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Ashton Rare Books

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Ashcombe : The Story Of A Fifteen Year Lease : Signed By The Author

Ashcombe : The Story Of A Fifteen Year Lease : Signed By The Author

Beaton, Cecil The First UK printing published by Batsford, London in 1949. The BOOK is in Very Good+ or better condition. Light pushing at the spine ends with a little dulling to the gilt titling . Russet top-stain is unfaded. Light spotting to the text-block and a little heavier to the prelims which has encroached onto some page edges in places. Some offsetting to the end-papers. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ condition with some mild edge-wear at the spine ends. Some light rubbing to the spine folds with only light fading of the colouring and toning to the spine. The wraparound wrapper artwork by Rex Whistler looks very attractive in the removable Brodart archival cover. Numerous B/W photographic plates and B/W illustrations by Rex Whistler et al.The book has been inscribed on the front blank end-paper : 'To Bill Poole, with all good wishes, from Cecil Beaton'. Bill Poole may have been one of Beaton's gardeners but I have been unable to ascertain the exact identity of the recipient. 'Ashcombe' is the name of the country house in the Wiltshire Downs whose lease Cecil Beaton held for the fifteen years from 1930. In this book Mr. Beaton has wonderfully succeeded in recreating the atmosphere of those days'.'the weekends, when there would be visit from Rex Whistler, Edith Olivier, Augustus John, Tilly Bosch, Lord David Cecil, and so many others.' (wrapper blurb). A very scarce title to find signed. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $697
The Dresser : The Author's Personal Copy : Deluxe Edition - One Of Only Two Copies

The Dresser : The Author’s Personal Copy : Deluxe Edition – One Of Only Two Copies

Harwood, Ronald The First USA Printing published by Samuel French in 1982. One of only two special deluxe copies prepared by the publisher's printer and binder : One copy for the author and one for the publisher's special collection. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Full green morocco with four raised bands, gilt ruling and titling to the front board. Silver lettering to the spine. Green marbled end-papers. Some tiny specks of rubbing here and there. Upper edge gilt. Internally clean with just a hint of toning to the outer page edges. Text to the rectos only. Loosely inserted is a letter from M. Abbott Van Nostrand (the President of the Publisher's) to Ronald Harwood detailing this special production. The book has come from the Estate of the late Ronald Harwood. This special format was used for only the two copies with the trade edition being much smaller. 'The play was first presented on 6 March 1980 at the Royal Exchange, Manchester and transferred to the Queen's Theatre in London on 30 April 1980, with Freddie Jones as "Sir" and Tom Courtenay as Norman. The play was nominated for 'Best Play at the Society of West End Theatre Awards' (now known as the Laurence Olivier Awards) for 1980. In 2016, a production directed by Sean Foley and starring Ken Stott and Reece Shearsmith played theatres including the Duke of York's Theatre in London's West End. The play opened at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway on 9 November 1981 and ran for 200 performances, with Tom Courtenay reprising his performance as Norman and Paul Rogers as "Sir", union rules preventing Freddie Jones reprising the role. The play was nominated for the 1982 'Tony Award for Best Play, Best Actor' in a Play (Tom Courtenay) and the 'Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play' (Paul Rogers). The play was further adapted as a 1983 film of the same title, with a screenplay by Harwood. The film was directed by Peter Yates and produced by Yates with Ronald Harwood; and starred Albert Finney as "Sir" and Tom Courtenay as Norman, with Zena Walker as "Her Ladyship", Eileen Atkins as Madge and Edward Fox as Oxenby. Finney and Courtenay were both nominated for 'Academy Awards', 'BAFTA Awards and Golden Globe Awards' for their performances, with Courtenay winning the 'Golden Globe Award for Best Actor'. A television version for the BBC was shown in the UK on 31 October 2015. Richard Eyre directed Anthony Hopkins as "Sir" and Ian McKellen as Norman, with Emily Watson as "Her Ladyship", Sarah Lancashire as Madge and Edward Fox as Thornton. A radio adaptation for BBC Radio 4 was broadcast on 11 December 1993. It was adapted and directed by David Blount. Freddie Jones played Sir and Michael Palin played Norman '(Wiki). One of Harwood's highlight titles. A very handsome production. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $1,078
  • $1,078
It Can't Happen Here

It Can’t Happen Here

Lewis, Sinclair The First UK printing published by Jonathan Cape, London in 1935. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Light pushing at the spine ends. Some dustiness to the upper text-block. Internally clean with no inscriptions or bookplates. The blue titling remains bright. The WRAPPER is neatly price-clipped and is in Very Good++ condition. Light edge wear with a little loss at the corners, mild creasing and nicks to the edges in places. Remnants of an old tape repair to the lower front spine fold. Light dustiness to the edges. Mild toning to the spine. The red lettering to the spine is very slightly faded. The wrapper remains very presentable in the Brodart archival cover. 'An eerily prescient foreshadowing of current affairs' (The Guardian). 'Not only Lewis's most important book but one of the most important books ever produced in the United States'(The New Yorker). A vain, outlandish, anti-immigrant, fearmongering demagogue runs for President of the United States - and wins. Sinclair Lewis's chilling 1935 bestseller is the story of Buzz Windrip, 'Professional Common Man', who promises poor, angry voters that he will make America proud and prosperous once more, but takes the country down a far darker path. As the new regime slides into authoritarianism, newspaper editor Doremus Jessup can't believe it will last - but is he right? This cautionary tale of liberal complacency in the face of populist tyranny shows it really can happen here. One of the Nobel Laureate's most important titles and very scarce with the wrapper. I can see no records of this title having come to auction in the last 40 years. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $1,205
  • $1,205
Pele – The Autobiography : The Scarce Exclusive Limited Numbered Slipcased First Edition

