 'Japanese Woodblock Prints 1680-1938', 2019, ed. Andreas Marks, 621pp, illustrated end papers, large thick folio (40 x 29cm), original cloth backed pictorial boards (depicting works by Utagawa Kunitoshi and Eisho), original pictorial cardboard packaging, Andreas Marks (ed.): 'Hokusai. Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji', 2021, first printing, limited edition, number 3844 of 6000 copies, 223pp, illustrated throughout, pictorial end papers, oblong folio (30 x 44cm), original pictorial wraps (depicting 'Red Fuji' and 'Koishikawa'), stab bound in the traditional Japanese style, housed in original pictorial slipcase, printed paper title label to cover, imitation bone clasps, original pictorial cardboard packaging; Andreas Marks (ed.): 'Hiroshige & Eisen. The Sixty-Nine Stations along the Kisokaido', 2020, 233pp, illustrated throughout, pictorial end papers, oblong folio (30 x 44cm), original pictorial wraps, stab bound in the traditional Japanese style, housed in original pictorial slipcase, printed paper title pabel to front cover, imitation bone clasps (3)
(London, Social Conditions, Poor.) James Greenwood: 'Unsentimental Journeys: Or, Byways of the Modern Babylon.', London, Ward, Lock, & Tyler, 1867, 1st edition, viii,232,[4]pp, 12 double page b/w engraved plates as called for, plates include various markets including Farringdon, Newgate, The London Horse Market etc, A Dog Show, The County Court, "The Halfpenny Steamer", "On Saturday Night" depicting a lively street scene, etc, original cloth gilt, all edges gilt. James Greenwood (1832–1927) was an English social explorer, journalist and writer, who published a series of articles which drew attention to the plight of London's working poor. He was one of the first journalists to cover stories incognito, and is regarded as one of the pioneers of investigative journalism.
(London.) Cruchley (George Frederick): 'Cruchley's New Plan of London and its Environs', Engraved and Published by Cruchley, Map-Seller, No. 81 Fleet Street, London, [1851], large engraved map with contemporary outline colouring, dissected and laid on linen, decorative strapwork margins with the title inset in upper border, imprint, scale and references inset in lower border, some dust soiling and a couple of small areas of toning/browning, slightly worn at folds, printed area approx. size 1230 x 1390mm, entirety with margins 1340 x 1475mm. A fine and impressive large plan of London, showing the extents from Hendon (NW), Highgate (N), Walthamstow & Leytonstone (NE), Leamouth/East India Dock Basin (E), Lewisham & Hither Green (SE), Dulwich (S), Putney Heath (SW) & Hammersmith (W). Ida Darlington & James Howgego 'Printed Maps of London circa 1553-1850', L, George Philip, 1964. Number 320, (12), [1851] International Exhibition in Hyde Park shown. One of Cruchley's largest and most decorative plans of London, being first published in 1829 with several editions following, this being the final edition showing the International Exhibition in Hyde Park. Cruchley was quite possibly spurred into producing this larger and more decorative plan by the appearance of the Greenwoods' magnificent plan of the city in 1827. Scarce
Flora H. Mitchell: 'Vanishing Dublin', Dublin, Allen and Figgis, Dublin, 1966, first and only edition; the plates were destroyed after printing. Limited edition, one of 600 copies only, 50 fine colour plates as called for, 4to, original green cloth, spine gilt lettered, wraparound pictorial dust wrapper. A glimpse of old Dublin with fifty full colour plates and an introduction by the Earl of Wicklow. The printing plates were destroyed after printing, and many of the 600 copies of this book have subsequently been broken up for the prints which were then sold individually. Scarce, with many of the remaining complete copies in institutional libraries and private collections
Ludwig von Mises: 'Socialism: An Economic and Sociological Analysis', translated by J. Kahane, Indianapolis, Liberty Classics, 1981, the 1st printing thus, the personal copy of Charlotte E. Cubitt, Friedrich Hayek's longtime final secretary from 1977 until his death in 1992, signed & inscribed by Hayek to Charlotte E. Cubitt on half title "To Charlotte E. Cubitt, in gratitude for the first five years of support 25-1-82 F.A. Hayek", original quarter cloth gilt over buckram, printed paper lable mounted on front cover, ribbon page marker. Provenance: From the Estate of Charlotte E. Cubitt, Hayek's secretary in Freiburg, Germany, 1977-1992, author of 'A Life of Friedrich August von Hayek', 2006, her memoir of Hayek from the fifteen years she spent as his secretary. Friedrich August von Hayek (1899-1992), often referred to by his initials F. A. Hayek, was an Austrian-British academic, who contributed to economics, political philosophy, psychology, and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences with Gunnar Myrdal for work on money and economic fluctuations, and the interdependence of economic, social and institutional phenomena. His account of how prices communicate information is widely regarded as one of the most important contributions to economics, and led to him receiving the prize. If any twentieth-century economist was a Renaissance man, it was Friedrich Hayek. He made fundamental contributions in political theory, psychology, and economics. In a field in which the relevance of ideas often is eclipsed by expansions on an initial theory, many of his contributions are so remarkable that people still read them more than fifty years after they were written. In his book Commanding Heights, Daniel Yergin called Hayek the “preeminent” economist of the last half of the twentieth century. Although sometimes described as a conservative, Hayek himself was uncomfortable with this label and preferred to be thought of as a classical liberal. As the co-founder of the Mont Pelerin Society he contributed to the revival of classical liberalism in the post-war era. Hayek had a long-standing and close friendship with philosopher of science Karl Popper, who was also from Vienna. Hayek's influences/contemporaries, amongst others, include the intellectual heavyweights J.S. Mill, Ludwig Wittgenstein (his second cousin), Karl Popper, Carl Menger, Friedrich Nietzsche, Ludwig von Mises, Friedrich von Wieser, Milton Friedman and John Maynard Keynes (with whome he came into conflict). Margaret Thatcher, a fierce advocate of free-market libertarianism, was greatly influenced by Hayek's writing - there is a famous anecdote that during a Conservative Party policy meeting, Thatcher removed her copy of Hayek’s Constitution of Liberty from her handbag, slammed it down on the table and declared, “This is what we believe.” Hayek's most notable work, 'The Road to Serfdom' has sold over 2 million copies worldwide and is considered on of the most important books of the 20th century.
