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KINSELLA, Thomas (trans.); LE BROCQUY, Louis (illus.). The Tain.Dolmen : 1969
First Dolmen edition of the Táin Bó Cúailnge ("The Cattle Raid of Cooley"), an ancient Irish epic set in the heroic age of the pre-Christian first century.
Begun in 1954, the project had a revitalizing effect on Irish mythology and culture, inspiring artists such as the sculptor Conor Fallon, composer Aloys Fleischmann, Celtic rock band... Learn More -
DOYLE, Arthur Conan. The Lost World.London : 1914
First large paper edition, third issue. Doyle's hugely popular science fiction novel inspired many works reviving prehistoric monsters, from King Kong to Jurassic Park. The story was originally serialized in the Strand Magazine in 1912.
"His sense of the glory and nonsense of scientific advance found happy resolution in The Lost World (1912)... Learn More -
DICKENS, Charles. The Posthumous Papers of The Pickwick Club.London : 1856
A handsomely bound copy of Dickens's first novel. Originally published in 1837, this Victorian classic turned the author from an obscure journalist into England's most famous writer in a matter of months. Learn More -
GRAHAME, Kenneth; SHEPARD, Ernest H. (illus.). The Wind in the Willows.London : 1931
First Shepard edition. Shepard's illustrations have barely been out of print since, and the fame of Grahame's characters owes much to Shepard's portrayal of them. Grahame's children's classic was originally published in 1908 with a frontispiece by Graham Robertson and no illustrations in the text.
Well-known for his illustrations of A. A. Mi... Learn More -
DEFOE, Daniel. Reformation of Manners, a Satyr.[London] : 1702
First edition of Defoe's poem in heroic couplets satirising the sham of 'Reformation of Manners', in which poor offenders are prosecuted while wealthy magistrates and men of rank practise the same vices with impunity. No copy appears in auction records since 1990.
"The Societies for the Reformation of Manners had been formed in the early 169... Learn More -
ATWOOD, Margaret. The Handmaid's Tale.Toronto : 1985
First edition, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "For Beth with best wishes - Margaret Atwood". Atwood's enduring dystopian novel about the patriarchal, totalitarian, and theonomic Republic of Gilead won the 1985 Governor General's Award and the first Arthur C. Clarke Award in 1987.
Atwood's goal was to extrapolate the ideological t... Learn More -
CHURCHILL, Winston S. Five typed letters signed to Newman Flower of Cassell, concerning the writing and publication of his works.1936-49
A group of letters from Churchill to the head of Cassell, revealing the endemic frustrations of publishing one of the firm's most valuable yet demanding authors.
Walter Newman Flower (1879-1964) acquired Cassell in 1927. In 1932, he contracted with Churchill for A History of the English-Speaking Peoples, providing for an advance of £5,000... Learn More -
MILNE, A. A. Now We Are Six.London : 1927
First edition of the third Winnie-the-Pooh book. Full of Milne's charming verse, this collection also includes many illustrations of Pooh, Piglet, and the other nursery toys, even in instances where the characters are not mentioned in the accompanying poem. It took only two months for it to eclipse the sales records of the previous two Pooh books. Learn More -
AKHMATOVA, Anna. Requiem and Poem without a Hero.London : 1976
First Thomas edition, signed limited issue, number 35 of 60 copies. This copy is additionally inscribed by Thomas to his fellow translator Michael Glenny, who is also thanked in the acknowledgements: "with thanks both for your practical help and encouraging words which first turned my thoughts again to Akhmatova. January 1976". Glenny's blind owner... Learn More -
PAMUK, Orhan. My Name is Red.London : 2001
Signed limited edition, number 125 of 205 specially bound and signed by the author. A further 200 unsigned copies were available for sale. This work is a Faber's Members collector edition of the work which secured Orhan Pamuk his Nobel Prize in Literature in 2006. A soft cover edition appeared the same year as this work. Learn More -
WORLD WAR II IN ASIA. The Jungle Hiker.Colombo : 1942
A humorous illustrated RAF vade mecum on surviving jungle environments, including recognizing flora and fauna. "Avoid elephant. They are not necessarily more dangerous than motorbuses in Piccadilly, but the hayseed who stands gawping in the traffic is likely to get run over" (p. 37). The concluding section gives useful phrases in Tamil and Sinhales... Learn More -
LAUGHTON, John Knox. Nelson and his Companions in Arms.London : 1896
First edition of this attractively produced biographical study by the noted naval historian. Learn More -
MONTGOMERY, Bernard Law. A Collection of Personal Messages to 21 Army Group.[Germany] : [1945]
First edition, presentation copy, inscribed by Montgomery on the initial blank, "To: Ernest Bevin, Foreign Secretary of England. B. L. Montgomery, Field-Marshal. Berlin, 29-8-45".
