New Arrivals
Detective Fiction
£325
London, Newnes, n.d..
'Newnes' Sixpenny Copyright Novels' edition. 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers.
An uncommon wrappered edition of Doyle's Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
Detective Fiction
£325
London, Newnes, n.d..
'Newnes' Sixpenny Copyright Novels' edition. 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers.
An uncommon wrappered edition of Doyle's Adventures of Sherlock Holmes.
Detective Fiction
£325
London, Newnes, n.d. [c.1903].
8vo. Original pictorial wrappers, stapled internally.
Sherlock Holmes and Dr Watson investigate a missing treasure, a secret pact from colonial India, a one-legged man, and a mysterious islander. An attractive and uncommon wrappered edition.
Children's Books
£1,250
London, Jonathan Cape, 1982.
First edition, first impression. Signed by the illustrator on the title-page. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, priced £6.50.
A very good first edition of one of Dahl's best-loved novels; a central title in late 20th-century children's literature. This copy further enhanced by being signed by the illustrator, Sir Quentin Blake.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
£1,500
London, Readers Library, September 1927.
First UK edition, fourth impression. Small 8vo. Original gilt tooled cloth. Dust-jacket, with the title mentioned on rear inside flap of the jacket.
The book of the famous silent film that is held by many to be one of the defining moments in cinematic history, not least as the first feature length science fiction feature. The film was directed by Fritz Lang, who developed the story with Thea von Harbou. Set in a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working class prophet who predicts the coming of a saviour to settle their differences. This fourth printing was issued within a few months of the first, indicating the demand.
Non-Fiction
£325
Being the Book of the Federation of Progressive Societies and Individuals
London, George Allen & Unwin, 1934.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
Essays articulating the aims of interwar progressive movements: pacifism, rationalism, sexual reform, socialism and internationalist co-operation. Contributors include Olaf Stapledon, Francis Meynell and H.G. Wells.
£195
to Portarlington and Geelong
Melbourne, Howard Smith Co. Ltd, n.d..
Landscape 4to. Original decorative wrappers with inset colour illustration to the upper cover.
Company-issued promotional booklet advertising excursion routes on the S.S. Edina, known throughout Australia as "The Old Lady of Port Phillip", with scenic photography and route details for Port Phillip Bay and Geelong.
Modern Literature
£475
London, Heinemann, 1924.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original decorative cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 5s.
Later work from a writer now receiving revived academic interest for her proto-modernist sensibility and role in literary networks. Scarce in the jacket.
£90
London, Macmillan, 1942.
First Macmillan edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
A collection of Churchill's political articles and speeches tracing European affairs in the lead-up to the Second World War, documenting his repeated warnings about German rearmament and appeasement.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
£125
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1960.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
A near-future SF thriller involving suspended animation, space travel and the ethics of scientific experimentation.
Detective Fiction
£95
London, The Modern Publishing Company, n.d..
8vo. Advertisement endpapers. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/-.
"An intensely exciting detective story." (jacket blurb)
Detective Fiction
£95
London, The Modern Publishing Company, n.d..
8vo. Advertisement endpapers. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/-.
"An intensely exciting detective story." (jacket blurb)
featured author
Agatha Christie
Agatha Christie first editions make for an excellent area of rare book collecting. The Queen of Crime’s long career as an author of high quality crime fiction ensures there are various levels of value, which means collectors of her first editions can start with the later, generally more affordable first editions of her crime fiction titles, and build their way toward the more expensive first editions from the 1920s & 1930s.
Many of Dame Agatha’s first editions feature excellent dust-jacket artwork. The American first editions of Agatha Christie are often clad in truly lovely dust-jackets, very different in style to their UK counterparts, and can also provide a more affordable option for collectors than the UK first editions.
Some collectors like to focus on one of her famous serial characters, including Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot of course. Whatever your poison, you should be able to start building a collection relatively quickly.
Agatha Christie also wrote under a pseudonym, ‘Mary Westmacott’, and these titles are also not easy to find in first edition, especially in the dust-jackets
Agatha Christie @ Lycanthia Rare Books
Detective Fiction
£250
London, Collins Crime Club, 1937.
First edition, first printing. 8vo. Original orange cloth.
A solid first edition of this classic Hercule Poirot title, a difficult book to find in good order.
Detective Fiction
£225
London, Collins Crime Club, 1940.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth.
Decent first edition of this tale of a tangled web of love, jealousy, and murder, seeing Hercule Poirot investigate the death of a young woman accused of poisoning her rival.
Detective Fiction
£325
London, Collins Crime Club, 1952.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
A decent first UK edition of this famous village 'whodunit', playfully placing Poirot in the scene rather than Miss Marple.
Detective Fiction
£400
London, Collins Crime Club, 1931.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth.
One of Christie's early non-Poirot, non-Marple mysteries, valued for its atmospheric Dartmoor setting and tightly engineered plotting.
Detective Fiction
£450
and other stories
London, Collins Crime Club, 1936.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth.
The first Christie short-story collection published by the Crime Club; important as it showcases her interest in psychological and speculative motifs outside the conventional puzzle-plot.
Detective Fiction
£700
London, Collins, 1929.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original black cloth.
A short-story sequence featuring Tommy and Tuppence Beresford running a detective agency and parodying different crime-fiction conventions and styles.
Detective Fiction
£95
and a Selection of Entrées
London, Collins Crime Club, 1960.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket.
A decent first edition of this Hercule Poirot title, featuring five cases set in an English country house at Christmas time.
Detective Fiction
£145
London, Collins Crime Club, 1953.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Library binding. Dust-jacket, priced 10s 6d.
A poisoned nursery rhyme leads detective Miss Marple to untangle a web of deceit and murder within a wealthy family, uncovering dark secrets along the way.
Latest News
Keep up to date with the latest news and reviews with the Lycanthia Rare Books blog.
Our blog
Explore the Genius of Arthur Conan Doyle – Now at 20% Off
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of the most celebrated authors of the late Victorian and Edwardian eras, best known for creating the iconic detective Sherlock Holmes. Holmes’s adventures, including The [...]
23
Jan
Jan
Publisher in the spotlight: Herbert Jenkins Ltd
Herbert Jenkins, our first 'Publisher in the Spotlight', published across a range of genres and subgenres, delighting readers for decades.
19
Nov
Nov
Newsletter
Sign up to our newsletter to receive priority announcements on new arrivals, upcoming fairs, sales and other special offers!