Nine various Natural History, Countryside and Sporting titles, including Major Kenneth Dawson: 'Marsh & Mudflat', London, Country Life, 1931, 1st edition, 16 plates from original dry points and etchings by Winifred Austin as called for, 4to, original cloth, plus 8 others including Peter Scott, Ralph Payne Gallwey, Colin Willock, J. Wentworth Day, Lonsdale Library first editions in dust wrappers 'Wildfowling', 1950, and 'Game Birds, Beasts & Fishes', 1943 (9)
SIR WINSTON SPENCER CHURCHILL (1874-1965), Typed Letter Signed to Robert Burns Esq., Harrow hat maker, of 52 High Street, Harrow-on-the-Hill, 1p, 8vo, 10 Downing Street, Whitehall headed paper, dated December 23rd, 1953, content re thanking Mr Burns for sending him a miniature Harrow School straw hat "Dear Mr. Burns, I was very pleased to receive your letter and the gift from your wife of a miniature Harrow Straw. Please accept my warm thanks for your kind thought of me at this time. [signed] yours sincerely, Winston S. Churchill", framed and glazed, theo whole approx. size 21 x 14cm, together with a contemporary example of a miniature Harrow School straw hat produced by Robert Burns hat makers, diameter approx. 14cm, and a c.1980's colour post card of Harrow-on-the-Hill high street, with a manuscript note "WAS Robert Burn's (school hat shop)." and arrow pointing to the premises (being No. 52). Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 1874 – 24 January 1965) was one of the most influential figures of the 20th century. His indomitable spirit, eloquent speeches, and unwavering leadership during times of crisis earned him a place among the greatest statesmen in history. In April 1888, aged 13, Winston Churchill narrowly passed the entrance exam for Harrow School. His academics proved high but his teachers complained about his lack of discipline. However, Churchill’s ability to memorise lines, which he later used when he first made public speeches, was already apparent. While at Harrow, he entered a competition and won a School prize for reciting from memory 1,200 lines from Thomas Babington Macaulay’s long poem, Lays of Ancient Rome – a quite remarkable achievement. Churchill’s future interest in soldiering was already evident at Harrow. He joined the Harrow Rifle Corps within weeks of entering the School and, following encouragement from his father, was enrolled in the academic programme to prepare students for Sandhurst (the Royal Military College, now called the Royal Military Academy). In a letter from 1889, Churchill writes to ‘Mamma’, telling her that he has joined the ‘Army class’ and that he is learning French and geometrical drawing and studying for the Shakespeare prize. But his mother was very disappointed in her son, feeling he could achieve much more. In 1890, she wrote: ‘I had built up such hopes about you and felt so proud of you – and now all is gone … your work is an insult to your intelligence. If you would only trace out a plan of action for yourself and carry it out and be determined to do so – I am sure you could accomplish anything you wished.’ Churchill was to return to Harrow many times during his life, most memorably in 1941 during the Second World War, when he gave his famous speech to the boys, ‘Never Give In’. The Harrow School Old Speech Room Gallery has an example of a Harrow school straw hat signed by Sir Winston Spencer Churchill on display. E.A. Laborde’s book, ‘Harrow School: Yesterday & Today’ gives us a short introduction on the appearance of the Harrow School straw hat. Its first appearance was on the cricket fields of Harrow. Charles Wordsworth (OH, 1820-1825) recalls his straw hat being broken by a ball after fielding near a batsman. In the 1830s, it became a popular item of dress in the summer term, but it was not until later that they were permitted to be used instead of the top hats, except on Sundays. The famous two-inch low crown dates from the 1860s but the brim length was narrow up to 1873. Between 1873-1877, the brim widened gradually until its present breadth of three inches. Notable makers of Harrow hats include E. Chatham, and her grandson E.A. Burns. It is suspected that E. Chatham, who had established a hatter’s shop on the Hill in 1830, was the ‘inventor’ of the shallow crown boater hat. Robert Burns was presumably the son of E.A. Burns and continued the family business, and was active making hats at 52 Harrow high street in the early to mid C20th. Provenance: by descent. Robert Burns was the Great Uncle (Grandfather's brother) of the vendor
(China, Qing dynasty, Tianjin, British Military, Boxer Rebellion aftermath.) A photograph album containing approx. 70 mounted monochrome photographs of Northern China circa 1910, the images mainly Tientsin (now Tianjin) and Peking (now Beijing), the album compiled by one Private H. Brown, The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, with his ownership inscription at head of inside front cover "8596 Pte. H. Brown. H Coy 1st Bn. Rl. Innis. Fus. Tientsin. N. China. 1910", the photographs in the album of the British military in Northern China in the early 20th Century in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion give a fascinating insight into both colonial and local life, the first image in the album being a memorial to 3 British soldiers, with m/s caption beneath by Pte. H. Brown "PTE Shanks, Sgt Smith, BM Green who died in Tien-tsin North China on the 7th, 11th & 14th September 1910 respectively", the following images include funeral procession captioned "Mourners at Sgt Smiths funeral", the following 6 photographs variously depicting Sgt. Smiths grave, further photos Sgt. Smiths funeral, grave and tombstones of other soldiers Royal Inniskillings who died at Tianjin 1909-10; other images depicting mounted infantry 27th Inniskillings; band, drums and machine gun team 27th Inniskillings; party of Roman Catholic's; Roman Catholic's church parade; views in mountains of North China showing British military camp and parts of Great Wall; "Signalling Station Shan-Hai-Kuan North China"; two photographs Hong Kong comprising King Edward VII monument, and military parade, Murray parade ground/barracks; Chinese funeral; various architectural and topographical views including Peking observatory; band stand Victoria park, Tientsin; Peking street scenes; image captioned "Tower Nanking", (possibly Tiger Hill Pagoda, Suzhou?); north east corner of the wall of Peking; the aforementioned 26 images all aprox. size 11 x 15cm and mounted to recto of the album's concertina folding leaves; the following 52 images mounted to verso of the concertina leaves, these images all approx. 8 x 14cm, including several documentary style photographs of American, Russian, Japanese, French, Italian, Indian and Chinese soldiers and police stationed in the area, which give an indication of the political situation in Northern China during the period, the various foreign concessions, the political tensions (and camaraderie) etc; further various images Peking including city walls, water gate, British legation, panorama of city showing coal hills, forbidden city Peking, ministers quarter's, "Hata-Man Gate. Peking", "Chien-Man Gate Peking", image of another city gate captioned beneath "where the first European was killed at the commencement of Boxer rising 1900 Peking"; British barracks Peking; "Peking to Tien-Tsin Railway"; "Road to Forbidden City Peking"; Coal Hills Peking"; "Camel Transport Peking"; two images Temple of Heaven and Bell Tower, Peking; "Shan-Hai-Kuan Village"; "Beach Temple Hotel Shan-Hai-Kuan"; other images beginning of the Great Wall and fort/barracks, Shanhaiguan district; "Chinese Shoemaker"; British soldier's at leisure fishing; a few images various British military sporting achievements and sporting events including images captioned beneath "Pte Halls winning the half mile race", "Mop Melee", "Three-legged race", these images also captioned in the negative "Regt. Sports 27th Inniskillings, Tientsin, China"; others main gate Peking, Russian and British monuments, Tientsin, etc etc, the album containing a total of 78 photographs, approx. 