Books
Browse our collection of rare books, first editions, signed editions and valuable printed books, written by the world's greatest authors, in a wide range of subjects.
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HUGHES, Ted. The Coming of the Kings and Other Plays.London : 1970
An uncorrected proof copy with Hughes's manuscript corrections in ink, unbound, together with a bound uncorrected proof. Hughes's corrections amend spelling, change spacing, and add line breaks. In one instance, he crosses out the word "Jerusalem" to supply the alternative "Bethlehem".
Published in 1970, the work brings together four... Learn More -
MILLER, Henry. Unpublished essay, "Looking Down from the Empire State".Paris : 1930s
A satirical unpublished essay from the perspective of an enthusiastic future tour guide for the Empire State building, with several hand corrections by Miller.
The Empire State Building was finished in spring 1931. Miller was sceptical of the project and viewed it as a grotesque, sterile imitation of European cathedrals. This essay contains... Learn More -
HERBERT, Frank - LYNCH, David, & Ron Miller. Archive of behind-the-scenes production materials for David Lynch's Dune.c.1983-4
An extensive visual record of the creation of David Lynch's Dune (1984) from the collection of production illustrator Ron Miller. It was the first film adaptation that made it to screen, after failed attempts in the 1970s by Arthur P. Jacobs, Alejandro Jodorowsky, and Ridley Scott.
The collection includes 85 photography slides, 60... Learn More -
OTSUKI, Gentaku. Kankai ibun ("Strange Tales of a Circumnavigation").[Japan : 1807-19]
An early manuscript copy, recounting the travels of four Japanese sailors shipwrecked in Russia and their return to Japan aboard Krusenstern's voyage. Besides a map tracing the route, it contains many accomplished illustrations, including a portrait of two indigenous Hawai'ians, a depiction of a Russian planetarium, and many diagrams of Western... Learn More -
ROYAL NAVY; VICTUALLING. Duplicate certificate attesting to the mismeasurement of stores aboard HMS Niger.[At sea] : 1816
A manuscript copy, written at sea, recording how the ship was supplied with 24 fewer yards of "duck" (cotton fabric) by the storekeeper in Portsmouth than was promised. It is signed by her captain, Samuel Jackson, as well as the ship's first lieutenant, master, and purser.
Samuel Jackson (1775-1845) joined the Royal Navy in 1790 and served... Learn More -
WORLD WAR I. Manuscript course notes on wartime engineering, taken at the Pioneer School of Instruction.[Reading : 1918]
A brightly illustrated set of lecture notes taken by Lieutenant James Smith Richardson in 1918, with his name inscribed in pencil on the title page. Richardson served as an engineering officer with the 2/8th Battalion, Royal Scots, then transferred to the 2/5th Battalion, King's Own Scottish Borderers. His notes cover topics ranging from trench... Learn More -
CHURCHILL, Winston S. Extensive series of correspondence with the Chairman of the Oldham Conservative Association.11 June 1902 - 9 June 1904
An unequalled archive from Churchill's early political years, illuminating a defining moment of his career - his abandonment of the Conservative Party to join the Liberal Party. It details Churchill's growing disillusionment with the Conservatives over free trade, his increasing battles with the constituency association, leading to their vote of... Learn More -
ROYAL COMMISSION. Commission of George Hay, Marquess of Tweeddale, as brevet Lieutenant General of the Madras Army.St. James's Palace : 1842
Signed by Queen Victoria on the upper left, "Victoria Reg", in the sixth year of her reign. Hay was appointed governor of Madras in 1842 and given the role of commander-in-chief of the Madras army by the Duke of Wellington. The certificate is also signed by the Home Secretary Sir James Graham.
George Hay, 8th Marquess of Tweeddale... Learn More -
NEILL, Dominic Fitzgerald. An archive recording to his service with the 2nd King Edward VII's Own Gurkha Rifles.Various places : 1942-78
A wide-ranging collection compiled over a 25-year career. It is split into two main parts: a set of documents relating to the publication of Neill's memoir of the Third Battle of Tamandu, and orders, newsletters, and record books from his time as battalion commander and head of the Brigade of Gurkhas Training Centre.
Neill (1921-1999)... Learn More -
EDWARD VIII. Autograph letters signed to Freda Dudley Ward, reflecting candidly on the death of his brother.Headquarters, in Leverkusen, Germany, and Spa, Belgium : 1919
The future Edward VIII writes to his mistress with shocking indifference to the death of his epileptic brother, Prince John, expressing gladness that the "more of an animal" boy had passed and regretting only that the mourning would interrupt his partying.
