War, Invasion & Spy

    £95



    London, Columbine, [1939].

    First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, overlaid price of 5/- on spine and lower panel.

    Aviation thriller about a missing bomber; the jacket extolls the author's virtues enthusiastically, but nevertheless this is the only title we can locate by this author.

    £195


    House Agent
    London, Mills & Boon, 1935.

    First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth blocked in black. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.

    From a publishing POV at the minimum, Evans is an interesting author, one of a select few that canny publishers Mills & Boon convinced to adopt at least one pen-name to increase their "representability" via libraries such as Boots and W.H. Smith, who would normally only represent no more than two books by any author a year. Evans wrote over 120 novels for Mills & Boon, at a fairly high standard, under her own name and her "nom de guerres".

    £75



    London, Robert Hale, 1952 [1953].

    First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 9/6.

    Good first UK edition of this tale of romance and espionage, 'a breath-taking romance loaded with the dynamite of military secrets and international intrigue.' (jacket blurb)

    £295



    London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1933.

    First edition. 8vo. Original light blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

    Ronald Standish of the Secret Service steps up to assist Bulldog Drummond in this attractive first edition.

    £225



    London, Herbert Jenkins, [1942].

    First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

    A striking first edition of this romantic, behind-the-scenes thriller of the Secret Service by a prolific author.

    £395



    London, Collins Crime Club, [1939].

    First UK edition. Ex-Library. 8vo. Original burgundy cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7s6d.

    Cool jacket artwork, depicting a man with a red briefcase hastening up some steps with the number '9', but not the story of a Chancellor of the Exchequer in panic, instead a departure from the crime fiction Blochman was more well-known for, into the murky world of espionage.

    £275



    London, Herbert Jenkins, 1939.

    First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

    The name's Bond...Christopher Bond... this Pre-James Bond is also caught up in the murky world of espionage. An attractive dust-jacket to boot.

    £185



    London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1935.

    First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6.

    The last espionage novel by this prolific author who famously enjoyed the high-life. A rousing tale of the quest for world peace via the machinations of Italian Fascism.

    £100



    London, Chapman & Hall, 1955.

    First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 12s.6.

    A very good first edition of the second book in Waughs' Sword of Honour trilogy, loosed derived from the author's own wartime experiences.

    £275

    London, Harrap, 1939.First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, price from inside flap removed by clumsy tear.An uncommon dust-jacket by jacket legend Youngman Carter, in better condition than normally found.

    £395



    London, Michael Joseph, 1945.

    First UK edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

    A very good first UK edition of aviator Ernest Gann's exciting, realistic aeronautic adventure set in the far north of Canada.

    £225


    Translated from the German by Huntley Paterson.
    London, Harrap, 1931.

    First UK edition, second impression. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

    A superb copy of this gripping first-hand account of the German Zeppelin raids on England during the Second World War.

    £375



    New York, William Sloane, 1957.

    First US edition, first printing, inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original cloth-backed boards. Dust-jacket, priced $3.50.

    A great inscribed first US edition of the book that would become one of the most well-loved of the British war films (1958), starring John Mills. The inscription on the title-page reads, 'For "The Principal" To commemorate his 80th birthday and in hopes he will survive to see at least twenty more books published - Kipper - August 5th 1958' ('Kipper' being the author's nickname among friends).

    £200



    London, Ward, Lock, 1901.

    First edition, full-page autograph inscription from the author to the blank recto of the frontispiece. 8vo. 4 plates, 12pp. advertisements. Original pictorial cloth.

    An appreciative, borderline fawning, gift inscription from the trade unionist and Liberal-Labour politician, T.R. Threlfall, to the Sir George Alexander Cooper, 1st Baronet.

    £360



    London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1933.

    First edition. 8vo. Original pale blue cloth. Dust-jacket, price ablated from spine.

    A pleasing first edition of this collection of short stories by 'Sapper', featuring the character Ronald Standish as chief protagonist (appearing previously only in 'The Saving Clause' (1927) and 'Tiny Carteret' (1930)). Sapper of course most well-known for creating Bulldog Drummond.

    £300



    London, Herbert Jenkins, 1935.

    First edition, first impression. 8vo. 8pp. advertisements. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

    A very good first edition, first impression of this uncommon spy novel by G.Davison, part of a series that began in 1931 with The Man with the Twisted Face.

    £120



    London, John Hamilton, [1936].

    First edition. Ace Series. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3s.6d.

    A solid first edition of a classic aviation tale by prolific writer George E. Rochester, drawing on his own experience in the Royal Flying Corps; bandit menace in the air above Tibet, bad Buddhists, and more...

    £110



    London, John Hamilton, [1938].

    First edition. 2pp. advertisements for the 'Ace Series'. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, dated 3s.6d.

    'In a tiny plane, far above the Sahara, Michael Wright directs the operations of Doctor Oberlin's mighty fleet of bombers as it flies northward to encompass the destruction of Europe.' (jacket blurb)

    War, Invasion & Spy

    Easton (John) Ferrol Bond.

    £175


    First edition
    London, Putnam, 1933.

    Signed and inscribed by the author one month after publication (March 1933). A Hubin-listed secret service adventure set in London and India.

    £250

    First edition.
    London. Hutchinson, [1940]
    Part of the ‘First Novel’ series. Hutchinson’s First Novel Library would go on to publish a total of 139 titles in the series before ending in 1951, comprising first novels, often by authors using a pseudonym.

    War, Invasion & Spy

    Wren (P.C.) Flawed Blades

    £200

    First edition. Foreign Legion short stories.
    London, John Murray, 1933
    A fine first English edition of this compilation of Foreign Legion stories by the author of Beau Geste (1924), in the fabulous Art Deco design correctly priced at 7/6 on front flap. 'Very many of these men are examples of the "flawed blades" that have snapped, leaving little but the sheath that once contained the sword - spirits that have broken, leaving only a weary body.' (dust-jacket).

    £195

    First edition. A very attractive example with jacket design by Abbey.
    London, Collins, 1941
    A typical espionage title set in Istanbul by James Morgan Walsh, born 1897 to 1952, also wrote as H. Haverstock Hill, Stephen Maddock, George M. White. He was born in Australia and came to England in 1925. The majority of his work leans towards spy and adventure rather than pure detective fiction

    £175

    First edition, Huchinson, [1943].A rare collection of short stories, particularly scarce in the dust-jacket.

    £375

    First edition, [1942].A collection of Wheatley's short stories, rare in the dust-jacket.Included with this is a signed photograph of the German singer & actress Renate Müller (1906-1937), who was the inspiration for the Wheatley short story 'Espionage'. A tragic life cut short on the back of a blossoming career, either being murdered by the Gestapo or intimidated by them sufficiently that she seemingly took her own life. The story and a short discussion of the incident involved are included in this collection.

    £180

    (A Detective-Inspector McCarthy Yarn).First Edition. Wright & Brown, n.d. [c.1941].

    £120

    Chatto & Windus, London, 1929 first edition