Pele – The Autobiography : The Scarce Exclusive Limited Numbered Slipcased First Edition

Pele Related (Duarte, Orlando & Bellos, Alex) The First UK printing published by Simon & Schuster, London in 2006. This is the scarce first issue - The exclusive limited numbered slipcased first edition. This is number '641' of only 1000 copies issued. It is identical to the trade edition in all respects except that it has the extra numbered edition limitation page, is housed in the publisher's illustrated slipcase (with a printed price of £30 to the rear cover) and has the full printing details number line which ends in the number '1'. The subsequent Trade edition printing details number line commences with the number '2'. The BOOK is in near Fine condition and appears unread. Just a hint of toning to the text-block due to the quality of the paper stock used. Free from inscriptions. The WRAPPER is complete and is in near Fine condition. It is correctly priced at '£18.99'. The wrappers used were identical for both the first and second printings. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. The book is housed in the publisher's striking yellow slipcase with is in near Fine condition with just a few minor markings and superficial indentations in places. Profusely illustrated with B/W and colour photographs. Pele's definitive autobiography of for many 'the greatest the football player ever'. Now very elusive. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $539
Briggflatts : The First Issue

Briggflatts : The First Issue

The First UK printing published by The Fulcrum Press in 1966. Printed in a limited edition of only 500 copies. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Folio size. The book is bound in stiff card decorated covers. Decorated cover, title page and full page titles in red and black by Barry Hall and Nick Strausfield. A hint of light marking to the fawn covers. Clean internally. Light spotting to the text-block. Publisher’s loose small printing slip present. A very scarce title and the first I have handled. There has been a lot of resurgent interest in Bunting in the last year. BBC Radio 4 have run an acclaimed series of programmes on Briggflatts and Basil Bunting and there has been an equally fair amount of coverage in the newspaper press. The 'New Yorker' review of Basil Bunting (2016) : 'Though some reviewers were exasperated by its difficulty, “Briggflatts” was received by most as a masterpiece, hailed as the successor to Pound’s “Cantos” and Eliot’s “Four Quartets” by such critics as Thom Gunn and Cyril Connolly. Bunting went from obscurity to worldwide recognition, earning new admirers among the Beats (and the Beatles), invitations to read and record, critical celebrations, and the occasional attentions of documentary crews'. The Poetry Foundation : 'Described as “the last minor master of the modernist mode” by Donald Hall in the New York Times Book Review, Bunting achieved his greatest popularity during his lifetime in the mid-1960s as one of the leaders of the new British literary avant-garde. Bunting was also associated with the loosely affiliated American group of poets known as the Objectivists, and he corresponded frequently with poets such as William Carlos Williams, Louis Zukofsky, Lorine Niedecker, among many others. Ezra Pound, whom Bunting worked for in the late 1920s, was an early admirer of Bunting, and advocated on behalf of his work. But by most accounts it took the interest and encouragement of the younger generation of poets such as Pickard and Gael Turnbull to spur Bunting to his greatest work, produced in the 1960s. In analysing the bulk of his work, some critics find Bunting’s later poetry less reminiscent of his early influences; most consider 'Briggflatts' his best work.' Accompanied by a small booklet produced by the Basil Bunting Poetry archive in 1989, entitled ‘ Basil Bunting - A Note On Briggflatts’. This is a number ‘270' of 700 issued (of a total edition of 1000 copies). This is also in near Fine condition. A handsome production and a very sharp copy of Bunting's elusive masterpiece. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
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In Fair Verona : English Travellers in Italy and their accounts of the city from the Middle Ages to Modern ages : Vivian Ridler’s Copy

Privately printed for Hans Schmoller by the Rampant Lions Press, Cambridge in 1972. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. One of only 100 copies printed on handmade paper, with the the wood engraved vignette and 2 smaller engravings on the title page, all printed in brown by Reynolds Stone. Folio. Original vertical striped brown and cream wrappers over stiff card. Slightly faded black strip with gilt lettering on brown ground, untrimmed. A newspaper obituary clipping for Dr Giovanni Mardesteig pasted to the second front blank flyleaf. The book was printed for Giovanni Mardesteig's 80th birthday. The idea and the subject was initiated by Hans Schmoller and Nicolas Barker chose the extracts and wrote the linking texts. This is Vivian Ridler's copy with his bookplate to the front flyleaf. His name is among the 38 listed subscribers on page 3. Loosely inserted are a printed response in thanks for the book, signed by Mardesteig together with four type letters, referring to the book and cost involved in the production, two from Schmoller to Ridler and two from Ridler in response. An obituary clipping for Vivian Ridler is also present as is an invoice from Blackwells Bookshop for this book dated 11/9/09 with a retail price of £300. A very handsome production. Giovanna Mardesteig was the founder of the private press 'Officina Bodoni and the typeface Dante'. Collectible. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.