The Life of Thomas More
ACKROYD, Peter (born 1949) [Biography] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp. ix; [2]; 434; [1]. INSCRIBED by the author in black ink to title page. With numerous colour, as well as black and white plates. Publisher's black cloth lettered in gilt to spine. With the pictorial dust-jacket by Hans Holbein priced at £20 to front-flap. Light toning to edges of textblock, bumping to corners, rolling to spine. Very good. The Observer suggests that Ackroyd is such an exceptional biographer due to his 'range and beauty of his knowledge'. In this books, Ackroyd explores More in both private and public settings.- $95
- $95
The Churchill Factor. How One Man Made History
JOHNSON, Boris (born 1964) [Military History] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp. [x]; 408. Signed by the author in black ink to half title page. Includes three sections each 6 pages long of black and white photographs. Publisher's black cloth, gilt titles to spine. With the photographic dust-jacket designed by Yousuf Karsh priced at £25 to front flap. Toning to edges of textblock, rolling to spine, light scuffing to dust-jacket. Very good. Taking on the myths and misconceptions of Churchill's life, Johnson explores Churchill's story on the fiftieth anniversary of his death. The blurb states that this 'is a book to be enjoyed not only by anyone interested in history: it is essential reading for anyone who wants to know what makes a great leader'.- $222
- $222
Children in Exile
FENTON, James (born 1949) [Poetry] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp. 24. Signed by the author in black ink to title page. Publisher's green quarter cloth lettered in gilt to spine, with blue speckled boards. Light toning to edges of textblock, toning to edges of boards, bumping to spine. Very good. Fenton was a poet, essayist and journalist. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford.- $61
- $61
Sharpe’s Escape. Richard Sharpe and the Bussaco Campaign, 1810
CORNWELL, Bernard (born 1944) [Historical fiction] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp.[10] 351 [7]. SIGNED by the author in blue ink to title page. Publisher's black cloth with gilt titles to spine, and blue endpapers. With the dust-jacket reproducing a painting by James Prinsep Beadle, priced at £17.99. A fine, as-new copy, dark-stored by ourselves since publication. Another instalment in the world-renowned Sharpe series, chronicling the rise of Richard Sharpe, who starts out as a Private in His Majesty's Army, and ends up as a Colonel. Reunited with Sgt Patrick Harper, Capt. Sharpe is embroiled in the British retreat through Portugal in 1810 from the defence of the ridge at Bussaco to the Lines of Torres Vedras, where the French offensive is successfully halted.- $70
- $70
The Years Between
KIPLING, Rudyard (1865-1936) [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19 x 13cm), pp. xii; [2]; 29; [1]. Publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt to spine, gilt top edge of textblock, untrimmed edges. Ex-libris stamp front-paste down, toning to edges of textblock, wearing of gilt along top edge of textblock, sunning to spine, bumping to spine and corners. Very good. Rudyard Kipling was a poet, novelist, short story writer, and journalist. In 1907, he won the Nobel Prize for Literature. This poetry collection was built between the end of the Boer War and the aftermath of World War I.- $51
- $51
Letters from Spain
CAPEK, Karel (1890-1938), [translated by Paul Selver] [Modern Literature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (19.2 x 13cm), pp. 192. Numerous small in-text illustrations throughout. Publisher's red cloth lettered in gilt to spine. Spotting to leaves, spotting and toning to edges of textblock, sunning to spine and boards. Very good. Karel Capek was a Czech writer, playwright and critic. He was best known for his science fiction, but in this book, he details his travels in Spain. His thoughts are accompanied by small black and white sketches throughout.- $51
- $51
The Complete Poetical Works of William Cowper. Including his Translation of Homer
