First American edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original black paper covered boards and cloth, with gilt titles to the spine, in the Paul Bacon designed dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and tight, seemingly unread, with a little bumping at the spine tips. The contents are clean throughout. Publisher's remainder mark (logo stamp) to the bottom edge of the text block. Complete with the fine original duswrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped ($14.95 to the upper front flap).

Signed by Douglas Adams in black ink on the title page.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original grey cloth with silver titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, the lower corners bumped, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and free from inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very lightly rubbed and creased dustwrapper, that has a small corner crease to the rear flap, but is otherwise without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£12.99 to the front flap).

Signed by Douglas Adams in black ink on the title page. The fifth book in the increasingly inaccurately named Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy trilogy!

First edition, first printing. Signed by Jessie M. King. Original green cloth with gilt titles to the spine and an illustration plate onlay to the upper board. Illustrated with 18 colour plates by Jessie M. King complete with lettered tissue-guards. A superb fine copy, the binding square and firm, the extremities only very lightly rubbed, the cloth and gilt uniformly bright and fresh. The contents, with an ownership inscription to the front free endpaper and half title, are otherwise complete and clean throughout.

Signed by Jessie M. King in black ink on the frontispiece. A study of Parisian bridges beautifully illustrated in King's distinctive style.

First edition. Publisher's original navy cloth boards decorated in blind, with gilt titles to the spine. Twelve lithographic plates by William Smyth, the lieutenant aboard H.M.S Terror. Fold out 'Chart of Hudson's Strait' to the rear. Publisher's 12 page catalogue dated July 1838 to the rear. A good copy, the spine has been re-laid preserving the original endpapers, the binding firm and square with bumping and rubbing to the spine ends and corners, the gilt dulled with some loss of the publishers name. The cloth is faded to the spine and edges of the boards, with some light marks and a ink name to the bottom of the lower board. The contents, with a list of names and dates in ink of people who have borrowed the book on 10 day loans (beginning Capt. Rooke in Oct [1838]) to the front pastedown which retains the original binder's label to the top corner, are a little toned to the page edges with only light spotting and toning throughout.

An account of H.M.S Terror's 1836 arctic expedition by Captain George Back, in which they were tasked with surveying the coast line between Regent's Inlet and Point Turnagain in search of the North West Passage. Setting off late in the season, meant H.M.S Terror became frozen in the Canadian Arctic, drifting along the northeast coast of Southampton Island over the winter. In July 1837 the ship was freed from the ice in Hudson's Strait, where the damaged ship was then sailed back across the Atlantic. A scarce first hand account of a perilous expedition. "Back's narrative contains principally detailed descriptions of the ice floe, its changes and its effects on the ship, together with brief notes on those sections of the Southampton Island coast to which short visits were made. Includes lists of equipment, supplies, and personnel, mention of unusual coldness of the summer of 1836, and accounts of trading with Baffin Island Eskimos" - Arctic Bibliography.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original burgundy cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and tight, the contents, with a few small spots on the text block top edge, are otherwise clean and bright and without stamps or inscriptions. Complete with the lightly rubbed, creased and spotted dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (50s on the front flap). A very attractive example.

Agehananda Bharati, born Leopold Fisher (he was given his later name when he was ordained in the Dasanami Sanyasi order of Hindu monks), was an Austrian scholar of anthropology and Indian culture and religion. This classic text is one of the earliest major studies in English of Hindu and Buddhist tantrism.

Original navy cloth with gilt titles and decorations to the spine and upper board. Illustrated with 8 black and white plates by John Jellicoe. Top edge gilt. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm, the spine tips and corners a little rubbed. The contents, with a little spotting to the prelims and light stains to pages 1 and 2, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owners' stamps or inscriptions. A lovely copy.

Complete in eight volumes. Beautiful contemporary full calf by Root and Son, London, with five raised bands, gilt titles and decoration to the spines, triple ruled gilt borders to the boards, gilt inner dentelles. Decorated endpapers. Top edges gilt. All volumes are illustrated with engraved frontispiece and title page illustrations. All volumes with a red silk ribbon marker. All volumes are in near fine condition, the bindings square and firm, the leather lightly rubbed at the extremities. Volume I with a tiny bookseller's label and stamp to the front flyleaf and a short closed tear to the fore edge of the first few pages, a little light spotting throughout all volumes. The contents are otherwise clean and complete.

