Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

GARDENS. - William ROBINSON. Gravetye Manor, or Twenty Years' Work round an Old Manor House. London: John Murray, 1911. Folio (395 x 286mm.) Etched frontispiece by Philip Pimlott with captioned tissue-guard, 36 illustrations, including 4 plates. (Toning, spotting to pastedowns and endpapers.) Original card covers, black lettering to spine and upper cover (chipping to margins, some loss to spine panel, some staining). Provenance: Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplate verso upper cover).

GARDENS. - William ROBINSON. Home Landscapes. London: John Murray, 1914. First edition, folio (327 x 265mm.) Photographic plates, tissue-guards. (Mild toning.) Original half vellum, gilt titling to spine, t.e.g., original box (worn). Provenance: Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplate to front pastedown).

BOTANY. - William ROBINSON. [Flora and Sylva. London: 17, Furnival Street, E.C., 1903-1905.] 3 vols., author's 'dummy' copy, 4to (319 x 240mm.) 66 chromolithographed plates after H.G. Moon, tissue-guards, wood-engraved illustrations, several author annotations in blue crayon to margins. (Lacking title and half-title to volume 1, toning, some spotting to plates and tissue-guards in volume 2.) Original half vellum over white cloth, gilt titling to spines (some spotting and browning to vellum). Provenance: William Robinson (bookplate to front-free endpaper of volume 3); Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplate to front-free endpaper of volume 1 and front pastedowns of volumes 2 and 3) (3).

BOTANY. - William ROBINSON. Flora and Sylva. London: 17, Furnival Street, E.C., 1903-1905. 3 vols., with 5 a.l.s. from William Robinson to E.A. Bowles, 4to (313 x 240mm.) 66 chromolithographed plates after H.G. Moon, tissue-guards, wood-engraved illustrations, a newspaper obituary of botanical artist Henry George Moon tipped-in on initial blank, 2 a.l.s.' mounted to front-free endpapers of volumes 1 and 2, the other 3 loosely inserted. (Mild toning, some spotting to plates in volume 3.) Original half vellum over white cloth, gilt titling to spines, t.e.g. (minor soiling to cloth, some scuffing). Note: the letters from Robinson to the horticulturist and writer E.A. Bowles cover the period of 'Flora and Sylva''s publication and reference the 'considerable loss' it causes Robinson financially. However, Robinson also suggests that it was the early death of botanical artist Henry George Moon which caused him to stop because 'there was no-one generally I could depend on whose work would be worth reproducing in the best way, a very costly affair'. Provenance: Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplate to front pastedown of volume 1) (3).

BOTANY. - William ROBINSON. Flora and Sylva. London: 17, Furnival Street, E.C., 1903-1905. 3 vols., 4to (318 x 241mm.) 66 chromolithographed plates after H.G. Moon, tissue-guards, wood-engraved illustrations. (Toning, light spotting to some plates and tissue-guards.) Original blue cloth, gilt titling to upper covers and spines, t.e.g. (minor staining to spines, extremities rubbed). Provenance: from the estate of Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (3).

GARDENS. - William ROBINSON. [Home Landscapes. London: John Murray, 1914.] First edition, author's copy, folio (328 x 265mm.) Photographic plates, tissue-guards. (Title and 'Contents' leaves excised, numerous annotations, some extensive, and emendations in the author's hand throughout, toning.) Near contemporary green half morocco (sunned to spine, rubbed to extremities). Note: a second edition of 'Home Landscape' was published in 1920, but the author's emendations were not included. Provenance: Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplate to the front pastedown).

GARDENS. - William ROBINSON. Home Landscapes. London: John Murray, 1920. Second edition, author's copy, folio (333 x 264mm.) Photographic plates, tissue-guards. (Toning, contemporary newspaper cuttings related to the author mounted on the front pastedown and front-free endpaper.) Original green cloth, gilt lettering to spine (rubbing to extremities). Provenance: William Robinson (bookplate and name-plate to the front pastedown). - And a further copy of the second edition ('Home Landscapes', 1920, folio) (2).

BOTANY. - William ROBINSON. Flora and Sylva. London: 17, Furnival Street, E.C., 1903-1905. 3 vols., 4to (318 x 240mm.) 66 chromolithographed plates after H.G. Moon, tissue-guards, wood-engraved illustrations. (Toning, occasional browning.) Original blue cloth, gilt titling to upper covers and spines, t.e.g. (extremities bumped, upper joint of volume 1 splitting). Provenance: Charles F. Townley (bookplates to front pastedowns); Peter Herbert, late owner of Gravetye Manor (bookplates to front-free endpapers) (3).

CARTER, Howard and A.C. MACE. The Tomb of Tutankhamen. London: Cassell and Company, Ltd., 1930-1927. 2 vols. [of 3], mixed impressions, 8vo (232 x 153mm.) Numerous photographic plates. (Toning, light spotting throughout volume 1.) Original brown cloth, gilt lettering (spine lean rubbing to extremities of volume 1, inner hinge of volume 2 weakening). Note: volume 1 is the fourth impression of 1930, volume 2 is the first impression of 1927. - And a further fifteen volumes (including Austen H. Layard's 'Discoveries in the Ruins of Nineveh and Babylon', 1853, 8vo) (17).