COWPER, William (1731-1800), [CARY, Rev. Henry Francis, editor] [Poetry] FINELY-BOUND COPY. Octavo (25 x 17cm), pp.xxiv; 516; [2]. With eighteen steel engravings, including a frontispiece, after William Harvey. Red full morocco. Tooling in both blind and gilt to boards. Gilt titles, further gilt decoration, and raised bands to spine. Turn-ins gilt ruled. Bevelled edges. Serpentine marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Bound by John Ramage (1836-1911). Interior bright and clean, slight spotting here and there. Ownership inscription in black ink to preliminary leaf dating to 1876. Spotting to fore edge. Rubbing and wear to spine, joints, and binding extremities. Very good indeed. Includes a biographical sketch of Cowper's life written by priest and scholar H.F. Cary. Also includes Cowper's translation of Homer, parts of which are a direct challenge to Alexander Pope's earlier translations.- $159
- $159
The Gardener’s Son. A Screenplay
MCCARTHY, Cormac (born 1933) [DRAMA] FIRST US EDITION. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp. X; 93; [1]. Publisher's orange cloth, silver label to spine. With the pictorial dust-jacket designed by Michael Ian Kaye priced at $22.00 to front flap. Spotting to edges of textblock but internally clean, slight rolling to spine, slight scuffing to edges of dust-jacked. Very good. The Gardener's Son received two Emmy Award nominations, and it was shown at both the Edinburgh and Berlin Film Festivals. The story follows two generations of mill owners, and their eventual descent into violence.- $44
- $44
The Tale of the Little Twin Dragons
PRAEGER, Sophia Rosamond (1867-1954) [Children's] FIRST EDITION. Oblong octavo (22 x 29cm), unpaginated. With numerous colour and line illustrations throughout, all by Praeger. Pictorial paper over boards, red cloth to spine. Interior clean and lightly toned, a couple marks in blue ink to one leaf. Endpapers somewhat foxed. Archival repairs to both front and rear flyleaves, small tear to rear flyleaf. Boards rubbed and marked. Fraying to cloth spine. Wear and chipping to binding extremities. Good. A delightful children's book by Irish artist, writer, and sculptor Sophia Rosamond Praeger. The story follows two dragon siblings on a quest to break the curse of a charmed baby.- $159
- $159
The Tailor of Panama
LE CARRÉ, John [pseudonym of CORNWELL, David John Moore] (1931-2020) [Crime] SIGNED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (24 x 16cm), pp. 410; [2]. Pictorial endpapers, signed by the author in black ink to title page. Publisher's grey quarter cloth lettered in gilt to spine, with purple cloth over boards, pictorial dust-jacket with back cover portrait of Le Carré taken by The Douglas Brothers, priced at £16.99 to front flap. Light toning to pages, very slight fraying to edges of dust-jacket. Near fine. This novel is set in contemporary Panama, and is a thrilling story about the tailor Harry Pendel.- $222
- $222
Marino Faliero. Doge of Venice, An Historical Tragedy. In Five Acts. With Notes
BYRON, [Lord] George Gordon (1788-1824) [Tragedy] FIRST PARIS EDITION. Octavo (18 x 11cm), pp.[4]; 271; [1]. Brown half calf, Shell marbled paper over boards. Grey label with gilt titles, gilt bands, and blind-tooled designs to spine. Edges speckled black. Blue endpapers. Original bookmarking ribbon loosely inserted. Interior bright, though moderately spotted and foxed throughout. Endpapers toned with some discolouration. Bookplate to front paste-down, faint pencil marks to rear paste-down. Top edge toned. Some rubbing to marbled boards, light soiling to calf. Minor wear to joints and binding extremities. Very good. After visiting the Palazzo Ducale and glimpsing the shrouded portrait of the disgraced former doge Marino Faliero, Byron conceived this drama presenting the story behind his failed coup d'etat in 1355. The ploy is widely thought to have begun when the patrician youth Michele Steno carved an insult about Faliero's wife into the doge's throne.- $121
- $121
50 Years of Ghost Stories
[BLACKWOOD, Algernon, HUNT, Violet, JAMES, M.R., LE FANU, J.S., STOKER, Bram, WHARTON, Edith, and others] [Strange tales] FIRST EDITION THUS. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp. 702; [2]. Publisher's green cloth lettered in black to spine with a black illustration on front-board. Shaken in case, toning to edges of textblock, rolling to spine, bumping to edges and corners, missing dust-jacket. Good. A comprehensive collection of twenty-nine eerie stories from twenty-four leading authors.- $44
