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Showing 757–792 of 1380 results

£275



London, Chatto & Windus, 1902.

First edition. 8vo. Title printed in red & black with device; publisher's catalogue at end dated March 1902. Original gilt pictorial blue cloth.

Attractive first edition from the creator of Raffles the gentleman thief, in which a woman is accused of her husband's murder - one of Hornung's works which is considered to provide a favourably modern portrayal of a female protagonist.

War, Invasion & Spy

Hosken (Clifford) The Pretender

£295



London, Harrap, 1930.

First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth blocked in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

Striking jacket artwork on this tale of international intrigue, centring around the fictional Balkan country of Carpathia.

War, Invasion & Spy

Household (Geoffrey) Rogue Male

£350



London, Chatto & Windus, 1939.

First edition, cut signature of author affixed to front free endpaper. 8vo. Title printed in red & black within ruled border. Original purple cloth, spine lettered in silver. Lacking dust-jacket.

The first edition of the Bristol-born Household's most famous work, a classic of thriller fiction, with (an admittedly unnamed) Hitler firmly in the author's sights.

£150


Ten lectures on social subjects
London, Swarthmore Press, 1919.

First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth with white spine label. Dust-jacket, priced 6/-.

An excellent first edition of this series of essays by the Victorian author, playwright and illustrator Laurence Housman, author of A Farm in Fairyland (1894) and illustrator of his sister's novella The Were-Wolf (1896). Scarce in jacket.

£350



London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1938.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.

The first UK edition of one of a series of popular novels based on the life and adventures of 'Calamity Jane' in the wild wild west. Uncommon in the dust-jacket, let alone in such condition.

£225



London, Chatto & Windus, 1929.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original green cloth lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, priced 7s6d, with the original Choice of the Book Society wraparound band.

The distinctive first UK edition of Hughes' High Wind in Jamaica, a genre redefining work set largely on the high seas - with pirates! Uncommon in the original wraparound.

£95



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.

£140



London, Eveleigh Nash & Grayson, [1926].

Film tie-in edition. 8vo. 3pp. advertisements. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket.

A handsome early edition of the sequel to The Sheik (1919); the first edition was published in 1925, with this edition issued to coincide with the popular film version starring Rudolph Valentino. Hull is credited with setting off a major and hugely popular revival of the "desert romance" genre of romantic fiction.

£125



London, Collins Crime Club, 1946.

First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7s6d.

An uncommon first edition in the jacket; a government official's investigations into an engineering company's failing business leads to murder...

£450



London, Faber & Faber, 1937.

First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.

A hoax "death by committee" goes fatally wrong, inevitably perhaps... A rare Faber publication, in rather nice period jacket, here price-clipped but priced accordingly.

£325



London, Jarrold, 1896.

First edition. 8vo. Original gilt-stamped dark green cloth.

A tantalising tango with Sci-Fi elements by the insanely prolific author of Mystery of a Hansom Cab (1886). A really nice copy, to boot.

£875


...a startling and realistic story of Melbourne social life
London, The Hansom Cab Publishing Company, n.d. [c.1888].

First UK edition, early issue, stating 'two hundredth thousand'. 8vo. Advertisements. Original pictorial wrappers.

The famous Melbourne-based crime thriller by prolific author Fergus Hume, distinctly uncommon in this condition. A publishing phenomenon, sadly not something the author himself managed to cash in on as he had sold the publishing rights for a desultory amount to businessman Frederick Trischler, who went on to found the Hansom Cab Publishing Company in London.

£150



London, Duckworth, 1939

First edition. Large 8vo. Publisher's white cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 7/6 on front flap, overprinted with 4/6.

The first novel by the writer described by Ronald Bryden as "the most exasperatingly gifted writer in England". Hyams was a translator and author, active in various genres, fiction and non-fiction, from before World War Two. Although not widely known for his speculative work, he published several novels of Sci-Fi interest. The Wings of the Morning is a discussion novel in the style of the scientific romance set as a future war novel whose description does not very accurately anticipate the reality to come. This was his first novel written when he was 28 years old. Rare. No copies of any kind for sale at time of listing.

£575


The story of a commonplace crime
London, Mundanus / Gollancz, 1931.

