A collection of some of our rarest and most distinguished titles:
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QuickviewA Christmas Carol
Antiquarian, Charles Dickens, ShowcaseA Christmas Carol By Charles Dickens Fifth edition (Chapman & Hall, 1844). Issued the year after the first edition, which was published in December 1843. Hand-coloured etched frontispiece and a further three plates by John Leech with four wood-engravings by W.J. Linton. Two pp advertisements at rear. Gilt edges with publisher's original cinnamon vertically ribbed cloth stamped in blind and gilt. Previous owner name to half-title dated 1844. Small stain on page 25 and one plate detached. A little light soling to leaves here and there with some rubbing to edges. Hinges starting and binding a little exposed towards the rear of the book, but all pages, save for the one aforementioned plate, still firmly in place. A very good example.£2,500.00 -
QuickviewA Pale View of Hills
First Edition, General Literary Fiction, Kazuo Ishiguro, Modern First Editions, Showcase, Signed First EditionsA Pale View of Hills By Kazuo Ishiguro First edition, first impression. Signed, inscribed and dated by the author to the title page: "To Charles, all best, Kazuo Ishiguro 7th June '89". Rare inscribed. The author's first book and the winner of the 1982 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. Original cloth with lettering to spine in gilt. Very faint traces of dustiness to top edge with minor pushing to spine head, else fine, in a near fine or better dust jacket with just a hint of the usual fading to spine panel and one instance of negligible wear to spine head. A superior copy.£4,000.00 -
QuickviewEast of Eden
First Edition, John Steinbeck, Modern First Editions, ShowcaseEast of Eden By John Steinbeck First edition, first impression and first state with 'bite' for 'bight' on page 281. The title described by the author himself as his magnum opus. Small pinhole to spine with a small and faint stain to bottom for-edge of text block. The original and unclipped dust jacket has a couple of closed tears and small nicks to edges with some shallow chipping to spine foot. Some of the usual toning to spine panel. A very good copy indeed.£1,500.00 -
QuickviewHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
Children's Fiction, First Edition, J.K. Rowling, Modern First Editions, Showcase, Signed First EditionsHarry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix By J . K. Rowling First deluxe edition, first impression. Signed and inscribed by the author to half-title: 'To Betty, Happy 70th!! With love from J. K. Rowling x'. Original burgundy cloth and endpapers with lettering to spine and upper board in gilt, gold page edges, ribbon marker and pictorial onlay to upper board featuring artwork by Jason Cockcroft. A fine copy. Very rare signed or inscribed.£3,000.00 -
QuickviewHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
First Edition, J.K. Rowling, Modern First Editions, ShowcaseHarry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban By J. K. Rowling First edition first impression and first state with 'Joanne Rowling' to the copyright page and dropped text on page 7. It has been confirmed by the publisher that all states of the first impression consisted of 5,150 copies in total, of which - it is generally believed - 2,500 pertained to the first state. Original pictorial boards. A fine book with the slightest hint of spotting to top edge in a beautiful fine dust jacket without flaws. Rare in such superior condition.£7,500.00 -
QuickviewHigh-Rise
First Edition, Modern First Editions, Showcase, Signed First EditionsHigh-Rise By J. G. Ballard First edition, first impression. Signed and dedicated by the author to the title page at a book launch at Forbidden Planet in London. Original blue cloth with lettering to spine in gilt. A little pushing to spine foot, else fine in a fine and unclipped dust jacket. A fantastic copy. Rare with such attributes.£1,250.00 -
QuickviewI Am Legend
First Edition, Horror, Modern First Editions, Richard Matheson, Showcase, Signed First EditionsI Am Legend By Richard Matheson First paperback edition, first impression, published by Gold Medal Books in August 1954 and featuring cover art by Stan Melzoff. Uniquely signed, inscribed and dated by the author to the title page: "I was 26 when I wrote this ______ when I signed it! Richard Matheson. The true first edition of the novel, published some 16 years prior to the first hardcover edition that was issued in 1970. A hugely influential work that was instrumental in the modern development and popularisation of both cinematic and literary works depicting zombies and vampires, as well as the more general concept of disease leading to dystopian, apocalyptic circumstances. The novel was cited by George Romero as a key influence in the creation of the film 'Night of the Living Dead' (1968) and famously had its own film adaptations in 1964 under the title 'The Last Man on Earth', in 1971 as 'The Omega Man', and most recently in 2007 as 'I Am Legend'. A little yellowing to spine and to the top of lower cover with one or two slight creases and areas of minor rubbing. Very small and shallow indentation halfway down the spine. A very good example indeed of the first appearance of a classic and impactive work, uniquely inscribed by the author. Very rare thus.£3,000.00 -
QuickviewOne Hundred Years of Solitude