- $44
Songs of Joy and Others
DAVIES, W.H. (1871-1940) [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (18 x 12cm), pp. 94; [2], publisher's advertisements. Publisher's green cloth lettered in gilt to front board and spine, untrimmed edges, gilt to top edge of textblock. Some light spotting to pages, small pencil ticks next to some poem's titles, toning to edges of textblock, wearing to gilt on top edge of textblock, bumping and fading to spine and edges. Very good. Davies was a Welsh poet, and eventually he settled in London where he devoted his time to writing poetry. He also spent six years in America where he train-hopped across the country.- $48
- $48
Whaley: The Story of HMS Excellent 1830-1980
WELLS, John G. [Military History] INSCRIBED FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 16cm), pp. [12]; 247; [3]. With 44 illustrations including a frontispiece. INSCRIBED in blue and black ink by the author to flyleaf. Publisher's blue cloth, lettered in gilt to spine. Previous signs of ownership in black ink to inside of front board, toning to edges of textblock, well thumbed, rolling to spine and bumping to edges, missing dust-jacket. Very good. This books is about HMS Excellent, but it more widely explores naval traditions and history. Loosely inserted is an informative typewritten note about the 'Properties, Office, and Duties of a Gunner'.- $36
- $36
Phänomenologie des Geistes
HEGEL, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich (1770-1831), [SCHULZE, D. Johann, editor] [Philosophy] VINTAGE COPY, volume two of the complete works. Octavo (24 x 15cm), pp.XII; 612. Re-bound with black cloth, gilt titles to spine. Deckled edges. Interior moderately foxed, toning and spotting to margins. Small ownership inscription in black ink to flyleaf dating to 1934. Hinges re-enforced with cloth. Edges toned. Boards rubbed and marked, spine slightly toned. Binding extremities gently bumped. Very good. An early copy of Hegel's most widely debated work in the original German.- $57
- $57
Tales From Shakespeare. With Twelve Illustrations in Permanent Photography from the Boydell Gallery
LAMB, Charles (1775-1834) and Mary (1764-1847) [Shakespeare] FINE PRIZE BINDING. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[10]; 386; [2]. With twelve photogravure illustrations including a frontispiece. Red full calf to boards, double-ruled in gilt. Green label with gilt titles, gilt tooling, and raised bands to spine. Gilt dentelle to board edges and turn ins. Marbled endpapers. All edges gilt. Rebound by Bickers. Interior bright and clean, the odd mark here and there. Prize inscription in black ink to preliminary leaf, dated to 1888. Boards slightly scuffed, spine a tad sunned. Some wear to joints and extremities, corners gently bumped. Very good. Charles and Mary Lamb's famous prose re-tellings of Shakespeare, intended for the enjoyment of children. This edition features illustrations from the Boydell project, an artistic venture which capitalised on the mid-18th century Shakespeare revival in England.- $121
- $121
Poems 1937-1942
GASCOYNE, David (1916-2001), [SUTHERLAND, Graham, illustrator] [Poetry] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (22 x 17cm), pp. [x]; 62. Five illustrated plates by Graham Sutherland, loosely inserted are newspaper reviews of the book. Publisher's red quarter cloth lettered in gilt to spine, with illustrated boards, illustrative dust-jacket designed by Graham Sutherland, printed price of 8s. 6d. to front flap. Toning and spotting to edges of textblock, bumping to spine and edges, 4cm tear to front of dust-jacket, wearing to edges of dust-jacket. Very good. This poetry collection was previously owned by Hugh de Poix (1886 - 1966), the Norfolk based artist.- $121
- $121
The Magic Mountain
MANN, Thomas (1875-1955), [LOWE-PORTER, H.T., translator] [Modern German Literature] FIRST SINGLE-VOLUME EDITION IN ENGLISH. Octavo (20 x 14cm), pp.xii; 900. Publisher's green cloth with gilt titles to spine. Heavy pencil inscription to fly-leaf, rubbed out, but leaving indentation. Toning to edges and endpapers. Moderate wear to cloth; spine heavily toned. Good. An important novel, first published in German in two volumes in 1924, and first published in this English translation in two volumes in 1927.- $57
