Antiquarian and Collectors’ Books

BECKETT, Samuel. Watt. Paris: The Olympia Press, 1958. 8vo (173 x 116mm.) (Toning.) Original cloth, lettering labels mounted to upper cover and spine, dust-jacket (rubbing to top of spine). - And a further seven volumes by Samuel Beckett (including the first publication of his trilogy in one volume 'Three Novels', 1959, 8vo). Provenance: by descent, from the estate of Barry Murray (8).

WYNDHAM, John and Lucas PARKES. The Outward Urge. London: Michael Joseph, 1959. First edition, 8vo (183 x 116mm.) (Mild toning.) Original black cloth, dust-jacket (faint spotting to inner flaps). - And a further twenty-five volumes, (including Adie Murphy's 'To Hell and Back', 1950, and Arthur C. Clarke's 'The Deep Range', 1957, 8vo) (26).

[MILLAR, Kenneth.] 'John MACDONALD'. The Moving Target. London: Cassell & Company Ltd., 1951. First UK edition, 8vo (184 x 116mm.) (Some spotting to front and rear leaves.) Original black cloth (bumped to spine ends), dust-jacket (some loss to spine ends, with tear to top of spine panel). Note: the first Lew Archer novel. - And a further four novels by John Ross MacDonald (including 'Experience with Evil', 1954, 8vo) (5).

BENCHLEY, Peter. Jaws. London: Andre Deutsch, 1974. First edition, 8vo (197 x 125mm.) (Mild toning.) Original red cloth, dust-jacket (small closed tear at top of spine). Provenance: 'Bill' (gift inscribed from on the front-free endpaper).

LE GUIN, Ursula. Earthsea. London: Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1978. First edition, second impression, 8vo (196 x 123mm.) (Toning.) Original green cloth, dust-jacket. Note: the omnibus edition, containing all three volumes of the Earthsea trilogy. - And a further volume by Ursula le Guin ('The Farthest Shore', 1973, 8vo) (2).

HANFF, Helene. 84, Charing Cross Road. London: Andre Deutsch, 1971. First UK edition, signed in a presentation signature by the author, 8vo (217 x 133mm.) (Toning, spotting to the front-free endpaper and fore-edge, finger-mark to the title-page.) Original red cloth (upper cover lifting, bumped to spine ends), dust-jacket designed by Janet Halverson (toned, small closed tears to spine ends). Note: the epistolatory book that became a film starring Anthony Hopkins and Anne Bancroft. Helene Hanff's letters to Marks & Co. are mainly addressed to Frank Doel, who died in 1968 and Helene was unable to visit London until 1971, the year of the English publication of their letters, and so never met him. The book is inscribed to John Wilson, an employee of Hatchards (and the son of John G. Wilson, who wrote 'The Business of Bookselling'). It's likely that Hanff inscribed this copy while on that visit to England. The dedication reads: 'To John Wilson who probably wrote better letters but was too lazy to make a book of them- with admiration for his beautiful beard, Helene Hanff'. Provenance: John Wilson (dedication on the front-free endpaper).

ROWLING, J.K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. London: Bloomsbury, 1999. First edition, first impression, 8vo (194 x 125mm.) (Spotting to front-free endpaper and lightly to preliminaries, toning.) Original pictorial boards, dust-jacket. Note: this is the third state of the first impression, with 'J.K. Rowling' on the imprint leaf and 2pp. of advertisements to the rear.

DAY-LEWIS, Daniel. - Cecil DAY-LEWIS. The Newborn. [London:] Favil Press, 1957. Limited edition, this being number 31 of 200 copies and is signed and inscribed by Cecil Day-Lewis and his wife Jill Balcon, bifolium (214 x 131mm.) (Toning, minor soiling to rear). Note: a poem written to commemorate the birth of Day-Lewis's fourth child, Daniel. Interestingly, the poems begins 'This mannikin who just now/ Broke prison and stepped free/ Into his own identity'. Provenance: Brian Kennedy-Cooks (gift inscribed to by Cecil Day-Lewis). - And a further five volumes by the same author, three of them signed by Cecil Day-Lewis (including 'Collected Poems', 1954, 8vo) and another inscribed by Jill Balcon, the author's wife (6).

