War, Invasion & Spy
London, Robert Hale, 1952 [1953].
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 9/6.
Good first UK edition of this tale of romance and espionage, 'a breath-taking romance loaded with the dynamite of military secrets and international intrigue.' (jacket blurb)
Weird & Supernatural
London, Constable, 1927.
First edition. 8vo. Original brown cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
Uncommon first edition, with witchcraft in large part serving as a metaphor for womanhood; the main character is not magical, but has been stigmatised and shunned by her community for her illegitimate children and for practising abortion.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1933.
First edition. 8vo. Original light blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Ronald Standish of the Secret Service steps up to assist Bulldog Drummond in this attractive first edition.
Detective Fiction
London, Collins Crime Club, 1945.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 8s6d.
Stage school murder; an uncommon Collins Crime Club, by a former director of Methuens, no less.
Detective Fiction
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth blocked in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6 with 'reduced price' sticker to spine.
Cool jacket artwork graces this uncommon oriental thriller.
Detective Fiction
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1952.
First edition. 8vo. Original red boards. Dust-jacket, priced 9/-.
A dramatic story of crime and detection featuring series character Inspector Gilbert Larose.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Herbert Jenkins, [1942].
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A striking first edition of this romantic, behind-the-scenes thriller of the Secret Service by a prolific author.
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
Translated by Lawrence Hyde.
London, Bles, 1925.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A great first edition in English of Čapek's novel about a secret explosive formulation and the trouble it causes, not least for its inventor, the chemist Prokop: "a rich and wildly imagined work, unusual in its almost orgiastic baroque exploration of power, sexuality, and guilt." (Bleiler). The wonderful art deco jacket artwork sets the mood perfectly! The original Czech edition was published the previous year.
Detective Fiction
Quiroule (Pierre, pseud. Walter William Sayer) The Painted Death
London, Nelson, 1935.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
"A close-knit plot and first-rate story"...with Amazonians thrown in to boot. Scarce.
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.
Children's Books
Loughborough, Wills & Hepworth, 1948.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue pictorial boards. Dust-jacket, priced 2/6.
Charming first edition of the first of six books recounting the adventures of Wonk the koala, illustrated by the artist & writer Joan Kiddell-Wonk.
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.
![Alternative view of Lindsay (David [Tod]) The Ninth Plague](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84629_2-300x400.jpg)
Sci-Fi & Fantasy
London, John Hamilton, 1936.
First edition. 8vo. Original green cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A rare dust-jacket. One of this author's less common and more interesting titles, a Mad Scientist's attempts to block off the sun's rays and cause the end of the world. Produced for Hamilton's Sundial Mystery Library series.
London, John Hamilton, 1927.
First edition. 8vo. Origial blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
From Hamilton's Sundial Mystery Library series. "An experiment in sensational fiction in which careful and detailed character drawing comes second to an absorbing plot." (jacket blurb)
Detective Fiction
London, John Hamilton, 1928.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
From Hamilton's Sundial Mystery Library series; a departure from Hamilton's more usual aeronautical vibe, and a seemingly scarce first edition in the original dust-jacket. A chance encounter with a sinister Chinese Secret Society sees the protagonist tossed into a world of intrigue, with a dash of romantic peril for good measure.
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1933.
First edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
The continuing adventures of arch deductionist Dr Thorndyke. A tricky first edition in the jacket.
Modern Literature
London, Grant Richards, 1925.
First edition. 8vo. Original yellow cloth. Dust-jacket, priced 7/6.
An intriguingly Hardy-esque novel by John Cowper Powys, preceding his breakthrough work Wolf Solent.
Modern Literature
London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1916.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket.
A rare dust-jacket, and uncommon book.
"Cobb wrote humorous stories set in Kentucky, and he is considered part of the American literary regionalism school. These stories were first collected in the book Old Judge Priest (1915), whose title character was based on a prominent West Kentucky judge named William Pitman Bishop. Joel Chandler Harris wrote of these tales, 'Cobb created a South peopled with honorable citizens, charming eccentrics, and loyal, subservient blacks, but at their best the Judge Priest stories are dramatic and compelling, using a wealth of precisely rendered detail to evoke a powerful mood.'" (Wikipedia)
Detective Fiction
Hull (Richard, pseud. Richard Henry Sampson) Left-Handed Death
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...
Modern Literature
London & New York, Harper, 1900.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth blocked in gilt.
A decent H.G. Wells first edition. Young, impoverished and ambitious, science student Mr Lewisham is locked in a struggle to further himself through academic achievement.
Detective Fiction
New York, Dodd, Mead, 1941.
First US edition. 8vo. Original cloth. Dust-jacket, priced $2.00.
A mysterious beam of light wreaks havoc in this Dr Priestley novel. Nice jacket artwork.
![L.G. Blochman, Midnight Sailing, first UK edition, [1939]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84616-300x300.jpg)
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Collins Crime Club, [1939].
First UK edition. Ex-Library. 8vo. Original burgundy cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7s6d.
Cool jacket artwork, depicting a man with a red briefcase hastening up some steps with the number '9', but not the story of a Chancellor of the Exchequer in panic, instead a departure from the crime fiction Blochman was more well-known for, into the murky world of espionage.
