Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, n.d. [c.1930].
8vo. Original red cloth lettered in black.
An early edition of this interesting yarn about two ex-jailbirds threatened by a blackmailing detective. Originally published in 1919.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1937.
First edition. 8vo. Original beige cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
An attractive 'thirties title, involving cheque-book fraud.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Ward Lock, 1935.
First edition. Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Signed by the author at the time of publication. A romantic tale with macabre elements.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward, Lock, [c.1901].
Early edition. 8vo. Original cloth-backed pictorial boards.
An attractive illustrated edition of this account of the ongoing adventures of investigator Martin Hewitt, first introduced to readers in 1894. Morrison is best known today for his novel A Child of the Jago (1896).
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Ward, Lock, n.d..
8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 2/-.
This edition number 47 in Ward, Lock's 'The Prize Library' series, at the time of printing.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1929.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket.
An uncommon first edition, featuring Bailey's serial character the surgeon Mr Fortune.
Weird & Supernatural
London &c., Ward, Lock, 1914.
First edition. 8vo. Original blind-tooled green cloth lettered in gilt.
A fresh & bright first edition of this art-theft tale by Irish writer Bodkin, creator of Paul Beck and the bicycling lady detective Dora Myrl. A wonderful Velasquez painting is stolen from a house in County Galway.
London, Ward Lock, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, with code '617' to spine.
A surprisingly uncommon crime fiction title, one of only four titles by this author recorded in the British Library.
Weird & Supernatural
London, Ward Lock, 1934.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
The first book by the author of The Golden Fluid, contains fantastic elements, including a gem with occult powers. Excellent semi-abstract jacket artwork.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, Ward Lock, 1935
First edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket price clipped. Three digits at base of spine indicates this is an early reprint.
Hubin listed title with strong sci-fi overtones in which an Oriental cadre of secret masters aspire to immortality through imbibing an elixir of unknown provenance, and by using advanced technology to preserve themselves. They threaten the world, but are defeated in the end (Blieler p61, the only title by this author listed).
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1919.
First edition. Signed presentation copy from the author. 8vo. Original green cloth blocked in black. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
An excellent copy of this uncommon first edition, especially rare signed and in the original dust-jacket. British-born journalist and novelist Fletcher us considered to be one of the foremost detective fiction writers of his day.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1935
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket priced at 3/6 on front flap and also has tell tale 3 digits on spine indicating a slightly later issue.
Hubin listed title featuring the author's regular detective Insepctor Mclean and his rather fuller-witted assistant Sergeant Brook
Modern Literature
A Novel of Cornwall
London, Ward Lock, 1945.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 8/6.
The book that started it all... also one of the most attractive dust-jackets from the series. Sales of the novel increased by 205% after the premiere of the 2015 television adaptation.
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.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1930
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket (the 3 digit number (245) on spine indicates it is an early reprint).
As the Pretty Sinister blog asks: how can anyone resist the subtitle? "In Which a New and Quite Different Type of Detective Unravels a Mystery Staged in Chicago, Bagdad of the Lakes, London of the West!"
Casimer Jech, crooked curio dealer, is approached by millionaire Amos Carrington and together they hatch a scheme to acquire a rare manuscript mistakenly labeled as something fairly worthless to be auctioned off at an Evanston estate.
Detective Fiction
London, Ward Lock, 1939
First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket (the 3 digits - 902 - indicate an early reprint).
A man claimed that with his artifical ear-drums he could detect sounds inaudible to ordinary people. This acute listening would allow him to manipulate any combination lock and open any safe. Was he the one that opened Mrs. King's safe and stole all of her precious diamonds and jewels?
19th century literature
London, Ward & Lock, [?1860].
?First UK edition, possibly first book edition. 8vo. Contemporary half calf.
A hugely popular novel at the time of publication, originally serialised in The New York Ledger in 1859. The story centers on Capitola Black, a playful and audacious orphan girl who, after a series of circumstances, comes to live with her wealthy but unloving uncle in Virginia. Capitola is a tomboyish and adventurous heroine, often dressed in male attire, and she manages to survive numerous threats from a sinister villain named Black Donald who has connections to her mysterious past. Notable for its unusual treatment of gender and race issues for the time, presenting a strong, independent female character as its protagonist and incorporating discussion of the abolitionist movement. Southworth's portrayal of Capitola was significant during a time when the women's suffrage movement was gaining momentum in America.
We can trace no copies of this particular edition, at auction or in institutions - a reference to an edition published by Ward & Lock can be found in Bent's Monthly Literary Advertiser for September 1859. The Fleet Street imprint here suggests the edition was at least printed prior to 1878.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Ward, Lock, 1901.
First edition, full-page autograph inscription from the author to the blank recto of the frontispiece. 8vo. 4 plates, 12pp. advertisements. Original pictorial cloth.
An appreciative, borderline fawning, gift inscription from the trade unionist and Liberal-Labour politician, T.R. Threlfall, to the Sir George Alexander Cooper, 1st Baronet.
Children's Books
London, Ward Lock, 1917.
First edition. Publisher's File Copy. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth, with publisher's file copy label to upper cover. Dust-jacket, with publisher's file copy label to upper panel.
A truly wonderful first edition by Australian author Lilian Turner, enhanced by being the publisher's file copy. Jackets from this period are scarce, especially in this condition, and in this case the jacket has preserved the book beneath splendidly.
Children's Books
London, Ward, Lock, 1940.
First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.
One of the last books by a prolific author who had enjoyed literary success since 1900, as well as some controversy for her 1916 Sci-Fi book, The Last Weapon, A Vision, the anti-sentiment contained within resulting in the book being banned. Wilson was a founding member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom.
Detective Fiction
London & Melbourne, Ward, Lock, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. 6pp. advertisements. Original yellow cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Jonathan Mansel, one of Dornford Yates' most popular characters, heads a small private organisation dedicated to the detection of serious crime "by methods sadly unavailable to the regular police". Uncommon in the jacket.