KELMAN, John
First edition, second issue. 8vo. White pictorial buckram, gilt lettering to the spine and top edge gilt. Inscribed by the author to the half title. A very good copy, joints cracked, embossed with school crest to rear board. Eighty six plates, comprised of both reproductions of watercolours by Margaret Thomas and photographs by the author and Dr. Mackenzie. Colour plates have captioned tissue guards. At the rear of the volume is a folding map. The text for this book "arose out of a journey memorable for its delightfulness, both of incidents and companions. Much of the text and illustration is focused on Palmyra, but includes vivid descriptions and paintings of Beirut, Baalbek and Damascus. "One of 3000 copies, originally published at a price of 20/-.
RACKHAM, Arthur; CARROLL, Lewis
First Rackham edition. Edition de Luxe, one of 1100 copies printed on handmade paper. Large 4to. Publisher's full white buckram, with gilt titles and vignettes. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Housed in publisher's original card slipcase. A very good copy, spine rather dusty. Pictorial endpapers. Thirteen colour plates mounted onto brown art paper and protected by captioned tissue guards. In addition there are lots of charming line drawings. The story of Alice had a special resonance with Rackham, as he wrote, "My experiences of the book are absolutely delightful. it was read aloud to us (3 about the same age, 11, 10, 9) sat by my father & and at once became a household word. It is possible that my father's appreciation of it helped us children too. It was read with full dramatic effect, the songs sung and so forth". Certainly Rackham's Alice is beautifully drawn, fresh faced and rosy cheeked, her sense of wonder clearly apparent. Carroll's fantasy world is perfectly suited to Rackham's humour and vivid imagination, making this a most appealing interpretation of Alice.
STEWART, Hugh; HAENEN, F. de
First edition, later issue. 8vo. Maroon cloth, with gilt lettering and pink ruled designs to the spine and upper cover. A good only copy, boards dusty and marked. Gift inscription to the front endpaper. Sixteen colour plates and 16 black and white plates by F. de Haenen, and a folded sketch map at the rear. One of 2000 copies, originally published at 7s 6d. Chapters include: Central Russia, The North, The Urals, The Volga and The Crimea. Inman 177
LOOS, Anita
First edition. 8vo. Original red cloth, spine and upper cover lettered in gilt, in the original pictorial dustwrapper. Author's presentation copy, inscribed by Loos to the front free endpaper to David Tomlinson, "I am happy to have this copy of my book with David Tomlinson with all best wishes Anita Loos". A near fine copy in a very good dustwrapper with a chip to the top edge of the rear panel and wear to the corners, with a short closed tear neatly repaired and some dampstaining around the spine. Thirty-one illustrations by Ralph Barton. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes was an instant success, selling out the full run of the first edition on the day of its release in November 1925, and becoming the second best-selling book of 1926 in the USA according to Publisher's Weekly, outselling F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby", also published in 1925. Praised by authors including James Joyce, William Faulkner and Edith Wharton, the latter dubbing it "the great American novel", it went on to run through 85 editions, be translated into 14 languages, and be adapted into the 1953 Marilyn Monroe film of the same name.
FORTNUM, Peggy [BOND, Michael]
Original ink on paper drawing depicting Paddington Bear, in a paper hat, holding a balloon, drawn for (but not used in) Paddington on Top. 144 x 97mm (image size). Signed with initials. Accompanied by a letter from the artist detailing the provenance of the drawing. Excellent condition. In the letter which accompanied this drawing, dated 4 December 1975 Fortnum writes, "I have had to do another drawing of Paddington to replace one that damaged. Several try-outs will not be used, and I enclose one of these, hoping that it is sufficiently Paddingtonish for you to like it." Peggy Fortnum was commissioned to produce illustrations for the first Paddington book in 1958 and continued to illustrate all of the original series of eleven books until 1979. Her deft line drawings, now synonymous with Paddington, were described by the TLS as, "exquisite in its loose and nervous rhythm; she can create movement with what, out of context, would be a meaningless squiggle; she can suggest by a few doodles a storm-clouded sky or the hidden recesses of a candlelit room." Original drawings of Paddington are very seldom seen in commerce. LITERATURE: Paddington on Top (Collins, 1974). Unused, but likely to be drawn as an alternative for the heading for Chapter 4: A Birthday Treat.
First edition. Original cream printed wrappers. Inscribed by the author on the first page, "For Fred, to make up for the hardship + discomfort he had to suffer at Cap Ferrat from April fool's Day to St Valentines Day, 1950. W. Somerset Maugham" A near fine copy with a little foxing to the front wrapper. Housed in a card chemise and cloth slipcase. Maugham's first full length play and rarest work as a first edition, published in an edition of only 150 copies, printed for Maugham in advance of the Fortnightly Review, where it was to appear as a supplement, to sell as a momento on the opening night. In the introduction to Fred Bason's bibliography Maugham recalls the even but adds, "I doubt whether fifty copies were sold, and I suppose the rest have long been pulped.". However, Toole Stott in his Bibliography opines, on the basis of correspondence between Maugham and Bason that Maugham retain at least some copies, "It would appear that Fred Bason sold six of them for him on commission". This copy, inscribed long after publication by Maugham for Bason, might have been one of those copies or another given to Bason for his trouble. Toole Stott A6a
First edition. Original blue buckram grained cloth, top edge speckled red, others uncut, lettered in gilt to spine, in buff dustwrapper printed in red. A very good copy indeed with a couple of splashes to the covers in a very good dustwrapper indeed, which is price clipped and just shows a little wear to the spine ends. The author first novel, and one of the classic coming of age texts. "Jill, written at the age of twenty-one and a work of remarkable assurance, makes it clear that his novelistic gifts, had he chosen to develop them, were potentially as impressive as his abilities as a poet. This is a beautifully written and observed novel, firm in its characterization and delicate in its evocation of autumnal Oxford in 1940." (New York Times, 1964) According to Bloomfield, it was the practice of the Fortune Press to bind up small quantities of any one title at a time using binding cloths which had been acquired cheaply. We believe this binding with uncut page edges so measuring slightly taller than others is one of the earliest variants. A copy inscribed to Bruce Montgomery and dated in the year of publication was in such a binding. The dustwrapper is slightly shorter than the book, but taller than the dustwrappers issued with the (presumably later) bindings in black cloth, also appears to be in an early state. However, all dustwrappers issued with the first printing of this book are notoriously fragile and very seldom survive, particularly so well preserved.