Detective Fiction
Fredericks (Arnold, pseud. Frederic Arnold Kummer) The Film of Fear
London, Robert Hayes, [c.1921].
First UK edition. Small 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 1/-.
Number 10 in the publisher's 'Hayes' Copyright Novels' series. The plot follows film star Ruth Morton, the target of escalating anonymous threats to ruin her beauty, with series characters the Duvalls called in to investigate. The work is widely cited as the first novel centred on the motion-picture industry, though set around the early film-making world of New York and New Jersey rather than Hollywood
Historical Fiction
A Tale of the Christ
London, Robert Hayes, [c.1925].
Film tie-in edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
Attractive film tie-in edition with jacket depicting the famous chariot race scene, presumably issued to coincide with the 1925 silent film adaptation starring Ramon Novarro. The book was first published in 1880, considered "the most influential Christian book of the nineteenth century", no less.
Modern Literature
London, Robert Hayes, 1921.
First edition. 8vo. Original green boards. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
First edition of the book born from the original play of the same name. Rare in the jacket.