First edition, first printing. Inscribed presentation copy. Original burgundy cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, in the dustwrapper showing a photographic portrait of the author by John Goldblatt. A fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents bright and clean throughout. In the dustwrapper, minimally rubbed to spine tips and to the upper outer corner; the tiny rubbed areas are touched with black ink (barely noticable). A sharp, bright copy, the inscription a lovely example of the author's gift for caricature.

Inscribed in black ink to the blank page before the half title (and preceded by the instruction, "P.T.O.", to the upper corner of the front free endpaper), "Against your better nature, / [deletion] Baldwin, take some / account of the [?] / in this book and you'll / find it'll give you a / lot of knowledge / of human nature / otherwise not to be / acquired / Kingsley Amis". The recipient is Sir Peter Baldwin (1922-2010), friend and former school companion of the author, active as a code-breaker during the war and, eventually (1976-82), a permanent secretary in the Department of Transport. The inscription itself is written in handwriting getting progressively worse and more sloped, miming progressive drunkenness. Martin Amis (in 'Experience', 1999) has written memorably of his father's eagerness for getting drunk: "Being drunk had its points, but getting drunk was the good bit [...]; and he is, of course, the laureate of the hangover." 'On Drink', a humorous compendium of recipes and advice, interspersed with Nicolas Bentley's wonderful illustrations, was the first of three volumes Amis (père) devoted to the arts of drinking (and getting drunk).

First UK edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original black cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A lovely fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£6.95 net to the front flap). A superb example.

Signed by James Baldwin in blue ink on the dedication page, scarce thus. The author's sixth and final novel.

First edition, first printing. Original beige cloth with illustrations to the spine and upper board in black and red, in dustwrapper. Illustrated in black and white throughout by Stuart Tresilian. A very good or better copy, the binding firm with a slight lean to the spine, the board corners lightly bumped. The cloth is bright and fresh. The contents, with some light spotting to the text block edges, are otherwise clean and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good lightly rubbed and creased first state dustwrapper featuring a colour wraparound illustration that is ever so slightly faded to the spine and has some tiny nicks and short closed tears to the edges. A larger closed tear at the top of the rear spine fold (5.5cm) and a another (3cm) at the top of the rear flap fold have been secured with tape to the underside along with pieces at the head and tale of the spine. Not price clipped (7s 6d to the front flap). An attractive example.

The first book in the Adventure Series.

First edition in English, first printing. With an Autobiographical foreword specially written for this English edition. Publisher's original light brown cloth over patterned paper-covered boards with gilt titles to the spine, in the Bip Pares illustrated dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm and the cloth and boards bright and fresh. The contents, mildly toned to the edges are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of short closed tears and a little darkening at the spine. Correctly priced 5/- net to the spine. A scarce title in the original dustwrapper.

A powerful autobiographical novel of the Western Front by Germany's "Labour Poet" Karl Broger.

First edition in book form, first printing. Publisher's original blue cloth with black titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents with some offsetting to the map endpapers are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked pictorial dustwrapper that has two small chips at the head of the spine and a closed tear with associated creasing to the rear panel. Correctly priced 7/6 net to the spine. A bright example of the very scarce dustwrapper.

The first book in the Dickson McCunn trilogy, followed by Castle Gay (1930) and The House of Four Winds (1935). The novel was initially serialised in Popular Magazine between August and September 1921. (Blanchard A53; Hubin).

First editions, first printings. Original red cloth lettered in gilt to spine and front panel, in the illustrated dustwrappers designed by Craig Dodd. Each volume with an illustrated frontispiece. Upper edges coloured red. A near fine set, the bindings square and firm, the contents, except for a neat gift inscription in blue ink to the front free endpaper of Vol. 10, clean and bright. In the generally fine dustwrappers, with one or two surface marks and a little toning to a few flaps. Small abrasion and a handful of tiny indentations to the front panel of Vol. 12. All with the exception of Vol. 11 remain unclipped, with six volumes re-priced with a publisher's label. Altogether, a very attractive complete set of first editions.