70 as mentioned Tientsin, Peking, Northern China, Hong Kong, remaining images include German Royal yacht in the Grand Harbour, Malta, 1909, and a few other group photographs British Military of the Inniskillings in Malta including "H Coy Inniskillings 1897". The 1st Battalion The Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers arrived in Tientsin in North China in November 1909, having sailed from Malta in HM Troopship Soudan almost two months earlier. Battalion Headquarters was at Tientsin with one company immediately dispatched to guard the British Legation in Peking in the wake of the Boxer Rebellion (1900-1901). All images with contemporary manuscript pen & ink captions in the hand of the compiler, Pte. H. Brown, the album itself contemporary decorative Chinese black lacquered covers, illustrated with a lady in a rickshaw, boards approx 16 x 20cm
Assorted biographies, modern first editions, children's books etc, several classical music related and signed, including Brian Newbould: 'Schubert: The Music and the Man', 1997, signed by author, original cloth, dust wrapper; Lewis Foreman: 'Bax: A Composer and His Times', 2007, signed, orig. cloth, d/w, plus others John Lennon/Yoko Ono/Beatles, Cecil Beaton etc (13)
Albert Camus: 'The Outsider', London, Hamish Hamilton, 1946, 1st edition in English, 1st impression, original cloth gilt, dust wrapper (worn, part loss of top portion of front panel, some other small closed tears and part losses, 6s price intact, design by Edward Bawden). Originally published in France as L'Étranger in 1942, the first book of Albert Camus to be translated into English. Introduction by Cyril Connolly, who chose this book as one of his 100 key books of the modern movement
Edward Burne-Jones (illustrated); Archibald Maclaren: 'The Fairy Family: A Series of Ballads & Metrical Tales illustrating the Fairy Mythology of Europe', London, Macmillan, 1874, [2nd edition], engraved frontispiece, added engraved title page and tailpiece by Edward Burne-Jones, xvi,247pp + 56pp catalogue of adverts at end dated October 1873, original pictorial cloth gilt. The second edition (preceded by the 1857 first edition) of the book containing Edward Burne-Jones' first book illustrations, done while still at Oxford and published anonymously at his own request. Scarce in any 19th Century edition
Clare Leighton (1898-1989): 'The Farmer's Year. A Calendar of English Husbandry', London, Collins, 1933, 1st edition, wood engraved vignette title page, 12 hors-texte full page wood engravings, 12 decorative initial letters, and 6 tail pieces as called for, oblong folio (36 x 28cm), original green cloth (slightly bumped/worn), gilt stamped titles and vignette to the front and spine, green patterned endpapers by Leighton, pictorial dust wrapper by Leighton repeating the end paper designs (slightly worn, some repairs verso, 10/6 price intact). Clare Leighton's first book and still her most celebrated, a highlight of 20th Century book illustration
Eric Ravilious; J.M. Richards (ed.): 'The wood engravings of Eric Ravilious.', Lion and Unicorn Press, 1972, limited edition, number 110 of 500 copies printed, pp.(262) including 113 leaves of engravings (some folding) printed on rectos only, fold-out index & colophon leaves; 421 engravings of various sizes including some originally unused and published here for the first time, printed on Grosvenor Chater's Basingwerk Parchment at The Curwen Press, folio (42 x 29.5cm), original buckram by Henry Brooks Ltd., large Ravilious woodcut device blocked in black on front cover, spine gilt lettered, Ravilious patterned end papers
A collection of assorted modern first editions etc, including Hugh Ross Williamson: 'The Story Without an End', 1947, 1st edition, original cloth, dust wrapper; Philip Guedalla: 'Conquistador', London, Ernest Benn, 1927, 1st edition, signed, original quarter cloth; Richard Bachman [i.e. Stephen King]: 'The Regulators', L, Viking, 1996, 1st edition, original quarter cloth, dust wrapper, plus another 1st edition copy of the same title in d/w; P.D. James: 'Original Sin', L, Faber, 1994, 1st edition, signed, orig. cloth, d/w; Nelson Mandela: 'The Long Walk to Freedom', NY, Little, Brown, 1994, 1st US edition, orig. quarter cloth gilt, dust wrapper; Alan Warner: 'The Sopranos', L, Cape, 1998, 1st edition, signed, orig. cloth, d/w; plus 6 others Graham Greene, Rudyard Kipling etc (13)
Cecil Beaton: 'Diaries: The Wandering Years 1922-39; The Years Between 1939-44; The Happy Years 1944-48; The Strenuous Years 1948-55; The Restless Years 1955-63; The Parting Years 1963-74.', London, Weidenfeld & Nicholson, 1961-1978, 1st editions, 6 volumes, photographic illustrations throughout, first volume with signature of the racing driver and entrepreneur Raymond Mays (1899-1980) on FFEP, all original cloth gilt, dust wrappers. A scarce first edition set in collectable condition (6)
Guy Boothby, 4 titles: 'Doctor Nikola', London, Ward Lock, [nd], c.1900, b/w frontis + 16 plates by Stanley L. Wood as called for, original cloth gilt, mounted pictorial illustrations to front cover and spine depicting Dr Nikola in white cravat and fur coat, with his perennial companion, the black cat Apollyon. The first in the author's Doctor Nikola series of novels, centred around the title character, an occultist international master criminal seeking immortality and world domination, 'A Crime of the Under Seas', L, Ward Lock, 1905, frontis + 4 plates by Stanley L. Wood as called for, original cloth gilt, 'The Fascination of the King', L, Ward Lock, 1897, 1st edition, 4 plates by Stanley L. Wood as called for, orig. cloth gilt, mounted illustration to front cover, formerly the copies of George Locke, late book dealer, author, publisher and authority on Fantasy and Science Fiction, with his pencil notes on FFEP, 'The Red Rat's Daughter', L, Ward Lock, 1899, 1st edition, original cloth gilt, contemporary school crest in gilt to front cover (4)
Enid Blyton, 5 'Famous Five' series titles, all 1st editions published London, Hodder & Stoughton, all original cloth, all in dust wrappers (all with prices intact), all illustrated Eileen Soper: 'Five Get Into Trouble', 1949, 'Five Fall Into Adventure', 1950, 'Five on a Hike Together', 1951, 'Five Have a Wonderful Time', 1952, 'Five Go to Mystery Moor', 1954, first 3 titles with contemporary ownership names/inscriptions. Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" series children's adventure novels numbers 8-11 & 13 (5)
(Fleece Press.) Ronald Blythe: 'First Friends: Paul and Bunty, John and Christine - and Carrington', Denby Dale, The Fleece Press, 1997, limited edition, one of 300 copies only, this copy signed by Ronald Blythe to the title page, full page and in text illustrations throughout including several tipped in/fold out plates as called for, based on the letters written to each other by Paul Nash, John Nash, his wife Christine (née Kühlenthal), and Dora Carrington, who met at the Slade School, the letters having been discovered by Ronald Blythe in the brick bread oven of John and Christine Nash’s farm after their death. Large 4to, original quarter terracotta cloth, boards covered in a pattern paper from one of the drawings Paul Nash made for 'Images of war', 1919, original slipcase.
