Darwin, Bernard.
British Clubs.
Collins, London: 1947
- $15
One of the "Britain in Pictures" series. "With 8 plates in colour and 20 illustrations in black & white." Pictorial (a club) light blue and white covers a bit splayed. Inner half of endpapers age-toned; contents nice and clean. Matching decorative dust jacket a bit rubbed at spine ends and corners, and dusty at edges. A near fine copy. This discussion of social clubs of all kinds, with a section on "Games and Conviviality" discussing clubs formed around all sorts of sporting activities, including rugby, cricket, tennis and golf - the latter, as expected from Darwin, playing a special part.
More from Wilfrid M. de Freitas
A Sketch of the Career of Richard F. Burton.
Richards, Alfred Bates, Wilson, Andrew & Baddeley, St. Clair. âCollected from âMen of Evidenceâ; From Sir Richard and Lady Burtonâs own Works; From the Press; From Personal Knowledge, and Various Other Reliable Sources.â Original black card covers, with stylized âRichard F. Burtonâ across front and back. Original cloth spine now somewhat distressed, covers nearly detached and chipped at edges; front cover cracked along length. Original Woodbury-Print photographic frontispiece of Burton also cracked along length. A pretty rough copy of one of the scarcer items of Burtoniana , with its unusual original photograph of Burton.- $375
- $375
Tales from The Gullistan or Rose-Garden of the Sheikh Sa’di of Shirâz.
Saâdi [Rehatsek, Edward, trans.]. "Translated by Sir Richard Burton* and illustrated by John Kettelwell" with nine b/w plates. Publisher's black cloth, lettered in gilt on spine; small tear, affecting "TA" of title, repaired; corners bumped; light rubbing resulting in minor loss at extremities. Contents clean and tight. Near fine. NB. * Translation, here attributed to Burton, is actually by his friend Rehatsek (see Penzer p. 162); Burton is sometimes cited as its editor. Sa'di (Sheikh Muslih-uddin Sa'di Shirazi), a 13th century Persian poet, wrote the Gulistan ca.1259. It is a collection of poetry and prose meant to both entertain and enlighten its readers on life, morals and truth. "The great beauty of his style is its elegant simplicity" (cf. p. vii); Rehatsek's English translation, more than any other, faithfully reflects the original.- $50
- $50
The True Life of Capt. Sir Richard F. Burton .
Stisted, Georgiana M. "Written by his niece . with the authority and approval of the Burton family"; portrait frontispiece. Publisher's coarser light blue cloth, ¼" shorter and narrower than some copies, due to closer trimming of the top margin of the text block (this matches Penzer's 7½" height - some copies measure 7¾"; priority is not known); gilt lettering and Arabic device decoration on spine. Cloth somewhat soiled on spine, dulling the titling, and a bit rubbed at extremities; front free endpapers toned, contents otherwise clean and tight. A near fine copy of this biography written to counter Lady Burton's, of which the Burton family did not approve. (Penzer, p.311).- $50
- $50
The BehÄristÄn (Abode of Spring).
JÄmi [Rehatsek, Edward, trans.]. âPrinted by the Kama Shastra Society for Private Subscribers only." Original full creamy vellum, lettered in gilt on spine. NB. Translation, usually attributed to Burton, is actually by his friend Rehatsek (see Penzer p. 162). JÄmi (Nur ad-DÄ«n Abd ar-RahmÄn JÄmi) was a 15th century Persian mystic, scholar and poet; he wrote the BehÄristÄn, modelled on the GulistÄn, in 1487.- $450
- $450
The Hindu Art of Love (Ars Amorica Indica), or, Ananga-Ranga .
(Burton, Richard F. and Arbuthnot, F.F., annot.). Gilt-lettered full vellum, in facsimile of the Kama Shastra edition; now somewhat splayed, yet bright and clean. A fine, but scarce, reprint [pirate?] of Burton's translation. Originally produced by the Kama Shastra Society in 1885, following a small limited printing (4-6 copies) in 1873; the translation is credited to "A.F.F. &. B.F.R.", Arbuthnot's and Burton's initials in reverse.- $325
- $325
Ice Rink Skating.