Leslie Marchand's monumental edition set out to publish every extant Byron letter, and between 1973 and 1981 he did just that. The supplementary volume (13), published in 1994, adds a number of newly discovered letters (Vol. 12 is an index and anthology). "What a feast of a life actually in process of being lived these letters have provided. We read them. as he wrote them, on the run. They breathe the very spirit of the man, and they bring Byron and his circle of friends before our eyes as no biography has ever done or can ever hope to do." (Robert Nye in 'The Guardian')

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to spine, in the Beytagh illustrated dustwrapper. A lovely near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth fresh with thin strips of fading at the spine tips. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps, the closed text block edge with a small group of four foxing spots. Complete with fine dustwrapper that remains bright and without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (10s 6d net to the lower front flap). An superb example of this Hercule Poirot novel.

Uniquely for this publisher, the first edition is dated to the rear of the book as opposed to the reverse of the title page as in every other Crime Club publication. Published in America under the title "Funerals are Fatal". (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in the Michael Harvey designed dustwrapper. A superb fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with very lightly rubbed dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (16s. net to the front flap). A lovely copy.

A Hercule Poirot novel. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First UK edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with just a little bumping to the spine tips and board edges. The cloth remains fresh and bright. The contents, with a light tape mark to the front pastedown are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good indeed, rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of short closed tears with associated creasing and a little darkening to the lower panel. Not price-clipped (7s 6d net to the front flap).

Signed and dated "Aug 1945" by Agatha Christie in blue ink at the head of the front endpaper. A groundbreaking novel, Christie anticipating the modern popularity of historical detective fiction sets her impeccably researched murder plot in Ancient Egypt. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red and black cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A superb fine copy, the binding square and tight, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper that is ever so slightly toned to the spine. Not price-clipped (10s 6d net to the front flap). A lovely copy.

A stand-alone spy thriller. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in the Kenneth Farnhill designed dustwrapper. A superb fine copy, the binding square and tight, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with very lightly rubbed dustwrapper that has a few foxing spots to the lower panel and a hint of fading to the spine. Not price-clipped (10s. 6d. net to the front flap). A lovely copy.

A Hercule Poirot mystery. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original deep purple cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding firm with the spine slightly rolled, the cloth faintly marked but fresh, the spine a touch faded and the gilt oxidised (as usual). The contents, with spotting to the prelims and closed text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the much better than very good lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of short closed tears and a couple of faint cup rings to the rear panel but is otherwise bright and without loss. An attractive example.

The true first editon in book form of this collection of 12 short stories, most notable for the first appearance of "The Witness for the Prosecution" which was later adapted for the stage, film and television. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in the Kenneth Farnhill illustrated dustwrapper. A lovely near fine copy with clean and bright boards, the binding square and firm with some bumping at the spine tips, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a small hole at the left side of the upper panel and some minor toning to the rear panel but is otherwise bright and without fading. Not price-clipped (9s 6d net to the front flap).

An attractive example of this Hercule Poirot novel. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with a little bumping at the spine tips, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, toned to the text block edges, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (12s 6d net to the front flap).

(Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent very near fine copy, the square and firm with a little bumping at the extremities, the cloth is bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has tiny chips at the spine ends and a couple of short closed tears to the lightly marked rear panel. Not price-clipped (8s. 6d. net to the front flap). An attractive example of this Hercule Poirot mystery.

(Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A lovely fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very lightly rubbed and ever so slightly nicked dustwrapper that remains bright and without loss or tears. Not price-clipped (8s 6d net to the front flap). A superb example.

(Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First printing of the "Chartwell Edition" [the first illustrated edition]. Six volumes. Publisher's original red cloth with brown labels lettered in gilt to the spines, ruled in gilt to spines and front panels, each with a blind stamped profile portrait in relief to upper boards. Top edge red. Colour frontispiece to each volume, and illustrated throughout with 185 half-tone plates, numerous maps, plans and diagrams, many of which are folding. A fine set, the bindings square and firm, the contents bright and clean throughout. An unusually bright example.

