![Erotica] Passions' Evil. A. de M., ascribed to Alfred de Musset](/pictures/thumb/BB1934.jpg?v=1565296165)
Paris: Olympia Press, 1953. First Edition thus. Stiff Wrappers. English translation, by Austryn Wainhouse, of Gamiani, ou Deux Nuits d‘excès, an erotic French novel, issued in a limited edition of 750, this copy unnumbered (as are many, as was the copy Kearney examined for his bibliography). Small 8vo (182 x...... more
![Dust Jacket Art] The Judson Murder Case. Earl Augustus ALDRICH, A. B. Leonard, Bip Pares,...](/pictures/thumb/BB2325.jpeg?v=1588780447)
London: Thornton Butterworth, 1935. Hardcover. First Crime Circle Edition of this obscure (and scarce) detective novel by an obscure crime writer (neither title nor author mentioned in Barzun's exhaustive Catalogue of Crime), but with fabulous dust jacket art by the incomparable Bip Pares. Crown 8vo (183 x 119mm): 254,[2]pp. Publisher's..... more
London: Methuen, 1960. First Edition. Hardcover. First Printing of this thriller set in a Spanish village. Crown 8vo (200 x 132mm): 200pp. Publisher's forest green finely woven cloth, spine lettered in silver, striking dust jacket illustrated by David Watson and priced 15s. A handsome example, tightly bound and clean throughout;..... more
London: Jonathan Cape, 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression. Small 8vo: 253,[1]pp. Publisher's royal blue cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained navy blue, illustrated dust jacket priced £1.50. Very slightly canted, else As New in a Fine jacket, tight, square, unmarked, and unread. Jones & Newman 65. Pringle..... more
![Orpheus in Mayfair and Other Stories and Sketches [Presentation Copy to Constance Lytton]....](/pictures/thumb/BB2261.jpeg?v=1588791811)
London: Mills & Boon, Limited, 1909. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression (published August 1909 on verso of title page). 8vo (189 x 121mm): [2],x,306,[2]pp. Publisher's forest green cloth, upper cover and spine lettered in gilt, bottom edge untrimmed. Inscribed by Baring on fly leaf, "C. L. from M. B., 1910."..... more
![The Orchid Trilogy, comprising] The Military Orchid; A Mine of Serpents; [and] The Goose...](/pictures/thumb/BB1759.jpg?v=1535667419)
London: Bodley Head [through 1950], 1948. First Edition. Hardcover. A superb set of Brooke's semi-autobiographical novels, all First Impressions uniformly bound. Small 8vo: 134,[2]; 252; 186,[2]pp, with full-color frontispiece repeating cover illustration and two line drawings (Military Orchard) and numerous illustrations and line drawings (Mine of Serpents). Publisher's (respectively) chestnut..... more
![Red Night Trilogy, comprising] Cities of the Red Night, [together with] The Place of Dead Roads,...](/pictures/thumb/BB1551.jpg?v=1535596092)
New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston Viking [through 1987], 1981. First Edition. Hardcover. Three volumes, all First Printings, all signed (but not inscribed) by Burroughs on title pages. Tall octavos: xviii (including frontispiece and title page), 332; [12],306; [12],258pp. Red Night: Publisher's beige paper-covered boads initialed in blind, terracotta cloth..... more
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1942. First Printing. Hardcover. First Edition (so stated) of Cain fifth novel. 8vo: [8],218,[2]pp. Publisher's ruby red cloth, spine and covers stamped in black, top edge stained matching red, other edges rough-trimmed; illustrated dust jacket by Bob Smith, priced $2.00. A superlative example (probably unread)..... more
New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1956. First Printing. Hardcover. First Edition (so stated) of Clarke's "most characteristic and most enduring" novel (Magill). 8vo: viii,310pp. Publisher's blue and grey marbled paper-covered boards decorated with silver, red, yellow, and green stars, spine lettered with silver foil, illustrated dust jacket, with author's photograph to..... more
New York: A. A. Wyn, 1950. First Printing. Hardcover. First Printing. 8vo; 252pp. Original quarter-bound beige cloth lettered in red with black cloth boards; in a bright pictorial dust jacket priced at $2.50. Fine, tight and square, in a Near Fine or better jacket with a lightly rubbed spine. The..... more
![The Blue Lagoon [Michael Sadleir's copy]. Henry DE VERE STACPOOLE](/pictures/thumb/BB2182.jpg?v=1565288556)
London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1908. Hardcover. First Printing of the prolific Irish author's best known work, a romance novel filmed multiple times and the first installment of The Blue Lagoon Trilogy, with The Garden of God (1923) and The Gates of Morning (1925). Crown 8vo (184 x 118mm): [12],326;[12]pp. Publisher's..... more
![A Horseman Riding By; [with] The Green Gauntlet. R. F. DELDERFIELD](/pictures/thumb/BB1751.jpg?v=1513261877)
London: Hodder and Stoughton [through 1968], 1966. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impressions of Delderfield's two-volume elegy for the traditional, pastoral society blown apart by the First World War. Thick 8vo: 1151; 475,[3]pp. Horseman: Publisher's forest green cloth, spine stamped in gold, map end papers; dust jacket with wraparound illustration by..... more