J.R.R. Tolkien: 'The Hobbit, or There and Back Again', London, George Allen & Unwin Ltd. for the Folio Society, 1976, deluxe edition, first edition thus, colour frontis + 12 colour plates + pictorial map end papers as called for, all after the originals by J.R.R. Tolkien, original publisher's quarter brown leather gilt, original slipcase
Poetry, approx. 55 assorted titles, some signed/limited editions, privately published etc, including Edward Lucie-Smith: 'Borrowed Emblems', Turret Books, 1967, limited edition (4/250), numbered & signed, 4to, original cloth gilt, dust wrapper; David Wright: 'Moral Stories', Douglas Newton: 'Metamorphoses of Violence', Saint Ives, The Latin Press, the Private Press of Guido Morris, 1952, crescendo Poetry Series No.'s 4 & 7, each original stitched printed wraps; Donald Weeks: 'Frederick William Rolfe & Editors', Edinburgh, The Tragara Press, 1984, limited edition, number 80 of 110 copies only, orig. wraps, printed label to front cover; Shirley Toulson: 'The Fault, Dear Brutus', The Keepsake Press, 1972, limited edition (250), original printed wraps; Frances Nagale: 'Visit to the Illuminator', Dagger Press, 1994, signed, orig. pictorial printed wraps; Mark Hutchinson: 'The Origina of the Deities', Paris, Editions Bec D'Or, 1985, limited edition, No. 17 of 250 copies, orig. pictorial printed wraps; Giles Gordon: 'One man two women', Sheep Press, 1974, limited edition, No. 36 of 149 numbered copies, orig. printed wraps; 'A Tribute to Austin Clarke on His Seventieth Birthday', Dublin, Dolmen Press, 1966, orig. printed wraps, printed review slip loosely inserted; 'Some Vorticist Poetry and a Piece of Prose', London, Privately Printed, 1985, ltd. edn., one of 85 copies only, frontis, content includes Marinetti, Wyndham Lewis, Gaudier-Brzeska etc, orig. stitched printed wraps; Geoffrey Faber: 'Twelve Years', privately printed, 1962, orig. printed wraps; Ken Edwards: 'A4 Landscape', Reality Studios, 1988, limited edition (68/100), signed, orig. stapled printed wraps; Sara Henderson Hay: 'The Stone and the Shell', Univ. of Pittsburgh Press, [1959], signed on FFEP, TLS dated June 30 1959 loosely inserted, orig. cloth gilt, dust wrapper; Charles Wright: 'Bloodlines', Wesleyan Univ. Press, 1977, 2nd printing, signed, orig. pictorial printed wraps, plus 5 others Charles Wright; James Schevill: 'Tensions', Berkeley, CA, Gillick Press, 1947, 1st edition, author's first book, original paper covered boards, dust wrapper; Tambimuttu (ed.): 'Poetry London X', 1944, 1st edition, signed & inscribed by Walter J. Strachan on FFEP, orig. cloth gilt; Andrew Lloyd: 'twelve lyrics and liu', second aeon publications, 1973, limited edition, one of 250 copies only, concrete poetry, orig. stapled pictorial printed wraps, cover by Andrzej Jackowski; plus numerous others including Chanticleer Press, Penelope Shuttle, Brent Hodgson, Margaret Stanley Wrench, Graywolf Press, Hippopotamus Press, Richard Burns, William Heyen, Ecco Press, Randy Roark, Michael Horovitz, Maya Angelou, Brooke Crutchley, Magpie Press, Menard Press, John Roberts Press, etc etc, plus 'London Magazine', 6 issues 1970-72, orig. pictorial wraps (approx. 60 in total)
J.K. Rowling, The Harry Potter Novels, volumes 1-5, London, Bloomsbury, 1999-2005, deluxe editions, mixed impressions, comprising: 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone', 1999, 21st impression, 'Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets', 1999, 5th impression, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban', 1999, 6th impression, 'Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire', 2000, 11th impression, 'Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince', 2005, 2nd impression, all original cloth gilt with mounted colour illustrations to front covers, all edges gilt, first title in original shrink wrap (5)
Raynor Winn, 3 titles (her complete works), all signed first editions, first impressions, all published London, Penguin Michael Joseph, all original boards/cloth, all in pictorial dust wrappers by Angela Harding: 'The Salt Path', 2018, signed piece mounted on title page. The author's autobiographical first book, a life-affirming memoir, nature and travel book. Just days after the author learns that Moth, her husband of 32 years, is terminally il, their home is taken away and they lose their livelihood. With nothing left and little time, they make the brave and impulsive decision to walk the 630 miles of the sea-swept South West Coast Path, from Somerset to Dorset, via Devon and Cornwall. A Sunday Times bestseller in 2018, shortlisted for the 2018 Wainwright Prize, and the 2018 Costa Book Awards in the biography category; 'The Wild Silence', 2020, signed to "Exclusively Signed First Edition" leaf. Shortlisted for the 2021 Wainwright Prize for Nature Writing; 'Landlines', 2022, signed to "Exclusively Signed First Edition" leaf. The author's third book, which describes a 1,000-mile journey with her husband along the 200-mile Cape Wrath Trail in north-west Scotland, described as "the toughest and wildest Britain has to offer", and onwards through Scotland and England to the South West Coast Path. (3)
Bible, in English, 'Vinegar Bible'. 'The Holy Bible containing the Old Testament and the New', Oxford, Printed by John Baskett, 1717, 1716, title printed in red and black with engraved vignette of the Clarendon building, Oxford, after Michael Burghers, printed date of 1717, added engraved illustrated title page depicting interior of cathedral engraved by John Sturt and dated 1716, New Testament with separate printed title page dated 1716 and with engraved vignette of Clarendon House after M. Burghers, numerous engraved head and tailpieces (c.60) as called for after James Thornhill, Gerard and Michael Vandergucht, Louis Chéron, Louis du Guernier and others, added engraved title page with some neat professional repairs, final two leaves with some marginal repairs, large folio (48 x 31cm), contemporary diced calf gilt, inner joints split, marbled end papers, all edges marbled. Baskett's Bible is a landmark in English graphic art, celebrated both for the beauty of its typographical design and many Baroque engravings, and also for its many typographical errors, including the running headline of Luke, chapter 20, which prints: ‘The parable of the vinegar,' instead of: ‘The parable of the vineyard.' Its many misprints also earned it the nickname of 'A Baskett-ful of Errors' (after the publisher's name). In addition to John Sturt, a copperplate engraver who ran one of the first drawing schools in England at St. Paul's Churchyard, other artists and engravers responsible for the illustrations include James Thornhill, one of the most important English exponents of Baroque decorative painting (and the first English-born artist to be knighted), Gerard and Michael Vandergucht, and the Frenchmen Louis Chéron and Louis du Guernier (both of whom lived and died in London). (Herbert 942B)