![Clifton Bingham, The Animals' Rebellion, first edition, [c.1890]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84613-300x300.jpg)
Children's Books
London & New York, Ernest Nister, [c.1890].
Oblong 4to. Original cloth-backed pictorial boards.
Comical verses by Nister's popular lyricist Clifton Bingham, perfectly illustrated by C.H. Thompson. Vintage Victorian children's book.
London, Harrap, 1938.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 9/-.
Amelia Earhart's absorbing account of her ill-fated last flight around the world, begun in 1937, comprising her diary entries and other notes - a classic of aviation history. Amelia Earhart was twice the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air: initially in 1928 as a passenger just a year after Lindbergh's pioneering flight and then in 1932, flying solo.
![Bruce Graeme, Blackshirt, first edition, [1925]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84608-300x300.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, T. Fisher Unwin, [1925].
First edition. 8vo. Original black cloth lettered in red. Dust-jacket, correctly priced at 3/6.
The notoriously difficult first edition of the first book in the Blackshirt series, by a founding member of the Crime Writer's Association. Despite the chipping, the upper panel with its wonderful artwork is intact.
Detective Fiction
London, Robert Hale, 1988.
First edition. Signed by the author on title-page. 8vo. Original black boards lettered in silver. Dust-jacket, correctly priced £11.50.
A near fine, signed first edition of Doherty's first book in his Matthew Jankyn series.
Detective Fiction
London, Robert Hale, 1989.
First edition. 8vo. Original black boards lettered in silver. Dust-jacket, correctly priced £10.95.
A near fine first edition of the fourth title in Doherty's popular Hugh Corbett series.
Modern Literature
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.
Detective Fiction
London, Arthur Barker, 1949.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original dark pink cloth. Dust-jacket, clipped but with price '5s' still present.
Classic criminous stuff from hard-boiled good egg McCoy, made into a 1950s film starring James Cagney, famously awarded the ultimate accolade "banned in Ohio"...
![James Corbett, The Somerville Case, first edition, [1949]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84602-300x300.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, Herbert Jenkins, [1949].
First edition. 8vo. Original orange boards, lettered in black. Dust-jacket, price-clipped.
Quite a lovely dust-jacket.
War, Invasion & Spy
London, Herbert Jenkins, 1939.
First edition. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
The name's Bond...Christopher Bond... this Pre-James Bond is also caught up in the murky world of espionage. An attractive dust-jacket to boot.
![William Le Queux, The Mystery of Mademoiselle, first UK edition, [1926]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84595-300x300.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, Hodder & Stoughton, [1926].
First UK edition. 8vo. Original blue cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
A lovely first UK edition of this twenties tale of suspense by Anglo-French author Le Queux.
Modern Literature
A Soldier of Humour and other stories
London, Chatto & Windus, 1927.
First edition, Centaur Library issue. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, priced 3/6.
The Centaur Library issue of these stories from the vector of vorticism Wyndham Lewis, printed from the first edition sheets but in different binding, and the series jacket design by the graphic artist Edward Bawden (as opposed to the boring typographic one on the first issue).
![Alternative view of Eberhart (M[ignon].G.) Fair Warning](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84591_2-300x400.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, Collins Crime Club, 1936.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Quite cool woodcut-style artwork adorns this first UK edition's jacket. Eberhart is an interesting author of detective fiction, not least for her ability to extend the same basic premise over nearly forty volumes!
Modern Literature
London, Heinemann, 1935.
First UK edition. 8vo. Original black cloth, lettered in gilt. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6. With publisher's review slip loosely inserted.
A poetic novel from the pen of influential US poet, writer and educationalist Van Doren.
Detective Fiction
London, Geoffrey Bles, 1935.
'Popular Edition', second printing. 8vo. Original orange cloth. Dust-jacket, with price-sticker '5/-' on spine.
A decent, early edition of this the second appearance of armchair detective Lancelot Priestley, who featured in a long-running series of novels during the Golden Age of Detective Fiction.
Modern Literature
London, Heath Cranton, 1930.
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth, blocked in black. Dust-jacket.
Striking jacket artwork and a uncommon first edition, a collection of stories inspired by the sea.
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.
![James Corbett, Gallows Wait, first edition, [1947]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84584-300x300.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, Herbert Jenkins, [1947].
First edition. 8vo. Original dark orange cloth. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 8/6.
An attractive first edition by the productive James Corbett, from Jenkins' 'House of the Green Label' series.
![Caroline Francis, Director's Corridor, first edition, [1936]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84578-300x300.jpg)
Detective Fiction
London, Hutchinson, [1936].
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth lettered in black. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
One of only two murder-mysteries we could trace by this author, and published under Hutchinson's First Novel Library series (#46).
![Elliott O'Donnell, The Devil in the Pulpit, first edition, [1932]](https://lycanthiabooks.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/84575-300x300.jpg)
Horror & Gothic
London, Denis Archer, [1932].
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth gilt. Dust-jacket, correctly priced 7/6.
Sinisterly appealing jacket artwork graces this scarce first edition in jacket; classic horror stuff, with a clergyman possessed by the devil. Genuinely rare.
Detective Fiction
London, Michael Joseph, 1954.
First edition. 8vo. Original black boards. Dust-jacket, priced 10s6d.
The 27th title in Mitchell's long-running series featuring the psychoanalyst and amateur sleuth Mrs Bradley.