SEGAL, Louis. The Conquest of the Arctic. London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., 1939. First edition, 8vo (219 x 137mm.) Numerous photographic illustrations, folding map to rear, a publisher's review slip loosely inserted. (Toning, spotting to fore-edge.) Original blue boards, dust-jacket (light rubbing to extremities). - And a further five volumes relating to the Arctic (including volume 1 of the 'Spitsbergen Papers: Scientific Results of the First Oxford University Expedition to Spitsbergen (1921)', 1925) (6).

HONG KONG. - John RENTOUL. Tony Blair. London: Little, Brown and Company, 1995. First edition, signed by Tony Blair and with a loosely inserted letter from Robin Cook M.P., 8vo (215 x 131mm.) Numerous photographic illustrations. (Toning.) Original black cloth (extremities bumped), dust-jacket (rubbed to extremities). Note: the 6-line typed letter from Robin Cook, dated June 1996, is addressed to Chris Pattern, who was then the Governor of Hong Kong. The Labour Party, with Tony Blair as Prime Minister and Cook as Foreign Secretary, would take power a year later on 2nd May 1997. In this letter Cook says that 'you will already know that we are pressing the Government to hold a debate on Hong Kong in order to raise many of the concerns that were put to us so persuasively by those we met'. After 156 years of British rule, Hong Kong was returned to the People's Republic of China on the 30th June 1997. Cook offers the biography of Blair to Pattern as some 'light reading'.

TOLKIEN, J.R.R. The Lord of the Rings. London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1967. 3 vols. Second edition, second impression, 8vo (219 x 139mm.) 3 folding maps. (Mild toning, faint spotting to fore-edge.) Original red cloth (lightly bumped spine ends), dust-jackets (minor rubbing to extremities). - And a further ten volumes relating to J.R.R. Tolkien (including 'The Adventures of Tom Bombadil', 1968, 8vo) (13).

PATRICK, Symon. The Witnesses to Christianity. London: for R. Royston, 1675-1677. 2 vols., 8vo (179 x 113mm.) Half-title to volume 1, errata leaf. (Toning, occasional minor soiling, initial blank of volume 2 with corner excised.) Late 18th century black morocco, rectangular gilt with floral corner-pieces, g.e. (lacking lettering pieces, some loss to spines, rubbing). Provenance: Catharine Patrick, granddaughter of author (ink inscribed on the initial blank). - And a further three volumes (including W. Derham's 'Physico-Theology: or, A Demonstration of the Being and Attributes of God, from His Works of Creation', 2 vols., 1749, 12mo) (5).

MILITARY. - [John WILLIAMSON.] A Treatise on Military Finance. London: T. Egerton, 1803. New edition 'with considerable alterations and additions', 12mo (157 x 91mm.) 2 folding tables, a further 12 folding tables in appendix to rear. (Toning.) Contemporary brown calf, green morocco lettering piece to spine (light rubbing, slight loss to tail of spine). Note: first published in 1795, scarce in this edition. Provenance: Hugh E.E. Everard (bookplate to front pastedown).

BIBLE, In English. The Bible, That is, The holy Scriptures conteined in the Olde and Newe Testament, Translated According to the Ebrew and Greeke, and conferred with the best translations in divers languages. London [i.e. Amsterdam:] Deputies of Christopher Barker, 1599 [but circa 1600's]. 4to (218 x 153mm.) Letterpress title with woodcut vignette, double column Roman types with marginal notes in Roman, numerous woodcut illustrations in the text, tables to rear, colophon at rear leaf Rrr4 dated 1599. (Without Apocrypha, lacking General OT title and the NT title, marginal damp-staining A1-C4 and Aa2-Bb3, soiling to Ll4 and Mm2, corner loss with text slightly affected to Aaa2.) Near contemporary calf (worn). Note: has all of the earliest faults as per Herbert 248, so likely to be one of the earlier editions that bear the '1599' date. Provenance: Elizabeth Moneypenny (ink name inscribed verso last OT leaf). [Herbert 248].

