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Das Tagebuch ( Anne Frank’s Diary ) : First German Edition

Frank, Anne The First German printing published by Verlag Lambert Schneider, Heidelberg in 1950. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Very slight pushing to the spine ends. Light toning to the text-block and page edges. The printed paper label to the spine is complete and clean. Free from inscriptions. Complete with 2 B/W plates and one plan. The WRAPPER is complete and is in near Fine condition. Apart from some light toning to the spine and the cover edges and a few mild age rated markings, it is in exceptional condition. The WRAPPER is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Marie Baum provides a 4 page introduction. 'Baum was a German politician of the German Democratic Party (DDP) and social activist. She was one of the first female members of the Weimar National Assembly. She was a pioneer within German welfare and workers security' (Wiki). 'The book was first published in Holland in 1947, just over five years after Anne's thirteenth birthday, the day she was given her diary. The Dutch edition receives positive reviews. It says, among other things: 'a war document of aptly detailed' or 'parents and educators are strongly advised to read this diary.' The first edition (3,036 copies) was followed in December 1947 by the second (6,830) and in February 1948 by the third edition (10,500 copies). The diary's success in the Netherlands gave Anne's father, Otto Frank the courage to look for publication opportunities in other countries' (Anne Frank archive). The German and French editions were first published in 1950, two years before the book was first published in English. A very sharp copy and a scarce survivor with JSIC listing only 4 institutions holding copies. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $2,235
  • $2,235
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Temples of Power : With the Scarce Wrapper

Stamp, Gavin & Boyd Harte, Glynn (Illus.) The sole UK printing published by Cygnet Press, UK in 1979. One of 250 copies (this unnumbered), signed by both the author and artist to the limitation page. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Oblong folio, 30.5 x 44 cm. Original quarter blue cloth over patterned paper covered board, with a repeat pattern of Battersea Power Station in red. Free from inscriptions. 16 colour lithographs by Glynn Boyd Harte, printed at The Curwen Studio on Van Gelder all-rag, mould-made paper. Type set in Monotype Walbaum. The original WRAPPER depicting a panoramic view towards Battersea Power Station is in Very Good++ condition. It is unclear as to whether all copies were issued with a wrapper. The wrapper is lightly chipped and rubbed at the edges with a couple of marks. A few nicks with some small closed tears but generally remains a very good copy. The wrapper is protected in a removable archival cover. John Betjeman writes of Boyd Harte in his foreword, 'electricity has inspired him with its cleanness and invisibility'. Boyd Harte’s lithographs of London power stations and former generating, lighting and sub-stations are arresting in their simple, colourful strength. At the time of publication 'Temples of Power' sparked a great interest in power stations amongst historians and is regarded by many to be directly responsible for the re-modelling of Bankside Power Station as Tate Modern. A handsome production and very scarce to find with the very elusive wrapper in collectible condition. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $2,235
  • $2,235
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The Immortal Hour

Sharp, William (McLeod, Fiona) & Sleigh, Bernard (Illus.) The First UK printing of this illustrated edition published by City of Birmingham School of Printing, College of Arts and Crafts, Birmingham, UK in 1939. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. A hint of pushing at the spine ends otherwise the decorated covers are in exceptional condition. Internally clean. The printed paper label to the front cover is in fine condition. Profusely illustrated with B/W illustrations by Bernard Sleigh (1 full page). One full page colour illustration and a colour illustration to the title page. The book was printed under the direction of Leonard Jay at the Birmingham School of Printing. This book has a plain unprinted paper wrapper but I am unclear as to whether the book was originally issued with such but it has protected the book very well. The title 'The Immortal Hour' has been penned to the spine of the paper wrapper. ''The Immortal Hour' is a 1899 play by Scottish playwright Fiona Macleod, a pseudonym of writer William Sharp, loosely based on the Irish myth 'The Wooing of Etain'. It was first published complete in the November 1900 issue of The Fortnightly Review and posthumously published in book form in 1907 (US) and 1908 (UK)' (Wiki). 'William Sharp (1855 – 1905) was a Scottish writer, of poetry and literary biography in particular, who from 1893 wrote also as Fiona Macleod, a pseudonym kept almost secret during his lifetime. He was also an editor of the poetry of Ossian, Walter Scott, Matthew Arnold, Algernon Charles Swinburne and Eugene Lee-Hamilton' (Wiki). Leonard Jay was a master printer-craftsman and the first head of the Birmingham school of Printing from 1925-1953. 'Bernard Sleigh was an English mural painter, stained-glass artist, illustrator and wood engraver, best known for 'An Ancient Mappe of Fairyland, Newly Discovered and Set Forth', which depicts numerous characters from legends and fairytales. He was a member of the Royal Birmingham Society of Artists between 1923 and 1928. As a young man, Sleigh was greatly inspired by the work of George MacDonald and William Morris' (Wiki). A very handsome production in exceptional condition. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
  • $703
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I Am Your Brother : Rex Whistler Wrapper Artwork