An attractive complete uniform set of Robert Burns' collected works.

First edition, first printing. Original green card covers with titles in black, in the the Brion Gysin illustrated dustwrapper. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm, with bumping and a small nick to the spine tips. The contents, with some toning to the text block edges, are otherwise clean throughout and free from inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrapper that is a little toned to the spine edges. Not price-clipped (15,00) to the front flap of the dustwrapper, but with the second state NF 18 overstamp to the lower cover of the book. A very attractive example of Burroughs' third (published) novel, and the first part of 'The Nova Trilogy'.

No. 88 in the Olympia Press 'Traveller's Companion' series, and the second Burroughs novel to appear in the iconic green livery of the Parisian press, following 'The Naked Lunch' (No. 76) two years earlier. This, the first version of 'The Soft Machine', is a notably more fragmentary and radical text than the two subsequent revisions published respectively by Grove Press in 1966 and John Calder in 1968. 5000 copies were printed. (Maynard & Miles A5a; Shoaf 5).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's file copy. Original red cloth with black titles to the spine, in the William Randell illustrated dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and tight, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with the faint publisher's file copy stamps to the front pastedown and endpaper (annotated with publication date and issue price) are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the rubbed and slightly nicked dustwrapper that is dusty and otherwise without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (10s 6d net to the lower front flap).

An Inspector Arnold and Desmond Merrion mystery, this example with a particularly pleasing provenance. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First editions, first printings. Complete in four volumes. Original red cloth lettered in gilt to spines, in the illustrated dustwrappers. A near fine set, the bindings square and firm, the contents clean throughout and entirely lacking the spotting frequently blighting this set. The nicked and rubbed dustwrappers, with a few closed tears mainly to the upper spines of the first two volumes are – except for minor soiling and a touch of fading to the spines of the first two volumes – very good indeed. All except for the first volume remain unclipped and priced 30s. net to front flaps. A very presentable set of first editions.

"For his new work, [...], Sir Winston Churchill has taken as his subject this great element in world history: The English-Speaking Peoples [...], the greatest number of human beings sharing a common language in the world today". (Woods A138a; Cohen A267.1a)

First edition, first printing of the author's third book. Publisher's file copy. Original navy blue cloth ruled and with titles in red to the upper board and spine. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little bumping and rubbing to the spine tips and corners, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with the publisher's 'File Copy / Not to be Removed' stamp to the title page are otherwise clean throughout. The closed text block edges are dusty. An attractive copy.

A stand alone crime novel from a master of the Police procedural who-dunnit, this example with a particularly pleasing provenance. (Hubin).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Illustrated with black ink and wash drawings by Quentin Blake throughout. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm, with a touch of bumping to the spine ends and corners. The contents, with a gift inscription to the front endpaper and a few creased page corners, are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the lightly rubbed and creased dustwrapper, that is ever so slightly faded to the spine and is otherwise without loss or tears. Unpriced to the front flap for export). An attractive example.

The basis for several successful film adaptations and the smash-hit West End musical theatre production.

First edition, first issue. Publisher's original green cloth boards, with borders in blind to the upper and lower boards, titles in gilt to the spine. Illustrated with 196 woodcuts throughout the text. Publisher's 32 page catalogue to the rear dated May 1878. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, with bumping and rubbing to the spine ends and corners, the cloth with a light mark to the top of the upper board. The contents, with a previous owner's name in ink to the front pastedown, spotting to the first and last pages and sporadically to the margins, are otherwise clean throughout. The front hinge is cracked but holding firm, the rear hinge starting at the bottom. An attractive, entirely unsophisticated example.

Darwin began writing this book in the summer of 1877, and at 600 pages is his longest botanical book. It is an extension of his work on climbing plants, showing that the same mechanism operated for flowering plants in general. 'A tough piece of work,' he commented in his autobiography, '... in accordance with the principle of evolution it was impossible to account for climbing plants having been developed in so many widely different groups unless all kinds of plants possess some slight power of movement of an analogous kind. This I proved to be the case' (Autobiography, ed. F. Darwin, New York, 1958, p. 52). This first issue, containing two lines of errata on page x, was published on 6 November 1880 in an edition of 1500 copies. (Freeman 1325).