(Grand Tour Autograph Letters.) George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax (1716-1771), British Statesman who became known as the "father of the colonies" and aided the foundation of Nova Scotia, 1749, the capital Halifax being named after him, 58 letters sent home from his European Grand Tour 1736-1738 to his father, George Montagu, 1st Earl of Halifax, 31 of which Autograph Letters Signed by George Montagu-Dunk, as Viscount Sunbury, the title with which he was styled until succeeding his father as Earl of Halifax in 1739, the remaining 27 letters being ALS from Joseph Dussaux, his 'bear handler', or governor/guide during his Grand Tour, the letters all on watermarked bifold chain laid paper, all signed "Sunbury" or "Jos. Dussaux" respectively, the 31 Montagu-Dunk letters mainly 2, 2½ or 3pp, sent during the period April 22nd 1736 to September 19th 1738, letters sent from Calais, Paris, Angers (where Montagu-Dunk studied at the aristocratic academy from around May 1736 to February 1737, sending 9 letters home during this period, and Dussaux sending 11), Montauban, Toulouse, Montpellier, Nimes, Marseille, Aix en Provence, Lyon, Geneva, Turin, Genoa, Livorno, Florence, Rome, Naples, Bologna, Milan, Venice, Strasbourg and Amsterdam, letters include 2½pp letter, headed Paris, May 8th 1736 " Dear Papa, Lord Sandwick arrived here the day before yesterday and brough me your kind letter, which i'm glad I have an opportunity of answering before we set out for Angers. Nothing while I am abroad will be so great satisfaction to me as that of hearing from you and receiving your instructions of every particular... I intended to write last week but Mr. Dussaux's having done it and acquainted you of our being safely arrived at Paris prevented me. I won't undertake to give you an account of our journey through Flanders...We passed through a delightfull country, had the pleasure of seeing several beautiful towns; & in short had as lovely a journey as ever was. I have been very well entertained since i've been at Paris, & am much pleased with the place, tho' I must confess I don't think it answers my expectations entirely, nor deserves being so immoderately extoll'd as i've heard it in England...I've employed my time since being here mostly in seeing the curiosities of the place, which really have very much delighted me. I've been at all the King of France's Palaces round about Paris, which are very well worth seeing, being all charmingly situated. I took the first opportunity I had of going to Versailles having heard such vast encomiums upon it. It is the greatest mass of building I ever saw, & makes the greatest appearance, but the Appartments are nothing like such as I expected, being in my opinion much inferior to ours at Hampton Court. The gardens are laid out in no taste, but there is a show of a most immense expence in the water works, which I think are very extraordinary. When I was there it was a court day, but so ridiculous an appearance in so great a Palace I did not expect. There was only two ladies in the appartments, & i'm sure not above tewenty men. Since i've been here i've received great civilities from almost all the English; Mr. Herbert indeed I have not seen. I went one day to dine with Mr Night, where I met Lord Berkley and my old friend Dursley. We were entertain'd vastly well, and Mr. Night exceedingly civil. You seemed desirous we shoud make no long stay at Paris, so we have endeavoured to get away as soon as possible. We are just going to set forth for Angers this morning...I hope you will be so good as to excuse the haste of this scrawl, since the chaise now waits for us. Pray give my love to my sister and my compliments to all my friends. I am sorry Dapper dicky could not win the stake, but glad Harry Vanes mare has won her ma--[?]. Mr Dussaux desires his compliments. I am Dear Papa your most obedient & dutifol son & humble servant Sunbury", integral address verso "To the Right Honourable The Earl of Halifax at the Exchequer London"; another from Sunbury to his father, Angers, July 17th 1736, 2½pp, content includes apologising for his letters not having arrived weekly "since it was your orders that Mr Dussaux or I should write every week, you had reason to be surprised at having heard from neither, in twice that time..." and largely attributing this to the post system "...I suspect that others have been quite lost. Two or three days ago I received a letter from my sister nanny, which has been come from England above these two months. By this you may guess at either the negligence or villany of the Post-masters.", further content re studying/improvement at Angers, that several of the noble families have gone to their country seats for the summer, relating to his father that he is happy with his guide Mr Dussaux and approving of his character, pleased that his father approves of their expenses whilst in Paris, partridge shooting and hunting etc, much further content in letters re further places of journey including Rome, Naples, Bologna, Venice, Strasbourg, Amsterdam etc etc, bound into 4to contemporary leatherbound volume (approx. 28.5 x 22cm). A unique first hand account of an 18th Century European Grand Tour which provides a fascinating insight into the attitudes of British aristocracy to Europe and Europeans during the age of Walpole, as well as a formulation of Montagu-Dunk's worldview and subsequent attitudes. Initially intending to enter the Commons as member for Banbury, Montagu instead succeeded his father as second earl of Halifax in May 1739, assuming also the roles of Ranger of Bushey Park and Keeper and Lieutenant of Hampton Court. Establishing himself in opposition to the administration of Sir Robert Walpole, Halifax courted the favor of likeminded political allies and members of his extended family, receiving his early career posts through the patronage of John Russell, Duke of Bedford (b. 1710–d. 1771). Halifax’s political career is chiefly remembered for his dynamic role in shaping colonial policy while serving as President of the Board of Trade from 1748 to 1761, which included the founding of the British settlement at Halifax, Nova Scotia, established as a model royal colony in 1749. NB Was unable to upload full description of this lot due to 8000 character limit. For a longer description with some further extracts from letters, please see description on twgaze website:https://auctions.twgaze.co.uk/catalogue/lot/1cb0c529525e0fa94b08fda8c1711f1a/8a390ef7ce02b4a94fa666f3e767067e/books-ephemera-lot-5190/
(Satire, English Wit & Humour.) Albert Smith, 3 titles: 'The Natural History of The Gent; The Natural History of the Flirt; The Natural History of the Idler Upon Town', London, David Bogue, 1847-48, 1st editions, 3 volumes, all with engraved frontispieces, title pages and engraved illustrations in text throughout, illustrations by Archibald Henning, Paul Gavarni & John Gilbert, viii,104pp; 107pp; 120pp, each printed by Vizetelly Brothers, each 12mo, uniform contemporary full calf gilt, spines gilt in compartments, morocco gilt title labels, marbled end papers, top edges gilt. Albert Richard Smith (1816-1860), was an author, playwright, mountaineer and entertainer. He was an early contributor to 'Punch' and also a regular contributor to Richard Bentley's 'Miscellany'. He came to fame with his entertainment piece entitled Mr. Albert Smith's Ascent of Mont Blanc. This show, first presented at the Egyptian Hall, Piccadilly on March 15th, 1852, described Smith's ascent of Mont Blanc on the 12th August 1851 and portrayed Anglo-continental life. It became the most popular exhibition of its kind ever know. On the 24th August 1854 a private performance was given before the Queen and Prince Consort at Osbourne House. Smith's "Mont Blanc" show ran for 2000 performances over six years and helped to popularize mountain climbing in mid-Victorian Britain. He was one of the founder members of the Alpine Club in 1857. (3)