The First UK printing published by Collins, London in 1935. The BOOK is in Very Good++ condition. Some pushing to the spine ends. Slight dulling of the gilt titling to the spine with a little dustiness to the text-block. Mild offsetting to the blank end-papers. Attractive bookplate of John Haddon Crowd Holman Sutcliffe to the front pastedown. Underneath the bookplate, there is a small penned inscription : 'Lincoln 1967 2/6'. Sutcliffe was an 'affable and bohemian craftsman-decorator who transformed country houses and had a Farrow & Ball paint named after him' (Times obit. 21/9/22)). The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good+ condition. To the verso, there is some tape reinforcement to the upper and lower edges. A small chip to the lower front panel. Light toning and fading to the spine. Some age related markings and light scuffing to the rear panel in places. The Rex Whistler wrapper artwork remains very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. 'G. S. Marlowe was the pseudonym of Gabriel Beer-Hofmann, about whom not much is known. He was born in 1901, the son of Viennese Jews, and was active in London in the 1920s and ’30s as a theatre director, screenwriter, and author. Records indicate he also travelled to America at least three times between 1926 and 1934, and he may have been involved in screenwriting in Hollywood. In 1934, he married Sybil Ryall at Westminster St. Margaret in London, and in 1939 he legally changed his name to Gabriel Sebastian Marlowe. His sole literary success was 'I Am Your Brother' (1935), which garnered positive (if bemused) critical reviews and attracted a cult following. According to his friend Julian Maclaren-Ross, Marlowe left England for Norway in 1940, and it was long presumed that he perished there during the Second World War, a rumour he apparently never bothered to contradict. However, more recent evidence indicates that he lived the remainder of his life quietly in England and died in 1971 at St. Albans, Herefordshire' (Valancourt Books). A very scarce title. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
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Votes for Catharine Susan and Me

The sole UK printing published by Castell Brothers Ltd, London in 1910. 16mo. 23pp. The BOOK is in Very Good+ or better condition. Original illustrated cream wrappers. With plain card covers underneath. Decorated in green and grey with a striking image in the centre of two dutch dolls holding a 'votes for me' banner, both tooled up with a large bag of stones over their shoulders. There is some toning and age related markings to the outer illustrated wrappers. A little loss to the outer edges of the wrappers in places. There is some mild spotting to the inside card covers and prelims. Free from inscriptions. Light toning to the page edges. A political children's story about two dutch dolls who are recruited to join the suffragettes. Part of a series of winsome adventures of a group of dutch wooden peg dolls, which were a nursery staple of the period. This title is very scarce and the most sought after, with currently only six copies in institutions (JSIC) and only one other presently available in commerce. 'Ainslee might have been hoping to sway her young (and older) readers with regard to which way they would perceive the cause for obtaining the vote for women. Her story can be seen as anti-suffrage as she warns its reader of the perils of misbehaving. Its protagonists ultimately in the end decide it's best to go home - after being arrested, imprisoned and going on a hunger strike'. Illustrated in the 'Catalogue of the Cotsen Children's Library' (No. 170). A very scarce survivor of a delightful but fragile production. Protected in a loose Mylar archival folder. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
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Julian Bell Essays, Poems And Letters : Contributions by J.M. Keynes, E.M. Forster, C. Day Lewis et al.