The Chartwell Edition, issued following the staggered publication the Cassell edition between 1948 and 1954, incorporates Churchill's final revisions and added illustrations.

First edition, first printing. Review copy, with the publisher's review slip loosely laid in. Original navy cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in the David Atkinson illustrated dustwrapper. With eight leaves of black and white photographic plates bound in at the centre. A fine copy, the cloth clean, the binding square and tight, with a minor bump to the bottom corner of the upper board. The contents are clean throughout and without stamps or inscriptions. Complete with the very lightly rubbed original dustwrapper which is a touch faded to the spine. Not price clipped (£1.05 to the bottom of the front flap).

The Scottish rally driver Andrew Cowan's dramatic account of driving and winning the first London-Sydney Marathon in 1968. He went on to win the second in 1977, five consecutive Southern Cross Rallies in 1972–76, the 1977 Rallye Bandama Côte d'Ivoire, and the world's longest rally, the 20,000-mile South American Marathon in 1978.

First edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author. Publisher's original brown cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Top edge brown. Illustrated with a photograph of the author as a baby, and line drawings throughout by Jill Bennett. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with some slight bumps to the spine. The contents, are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with the bright original dustwrapper that is lightly rubbed and nicked at the spine tips and corners but has escaped the habitual fading of the spine. Correctly priced £2.25 net to the front flap. An attractive example.

Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the front endpaper "To Joanne / With love / Roald Dahl / 1976".

First edition of this translation, first printing. Publisher's original green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. With two double page maps to the rear. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents, with some offsetting to the endpapers and only the odd isolated foxing spot are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and toned dustwrapper that has a closed tear with associated creasing at the head of the rear spine fold and a couple of small black marks to the upper panel. Not price-clipped (21s net to the front flap).

The Norse scholar, author of heroic fantasy and occasional Inkling's translation of Egil's Saga. The saga tells of the creation of the first settlements in Iceland by Norwegian warriors escaping the overlordship of King Harald Hairfair, who sought to impose his rule over all the independent lords in Norway. Kveldulf and his son, Skallagrim, were the first 'exiles' to reach Iceland and the feud between their family and that of King Harald is played out by the eponymous Egil Skallagrimson. Slights and misunderstandings fan the flames of the feud, leading to hostilities, retaliation and vengeance. This is only the second translation of the 12th century Old Norse text into English, the first (by W. C. Green in 1893) was considered by Eddison to be "so bad as to be unreadable".

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Original green cloth lettered in silver to the spine, in the dustwrapper designed by Garner Russell. Grey endpapers. With the 'Signed First Edition' wraparound band from Waterstone's, Deansgate. A very near fine copy, the binding square and firm. A touch rubbed and pushed to spine tips. Two spots to the upper, and one spot to the fore-, edges of the page block, and a barely visible mark to the outer edge of the lower edge. The contents are clean and bright throughout. Complete with the very near fine dustwrapper, lightly pushed to spine tips, and showing some very light creasing to the upper outer corner and upper edge of the front flap. There is the merest fading visible to parts of the spine, spreading to the front panel (owing to the minimally darker area of the wrapper that has been concealed by the signed copy band). Not price-clipped (£14.99 net to the front flap). A very attractive example.

Signed by the author in blue ink to the title page. The author's fourth (and most celebrated) novel, and the second in his French trilogy (following 'The Girl at the Lion D'Or' and preceding 'Charlotte Gray'). It has been adapted for a three-part BBC radio production in 1997, as a play, first directed by Trevor Nunn in 2010, and as a two-part BBC television production in 2012. The cover painting is by the nineteenth-century French artist, Jean-Hippolyte Flandrin.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Original olive-green cloth lettered in gilt to the spine, in the dustwrapper illustrated with a painting by Paul Trouillebert (1829-1900). Publisher's decorative endpapers. A very near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Spine tips are a touch rubbed, the lower outer corners minimally bumped. Complete with the dustwrapper which remains without fading or loss, minimally rubbed to outer corners, with a touch of pushing to the upper spine tip. Not price-clipped (£11.95 net to the front flap). A lovely copy.