Richardson, T.D. Illustrated with several photographs of British and international champions. Original light blue cloth, printed in dark blue; with spine leaning slightly and minor sunning along edge of ends thereof; light toning to endpapers. Colour pictorial (female skater performing) dust jacket with a hint of soiling on rear; a bit rubbed on front and corners; light creasing and chipping at corners and spine ends; several closed edge tears, with resultant creasing. Very good. (Richardson published an earlier book with the same title, through the same publisher, in 1938. Although there is a great deal of overlap between the two books, they are also substantially different, this one seeming to concentrate on indoor rinks. They are therefore separate entities rather than different editions of the same title.).- $15
- $15
The Oxford & Cambridge Boat Race, 1829-1953.
Burnell, R.D. Foreword by G.O. Nickalls; illustrated with several photographic plates and course drawings. Original dark green cloth, lettered in gilt on spine; minor chafing to corners and cloth a touch tired. Bookplate; small ink gift inscription on front endpaper. A very good copy.- $15
- $15
Rope Spinning.
Pinkney, D.W. "With a special chapter on How to use the lariat by Don Potter." Illustrated with 16 photographic plates and 21 line drawings. Original green cloth lettered in dark green, sunned overall, especially on spine; spine ends lightly creased. Edges foxed; contents clean and tight. A very good copy.- $18
- $18
Rules for Playing Lawn Croquet with the Skowhegan Line Croquet Sets.
4 pp. white glossy folder printed in red and blue; rough horizontal fold; very light dusting. Near fine. Abridged reprint of a 1930s rules first published for the South Bend Toy Company (see David Drazin's on-line Checklist . 2005 update).- $15
- $15
“Save time, money, energy by riding on a Raynal Auto”.
Raynal. Cream four-panel folder, with full-page centre spread, printed in green and black, advertising "Raynal Auto, The Power Assisted Bicycle", de-luxe and popular models; a few short closed tears at folds and a touch of toning; small "1934" in ink on front panel; near fine. (Note: Ephemera - prospectus).- $15
- $15
Croquet: Rules & Regulations with instructions.
16 pp. stapled booklet, plus black on cream decoratively ruled wrappers, with diagram of ground layout inside front cover. Staples rusting; very minor dusting. A fine copy. (Note: Presumably one of the "Roy Brothers", a major early 20th century manufacturer of croquet sets. Most recorded copies of this rule book, thought to have been first published in 1911, bear the imprint "Roy Brothers" not "Wendell P. Roy" - see Drazin).- $15
- $15
The Gilbert and Sullivan Lexicon: In Which Is Gilded the Philosophic Pill.
Benford, Harry. âFeaturing New Illustrations [by Geoffrey Shovelton] and New Insights"; foreword by Kenneth Sandford; note re. Kenneth Sandford by Roberta Morrell; blurbs on rear cover by Isaac Asimov, Daniel Kravetz, Stephen Turnbull, Fredric Wilson and Kenneth Sandford. Original lilac-blue laminated pictorial (Shovelton drawing of Gilbert and Sullivan using the Lexicon, 2nd ed.) boards; as new.- $18
- $18
Reading the Greens: Books on Golf from the Arthur W. Schultz Collection [Exhibition catalogue].
8 pp. catalogue of an exhibition held May 4 to August 7, 1998, naming more than 170 items dating from the 1880s to the 1990s. Well illustrated, large, stapled, heavy card oblong folder printed in full-colour. Fine.- $10
- $10
The Masters: An Illustrated History.