First edition (preceding the hardback). 8vo. Original printed wrappers. Housed in morocco-backed cloth slip-case and chemise.

An uncommon work by Anthony Berkeley Cox, aka Anthony Berkeley. The work is significant in the genre of crime fiction as one of the earliest and finest examples of the inverted detective story, a technique which would go on to inspire numerous other authors, as well as film-makers - notably Hitchcock and his 1941 film Suspicion (actually based on another, similar Iles title).

£125


The adventures of three children and a golliwog under the sea
London, S.W. Partridge, 1919.

First edition. 8vo. Original pictorial cloth. Dust-jacket.

An early dust-jacket, splendidly preserving the book beneath. Rare.

£495



London, Gollancz, 1940.

First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.

The first edition of the fifth novel to feature John Appleby, a young Detective Inspector in the Metropolitan Police, straddling detective and spy fiction admirably.

£325


South Africa 1929
n.p., International Geological Congress, [1929].

Index, introduction (fold-out black and white colour maps) + 22 booklets (incomplete, lacking 1 issue 'C19'), with additional general programme (32 pages + pull-out map). 8vo. Loose as issued, housed in original grey cloth slip-case with French title and the Congress logo to spine.

An important series of pamphlets published for the International Geological Congress of 1929, including contributions by noted geologists such as du Toit, Rogers, Haughton, Hall & Wagner and others, being guides to accompany delegates on excursions all over South Africa to various geologically noteworthy sites. Places include Chapman's Peak & the peninsula, Kimberley, Pilanesberg, Pretoria salt-pan and iron ore deposits, Vredefort, the Eastern Escarpment, Port Elizabeth, southern & northern Rhodesia, among others. Rare.

£795



Philadelphia & New York, Lippincott, [1942].

First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced $2.00.

An enigmatic woman, a hat like a pumpkin, and a murdered wife - things aren't looking good for Scott Henderson in this gripping mystery thriller by Woolrich writing as William Irish.

£395



Philadelphia & New York, Lippincott, 1950.

First edition. 8vo. Original teal cloth. Dust-jacket, priced $2.50.

A collection of six stories by Woolrich under his well-known pseudonym 'William Irish'. The title story was the basis for the 1952 film Don't Ever Open That Door.

£295



London, Hutchinson, 1951.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue boards. Dust-jacket, clipped and with price-sticker of 5/.

A very good first UK edition of this collection of seven tales by William Irish, a.k.a. Cornell Woolrich, in striking stylised jacket reflecting the pugilistic title story. Rare.

£350



London, Hutchinson, 1951.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original boards. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 9/6.

A further collection of short stories by Edgar Allan Poe Award of the Mystery Writers of America winner William Irish, a.k.a. Cornell Woolrich. Scarce.

£165



London, Sampson Low, Marston, [1937].

First edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

The only work of sci-fi from an author normally associated with more sedentary works on transport; this Lost Race tale set in the Yukon Territory, 'within a caldera heated by volcanic action, a technologically advanced but priest-ridden civilization of "white Indians", originally from ancient Egypt, uses its helicopter-like airships and strange Weapons to attempt to protect its gold from the outer world.' (The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction).

£75



London, Museum Press, 1945.

First UK edition. 8vo. Original black cloth with white skull to spine. Dust-jacket, priced 8/6.

Striking jacket artwork on this murder-mystery with shady espionage overtones, set in New York.

£150



London, Stanley Paul, 1936.

First edition, early reissue stating '3rd thousand' on title-page. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, with overlaid price-sticker '4/-' to spine.

Early printing of this hard-to-find crime thriller, especially tricky in equally coeval jacket.

£95



London, Allison & Busby, 1980.

First edition. 8vo. Original black board lettered in gilt to spine. Dust-jacket, priced £13.95.

The second anthology by Trinidadian author C.L.R. James, including essays such as "The Making of the Caribbean People," "Black Power," and a tribute to his friend and cricketer "Learie Constantine". These anthologies encapsulate the breadth and depth of James' political intellect, from the stories he wrote in his 20s through to his later writings written in his 70s and 80s.

£1,250


The Turning of the Screw; Covering End
London, Heinemann, 1898.

First edition. Title printed in red & black. 8vo. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt with Beardsley-esque blind-stamped design to upper cover.