![Big As Life [Signed]. DOCTOROW, dgar, awrence](/pictures/thumb/BB1583.jpg?v=1503516308)
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1966. First Edition. Hardcover. First Printing of Doctorow's second novel and scarcest book, never reprinted and later orphaned by the author (his web site makes no mention of this title). 8vo: (6),218pp. Publisher's crimson cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained crimson, cream-colored typographic..... more
New York: United States Book Company, 1891. Decorative Cloth. Very early unauthorized edition, apparently unrecorded, preceding the first trade edition of 1892 (and "probably the earliest appearance in book form anywhere of The Red-Headed League and The Boscombe Valley Mystery and one of the earliest appearances of A Study in..... more
![Spiritualism] The Parasite [Association Copy]. . Conan DOYLE, rthur](/pictures/thumb/BB1909.jpeg?v=1588973220)
London: A[rchibald]. Constable, 1894. First Edition. Pictorial Cloth. First Impression of Doyle's vampire novel (a spirit-sucking entity rather than bloodsucker), preceding by three years Bram Stoker's Dracula. First volume in Constable's "Acme Library" series. Foolscap 8vo (158 x 95mm): [8],125,[1]pp. Publisher's dark blue ribbed cloth (also issued in light green..... more
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1989. First Edition. Hardcover. First Printing of the second installment in Eco's trilogy of children’s books, also including The Bomb and the General and The Gnomes of Gnu Bompiani, all illustrated by Eugenio Carmi. Translated by William Weaver. Tall, slim 8vo: unpaginated, with 17 stunning..... more
London: T. Werner Laurie, 1911. First Edition. Cloth. An exemplary example of "Pain's best general short story collection." (Wilson) 8vo: [8],320,[10, advertisements]pp. Publisher's sea green textured cloth, front and back covers stamped in black, spine lettered in gilt, title page (with vignette) printed in blue and black. Light spotting to..... more
London: Michael Joseph, 1971. First Impression. Hardcover. First Printing ("First published in Great Britain by Michael Joseph 1971" on copyright page). 8vo; 194pp. Publisher's French blue cloth, the spine stamped gilt, in a pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Graham Humphreys and priced at £1.75. A just about Fine copy, probably..... more
London: Michael Joseph, 1958. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression (first published . . . 1958), collecting five stories set in the West Indies and featuring Horatio Hornblower, now an admiral. 8vo: 283,[1]pp. Publisher's royal blue cloth, the spine stamped gilt; in a price-clipped pictorial dust jacket designed by Biro. A...... more
London: Jonathan Cape, 1977. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression of Fowles's fourth novel and "one of the masterpieces of the late twentieth century novel." (enotes) Thick 8vo: 704pp. Publisher's chestnut brown cloth, spine stamped in gold, top edge stained slate blue; typographic dust jacket, priced £4.95. Pages lightly browned (as..... more
London: Jonathan Cape, 1985. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression of Fowles's "first historical novel since The French Lieutenant's Woman and arguably a work of equal significance." (Literary Encyclopedia) 8vo: 460pp. Publisher's black boards, spine stamped in gold; pictorial dust jacket, priced £9.95. An excellent example, firmly and squarely bound (probably..... more
New York: E. P. Dutton, 1944. First Edition, as stated. Hardcover. First Edition (so stated). Octavo, 157pp. Publisher's grey cloth, the spine and upper board lettered in blue, the top edge stained brown. About Fine, in an about Fine pictorial dust jacket priced at $2.00. Very scarce thus. Note: With..... more
![Children's Literature] The Little Train. Graham GREENE, Dorothy Craigie, illustrates](/pictures/thumb/BB2329.jpeg?v=1587926522)
London: Eyre & Spottiswoode, n.d. [1946]. First Edition. Hardcover. First Impression, second issue, with reviews on front flap (the first issue appeared in plain boards with plain buff dust jacket) of Greene's first children's book. Both issues are scarce and sought-after, and this is the more attractive. Oblong royal 8vo..... more
Garden City, NY: Published for the Crime Club, Inc. by Doubleday, Doran [through 1928], 1927. First Edition. Hardcover. Later Printing (1928 on title page) of this pioneering work that set the template for the genre of courtroom mystery fiction. Crown 8vo (187 x 122mm): [8],324pp. Publisher's coarsely woven orange cloth..... more
London: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1924. First Impression. Hardcover. First Edition (so stated) of the author's scarce first book, collecting seventeen stories, including several later reprinted in The Travelling Grave (1948). Crown 8vo (188 x 125mm): [8],220,[2]pp. Publisher's olive green buckram, upper cover and spine lettered in gold, fore- and..... more