First US edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original black cloth with silver titles to the spine, in the Harold Bruder illustrated dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth with faint mottling. The contents, with some offsetting at the gutters of the endpapers are otherwise clean throughout. The closed text block edge is a little spotted. Complete with the rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a short closed tear with associated creasing at the bottom edge of the upper panel. Not price-clipped ($3.95 to the upper front flap).

Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the front endpaper "Ian Hardie / with good wishes / L. P. Davies / July 3.67". Scarce thus.

First Arthur Rackham illustrated edition. Publisher's original purple cloth with titles and illustrations in gilt to the upper board and spine. Top edge purple. Illustrated endpapers and 12 full page colour plates with captioned tissue guards, black and white illustrations throughout by Arthur Rackham. A very good or better copy, the binding firm and square, the extremities with some rubbing, the spine and edges of the rear panel a little faded, the spine gilt slightly dulled. The contents, with a little toning to the text block edge, light spotting at the prelims, and the occasional light spot or mark to the margins, are otherwise clean and bright and without inscriptions or stamps.

The frontispiece illustration is in the second state being integral rather than mounted on coloured card, the reverse of the title page is dated 1915 as called for. (Riall p.124-125).

First edition, first printing of Roddy Doyle's first book. Signed by the author. Publisher's original pictorial card covers. A superb very near fine copy, the binding square and tight with just a little rubbing to the extremities. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks.

Signed by Roddy Doyle in black ink on the title page. The author's self published first book, printed in an edition of 2000 copies before being picked up by William Heinemann the following year and subsequently adapted for stage and screen.

First complete edition, first printing. Original purple cloth with gilt lettering to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and tight. The contents, with light spotting to the text block edges and endpapers and with a previous owner's name to the front free endpaper, are otherwise bright and clean throughout. Complete with the rubbed, nicked and creased original dustwrapper which is moderately marked and has a few closed tears at the edges and light toning to the spine. Not price-clipped (5s. on the front flap).

This first trade (and first complete) edition was preceded by an acting edition published for the Festival of Friends of Canterbury Cathedral by H. J. Goulden Ltd to be sold at early performances of the play at the Cathedral. Published on 13th June 1935, 3000 copies of the first Faber edition were printed. (Gallup A29b).

First edition, first printing. Original blue cloth lettered and lined in gilt to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout. In the bright dustwrapper, nicked to tips and corners, with some wear to the upper spine tip and edges. A very presentable copy of this beautifully produced volume.

"When the New York Public Library announced in October 1968 that its Berg Collection contained the original manuscript of 'The Waste Land' which T. S. Eliot had sent to John Quinn exactly 46 years before (in October 1922), one of the most puzzling mysteries connected with twentieth-century literature was solved. It was thought that the manuscript had disappeared; Eliot himself never knew what had happened to it after Quinn's death [...]. The interest of the manuscript lies in the material that was discarded [...] when the poem was finally published and in the notes made upon it not only by Ezra Pound but by Eliot himself and by his first wife" (from the jacket). The transcript was prepared with meticulous care by Valerie Eliot, the poet's widow, who also provides notes and cross-references. Laid out with the facsimile and transcript on facing pages, with Eliot's corrections and annotations printed in black, Pound's in red, and Vivien Eliot's additions printed in italics, the finished poem is printed following the drafts. "The publication of 'The Waste Land' in facsimile, as it was handed to Pound in January 1922, displays how a "piece of rhythmical grumbling" and largely topical satire was transformed by Eliot's own alterations and by Pound's drastic surgery into a poem that seemed to its first readers impersonally expressive of a whole post-war generation. [...] It is impossible to praise too highly the work of the printer, Vivian Ridler, in presenting the facsimile and transcript, and the skill of Mrs Eliot in transcribing the often extremely confused and at times virtually illegible witness of the drafts." (Helen Gardner in the 'New Statesman', July 1 1971)

First illustrated edition, first printing. Recent marbled paper-covered boards with a vellum spine bearing gilt titles. Housed in a matching marbled slipcase. Illustrated in colour with additional in-text black and white drawings by Nicholas Bentley. A near fine copy, the binding square. The contents, with occasional faint foxing, are otherwise clean and without inscriptions or stamps. The slipcase is in fine condition. An attractive example of this brilliantly illustrated edition.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine. No dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright, fresh and without fading. The contents, with a small penciled number code to the front pastedown are otherwise clean throughout. A lovely copy.

