Boards slightly softened at head of spine; jacket price-clipped, some chips and small closed tears with some loss to head of spine and a few other places.
Provenance: Alan Gauld (ink name), parapsychologist, psychologist and spiritualist writer.
£295
A Survey of Evidence
London, Faber & Faber, 1939.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
Sir Ernest Bennett (1868–1947) was a British Liberal MP and psychical researcher who compiled this survey of reported apparitions and hauntings as an evidential study.
In stock
Boards slightly softened at head of spine; jacket price-clipped, some chips and small closed tears with some loss to head of spine and a few other places.
Provenance: Alan Gauld (ink name), parapsychologist, psychologist and spiritualist writer.
Modern Literature
An anthology of stories chosen by their own authors
London, Faber & Faber, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original purple cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
Contributors include Martin Armstrong, A.E. Coppard, Louis Golding, James Laver, H. de V. Stacpoole and Alec Waugh.
Modern Literature
and his dead Palm-Wine Tapster in the Deads' Town
London, Faber & Faber, 1952.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
"This astonishing story…was written in English by a West African, and is in part the product of African folk-lore, stimulated by European inventions." (jacket).
A very good copy of this debut novel by Nigerian author Amos Tutuola, the first African novel published in English outside of Africa, praised by Dylan Thomas as "brief, thronged, grisly and bewitching". Tutuola's works, often drawing upon Yoruba traditions & folklore, were well received in the UK & US (far more than they were originally in his home country), drawing international acclaim and helping open up African writing to a wider audience.
Given the recent prices achieved by this and other similar works by African authors at auction it seems probable that we are experiencing something of a, possibly overdue, reappraisal & resurgence of interest in these writers.
The jacket is designed by the well-known artist & illustrator Barnett Freedman.
African literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1958.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.
The story follows Adebisi, an 18-year-old huntress who embarks on a quest to find her four brothers lost in the Jungle of the Pygmies, facing various supernatural challenges. Amos Tutuola (1920–1997) was a Nigerian writer known for incorporating Yoruba folklore into his works. His debut novel, The Palm-Wine Drinkard, gained international acclaim.
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, silver, priced 7/6.
Set in India and Burma on the eve of WWII, this novel is less an adventure story and more a character-focused study echoing Conrad's Heart of Darkness. It tackles themes of mortality, cultural clash, and supernatural elements. While featuring moments of action, its real strength lies in its emotional and thematic depth, earning it a place alongside works by Kipling, E.M. Forster and Paul Scott.
Detective Fiction
London, Faber & Faber, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards lettered in yellow. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
A Professor Daly title by prolific Irish author Eilís Dillon.