BIBLE, In English. The Holy Bible Containing the Old Testament and the New, Newly Translated out of the Original Tongues, and with the Former Translations diligently Compared and Revised. London: Charles Bill and Thomas Newcomb, 1691. 12mo (121 x 55mm.) Engraved architectural general title and letterpress title for NT dated 1690. (General title loosening, A1 torn, lacking Rr2-Rr3 and the last leaf Ddd12, Bbb12 and Ccc1 with tears, toning.) Early 19th century black morocco with inlaid oval red morocco centre-piece to the covers with gilt fire-streaks and with elaborate surround of volute tooling (lower cover fragile, rubbing). Provenance: Silvestra Blackwell (ink name inscribed to initial blank); Thomas Moneypenny (ink name inscribed to initial blank); Catherine Silvestra Moneypenny (ink name inscribed verso the initial blank). [Herbert 816].

BIBLE, In English. The Holy Bible Containing the Old and New Testaments Newly Translated out of the Originall Tongues, and with the former Translations diligently compared and revised. London: John Field, 1653. 24mo signed in 12s (113 x 55mm.) Engraved General title with Moses, David and the Evangelists, letterpress NT title also dated 1653. (Toning, minor soiling D1-D3.) [Bound with:] 'The Whole Book of Psalms'. London: John Field, 1654. (Toning.) Early 19th century black morocco with fillet borders, foliate corner-pieces, gilt-turn-ins, g.e. (worm damage to upper cover, rubbing). Note: the 'Pearl Bible' which is 'very incorrectly printed', according to Herbert. However, the most egregious error, Corinthians 6.9., has been corrected in this copy. Provenance: Elizabeth Moneypenny (ink name inscribed to title-page); Silvestra Moneypenny (ink name inscribed to initial blank); Phillips Moneypenny (ink name inscribed to initial blank [Herbert 635, A].

THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER, In Greek. Leitourgia Brettanike [in Greek letters.] London: Richard Whittaker, 1638. Title in red and black, double column text in Greek, 8pp. introduction in Latin. (Trimming to title, browning.) [Bound with:] 'Psalterion Prophetou Kai Basileos tou Dabid'. [In Greek letters.] Title in Greek within ornamental border, woodcut headpiece and initials, double-column text in Greek. (Trimming to title-page, corner repair to P5, occasional browning). 8vo signed in 4s (158 x 93mm.) Contemporary calf (rubbed, rebacked). Provenance: Richard Goodwin (ink name to front pastedown); Thoma Wentworth (ink name to title-page); William Charles de Meuron, Earl Fitzwilliam (armorial bookplate to the front pastedown).

HAZLITT, William. Political Essays, with Sketches of Public Characters. London: for William Hone, 1819. First edition, 8vo (214 x 128mm.) (Browning, spotting to front and rear leaves.) Near contemporary half calf over marbled paper-covered boards, morocco lettering piece to the spine (spine heavily sunned, inner hinge weakened, rubbing to all extremities). Provenance: Richard Tidswell (bookplate to front pastedown). Note: after many years of being out-of-print, Hazlitt's work is gaining in recognition, especially since the publication of 'Day-Star of Liberty', a critical work on Hazlitt by poet Tom Paulin. - And a further three volumes by William Hazlitt (including 'A View of the English Stage', 1818, 8vo, and 'Lectures on the English Poets', 1818, 8vo) (4).

ITALY. - Patrick BRYDONE. A Tour Through Sicily and Malta. London: W. Strahan, and T. Cadell, 1773. 2 vols., first edition, 8vo (213 x 127mm.) Errata leaf to rear of volume 1. (Toning, closed tear to F1 in volume 1, minor soiling to K8 in volume 2, minor damp-staining to front-free endpaper of volume 2.) Contemporary calf, red morocco lettering pieces to the spines (rubbing to extremities). Note: the first edition was issued without a map. Provenance: 'Legard' (?) family (bookplate to front pastedown); Richard Brettingham (bookplate to the front pastedown); Mae Waterhouse (ink name to front pastedown) (2).