Modern Literature
London, Longmans, Green,, 1923.
First edition. 8vo. 4pp. advertisements. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 6/-.
A very good example of this early jacketed work set in Dartmoor, Devon. The adverts at the back are all related to West Country tales, including My Lady of the Moor by John Oxenham, which features none other than Beatrice Chase as the heroine.
Detective Fiction
The Case of the Murdered Band Leader
London, John Lane The Bodley Head, 1939.
First UK edition. 8vo. 2pp. advertisements. Original teal cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7s6d.
Set in the glittering background of an ultra-modern night club in San Francisco, peopled by famous stars, Sudden Silence has an interest rivalled only by the strangeness of its incidents. (jacket).
Modern Literature
A Novel
London, Sampson Low, [1934].
First edition, "File Copy". 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
The last novel by this insanely prolific Cornish writer, author of the best-selling 'improving story' Her Benny (1879). Wonderful jacket artwork.
Modern Literature
London, Methuen,, 1932.
Second edition. 8vo. 8pp. advertisements. Orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 3/6.
A handsome early edition of this follow-up to The Sheik (1919). Hull is credited with setting off a major and hugely popular revival of the "desert romance" genre of romantic fiction, helped by the Rudolph Valentino film adaptations.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward, Lock, 1938. First UK edition, first impression. 8vo. 2pp. advertisements. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6. A very good first UK edition by a prolific, somewhat bonkers crime writer, a foray into the "locked room" subgenre, revolving around a mysterious manuscript (possibly derived from a short story penned by the author's wife, herself a writer[?]). Scarce in the first issue jacket.
War, Invasion & Spy
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).
Horror & Gothic
London, Tinsley Brothers, 1867.
3 vols. First edition. 8vo. Half-titles all present. Publisher's dark orange blind-tooled cloth, lettered in gilt to spines. Housed in modern morocco-backed cloth solander box.
The best example of this rare, Hubin-listed three decker by Irish author Sheridan Le Fanu that we have ever seen, extremely uncommon in the original cloth and in such condition. The story itself features the Gothic tropes and elements one would expect from the author of Uncle Silas (1864) and In a Glass Darkly (1872), a crumbling family pile, hidden romance, suspicious death, a looming inheritance and dangerous ambition.
Detective Fiction
London, The Literary Press, n.d..
First edition thus. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket.
What was the secret of Chesterton Square?
Modern Literature
London, Faber & Faber, 1959.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in white to spine. Dust-jacket.
An autobiographical recounting of the author's first-hand experiences of apartheid in South Africa.
Children's Books
London [&c.], A. & C. Black, 1921.
First edition. Small 8vo. Colour plates. Original boards with onlaid colour pictorial title to upper cover. Dust-jacket, with price-sticker 6d to upper panel.
An excellent copy of this little book recounting the adventures of Laura the tarantula, extremely unusual in the original jacket and in such condition.
Modern Literature
London, Rich & Cowan, 1933.
First edition. 8vo. Title within xylographic border. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A lovely first edition of a Shakespearean era yarn.
London, George G. Harrap, 1919.
First Clarke edition. 4to. Plates and illustrations. Original sage cloth, decorated in black.
Harry Clarke's superb black & white images provide the perfect counterpoint to Poe's dark tales. A decent copy, if anything enhanced by the Shrewsbury School's gilt coat-of-arms to upper cover.
Modern Literature
A Surmise
Dublin & Cork, Talbot Press, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
An imaginative reconstruction of Percy Bysshe Shelley's visit to Dublin and the friendships he made there, by Irish writer Pollock.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins Crime Club, May, 1938.
Ninth impression. 8vo. Paperback. Dust-jacket, with 'Crime Club 6d'.
Rhode's novel is centered around the great annual motor rally at Torquay. Fog, car "crash" and and an erroneous verdict of accidental death leads to a murder investigation.
Modern Literature
London, Jonathan Cape, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt at spine. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A tale of deprivation and adversity set near the mouth of the Thames. Scarce in jacket.