[TYPESCRIPT.] - Salman RUSHDIE. The Satanic Verses. [Original Xerox of the Corrected Typescript. N.p.: 1988.] 616pp., signed by the author, loose-leaf (297 x 210mm.) Inscribed and signed by Rushdie in original black ink to preliminary leaf, title-page with Rushdie's agent's name [Andrew Wylie], numerous corrections and changes by the author throughout. (Slight toning, occasional corner crease.) Contained within black ring-binder. Note: rare. Although a duplicate made prior to publication of the novel, this typescript reveals Rushdie's thought processes more than the published work itself. Soon after the book's publication, the Ayatullah Khomeini of Iran issued the Fatwa against Rushdie for perceived blasphemy and the author spent the next ten years in hiding. However, the Fatwa had a longer reach than anyone expected, and Rushdie was attacked in August 2022, losing his sight in one eye. Provenance: Gerry Simpson (inscribed to from the author 'With my very best wishes, Salman Rushdie', in ink on the preliminary leaf).

KENEALLY, Thomas. Schindler's List. London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1982. First edition, signed by the author, 8vo (216 x 128mm.) (Mild toning.) Original black cloth (lightly bumped), dust-jacket (crease at top of spine). Provenance: Christopher and Angela Ralling (inscribed to from the author). - And a further forty-three volumes of mainly 20th century literature (including Colin Macinnes' 'Absolute Beginners', 1959, 8vo) (44).

GADDIS, William. The Recognitions. London: Macgibbon & Kee Ltd., 1955. First U.K. edition, 8vo (202 x 140mm.) (Mild toning.) Original black cloth (faint mark to lower cover). Note: now considered an American masterpiece, bridging the difficulty of late Joyce with the abundance of Thomas Pynchon. - And a further thirty volumes of 20th century literature (including Tom Wolfe's 'The Kandy-Kolored Tangerine-Flake', 1966, 8vo) (31).

STURLESON, Snorro. - Samuel LAING (translator). The Heimskringla; or, Chronicle of the Kings of Norway. London: Longman, Brown, Green etc., 1844. 3 vols., 8vo (221 x 135mm.) (Mild toning.) Original brown blind-stamped cloth (bumped to spine ends). Provenance: J. Hunt (ink name inscribed to front-free endpaper). - And a further twenty-six volumes relating to myth, travel and exploration (including Fridtjof Nansen's 'The First Crossing of Greenland', 1906, 8vo, and 'Pompeii: It's History, Buildings, and Antiquities' edited by Thomas H. Dyer, 1867, 8vo) (29).

FOLIO SOCIETY. - P.G. WODEHOUSE. Jeeves & Wooster. London: Folio Society, 1997. 6 vols., 8vo (217 x 133mm.) Illustrations by Paul Cox. (Mild toning.) Original pictorial cloth, slipcase (minor marks to rear panel). - And a further four volumes published by The Folio Society (Shakespeare's 'Complete Plays', 4 vols. (only), 8vo) (10).

SIGNED BOOKS. - Serge LIFAR. Ma Vie. London: Hutchinson and Co., 1970. First edition, signed by the author to half-title, 8vo (228 x 141mm.) Numerous illustrations. (Mild toning.) Original cloth, dust-jacket (slight browning). Provenance: Harold Harris (ink inscription from Serge Lifar dated 'Covent Garden, 22/3/70'). - And a further twenty-three volumes relating to ballet or opera, all signed (including Placido Domingo's 'My First Forty Years', 1983, 8vo, and Gordon Anthony's 'Margot Fonteyn', signed by the author and Margot Fonteyn and Ninette de Valois, 1951, 8vo) (24).

BINDINGS. - MOLIERE. Oeuvres de Molière. Paris: Gide Fils, 1820. 6 vols., 8vo (198 x 114mm.) (Light spotting to preliminaries, especially volume 4.) Near contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, red morocco lettering pieces to the spines (lightly rubbed). - And a further forty-three volumes of French literature (including Pascal's 'Pensées Fragments et Lettres', 2 vols., 1844, 8vo, and Alphonse de Lamartine's 'Méditations Poétiques', 2 vols., 1837, 8vo) (49).

SIGNED BOOKS. - Margaret THATCHER. Statecraft. London: HarperCollins, 2002. First impression, signed by Margaret Thatcher on the title-page, 8vo (233 x 148mm.) Photographic illustrations. (Mild toning, a smudge to the ink on the signing of 'Thatcher' to the title-page.) Original black cloth (spine ends bumped), dust-jacket (spine panel ends rubbed). - And a further twenty-nine volumes, all signed (including Sting's 'Broken Music', 2003, 8vo) (30).

SIGNED BOOKS. - James MASON. Before I Forget. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1981. First edition, signed by James Mason, 8vo (234 x 152mm.) Numerous photographic illustrations. (Mild toning.) Original blue cloth (faint mark to upper cover), dust-jacket. Provenance: 'Gerry' (inscribed to by James Mason on the front-free endpaper). - And a further twelve volumes, all signed (including Alec Guinness' 'Blessings in Disguise', 1985, 8vo, and Jimmy Greaves' 'A Funny Thing Happened On My Way to Spurs', 1962, 8vo) (13).

FISHING. - Augustus GRIMBLE. Shooting and Salmon Fishing and Highland Sport. London: Kegan Paul, Trench et al., 1902. 4to (274 x 211mm.) Plates after Archibald Thorburn, tissue-guards. (Toning, endpapers browned.) Original parchment-backed boards (scuffing, soiling and rubbing to covers). Provenance: David Kinley (gift inscribed to on the title-page); Walles (gift inscribed to verso the half-title). - And a further fifteen volumes related to fishing (including W.L. Calderwood's 'The Salmon Rivers and Lochs of Scotland', 1909, 4to, and G.E.M. Skues' 'The Way of a Trout With a Fly', 1921, 8vo) (16).