Freda Dudley Ward, a married English socialite, was Edward's mistress from 1918 to... Learn More -
FROST, Robert. "A Willful Homing", autograph manuscript poem, signed.[c.1938]
An original manuscript of one of Frost's dark poems, from the collection of Charles E. Feinberg, a wealthy benefactor who collected manuscripts by Frost and Walt Whitman. Frost likely wrote out the poem during one of his visits to Feinberg's home in Detroit, where he stayed while lecturing at the city's university.
The poem was first... Learn More -
LILI'UOKALANI, Queen. Documents signed by Queen Lili'uokalani.Hawai'i : 1888 & 1905
Two documents signed by Lili'uokalani, the last sovereign of the Kingdom of Hawai'i, whose overthrow in 1893 brought an end to the monarchy and ushered in a period of American political control culminating in annexation in 1898.
The earlier document, executed in 1888 while Lili'uokalani was still heir apparent, records a mortgage agreement... Learn More -
BUDDHISM. Three-column fragment from a manuscript copy of the Flower Garland Sutra ("Da gang guang fo hua yan jing").[Korea] : c. 14th century
An example of ritualized sutra-copying in Korea, the Chinese text presenting part of the foundational text of Huayan Buddhism. The calligraphy is balanced and well-composed, indicative of the hand of a professional copyist. This fragment comes from a copy of Volume 42 of the sutra.
Provenance: Ekky Chung collection, Indonesia and Beverly... Learn More -
HAWAI'I. An archive of Hawaiian manuscript and typescript documents.Hawai'i; : 1850-1905
A substantial group of Hawaiian manuscripts involving figures active in the political and commercial life of the islands, including Abraham Fornander, Sanford B. Dole, Heinrich Hackfeld, Alfred S. Hartwell, W. R. Castle, W. H. Rice, A. S. Wilcox, Paul Isenberg, and Lorrin A. Thurston. The documents relate to land tenure, governance, and commercial... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. The Life of Basil the New by Gregorios His Pupil, and the Visions of St Theodora.[Pochaiv : 1817]
A "hybrid book", blending a printed edition of the Life of St Basil and the visions of St Gregory and St Theodora, with 82 hand-drawn and hand-coloured miniature scenes illustrating the narrative, with what appear to be signs of censorship.
"Old Believer book culture inherited and developed an ancient tradition that had already manifested... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Bible: Revelation 1-20,[Russia : c.1780-1790]
An Old Believers' illustrated miscellany, including a rare calendar with pictorial hand-drawn diagrams - a genre scarce both on the market and institutionally - and amuletic woodblock prints of the Calvary Cross.
"Old Believer book culture inherited and developed an ancient tradition that had already manifested itself in the first century... Learn More -
OLD BELIEVERS. Dialogues on Death and Repentance.[Northern Russia : c.1765]
An Old Believers' miscellany, with interesting annotations from a community in the village of Tolozhno, in the Okulovsky district, near Novgorod.
Among the annotations is the 19th-century inscription "No passport", likely a reference to the Old Believers' resistance to owning state documents. Some Old Believers saw the very act of owning a... Learn More -
SERBIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Prayers and Other Texts Based on the Oktoechos.[Serbia : early 16th century]
An early collection of prayers in Serbian and Church Slavonic - a fine 16th-century monastic production. Such early Serbian manuscripts, as well as early fine bindings produced in the Balkan regions, are rare on the market.
The slightly cursive hand points to a 16th-century production, and the absence of conspicuous decoration suggests the... Learn More -
RUSSIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH. Sbornik with four texts.[Russia : late 16th- to mid-18th century]
A manuscript Sbornik comprising four liturgical texts with hymns. Likely used in a remote monastery or community of few means, it was kept within a repurposed leather binding which has survived untouched. One of the four texts was here used as a pastedown.
The sbornik was compiled by several scribes, in the course of at least a few decades,... Learn More -
HIPPOLYTUS OF ROME & Eusebius, Bishop of Alexandria. Slovo Ippolita, papy Rimskogo o vtorom prishestvii,[Russia : mid-17th century]
A miscellany with three theological works, the first apparently unrecorded outside Russia - all rare both on the market and institutionally, especially from such early date.
Hippolytus of Rome (3rd century) opposed the Bishops of Rome, forming a sort of schismatic group; his Slovo circulated in manuscript form, and was among the earliest... Learn More