- $57
Three Lives. Stories of the Good Anna, Melanctha, and the Gentle Lena
STEIN, Gertrude (1874-1946) [Modern literature] VINTAGE COPY. Octavo (22 x 15cm), pp.[4]; 279; [5]. Publisher's blue paper over boards, black titles to upper and spine. Top edge blue, the rest untrimmed. Interior bright and clean, faintly marked here and there. Endpapers toned, light pencil inscription to flyleaf. Edges toned. Binding toned, especially spine. Light bumping to extremities, some tearing to headcap. Very good. Stein's first published and thus critically acclaimed literary work, released initially in 1909 by The Grafton Press. Details the lives of three different working-class women living in the fictional town of Bridgepoint.- $48
- $48
The Way and its Power
WALEY, Arthur (1889-1966) [Modern literature] FOURTH IMPRESSION. Octavo (21 x 14cm), pp. 262; [2]. Publisher's black cloth with teal label and gilt lettering to spine, typographic dust-jacket. Toning and spotting to edges of textblock, significant markings to front board, bumping to spine and corners, some tearing to dust-jacket spine, price clipped. Very good. This is an in depth analysis of the Tao Te Ching Chinese philosophy.- $95
- $95
A Rationale Upon the Book of Common Prayer of the Church of England
SPARROW, Anthony (1612-1685) [Religion] FIRST EDITION, scarce. Duodecimo (15 x 9cm), pp.[12]; 168; [12]. With the engraved frontispiece. Errata to rear. Brown full calf. Boards double ruled, seven rulings in blind to spine. Edges speckled red. Interior clean though toned with very minimal spotting and marking, as expected. Binding visible through gutter. Woodworm damage up to around page 46, minor interference to lower text. Ownership inscription in black ink to flyleaf. Archival glue marks to both paste-downs. Edges toned. Soiling and marking to boards. Faint ink imprint to upper. Wear to spine and extremities. Very good. An Anglican priest, Sparrow was ejected from the rectory of Hawkedon in 1647 for using Thomas Cranmer's Book of Common Prayer, vehemently outlawed during the Interregnum. In 1655, after a proclamation affirming the continued prohibition of the book, Sparrow anonymously published this controversial essay staunchly defending it.- $2,222
- $2,222
Pictures and Problems From London Police Courts
HOLMES, Thomas [Law/Legal memoir] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 15cm), pp.viii; 329; [3]; 32. With the photogravure frontispiece. Advertisements to rear. Publisher's red cloth, gilt titles to spine. Blind double rulings to boards. Fore edge untrimmed. Interior bright and clean. Gutter visible in a few areas, although binding still stable. Leaves unopened. Edges toned. White marking to upper board. Toning to spine. Some minor bumping to cloth extremities. Very good.- $57
- $57
The Landscape Annual for 1832
ROSCOE, Thomas (1791-1871) [Science and nature] FIRST EDITION. Octavo (21 x 13cm), pp.[viii]; ii; 2; 286; [6]. Illustrated frontispiece, engraved titles, 24 steel plates. Publisher's green cloth lettered in gilt to spine, gilt textblock edges. Endpapers a little shaken, wearing to gilt edges, bumping to spine and corners, some leather flaking on spine. Very good. Thomas Roscoe was an English author and translator.- $95
- $95
Oxygen
MILLER, Andrew (born 1961) [Modern Fiction] SIGNED FIRST EDITION, second impression. Octavo (23 x 15cm), pp. [6]; 323; [7]. SIGNED by the author in blue ink to title page. Pictorial endpapers. Publisher's black cloth lettered in silver to spine, photographic dust-jacket taken by Stone, priced at £14.99 to front flap. Slight bumping to top of spine. Fine. Set in the summer of 1997, Alec Valentine returns to his childhood home in the West Country to care for his dying mother; this only makes him feel more inadequate. Those that surround Alec - from the author he is translating, to his brother in San Francisco - are all suffering as well despite their outward appearance. This thought-provoking book centres its themes around sex, death, love, and mortality.- $48
- $48