Signed by the author in black ink to the title page. The author's second novel, and the first in a French Trilogy that continues with 'Birdsong' and 'Charlotte Gray'. 'A beautifully controlled and restrained story which catches character, period and place in a subtle but absorbing manner, rather like a prose Vermeer' (Piers Paul Read).

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original burgundy cloth with gilt titles to the upper board and spine, lacking the dustwrapper. Top edge burgundy. Two folding maps. 56 black and white photographic illustrations. An excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents, with a previous owner's bookplate to the blank front endpaper and only the odd isolated foxing spot are otherwise clean throughout.

Signed by Peter Fleming in blue ink on the half title. A classic of modern travel literature. News From Tartary recounts Fleming's seven month, 3500 mile journey overland from Peking to Kashmir in the company of the distinguished Swiss adventurer, Ella (Kini) Maillart. The journey began on 16th February 1935, the objective, as contained within the title of the book, to ascertain what was happening in Tunganistan, a region of Sinkiang (also known as Chinese Turkestan), in the aftermath of the Kumul Rebellion.

First edition, first printing. Original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth clean, with a thin strip of fading to the head of the spine. The contents, with light offsetting to the endpapers, are clean throughout and without stamps or inscriptions. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper tha has a small mark to the front panel, a scuff to the middle and a short closed tear to the head of the spine. Not price clipped (10s. 6d. to the bottom of the front flap).

A crime novel by the writer, broadcaster and actor Val Gieldgud, who pioneered radio and television drama at the BBC. In 1930, as part of his role as head of radio drama at the BBC, he oversaw the first ever production and broadcasting of a television drama in Britain, the short play 'The Man with a Flower in his Mouth' by the Italian playwright Luigi Pirandello. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

Fist edition, first printing. Original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated throughout with black and white drawings by Edward Ardizzone. A fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout and without stamps or inscriptions. Complete with the near fine lightly rubbed and nicked, price-clipped dustwrapper that is a touch faded to the spine.

A beautifully illustrated observation of London Pubs by the Irish journalist Maurice Gorham.

Limited edition. In a stunning designed binding by Stephen Conway. Printed vellum over red goatskin, titles in black to the spine. Marbled endpapers in grey and red. All edges marbled. Black and white photographic illustrations throughout. Printed on Magnani paper. A fine, unique copy. Housed in a bespoke quarter red goatskin solander case, titled in black.

A beautifully produced limited edition of 30 copies, this is hand numbered 25 and signed by the publishers Nicholas and Mary Parry on the limitation page. Signed and dated by the award winning bookbinder Stephen Conway in pencil at the bottom edge of the rear blank endpaper.

First edition, first printing. Paperback issue. Signed by the author. Publisher's illustrated card wraps. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. The wraps are a a little rubbed and soiled, the page block edges dusty. A signed copy with a difference, and a lovely example of the poet's famous wit and warmth.

Signed by the author in black ink on the occasion of his visit to Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby, Birkenhead within the otherwise empty school library issue form stamped to the verso of the front cover (familiar to those of a certain age). Heaney has playfully signed his name in the column provided for pupils borrowing the book, beside an issue date already filled in ("3/11/81", which may well be the date the book was signed). This was Heaney's first 'Selected', the poems chosen by the author from 'Death of a Naturalist', 'Door into the Dark', 'Wintering Out', and 'North'. It was issued simultaneously in hardback and paperback. (Brandes & Durkan A26a).

First edition, first printing. Original white card wraps with integral light blue and white paper dustwrapper lettered in black to spine and front panel. A very near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Previous owner's circular blind stamp to the lower edge of the half title. There are a few faint stains to the upper page block edge. The dustwrapper, a touch of toned to the spine with a handful of tiny marks to the rear panel, is otherwise clean and bright. Not price-clipped (£1.00 net to the front flap). A bright sharp copy.