First Edition, Modern First Editions, ShowcaseOne Hundred Years of Solitude By Gabriel García Márquez First US edition, first impression (Harper & Row, 1970) in first state dust jacket with the exclamation mark after 'Latin America' on upper flap. Originally published in Spanish in 1967. Original green cloth with lettering to spine in gilt and green endpapers and paste-downs. A small area of light browning to front endpaper with very minor traces of rubbing to spine tips, near fine otherwise. The original and unclipped dust jacket has very mild traces of edge wear in places with a very small chip to bottom of lower panel, a couple of tiny nicks to edges and a price fairly inconspicuously pencilled under the original jacket price. A beautiful copy of the novel's first appearance in English, housed in an attractive drop-back box.£3,000.00 -
QuickviewThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
Arthur Conan Doyle, First Edition, ShowcaseThe Adventures of Sherlock Holmes By Arthur Conan Doyle First edition, first impression with 'violent' for violet on p. 317, and no name on the street sign on the upper board. Illustrations by Sidney Paget. Some light spotting, floral endpapers, publisher's light blue cloth with gilt edges. Spine ends repaired with some of the often-seen rubbing and soiling to the boards and spine and previous owner's bookplate to front paste-down.£2,000.00 -
QuickviewThe Bell Jar
First Edition, Modern First Editions, ShowcaseThe Bell Jar By Victoria Lucas (Sylvia Plath) Second edition. Originally published the previous year. The poet's only novel written under the "Victoria Lucas" pseudonym. Original green cloth with silver lettering to spine. A near fine book with slight knocking to bottom corners and extremely faint and minor spotting to edges. The original dust jacket has some surface rubbing and slight fading to spine panel. An excellent, clean and sharp example.£1,500.00 -
QuickviewThe Handmaid’s Tale
First Edition, Margaret Atwood, Modern First Editions, Showcase, Signed First EditionsThe Handmaid's Tale By Margaret Atwood First Canadian edition, first impression (McClelland and Stewart, 1985). Signed and inscribed by the author to half-title: 'For Nancy - Best Wishes - Margaret Atwood'. Featuring striking dust jacket artwork by Tad Aronowicz. The true first edition, preceding that of the UK and the US. Winner of the Arthur C. Clarke Award and more recently adapted into a successful TV series. Quarter-bound in maroon cloth with cream boards and white lettering to spine. A fine and clean copy with some of the seemingly always present rubbing to the spine ends. The original and unclipped dust jacket has a nick to spine foot, but is otherwise beautifully crisp and sharp. A uniquely superior example of a classic of dystopian fiction.£2,750.00 -
New
QuickviewThe Harry Palmer Books: Ipcress File, Horse Under Water, Funeral in Berlin, Billion Dollar Brain
Crime and Thriller, First Edition, Modern First Editions, Showcase, Signed First EditionsThe Harry Palmer Books By Len Deighton Four Volumes. All first editions, first impressions, published between 1962-1966. Vol I is the correct first issue, without the reviews. Vol II contains the rare crossword competition insert (here blank). Volume I is inscribed by the author to the title page with the note from the author “there are not many copies of this edition!” Orange, red, black and blue boards, consecutively; lettered in gilt to spines with publisher’s devices to foot; Vol II and III with classification stamp in colour and blind to upper board; Vol IV with white brail design to upper cover, and in the iconic silver dust jacket; all dust jackets unclipped, and designed by Raymond Hawkey; decorative endpapers in all but Vol I; the books generally very good to near-fine, clean, with some mild pushing to spine tips and marking to outer edges of the text block; small stain to p. 11 of Vol I; the wrappers with some darkening to edges and pushing to spine tips; a couple of small creases, nicks and closed tears; front flap of Vol II with paper flaw causing crease and particularly obscuring the price; Vol III a little more rubbed to spine ends, and faint spotting to inside flap; Vol IV a little more creased to the flaps, and lightly rubbed to rear panel. Deighton’s pinnacle works, and the books which “challenged the nature of British spy fiction”. The series follows protagonist Harry Palmer through a variety of challenges and settings, which include Cold War brainwashing, atomic weapons tests, ice-melting technology, secret plots, murders, and eggs contaminated with a deadly virus. Inspired by his experiences working for an advertising agency (when he was the only employee not to have been educated at Eton), Deighton wrote a novel based around a gritty, nameless, working-class protagonist who he later named Harry Palmer. The character proved hugely popular with the British public, the success of which the author (modestly) puts down to the fact that The Ipcress File was published in the same year as Fleming’s Dr. No. As well as this series, Palmer also featured in a series of later novels, including An Expensive Place to Die (1967) and Spy Story (1972). Of the present four books, Horse Under Water was the only one not to be adapted to film. The others all starred Michael Caine in the lead role. Deighton famously avoids book signings, interviews and literary festivals, making signed copies of his works rare indeed.£2,750.00