London, The Graphic, 1890.
Folio. 26pp including the wrappers.
A very fine example of this iconic piece of Africana, focusing on the explorer Sir Henry Morton Stanley.
Modern Literature
London, A M. Philpot, 1923.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6 on spine and with later 1/- sticker to upper panel.
An uncommon work, in great jacket, by this prolific Scottish author, who produced a remarkable 120 books, plays and essays from 1877 onwards, many under the pseudonym 'Rita'.
Detective Fiction
London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
A scarce detective fiction title, one of only three titles by this author recorded in Hubin.
Weird & Supernatural
or, the Dwarf and the Seer: A Caledonian Legend
London, Joseph Emans, 1824.
First edition. 8vo. Contemporary calf, rebacked in later calf.
A Gothic novel set in medieval Scotland, surprisingly uncommon with only 3 copies recorded in institutional holdings.
Modern Literature
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1934.First edition, third printing. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.Early printing of this adventure story which dates to around 1934 based on the author's other titles listed in the rear catalogue; in excellent jacket.
Modern Literature
London, Thornton Butterworth, 1929.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Attractive first UK edition of this collection of short stories, mostly based around the islands of the Pacific.
Modern Literature
Boston, Little, Brown & Company, 1938.
First US edition. 8vo. Original yellow cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, neatly price-clipped.
Attractive jacket artwork on this US edition of one of Waugh's most famous works, in which the protagonist, William Boot, is loosely based on the journalist Bill Deedes, with whom Waugh had worked alongside in Abyssinia.
Modern Literature
London, Longmans, Green and Co., 1936.
Waugh's intriguing mix of travel writing, political commentary, and journalistic observation that offers a snapshot of the Abyssinia Crisis of the 1930s. The worked courted some controversy upon publication, with some, including author Rose Macaulay, considering it too supportive of the Italian Fascists.
Modern Literature
New York, Farrar and Rinehart Inc., 1934.
First US edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced $2.50 (scored through).
The first US edition of Waugh's famous satirical novel set in the fictional African island nation of Azania. The young emperor, Seth, educated in England, endeavors to modernise his kingdom with the assistance of his English friend, Basil Seal.
Modern Literature
the Mexican object-lesson
London, The Catholic Book Club, 1940.
First Edition thus, in dust jacket. 8vo.
Waugh's critique of the socialist and anti-clerical leanings of the Mexican government, reflecting his own conservative and Roman Catholic beliefs.
Modern Literature
London, Chapman & Hall, 1932.
First edition, trade issue. 8vo. Original patterned cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Waugh's famous satirical novel set in the fictional African island nation of Azania. The young emperor, Seth, educated in England, endeavors to modernise his kingdom with the assistance of his English friend, Basil Seal.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Heinemann, 1956.
First edition. 8vo. Original dark pink boards. Dust-jacket, pried 13s 6d.
The first edition of this keystone sci-fi work, fascinating on numerous levels, not least for the 'space-folding' capabilities of the indigenous 'dominant beings'.
Modern Literature
London, Hodder & Stoughton, [1925].
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
An uncommon edition in the original dust-jacket, with incorporates attractive artwork by Ellen Edwards. The book was transferred to the silent screen in the same year, starring Leatrice Joy.
Modern Literature
London, Chapman and Hall Ltd., 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original near black cloth lettered in orange to spine.
Uncommon first edition, especially in the jacket, of this British Empire tale.
Modern Literature
London, Dent, 1914.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket.
A very good first edition, in the scarce dust-jacket, by Canadian author Sullivan - not extraterrestrial 'alien' in this case.
Weird & Supernatural
and other queer stories
London, Victor Gollancz, 1932.
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth, lettering to rebacked spine in yellow indicating first issue.
Scarce collection of weird tales by this prolific British writer, author of 'The Tortoiseshell Cat'.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Newnes, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Beyond the minor chipping a very nice copy of this collection of twelve tales by Australian author Knowles, "tales of the super-real rather than the supernatural, or, if you will, fairy tales for grown-ups." (jacket).
American Literature
New York, Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.
First edition, first printing. 8vo. Original black cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced $11.00.
The first edition of the first book in the 'Border trilogy' by the recently deceased Cormac McCarthy, a best-selling work that was adapted into a 2000 film starring Matt Damon and Penélope Cruz, directed by Billy Bob Thornton.
Modern Literature
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1913.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket.
First UK edition this key canonical title from the pen of visual impaired author and activist Helen Keller - despite the title, this is in fact a series of essays on socialism. Distinctly uncommon in the dust-jacket.
Modern Literature
New York, William Morrow & Company, 1929.
First US edition. 8vo. Original black cloth decorated in bright green. Dust-jacket, priced $2.50.
An attractive first US edition of the author's first book, first published in England the same year but immediately confiscated with 517 copies of the 750 printed seized, following allegations of the novel being of an obscene nature in large part due to the key role suicide plays in the story. The book was the subject of an obscenity trial, during which all copies seized were ordered destroyed, ensuring that this US edition and an edition published coevally in Paris are effectively the first available editions. The author herself said she would have quite happily rewritten the offending parts, but alas this was not to be. James did go on to further success, writing some 70 more novels, but none of which are still in print.
Children's Books
London, Faber and Faber Limited, 1941.
First UK edition. Oblong 4to. Original pictorial boards. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
An appealing first UK edition of this enduring children's classic, in part the inspiration for Stephen King's Charlie the Choo-Choo: From the World of The Dark Tower (2016).
Weird & Supernatural
and other stories
London, Ernest Benn Limited, 1927.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original yellow cloth ruled and lettered in black.
A scarce edition, collecting stories mostly derived from the author's own dreams. The title tale, 'Lukundoo', is the author's most anthologised story, recounting the plight of an explorer who falls foul of a local witch-doctor's ghastly curse.