[Anthony Trollope: 'The Duke's Children', first edition in serial form in] 'All the Year Round. A Weekly Journal', London, Chapman & Hall, 1879-1880, volumes 23-25, 3 volumes, contemporary cloth gilt. The first instalment of 'The Duke's Children' appears October 4th, 1879, and the story runs uninterrutedly until July 24th, 1880. The three volume edition of the story was published at about that time and superceded almost immediately by a one volume edition (3)
(Shipwrecks.) [Julian Slight]: 'A Narrative of the Loss of the Royal George, at Spithead, August, 1782; Tracy's Attempt to Raise Her in 1783; her Demolition and Removal by Major-General Paisley's Operations in 1839-40-41-42 & 43; including an Account of her Sinking, written by her then Flag-Lieutenant, Admiral Sir C.P.H. Durham, G.C.B., Late Commander-in-Chief at Portsmouth. Bound in the Wood of the Wreck.', Portsea, S. Horsey, 1844, 7th edition, folding engraved frontis plus four plates as called for, a relic of the H.M.S. Royal George, bound in wooden boards, the wood taken from the wreck of the ill fated ship itself, printed notice from the publisher pasted to verso of endpaper attesting to the veracity of the claim about the binding "the timber from which the covers of this book were made, was purchased at H.M. Dock-yard, Portsmouth, and they may fully confide on its being a genuine relic of the ill-fated Royal George". Ackermann ticket to front pastedown. 24mo (11 x 6.5cm), wood boards, slight sliver missing from part of the leading edge of lower board, else generally VGC; calf spine, all edges gilt. A work accounting the life of the H.M.S. Royal George, a first rate gun ship in the Royal Navy. The ship sunk in 1782, when it was anchored at Spithead to take supplies to go and relive Gibraltar. The ship sunk and lost more than eight-hundred lives. In this work, the anonymous authors recounts the sinking of this ship. The author also talks about Major-General Charles Paisley's 1839 attempted to clear the wreckage of the ships. His operation included breaking up the wreck using barrels of gunpowder.
Henry Avray Tipping & Christopher Hussey: 'English Homes - Norman & Plantagenent; Early Tudor; Mediaeval & Early Tudor; Late Tudor & Early Stuart; Late Stuart; Sir John Vanbrugh & His School; Early Georgian; Late Georgian.', London, Country Life, 1920-1937, 9 volume complete set, volume 3 (Periods I and II, vol.II, Medieval and early Tudor, 1066-1558) 1937 reprint, all others first editions 1920-1928, covering most country houses of importance built in England before 1820, each volume lavishly illustrated with fine photographic views of exteriors, interiors and their contents, folio (40 x 27cm), original blue cloth gilt. Henry Avray Tipping FSA (22 August 1855 – 16 November 1933) was a French-born British writer on country houses and gardens, a garden designer, and Architectural Editor of Country Life magazine for 17 years. Christopher Edward Clive Hussey (21 October 1899 – 20 March 1970) was one of the chief authorities on British domestic architecture of the generation that also included Dorothy Stroud and Sir John Summerson. This major venture was a collaboration between Hussey and Tipping, his mentor and predecessor at Country Life magazine. (9)
Takejiro Hasegawa; Basil Hall Chamberlain: 'Aino Fairy Tales No. 1. The Hunter in Fairy-Land', Tokyo, Kobunsha, and Boston, Ticknor, 1887, 1st edition, [18]pp, colour woodblock illustrations by Sensei Eikatu throughout, 1 tissue leaf of preface, bound and stitched Japanese-style, original pictorial wraps slightly worn. Rare. The first of three titles in the Aino Fairy Tale Series, intended as a supplement to the Japanese Fairy Tale Series, focussed on the myths of the northern Ainu people. Though there was a good amount of Western interest in the Ainu at this time, the series did not sell well and was discontinued.
Eric Gill: 'First Nudes', London, Nevile Spearman, 1954, 1st edition, introduction by John Rothenstein, 24 illustrations of life drawings by Eric Gill as called for, original cloth gilt, dust wrapper, together with 7 others Eric Gill and related including 'Essays', 1943 reprint, 'Last Essays', 1943, reprint, 'Twenty-Five Nudes', 1951 reprint, etc (8)
Fourteen assorted modern first editions etc, all original cloth/boards, all in dust wrappers, including Edward Upward, 2 titles: 'The Rotten Elements', 1969, 'In the Thirties', 1962, both 1st editions, both pub. London, Heinemann, Jon Cleary: 'Back of Sunset', L, Collins, 1959, 1st edition, Alan Ayckbourn: 'Joking Apart and other plays', L, Chatto & Windus, 1979, 1st edition, Andrew Hurley: 'The Loney', L, Murray, 2015, 1st thus, Alice Winn: 'In Memoriam', L, Viking, 2023, 1st edition, Jean Dominique-Bauby: 'The Diving-Bell & the ButterflyL, Fourth Estate, 1997, 1st UK edition, Elena Ferrante: 'The Lying Life of Adults', L, Europa, 2019, 1st edition, Polly Clark: 'Larchfield', L, riverrun, 2017, 1st edition, Robert Edric: 'The Broken Lands', L, Cape, 1992, 1st edition, Howard Jacobson: 'The Mighty Walzer', L, Cape, 1999, 1st edition, plus 3 others Olivia Laing, Samantha Harvey & Maggie O'Farrell (14)
F. Scott Fitzgerald: 'Tender is the Night. A Romance.', New York, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1934, 1st edition, first issue with the Scribner's "A" on the copyright page, signed by the author at head of front free end paper, black & white illustrations by Edward Shenton, original publisher's cloth (slightly rubbed worn), some light sporadic foxing, else leaves generally clean/VGC throughout, small contemporary book trade label to rear pastedown of the Baltimore department store Hochschild, Kohn & Co, ownership signature on front pastedown of Vera Cameron Henderson "Vera Cameron Henderson Gibson Island", (née Vera Cameron Price Fitz Randolph), wife of William L. Henderson (1894-1984), American jurist who served as chief judge of the supreme court of the U.S. state of Maryland, contemporary ink stamps near foot of front pastedown “Pikesville gift and dress shop” (Pikesville being a north western suburb of Baltimore, Maryland), original publisher’s dark green cloth (discoloured, slightly rubbed and worn, slightly bumped/worn at corners and head and foot of spine), else square and tight, joints sound.A rare signed first edition copy of the author's fourth and final novel, considered by Fitzgerald to be his masterpiece. Set in the French Riviera during the twilight of the Jazz Age, the 1934 novel chronicles the rise and fall of Dick Diver, a promising young psychiatrist, and his wife, Nicole, who is one of his patients. Set amidst the glamour of the interwar Riviera, ‘Tender’ is a work of febrile beauty and lyrical menace as a toxic love triangle threatens to engulf Dick and Nora Diver.