The first publication in book form of James's iconic ghost story 'The Turn of the Screw' as well as his 'Covering End'. 'The Turn of the Screw' was first published in Collier's Weekly and revised slightly for book publication, and 'Covering End' was first published in this edition.

£195


In The Bookman: Special Christmas Number 1929
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1929.

Large 8vo. Original pictorial wrappers.

An important Christmas issue of The Bookman, featuring M.R. James' famous essay 'Some Remarks on Ghost Stories', but also featuring contributions by G.K. Chesterton, Algernon Blackwood and Arthur Machen.

£695



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.

Detective Fiction

James (P.D.) Cover Her Face

£3,250



London, Faber & Faber, 1962.

First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 18s.

A great first edition of James's debut novel, an ingeniously plotted mystery that introduced readers to Adam Dalgliesh of Scotland Yard, immediately ranked the author amongst the best crime writers.

£85



London, Gaywood Press for S.D. Francis, [1951].

First edition. 8vo. Original luridly-pictorial stapled wrappers.

One of the splendidly salacious 'Hank Janson' titles, uncommon in the original wrappers and in such good condition. Frances enjoyed great success with his hardboiled US-style thrillers written under this pseudonym, opening the way for a variety of copycat British authors writing in a similar vein, but they did also court controversy when a murder supposedly inspired by one of the Hank Janson titles led to the publishers being taken to court and successfully prosecuted for obscenity (the author managed to avoid a similar fate on it seems a technicality).

£85



London, Gaywood Press for S.D. Francis, [1950].

First edition. 8vo. Original luridly-pictorial stapled wrappers.

One of the splendidly salacious 'Hank Janson' titles. Frances enjoyed great success with his hardboiled US-style thrillers written under this pseudonym, opening the way for a variety of copycat British authors writing in a similar vein, but they did also court controversy when a murder supposedly inspired by one of the Hank Janson titles led to the publishers being taken to court and successfully prosecuted for obscenity (the author managed to avoid a similar fate on it seems a technicality).

£85



London, Gaywood Press for New Fiction Press, [1952].

First edition. 8vo. Original luridly-pictorial stapled wrappers.

One of the splendidly salacious 'Hank Janson' titles. Frances enjoyed great success with his hardboiled US-style thrillers written under this pseudonym, opening the way for a variety of copycat British authors writing in a similar vein, but they did also court controversy when a murder supposedly inspired by one of the Hank Janson titles led to the publishers being taken to court and successfully prosecuted for obscenity (the author managed to avoid a similar fate on it seems a technicality).

£85



London, Gaywood Press for New Fiction Press, [1952].

First edition. 8vo. Original luridly-pictorial stapled wrappers.

One of the splendidly salacious 'Hank Janson' titles. Frances enjoyed great success with his hardboiled US-style thrillers written under this pseudonym, opening the way for a variety of copycat British authors writing in a similar vein, but they did also court controversy when a murder supposedly inspired by one of the Hank Janson titles led to the publishers being taken to court and successfully prosecuted for obscenity (the author managed to avoid a similar fate on it seems a technicality).

£85



London, Gaywood Press for S.D. Francis, [1950].

First edition. 8vo. Original luridly-pictorial stapled wrappers.

A 'Hank Janson' title, uncommon in the original disturbingly salacious wrappers and in such good condition. Frances enjoyed great success with his hardboiled US-style thrillers written under this pseudonym, opening the way for a variety of copycat British authors writing in a similar vein, but they did also court controversy when a murder supposedly inspired by one of the Hank Janson titles led to the publishers being taken to court and successfully prosecuted for obscenity (the author managed to avoid a similar fate on it seems a technicality).

£395


The Story of a Boy...with an introduction by E.V. Lucas
London, Jonathan Cape, 1932.

First illustrated edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket.

Jefferies' famous "story of a boy", illustrated for the first time by Pooh illustrator E.H. Shepard; uncommon in the original dust-jacket. Accompanied by original printed prospectus.

£195



London, Herbert Jenkins, 1938.

First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth, lettered in black. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.

Excellent atmospheric jacket artwork and a scarce dust-jacket. A tale of blackmail & murder, from the grandfather of Fay Weldon.