Detective Fiction
London, Skeffington, n.d..
Early printing, stating '6th Thousand' on jacket spine. 8vo. Original olive cloth. Dust-jacket, with price rather dramatically excised from spine.
An early printing of the US author's first book.
Detective Fiction
Eadie (Arlton, pseud. Leopold Leonard Eadie) The Crimson Query
London, Skeffington, n.d..
Early printing, stating '7th Thousand' to title-page. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
Originally published in 1929, sometimes subtitled Or How the Squid Got Besuckered, introduces a villain known as the Crimson Query because he leaves, Zorro-like, a sign of his machinations. In this case, a bright red question mark. All in all, this hard-to-find detective story stands alongside the more horrific novels Eadie is known for.
Modern Literature
London, Skeffington, 1952.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
"Here is a delightfully witty compound of frolic, fantasy and satire, which describes what happens when an African magician gets busy in an English village..." (jacket blurb)
Horror & Gothic
Walton (Evangeline, pseud. Evangeline Wilna Ensley) Witch House
London, Skeffington, [1950].
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in red to spine. Dust-jacket, clipped to inside front flap but with price 6/- present.
The first UK edition of Walton's occult horror based in New England, published in 1945 as the first volume in 'The Library of Arkham House Novels of Fantasy and Terror'. Uncommon in the jacket.
Detective Fiction
London, Skeffington, [c.1924].
First UK edition. 8vo. Original pale green/grey cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Distinctly uncommon title and edition of this wonderfully jacketed crime fiction novel, by American pianist, religious apologist and author Harvey Wickham, an author whose renown dipped somewhat following his pro-Mussolini stance and his denigration of the works of D.H. Lawrence.
Detective Fiction
early issue (stating 7th Thousand on title), some minor spotting, original red cloth, dust-jacket, some minor chipping to edges but overall a very good example, publisher's price sticker on spine, 8vo, Skeffington, [c.1930].
Modern Literature
London, Skeffington, [1920].
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8/6.
Attractive first edition of this work by prodigious Irish author, who specialised in romantic novels set within the Irish sporting gentry.
Detective Fiction
Courtney (John, pseud. John Cournos) Grandmother Martin is Murdered
London, Skeffington, [1930].
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Crime fiction by an intriguing author: born in Russia with Yiddish as his first language, Cournos moved to London in 1912 where he engaged in anti-communist activism, notably via his pamphlet London under the Bolsheviks: A Londoner's Dream on Returning from Petrograd (1919); he also enjoyed some success as an Imagist poet, but garnered more renown for his novels and short stories under the Courtney pseudonym - today he is perhaps best known for his failed relationship with Dorothy L. Sayers, an unhappy experience recounted by both authors (Strong Poison by Sayers (1930) and The Devil Is an English Gentleman by Cournos himself in (1932)).
Detective Fiction
Jerome (Owen Fox, pseud. Oscar Jerome Friend) The Red Kite Clue
London, Skeffington, [1929].
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, with publisher's 3/6 price-sticker to spine.
An attractive first edition and an uncommon book in the jacket. Detective Philip MacCray is on the case to solve the murder of an archaeologist recently returned from the Orient.
Detective Fiction
First edition, ‘7th thousand’.
London, Skeffington, [1932].
Skeffington often used ‘7th thousand’ label on title page to try and show that their titles were in high demand so this is not necessarily a reprint.
A Hubin-listed mystery featuring the author’s serial character, detective-crook Jimmy Traynor.
Weird & Supernatural
Mathers (Helen, pseud. Ellen Buckingham Mathews Reeves) The Juggler and The Soul
London, skeffington, 1896.
First edition. 8vo. Title printed in red & black. Original blue cloth with red & design.
A rare work of sci-fi interest, with themes involving Hypnosis, experiments in Medicine, and reanimation of the dead.
Detective Fiction
London, Skeffington, 1932
8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket priced at 2/6 on spine with '5th Thousand' on spine. Skeffington often used such wording to give the impression of sales success.
UK author, prolific between the Wars, specializing in thrillers (often with Oriental villains) and mysteries. The Sound-Machine is centred around a revolutionary machine that destroys by sound vibration (Blieler p.183).
A stunning example of a book that rarely turns up in a jacket especially one as superb as this.