Fred J. Taylor: 'Tench', London, Macdonald, 1971, 1st edition, 22 illustrations on 16 plates as called for, original cloth, dust wrapper, plus 4 other first editions in dust wrappers by Fred Taylor, comprising 'Angling in earnest', L, 1958, 'Favourite Swims', L, 1961, 'Fishing Here and There', L, 1970, and a third edition revised of 'Angling in Earnest', L, 1980; plus 3 other titles on or about Bernard Venables, including 'The Gentle Art of Angling', L, 1955, 1st edition, orig. cloth gilt, d/w, 'The Angler's Companion', L, 1958, 1st edition, orig. cloth gilt, d/w, etc (8)
Two Nineteenth Century Juvenile literature works, each alphabet books/nursery rhymes with coloured plates: 'The Coloured Album for Children. Containing seventy-two pages of plates, printed in colours by Kronheim & Co', London, George Routledge, c.1870, 72 coloured plates as called for, contains My first alphabet -- The farmyard alphabet -- Old Mother Goose -- The babes in the wood -- This little pig went to market -- The old woman who lived in a shoe -- Little Bo-Peep -- Johnny Gilpin -- Nursery Rhymes -- Old Mother Hubbard -- Jack and the beanstalk -- The three bears., each with 6 coloured plates, [144]pp, original pictorial cloth gilt; 'Royal Alphabet, and Nursery Tales.', London, Frederick Warne, c.1870, 24 coloured plates as called for, contains Royal Alphabet - Diamonds and Toads - Old Woman and Her Pig - Dame Trot and Her Cat', each with 6 coloured plates, [76]pp, original cloth gilt (2)
Enid Blyton, 2 titles: 'Five have a Mystery to Solve', ill. Eileen Soper, London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1962, 1st edition, original cloth, dust wrapper (7s 6d price intact), 'Five are Together Again', ill. Eileen Soper, L, H & S, 1963, 1st edition, orig. cloth, dust wrapper (7s 6d price intact). The twentieth and twenty first of Enid Blyton's "Famous Five" children's adventure novels (2)
Arthur Conan Doyle, Jules Verne et al; Sidney Paget (ill.): 'The Strand Magazine, volumes I to VI. [The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes; The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, etc.]', London, George Newnes, 1891-1893, volumes 1-6, contains the first appearance of several Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes stories, including 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', July 1891-June 1892, 'The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes', December 1892-December 1893 (as 'The Adventures' number 13 to 24), 'The Adventure of the Cardboard Box' (volume V, 1893) which was not published in book form until 'His Last Bow' (1917), numerous b/w in text illustrations by Sidney Paget as called for, also contains science fiction from Jules Verne; 'Dr Trifulgas' (volume IV, 1893), uniform contemporary half calf gilt (spines worn) (6)
John Montagu, 4th Earl of Sandwich (1718-1792), twenty one Autograph Letters Signed, as First Lord of the Admiralty, circa 1774-1781, sent during his third term as First Lord of the Admiralty, Royal Navy, American Revolutionary War period, all signed "Sandwich", all but one headed "Hinchingbrook", i.e. Hinchingbrooke House, Huntingdon, formerly the home of the Earls of Sandwich, all concerning naval matters, two of the letters with integral address panel addressed to "George Jackson Esqr.", presumably being Sir George Jackson, 1st Bt. (1725-1822), deputy secretary of Admiralty and first clerk, marine department, November 1766-June 1782, all on bifold watermarked chain laid paper (24 x 37.5cm unfolded), watermark Fleur-de-lis in shield, surmounted by crown, over a bell, (Strasbourg lily), lettered "JUBB" in bell, others lettered "LVG", letters include "Hinchingbrook Dec. 30. 1774 Dear Sir, I must desire that orders be immediately given for the Romney to be fitted for a voyage to Newfoundland, and to receive a Commodore; she is now in the dock & will soon be put out which makes it necessary that these orders be given without loss of time. I am your most obedient Humble servant Sandwich"; another 1½pp, headed Hinchingbrook Dec. 24. 1775, "Dear Sir, I am to thank you for the accounts you have sent me, tho' they are by no means pleasant ones. Should not the order to the Navy Board for taking up transports for 5000 men have mentioned that they were to be sent to America. Captain Burt of the marines is going to relieve the captain of marines in Admiral Mann's ship, he will write to the board to have a postage in the ship that carries George Jackson esqr. The act of Parliament & Proclamation to the Mediterranean, which request I could wish be granted. I am your most obedient humble servant Sandwich"; another 3½pp, headed Hinchingbrook Dec. 26 1775 "Dear Sir, I have answered great part of the letter from you this morning, in one I have just dispatched to Mr Jackson. The Fox & Greyhound must be kept for North America, as their Captains have particularly requested that voyage, therefore the Boreas & Seaford may go to Jamaica & the Leeward Islands, & the Milford be the first or second ship to Boston. I suppose there can now be no objection to our having orders for an additional number of transports, I have therefore written to Lord Suffolk to tell him that he may send us his Majesty's commands on that subject as soon as he pleases. I approve what you propose about docking the Romney, Surprize[?] & Martin, & sending the Alborough immediately to Gibraltar. If we are pressed for seamen for any of our outward bound ships we might take a few from the Surprize & Martin, & possibly a few more from the Romney. Captain Hamilton's account of the state of things at Quebec gives me spirits, and I most exceedingly approve of every part of his behaviour, I agree with you that if the place is saved it will be entirely owing to the arrival of the Lizard. As it is of the utmost importance that we should be as early as possible in our relief, which must be done by throwing in men and provisions, I wish you would let me know your ideas what ships should be got ready for that service, & when they should sail; the Isis & Rainbow seem very proper for the purpose, & I think may be ready in time, I have therefore written to Mr Jackson to put the Catter into commission; and you will be so good as to give the proper directions for getting them to Spithead as soon as possible. I wish you would see Lt. George Germaine upon the subject of the relief of Quebec, and let me know what passes between you. It is absolutely necessary that Sir Peter Parker should be apprized that it is not intended he should have the appointment of officers, otherwise something disagreeable will happen between him and Admiral Shouldham; when I saw him the day before he left London, he had not the least idea that he had any pretension to make Officers, I hope therefore he will be set right in this point before he leaves the land, or by the ships that follow him. What forwardness is the Carcass in, shall you be able to get her to join the squadron before they sail from Cork, and is the storeship and Hospital ship yet got to Spithead? I am most faithfully yours Sandwich"; another 1½pp, headed Hinchingbrook, Jan. 1st. 1775 (but January 1st 1776) "Dear Sir, I have written to Sir H. Palliser upon the subject of the Triton, & the victualling ship that proves leaky. I take for granted we must approve of what is proposed by the victualling