The author's third collection for Faber, issued as a paperback original. "Seamus Heaney has gone beyond the themes of his earlier poetry and has made the giant step towards the most ambitious, most intractable themes of maturity. The power of this book comes from a sense that he is reaching out towards a type of desolation and of isolation without which no imagination can be seen to have grown up." (Eavan Boland in the 'Irish Times').

First edition with these illustrations. Inscribed by the author and the illustrator to Shirley Hughes. Hardcover issue. Publisher's original black cloth stamped in blind to the upper board and titles in white to the spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated throughout by Andrew Davidson. A superb fine copy, the binding square and tight, the contents clean throughout. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£7.95 net to the front flap). Issued simultaneously in hardcover and paperback, the hardcover is quite scarce. A wonderful association copy.

Inscribed by the author in black ink on the blank front endpaper "For Shirley / (blame Andrew D) / greetings / on / 19th November 1985 / Ted Hughes" underneath which the illustrator has signed and inscribed "Andrew Davidson / amazing considering the / competition!". A newly illustrated edition of the poet's science fiction novella, for which Hughes and Davidson won the Kurt Maschler Award (presented annually between 1982 and 1999, the award recognised one British "work of imagination for children, in which text and illustration are integrated so that each enhances and balances the other"). The recipient of this book was the multi-award winning author and illustrator Shirley Hughes who was the runner up for 'Chips and Jessie' (The Bodley Head, 1985).

First edition, first printing. Three volumes. Publisher's original brown cloth decorated in black with titles in gilt to the upper board and spine. Half title in volume I, 32pp publisher's catalogue dated December 1881 at the rear of volume III. Each volume with the bookplate of C. J. Peacock to the front pastedown. A superb very near fine copy, the bindings uniformly firm and the cloth and gilt fresh. The contents with a little foxing to the closed text block edge, are otherwise clean and bright throughout.

A classic of children's literature. (Sadlier 1305; Wolf 3615; Carter p.122; Miller B15). Sadlier and Carter both give preference to the brown cloth as the first issue binding. However, Miller, who also poses that the print-run was less than 1000 copies, argues for a number of plausible reasons that the slightly taller green cloth binding is actually the earlier issue. The absence of a publisher's "file copy" or later adverts to prove definitively, leaves only the remarkable original condition of this example to establish precedence when considering a purchase.

First edition, first printing. Original light brown cloth, the spine lettered in gilt to a gilt-framed red label, in the dustwrapper bearing lettering by the author in black and red to spine and front panel. With nine plates of inscriptions and illustrations by the author. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and clean (a touch softened to spine tips), the contents clean without inscriptions or stamps. There are a few very light spots visible to the page block edges, and some spotting and light offsetting to endpapers, but the pages themselves remain clean and bright. Complete with the toned dustwrapper that is rubbed to corners and spine tips, with some minor loss to the upper tip of the lightly marked spine. There are a few nicks and a short closed tear to the upper edge of the rear panel. Not price-clipped (25s. net to the front flap). A very presentable copy.

"'The Anathemata' is not a sequel to 'In Parenthesis', but an equally original work by a wholly unclassifiable author" (from the jacket). In the extended preface to the work, Jones begins by citing Nennius ("or whoever composed the introductory matter to the [ninth century] 'Historia Brittonum'"): "I have made a heap of all that I could find", while noting that "this writing is neither a history of the Britons nor a history of any sort [...] Part of my task has been to allow myself to be directed by motifs gathered together from such sources as have by accident been available to me and to make a work out of those mixed data." In his review of the work, W. H. Auden wrote that after "liv[ing] with 'The Anathemata' for the last ten months, I feel as certain as one can feel of anything that it is one of the most important poems of our time. [...] Mr Jones has set out to write a poem [...] at once epic, contemporary, and Christian." ('Encounter', February 1954).