Taylor, Dawson. "Photography [colour and b/w] by Frank Christian." Original bright green boards gilt lettered on spine, with just a hint of rubbing to bottom edge; ownership blind-stamp to rear free endpaper, contents otherwise clean and tight. Green dust jacket, lettered in white with colour pictorial wrap-around illustration; 1" closed tears at top front near each fold (no creasing); dampstains to bottom edge at folds (approx. 1" deep, rising 1.5" at rear and 3.5" at front) surprisingly not affecting volume at all. A fine copy in very good dust jacket. [D/M # 74260] NB - First published in 1973 as Masters; all about its history, its records, its players, its remarkable course and even more remarkable tournament.- $20
- $20
The Golfers Own Book.
Stanley, Dave and Ross, George G. (eds.). A fine copy in black-stamped bright green cloth; small ownership label on front endpaper. Green, yellow and white dust jacket worn at corners and spine ends, with slight loss and small piece lacking at lower left corner of front panel. [D/M #35580].- $20
- $20
The Key to Golf.
Rees, Dai. Illustrated with photographs of the author demonstrating the right and wrong way to do things. Green boards, lettered in red on spine; thin line of sunning at bottom front; contents clean and tight. Price-clipped photopictorial (the author at top of swing) green dust jacket; very small pieces lacking near spine ends and a couple tiny closed tears, with resulting creases and surface abrasions. A near fine copy. [D/M #69690].- $20
- $20
Can I Help You?: The Guide to Better Golf.
Cox, W. J. [Bill]. Original gilt-stamped green boards; former owner's name and "3/6" price on front endpapers. Sadly, pp. 83-95 are savagely creased at the fore-edge, as though carelessly dropped. Very good pictorial (author) dust jacket creased at edges; lacking small chips at spine ends and corners, and 3/4" semi-circle from bottom edge affecting author's name; rear panel lightly soiled. A very good copy. [D/M #13230].- $10
- $10
Lewis Carroll.
Warner, Maria; Taylor, Roger and Bakewell, Michael. Original pictorial (LC facsimile manuscript background; photo insets of young LC on front and [Alice?] on rear) boards, with blue cloth spine and corners; faint 2" surface abrasion on front cover. Printed marbled endpapers; superbly produced in two colours on high-quality stock Actually the catalogue for the British Council Exhibition, with three nicely illustrated essays, followed by a section of ca.25 sepia reproductions of LC photographs, of the highest quality. Near fine.- $20
- $20
Lewis Carroll: A Celebration.
Guiliano, Edward (ed.). "Essays on the Occasion of the 150th Anniversary of the birth of Charles Lutwidge Dodgson." Contributors include Morton Cohen, Edward Guiliano, Jean Gattà gno; nicely illustrated. A fine copy in original pinkish boards, with black cloth spine lettered in gilt. Pictorial (four photos of LC at various ages) dust jacket just a trifle rubbed near spine; with hint of fading to spine.- $20
- $20
The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll (Rev. C.L. Dodgson).
Collingwood, Stuart Dodgson. Original decorated light and dark green cloth, titled in red; spine a little faded. Apparently lacking a leaf between title and dedication; contents otherwise clean and tight. Intriguingly, the verso of title reads "Third Impression, July, 1899".- $20
- $20
Navigation With Alice.
Debenham, Frank. Tenniel-style illustrations by Anne Scarisbrick. "An intriguing combination of Alice in Wonderland and instruction in navigation" (cf. dust jacket blurb). Original pictorial gilt (Tweedle-twin holding open navigation chart) pale blue cloth, gilt lettered on spine. Ownership label on front end-paper, with faint traces of erased red pencilled price; contents fine. Yellow pictorial (price-clipped) dust jacket lightly soiled. Fine copy.- $20
- $20
Alice in Wonderland.
Carroll, Lewis. Illustrated and with eight colour plates by Rene Cloke. Original orange cloth badly soiled and marked, and a little bowed; lettering still sharp. Gift inscription inside front cover; endpapers a bit soiled with faint evidence of childish tracing; a few internal finger marks. A stop-gap copy until a better one becomes available. [WMGC p.241].- $15
- $15