board, relative to the supplying the ships at Nova Scotia with fresh provisions. I enclose a letter from Captain O'Hara desiring to quit his ship, you will therefore inform him that he has leave to retire; and appoint Captain Wilkinson to succeed him. If the Captain Smith is the person who sold his ship in America when Commodore Gambier commanded there, he & I shall not easily make up our quarrel. I am very sincerely yours Sandwich you will of course open all my letters directed to Mr Stephens."; others content re sending ships to Boston and Quebec, various other similar naval matters such as preparation of ships, posting of personnel, increasing of number of marines per company and consequent shortage of officers, agreeing or denying permission for leave for various persons, meeting with gentlemen from the India Company, money to be sent to North America, appointments/promotions, etc etc, these letters all dated 1774-1776, another letter indistinctly dated 31[?] Dec. 1781[?], headed "Blackheath Monday night", 1¼ "Dear Sir, as the account of the Agamemnon's success comes directly from the Captain of one of the Kings ships, I think allmost the whole of his letter should be printed in tomorrow nights gazette; therefore I could wish that no extract of it had been sent to the morning papers, but I fear it is too late to stop that arrangement. I shall be in town in good time tomorrow morning, when I will give directions about the other papers I have just received from you. I am most sincerely yours Sandwich". The 4th Earl of Sandwich served three non-consecutive terms as First Lord of the British Admiralty between 1748-1782, including his last which coincided with the British response to the American Revolution. Lord Sandwich was one of Captain Cook's greatest sponsors and the names of Sandwich, Hinchingbrook, and nearby were given to islands in the south seas in recognition. Sandwich is also known for the claim that he was the eponymous inventor of the sandwich. There are various accounts of why Montagu invented the modern day sandwich, which, in the eighteenth century, he ate as a slab of salt beef between two pieces of toast. Montagu's detractors maintain that he favoured the sandwich because it enabled him to stay longer at the gaming tables; an alternative view put forward by his proponents suggest that Sandwich's commitments to the navy, to politics, and to the arts mean that the first sandwich was more likely to have been consumed at his work desk.
Hilary Mantel, The Wolf Hall Trilogy, all first editions, first impressions, all published London, Fourth Estate, all original cloth gilt, all in dust wrappers: 'Wolf Hall', 2009, signed & inscribed piece mounted on card and loosely inserted, 'Bring Up the Bodies', 2012, signed piece mounted on title page, 'The Mirror and the Light', 2020, signed on limited signed edition leaf, all in collectable condition, all dust wrappers with prices intact (3)
Edward Wadsworth: 'The Black Country. With an Introduction by Arnold Bennett', London, The Ovid Press, 1920, limited edition, one of 450 (500) copies only, 20 collotyped full page plates, woodcut vignette, initial and press devices by Edward Wadsworth as called for, folio (36 x 26cm), original black cloth gilt. Wadsworth (1889-1949) was a member of the Vorticists, a group of mostly London-based artists chiefly active in the period 1913-1917, whose inspiration was Italian Futurism. The Futurists, obsessed with machinery and dynamics, made pictures and sculptures characterised by semi-abstract geometric form. Wadsworth travelled between Liverpool and London by train during the First World War, and was inspired by the industrial landscape of the Black Country. In 1920 he exhibited a set of watercolours and drawings on this subject at the Leicester galleries, from which this publication was borne
Modern first editions etc, 13 titles, of which 12 signed, including Umberto Eco: 'The Island of the Day Before', New York, Harcourt Brace, 1995, 1st US edition, proof copy, signed on title page, original pictorial wraps, plus Umberto Eco: 'Foucault's Pendulum', New York, Harcourt Brace, 1989, 1st US edition, original quarter cloth, dust wrapper; Iain Sinclair, 2 titles, both signed 1st editions, both original cloth, dust wrappers: 'Downriver', 1991, 'American Smoke', 2013; Jeanette Winterson: 'Tanglewreck', L, Bloomsbury, 2006, 1st edition, signed, orig. cloth, d/w; plus 8 others signed in dust wrappers including John Green, Will Dean, Eleanor Catton, Lynne Truss, etc, plus 'Jock McFadyen Beyond Turner's Road New Paintings - Iain Sinclair Walking Up Walls', Agnew's, 2001, folding booklet with postcard sized ills. by McFadyen & prose by Sinclair to reverse, signed to front cover by Iain Sinclair (14)
Richard Montagu, 2 titles: 'Diatribae upon the First Part of the late History of Tithes [by John Selden]', London, Felix Kyngston for Matthew Lownes, 1621, 1st edition, [10], 579, [1]pp, contemporary calf worn (top board detached but present), contemporary ownership signature William Lowndes, Lincoln's Inn, on FFEP, 'Immediate addresse vnto God alone : First deliuered in a sermon before his Maiestie at Windsore. Since reuised and inlarged to a just treatise of inuocation of saints / Occasioned by a false imputation of M. Antonius De Dominis vpon the authour, Richard Mountagu.', London, William Stansby and others, 1624, 1st edition, [16], 227pp, 19th Century tree calf gilt (top board detached but present) by Clarke & Bedford bookbinders, marbled end papers/pastedowns. Richard Montagu (1577-1641) is well known to historians for his scurrilous and indiscreet letters to John Cosin, describing the ecclesiastical faction-fighting of the 1620s in rich detail. Montagu had a nice line in personal invective, well brought out in the present work, written in response to John Selden's Historie of Tithes of 1618. (2)
Charles Lyell: 'Principles of Geology; or, the Modern Changes of the Earth and its Inhabitants, Considered as Illustrative of Geology.', London, John Murray, 7th edition, first single volume edition, entirely revised, xvi,810pp, engraved frontis + 11 maps & plates (some folding) as called for, original pictorial cloth gilt. Charles Lyell's Principles of geology (1830-1833) has been described as "perhaps the most important scientific textbook ever written" (Gould 2000a) and was a major influence on Charles Darwin during the voyage of the Beagle. Captain Robert FitzRoy gave Darwin the first volume of the Principles at the start of the Beagle voyage in December 1831. Darwin had the second volume sent out to Montevideo for him to collect there in November 1832. He read the third volume in May 1834 at the mid-point of the voyage, after the Santa Cruz expedition. At that point, having seen the step-wise elevation of Patagonia for himself, Darwin eagerly read the third volume and declared himself a committed "Lyellian".
[ Autograph / Space Exploration / Astronomy ] Sixteen 1986 Halley's Comet and Sir Edmond Halley Westminster Abbey Memorial Service signed first day stamp covers, variously bearing the autograph signatures of NASA astronaut and Apollo 8 Commander Frank Borman, Patrick Moore, Arthur C Clarke, Sir Fred Hoyle, Sir Bernard Lovell, Heather Couper, Michael Bentine and Professor Sir P Graham Smith
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