First edition, first printing of the multi-award winning author's first book. Publisher's original red paper-covered boards with black titles to the spine, in the Michael Foreman illustrated dustwrapper. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, the boards bright and fresh. The contents, with the habitual toning of Macmillan paper-stock of this period are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£1.50 / 30s net to the lower front flap). Scarce.

First edition, first printing. Signed by James Joyce. Publisher's original brown cloth ruled in blind and with gilt decoration to the centre of the upper board, titles in gilt to the spine. Top edge gilt. A lovely fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps.

Issued in a limited edition of 800 copies, this example numbered 693 and signed by James Joyce in black ink on the limitation page. The text, a work in progress, was later published as chapter eight in Finnegans Wake. (Slocum & Cahoon A32).

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original dark blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm with a very slight lean to the spine, the contents, with a little faint spotting to the top edge of the text block, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed original dustwrapper which is a touch faded to the spine. Not price-clipped (£15.99 to the front flap).

Signed by John Le Carré in black ink on the title page. The author's first post-Cold War novel, 'The Night Manager' was adapted in 2016 for a six-episode BBC television series directed by Susanne Bier and starring Tom Hiddleston, Hugh Laurie, Olivia Colman and Tom Hollander.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original grey cloth with silver titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated with 4 full page monochrome plates and line drawings througout by Pauline Baynes. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth with some ghosting to the spine and a few foxing spots to the upper edge of the rear panel. The contents, with spotting to the closed text block edge and some offsetting to the endpapers are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked price-clipped dustwrapper that has a couple of closed tears to the upper panel and some fading to the spine.

The fifth published novel in the Narnia Chronicles.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original blue cloth with silver titles to the spine in dustwrapper. Illustrated with line drawings by Pauline Baynes. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, lightly spotted to the closed text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very lightly rubbed dustwrapper that whilst without loss or tears is spotted to the rear panel and flap edges. Not price-clipped (9s 6d net to the front flap).

The final published novel in the Narnia Chronicles.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original dark blue cloth with silver titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated with a colour frontispiece and line drawings throughout by Pauline Baynes. An excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with light bumping at the the spine tips. The contents, with just a few stray foxing spots at the page edges are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that remains without loss but is little toned to the spine.

The second published novel in the Narnia Chronicles.

First edition, first printing of Arthur Machen's translation. Contemporary half red morocco, double ruled in gilt to the upper and lower boards, five raised bands, gilt ruled compartments and titles in gilt to the spine. Top edge gilt. Marbled endpapers. Illustrated with a frontispiece and 8 further full page illustrations (some signed J. S. Beckham). An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with just light rubbing at the extremities. The contents, with the bookplate of The Reverend William Major Scott to the front pastedown, an early (pre-1923) clipped catalogue description tipped in at the reverse of the front endpaper and mild toning to the text block edges are otherwise clean throughout. A handsome example.

The first printing of Machen's translation of the seventeenth century French text Moyen de Parvenir by the poet and polymath Beroalde de Verville.Issued in a limited edition of 500 copies, this example is numbered 38 and stamped in red ink on the limitation page. A rare book in the early twentieth century, the translation was subsequently reprinted with a new eight page introduction as a signed limited edition in 1923.

First British edition. Signed limited edition. Publisher's quarter black morocco over green cloth boards, titles in gilt to the spine. Top edge gilt. Map endpapers, illustrated with photographs. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, without fading or loss. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. A superb example.

Limited to 1000 copies of which this is hand numbered 70 and signed in black ink by Nelson Mandela to the limitation page. The Alan Paton Award winning autobiography of the anti-apartheid activist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient who served as the first elected president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.

First Rockwell Kent illustrated edition, trade issue. Signed by Rockwell Kent. Publisher's original black cloth with silver titles and illustrations to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated profusely throughout with stunning black and white illustrations by Kent. A better than very good copy, the binding a little bumped at the spine tips, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with a touch of toning to the closed text block edge, and a few patches of foxing to the endpapers are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the rubbed, nicked and marked dustwrapper that has small chips and a closed tear at the head of the somewhat toned spine, but little in the way of loss.