After the Labour Party's surprise victory in the July 1945 general election, Prime Minister Attlee appointed his close ally Ernest Bevin as Foreign Secretary, allo... Learn More -
ROYAL AIR FORCE IN INDIA. Register of Aerodromes and Landing Grounds in India.Calcutta : 1928
First edition, marked "For Official Use Only" and covering 106 locations. In the year of publication, the RAF's strength in India finally reached eight squadrons, the level recommended by Air Vice Marshal Sir John Salmond's influential 1922 report.
Commissioned on the instructions of Air Vice Marshal Hugh Trenchard, Salmond's review found th... Learn More -
COOKERY. Recipes and Instruction Book for Shanghai Power Company Electric Cookers.Shanghai : [c.1930s]
First edition, unrecorded institutionally, of this cookbook compiled by Mrs J. M. Watson, the proprietor of the Lewis Ideal School of Electric Cookery at 106 Szechuen Road. The recipes, primarily Western and covering "the plainest to the most elaborate of dishes", include soups, biscuits, scones, ices, "brighter breakfasts", and "convalescent cooke... Learn More -
RUSCHENBERGER, W. S. W. Three Years in the Pacific; including notices of Brazil, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.London : 1835
First British edition of Ruschenberger's account of the climate, culture, religion and customs of South America, "often detailing the turbulent politics in each of the countries following independence and comparing the situation in the countries with how he encountered them on an earlier Pacific tour aboard USS Brandywine in 1826-9" (Royal Collec... Learn More -
FORTUNE, Robert. A Residence among the Chinese: Inland, on the Coast, and at Sea.London : 1857
First edition of Fortune's account of his third journey to China, describing travel inland and along the coast at a time when access to the interior remained restricted to Europeans. His narrative combines observations of landscape, horticulture, and industry, with particular attention to silk production and other natural and artistic outputs.
<... Learn More -
GIBBON, Edward. The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.London : 1776-88
First edition of Gibbon's magnum opus, one of the great products of the Enlightenment, and among the most influential of all histories. This set is one of only 500 possible examples with the first volume in the first state.
For the editors of Printing and the Mind of Man, "this masterpiece of historical penetration and literary style has rem... Learn More -
THESIGER, Wilfred. Arabian Sands.London : 1959
First edition, signed by the author on the title page, of Thesiger's first and, in his opinion, finest work. It describes his experiences in the Rub' al Khali (the so-called "Empty Quarter") of the Arabian Peninsula - these established him as "the greatest 19th-century explorer of the 20th century" (Banks p. 35).
Thesiger (1910-2003) was alr... Learn More -
MILL, John Stuart. Principles of Political Economy, with some their applications to social philosophy.London : 1865
Sixth edition of the last great statement of classical liberal economics, extensively revised from the first of 1848. "To many generations of students, Mill's Principles was the undisputed bible of economic doctrine" (Roll, p. 353).
Mill brought together existing trends of economics - Say's law, the Malthusian population principle, the Ricar... Learn More
