Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1953.
First edition. 8vo. Original mauve boards. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
The author's first book; a classic murder mystery which will keep you guessing until the final pages.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, 1939.
First edition. Signed by the author on front endpaper. 8vo. Original black cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
An attractive first edition, enhanced further by being signed by the author on the front free endpaper.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1954.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
An attractive first edition example of this 1950s Agatha Christie, set largely in Morocco.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1922.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered and ruled in red.
Uncommon first edition of this pre Inspector French title.
Detective Fiction
Gunn (Victor, pseud. Edwy Searles Brooks) Ironsides Sees Red
London, Collins, 1943.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
One of several 'Ironsides' titles written by Brooks under the pseudonym Victor Gunn. He also famously wrote under the pen name of Berkeley Gray.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, 1957.
First edition. 8vo. Publisher's review slip loosely inserted. Original black boards. Dust-jacket, priced 16s.
Mason's most well-known work, inspired by the time he spent at the Luk Kwok Hotel in 1956 and the prostitution services he observed offered there.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, [1927].
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A modern reworking of the Arabian Nights by popular Irish author Tynan - scarce in the jacket.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Collins, 1940.
First UK edition. 8vo. 3pp. advertisements. Original mauve cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/3.
Attractive jacket artwork for this surprisingly uncommon and highly collectable British edition, combining international intrigue of German & American spies in Central America, with exotic backgrounds, humour and romance.
Children's Books
London, Collins, 1958.
First edition. Signed & dated by the author in the month of publication. 8vo. Original pink cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 8s 6d.
"Things are always happening to me. I'm that sort of bear".
The book that started it all! When the Peruvian bear with a penchant for marmalade sandwiches tootled into everyone's lives in 1958, few could have predicted what a phenomenon Paddington Bear would become, subsequently starring in over twenty books by Michael Bond, as well as numerous TV series and film adaptations. The first book is a known rarity, but exceedingly uncommon signed and dated thus in the year of publication. A cornerstone of 20th century children's literature.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1929.
First edition, first impression. 8vo. Original near black cloth blocked in red.
A thrilling tale of deception and intrigue unfolds as a group of young adventurers stumble upon a deadly secret connected to the enigmatic Seven Dials Club.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1946.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket, priced 10s. 6d.
The first edition of Agatha Christie's personal memoirs about her travels to Syria and Iraq in the 1930s with her archaeologist husband Max Mallowan, where she worked on the digs and wrote some of her most evocative novels.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins, 1923.
First edition. 8vo. Original dark blue cloth blocked in orange. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6 (later issue).
The first edition of the author's first novel, in an early issue jacket (1930s), introducing Superintendent Henry Wilson. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, [1930].
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A nice first edition of this romantic adventure in the fur country.
![Walt Disney, Sketch Book [of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs], first edition, 1938](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/84886-300x300.jpg)
[London], Collins, [1938].
First edition. 4to. Original tan cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
One of the more sought-after Disney books from its Golden Era, with no coeval American edition.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Collins, [1930].
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth, blocked in red.
A very good first edition of this collection of short stories by hugely prolific crime writer J.S. Fletcher. The title story is about a mysterious death of a magistrate who was an avid collector of rare books and antiques. Other stories involve a haunted lighthouse, a family feud, a stolen diamond, a secret tunnel and a murder at sea.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original wine red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
A recounting of the early part of the twentieth century through the filter of childhood memories, by an author more well known for his botanical writings.
Detective Fiction
Gunn (Victor, pseud. Edwy Searles Brooks, aka Berkeley Gray) Ironsides Smahes Through.
London, Collins, 1940
First edition. 8vo. 3pp. advertisements. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7'6.
A very good first edition of this Ironsides title, distinctly uncommon in the original dust-jacket. Victor Gunn was one of several pseudonyms for Edwy Brooks, alongside his perhaps more well-known moniker 'Berkeley Gray'.
Modern Literature
London, Collins, 1936.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/-.
Considered the author's greatest novel, published posthumously. Centred around a County Council, the novel illustrates how public decisions can mold the individual, at the same time offering a panoramic and unforgettable view of Yorkshire life. Winner of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize.
Detective Fiction
First edition.
London, Collins, 1947.
Stephen Maddock was a pseudonym of JM Walsh and used for his more explicitly criminous titles.
Horror & Gothic
Marlowe (G.S., pseud. Gabriel Beer-Hofmann) I am your Brother
London, Collins, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6.
Cult novel about a man who discovers his mother has been hiding his monstrous brother in the attic, the author's only dalliance within the fringes of Sci-Fi. Very scarce in the original Rex Whistler jacket.
Children's Books
London & Glasgow, Collins, 1920.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial blue cloth.
The second book in Oxenham's Abbey series, introducing the characters whose ongoing adventures would be the basis for the subsequent books in the popular series.
Modern Literature
A Traveller's Tale
London, Collins, 1927.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown buckram. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A "little odyssey" by one of Ireland's most popular authors.
Children's Books
London, Collins, 1972.
First UK edition. Large 8vo. Original pictorial boards, issued without jacket.
One of the good Doctor's most famous titles, a topical tale of environmental awareness.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Collins, 1962.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue boards. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 16s.
The second of two books by Alistair MacLean under the pseudonym Ian Stuart. Chemical warfare hangs ominously over the City of London.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Collins, 1941.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d.
The continuing adventures of secret service agent Oliver Keene - borderline sci-fi by Australian-born James Morgan Walsh.
Children's Books
London, Collins, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/6.
The second book in White's series 'The Once and Future King'. It continues the story of the newly crowned King Arthur, his tutelage by the wise Merlyn, his war against King Lot, and also introduces the Orkney clan.