Signed by Rockwell Kent in black ink on the front endpaper, scarce thus. First produced as a three volume limited Lakeside Press edition of 1,000 copies before being published as a one volume trade edition by Random House, Rockwell's stark, dramatic visual take on Moby Dick brought the (then relatively obscure) classic American novel firmly into the 20th century and quickly reinvigorated interest in Melville's work; the Rockwell edition is even now often hailed as the definitive Moby Dick.

First edition, first printing. Two volumes. Original blue cloth, the spines lettered and ruled in gilt to red labels, in dustwrappers. Upper edges green. A very near fine set, presenting as unread, the bindings square and firm, the contents clean and bright throughout. There are a few light scratches to the front panel of Vol. I. In the clean, bright, neatly clipped dustwrappers. There are closed tears (c. 1.8 cm) to the upper edge of the fold between spine and front panel of Vol. I. (with associated creasing spreading to the front panel), to rear upper (c. 1.3 cm) and outer lower (c. 1 cm) folds, and to the upper rear panel edge (also 1 cm) of Vol. II. A notably bright and sharp example.

The 'Principia', Newton's magnum opus, was published in London in 1687, followed by a second (Cambridge) edition in 1713 (reprinted in Amsterdam in 1714 and 1723), the third, final, edition published in London in 1726. This monumental edition includes a facsimile of the 1726 edition, with variant readings and Newton's own corrections to his personal copies of the first two editions.

First edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author. Publisher's quarter grey cloth over blue paper covered boards, titles in printed in green on white paper labels to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. Top edge green. Frontispiece portrait of the author by Evan Walters. Tissue guard. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with a bump to the bottom right corner. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owners' marks. Complete with the very good lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has small chips at the spine tips and a closed tear to the rear panel. Not price-clipped (7/6 net to the front flap). A bright example.

Inscribed by the author in black ink on the front endpaper "Every woman who dies in / childbirth calls a halt to / human progress. / Sean O'Casey / February 1929". An expressionist play that details the cruelties of the trenches during World War One. O'Casey described it as "A generous handful of stones, aimed indiscriminately, with the aim of breaking a few windows. I don't think it makes a good play, but it's a remarkable one". Following William Butler Yeats' rejection for the Abbey Theatre in Dublin, The Silver Tassie premièred at the Apollo Theatre in London's West End on 11 October 1929.

First edition, first printing. Original blue cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the cloth clean and binding firm, with a slight lean to the spine and minor bumping to the top corners of the boards and the top edge of the upper board. The contents are clean throughout and without stamps or inscriptions. Complete with the lightly rubbed, nicked and creased original pictorial dustwrapper. Unpriced to the bottom of the front flap, for export.

(Hubin)

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original blue paper-covered boards lettered in white to the spine, in the Henn Kim dustwrapper. Ring-pull patterned endpapers. A very near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the spine ever so slightly rolled. The contents are clean throughout, and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£14.99 to the front flap). An excellent example of the true, and quite scarce, first printing (not to be confused with the Waterstones edition, issued without dustwrapper).

Signed by Sally Rooney in black ink on the title page. The author's second novel, securely consolidating the critical acclaim and success of 'Conversations with Friends' (2017). Both books have reached a wider audience as a result of recent BBC television adaptations. 'Normal People' was immediately showered with praise, winning the Costa Prize, 'Irish Novel of the Year' at the Irish Book Awards, Waterstones Book of the Year, in addition to being longlisted for the Man Booker Prize, the Dylan Thomas Prize and the Women's Prize for Fiction. In her 'New Statesman' review of the novel, Olivia Laing singles out "the extraordinary pitch of Rooney's writing, the way it shimmers with intelligence. Each sentence is measured and unobtrusive, and yet the cumulative effect is a near-unbearable attentiveness to the emotional dimension of human lives, the quick uneasy weather."

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original decorative card covers, in dustwrapper. Illustrated with black and white photographs throughout the text. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, the contents clean throughout. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper.