The First UK printing published by The Hogarth Press, London in 1938. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Light pushing at the spine tips. The gilt titling remains bright. Mild bumping at the corners. Light toning to the text-block. Free from inscriptions. The fragile WRAPPER is in Very Good+ condition. Some loss at the spine ends and corners but not involving any lettering. A 3cm closed tear to the front upper spine. A 7cm diagonal closed tear to the front panel with very slight associated rubbing. A smaller closed tear to the lower front edge. Some nicks, light creasing and age related markings. The front panel wrapper reproduces the frontis portrait of Julian Bell by Helena Thornhill. The wrapper presents well in the removable Brodart archival cover. Only 1200 copies were issued, of which 600 were later pulped (Woolmer 426). Julian Bell was a poet. He was the son of Clive and Vanessa Bell. In 1937, Bell became increasingly supportive of the socialist and anti-fascist movements and decided to enlist in the Spanish Civil War. He was killed in 1937 while serving as an ambulance driver in Spain. The book is edited by Julian's brother Quentin and has a foreword by J.M. Keynes with contributions from David Garnett, Charles Mauron, C. Day Lewis and E.M. Forster. 6 B/W plates as issued. A very scarce title. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
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A Trick Of The Light : Signed By The Author

The First UK printing published by The Bodley Head, London in 1984. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Publisher's original black cloth with silver lettering to the spine. The binding remains tight and square, minimally bumped to the top corners. The book has been signed (without dedication) in black ink by the author to the title page. There is a 3 cm diagonal line in black ink at the top of page 161 (also visible for a couple of millimetres at the top of page 163); the ink matches that of the author's signature, so may well have been an accident during the signing session (the book's otherwise near immaculate state would support this theory). The WRAPPER is complete and is in near Fine condition. The top outer right corner is a little rubbed, with some silver visible beneath the black and a tiny closed tear to the paper at the rear at the same spot. There are a few very light scratches visible to the silver portion of the front panel. The wrapper is notorious for being easily rubbed and damaged. This wrapper is in exceptional condition and is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. This title was never reprinted or issued in a paperback format. In the author's own words : 'There are some okay things in it. The action scenes and some of the descriptions of London. But it's so far from what I went on to write that I think it was a distraction, a kind of throat-clearing'. A very attractive copy of the author's debut novel which is extremely scarce to find as a signed title in such collectible condition. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.
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Mrs. Dalloway : The Uniform Edition With The Publisher’s Flyer For The Uniform Edition

The First UK printing of the 'Uniform Edition' of this title published by the Hogarth Press, London in 1929. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Original publisher's green cloth with gilt titling to the spine. Light fading to the edges and a small bump to the upper front edge. The book has a slight lean. Light spotting to the text-block which has only very slightly encroached onto the page edges in a few places. Free from inscriptions. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ or better condition. Fading of the blue colouring to the spine and edges. A few nicks and tiny losses at the corners and spine ends. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. Loosely inserted is the 4 page publisher's FLYER (nd but 1929) for the first four titles issued in the 'New Uniform edition'. 'Mrs. Dalloway' being the third title issued in the series. The flyer has 4 reviews for 'Mrs. Dalloway', including Hugh Walpole's in 'The Listener'. The flyer is in near Fine condition. 'Mrs. Dalloway' was 'first published in May 1925 (2000 copies printed) and then reprinted in September 1925 (1000 copies printed). Further impressions were issued as part of 'The Uniform Edition' (Woolmer 82). One of Virginia Woolf's key titles and very scarce to find with such attributes. The 'Uniform Edition' is surprisingly scarce in dust jacket. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.