Signed by R.B. Russell in black ink on the title page. A wonderful collection of anecdotes by the author and co-founder of the Tartarus Press Ray Russell. Not quite literary criticism, not quite an autobiography, it is a guided tour through second-hand bookshops (many long vanished) in the pursuit of often overlooked and unloved novels, short story collections, poetry and works of non-fiction and the treasured friendships and experiences encountered as a life long bibliophile.

First edition, first printing. Inscribed presentation copy. Original fawn cloth lettered in green to the spine, in the dustwrapper designed by Weissenborn. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. Light spotting to the fore-edge of the page block, and offsetting to endpapers. Softening to spine tips, the upper tip with a tiny nick. In the dustwrapper, rubbed to edges and folds with a handful of nicks and closed tears. Darkened to the spine, lightly spotted to the rear panel, and with a few light marks to the front panel. Not price-clipped (15s. net to the front panel). Scarce signed.

Inscribed by the author in blue ink to the front free endpaper, "To Father Moorhouse / with best wishes / from / Muriel Spark / July 1953". We have been unable to identify the recipient, but the inscription notably coincides with Spark's conversion to Catholicism (joining, along with Graham Greene and Evelyn Waugh, what Martin Stannard refers to as the "grand triumvirate of Catholic-convert novelists"). In her autobiography Spark recounts that "In 1953 I was absorbed by the theological writings of John Henry Newman through whose influence I finally became a Roman Catholic. [...] On 1 May 1954 I was received into the Church at Ealing Priory." Stannard notes that the book on Masefield, completed in 1952, "was the last book Muriel wrote as an agnostic". An admirer of Masefield since attending a reading with her friend Frances Niven while attending Gillespie's School in Edinburgh, two decades on, in 1950 (soon after completing her study of Mary Shelley) she contacted Masefield, who agreed to her writing the book, which (according to Stannard) "offers a priceless insight into her intellectual life at this moment of transition." (Muriel Spark, 'Curriculum Vitae' [London, 1992]; Martin Stannard, 'Muriel Spark: The Biography' [London, 2009]; Tominaga 1331)

First edition, first printing. Original green boards with gilt titles to spine, in dustwrapper. Top edge green. An excellent very near fine copy, the binding square and clean, the contents, with a faint hint of spotting to the text block fore-edge, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very lightly rubbed and creased dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Unpriced to the bottom of the front flap, for export.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Original grey cloth with purple titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth with a little light spotting, rubbing and discolouration to the spine and extremities. The contents, with a previous owner's inscription to the front free endpaper, light offsetting to the half title from a newspaper clipping, and a few pencil notes to the margins, are otherwise clean. Complete with the original dustwrapper which is toned to the spine, has some minor chipping to the spine tips and flap folds, a few tiny closed tears to the edges, and a longer, 4cm closed tear to the front panel. Not price clipped (6s. net to the front flap).

Signed by Vernon Watkins in blue ink on the half title. The author's first book.

First edition, first printing. Signed limited edition. Publisher's binding of full claret sheep with titles in the gilt to the spine. With two colour illustrations by Rex Whistler. An excellent near fine copy with just light rubbing at the extremities of the ever so slightly faded spine. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. A very attractive example, the binding of which is prone to heavy wear and loss. An essay commissioned by Evelyn Waugh's London vintners Saccone & Speed.

Issued in a limited edition of only 100 numbered copies, this copy numbered 83 and signed in blue ink by Evelyn Waugh on the limitation page. A trade edition was published later the same year.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original light purple cloth with gilt decoration after designs by Charles Shannon, titles in gilt to the spine. All edges untrimmed. A better than very good copy, the binding firm with some bumping to the tips of the slightly faded spine and corners. The contents, with the bookplate of Farquharson Tweedale to the front pastedown (with offseting to the opposite endpaper), a Henry Sotheran book label below and a few isolated foxing spots, are otherwise clean throughout.

Limited to 1000 copies, published in July 1899. (Mason 385).