Although unmarked as such, this example is one of the publisher's 'editorial department' file copies. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition in English of Frankl's seminal work in psychotherapy. Publisher's original burgundy cloth with white titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with rubbing to the spine tips and edges. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of short tears at the folds of the slightly faded spine secured with small pieces of clear tape to the underside. Not price-clipped ($3.00 to the upper front flap, and with a retailer's $3.00 price label).

An acclaimed holocaust memoir, originally published in German under the title,"Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager" in 1946. This is the first printing in English, translated by Ilse Lasch and with a preface By Gordon W. Allport. Subsequently issued under the title 'Man's Search for Meaning'.

Twenty three volumes. Contemporary half blue calf by Riviere and Son. 8vo (19 x 13cm). Five raised bands decorated in gilt and titles in gilt to the spines. Top edge gilt. Wessex Poems with 30 illustrations by the author. Fold out map of Wessex to the rear of several volumes. A handsome collection of early editions of the works of Thomas Hardy, the final volume 'Late Lyrics' is a 1922 first edition. The bindings square and firm with a little rubbing to the extremities. The spines uniformly faded. The contents, with just the occasional spot of foxing or toning to the paper are otherwise clean throughout. 'Poems of the Past and Present' has the title and contents pages misbound at the rear (the final pages of text inserted in their place at the prelims).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original grey cloth with red titles to the spine, in the Arthur Barbosa illustrated dustwrapper. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little bumping at the extremities, the cloth still fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper which is a little chipped at the head of the slightly faded spine and with a minor mark to the bottom edge of the rear panel. Correctly priced 7s 6d net to the front flap. An attractive example of a very scarce title in dustwrapper.

The author's second book, featuring Inspector Mallett. (Hubin; Cooper and Pike).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original grey cloth with red titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm, the cloth with a few spots to the cloth but otherwise fresh. The contents, with a couple of spots to the front and rear pastedowns are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that remains without loss or large tears. Not price-clipped (7s 6d net to the front flap). An attractive example of a scarce war-time title in dustwrapper.

Considered by many to be the author's highlight, introducing the barrister and amateur sleuth, Francis Pettigrew. (Hubin).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original brown cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in the Victor Reinganum illustrated dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding firm, the spine slightly rolled, the cloth and gilt fresh. The contents, with a previous owner's inscription to the front endpaper are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the rubbed and nicked first state dustwrapper that has a small piece torn away from the lower rear flap and a few small nicks at the spine tips and corners, all of which has been professionally stabilised with rice paper to the reverse. Not price-clipped (9s 6d net to the lower front flap).

The third novel to feature the barrister and amateur sleuth, Francis Pettigrew. (Hubin).

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original black cloth with silver titles to the spine, in the Nick Castle designed dustwrapper. An excellent very near fine copy, the binding square and tight, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with the lightly rubbed dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£16.99 to the lower front flap).

Signed by the author in black ink on the title page. The CWA Gold Dagger winning author's first book and the first of four novels to feature the Oxford private detective Zoë Boehm. The Apple TV screen adaptation of Herron's 'Slough House' series ('Slow Horses') has been receiving justifiably rave reviews with Gary Oldman in the lead role as Jackson Lamb.

First edition, first printing. Shirley Hughes' retained copy, inscribed by her. Original pictorial boards, in dustwrapper. Illustrated throughout in colour. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, the contents clean and bright throughout. Complete with the barely rubbed original dustwrapper. Not price-clipped (£12.99 to the front flap).

Inscribed by Shirley Hughes in black ink to the copyright page 'Love from Shirley Hughes'.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original black cloth with silver titles on the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little bumping at the spine tips, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with light spotting or toning to the text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the good rubbed, nicked and creased price-clipped dustwrapper which has a large piece torn from the bottom edge of the lower panel and small chips at the base of the spine and fold corners.

A scarce, forgotten or certainly neglected crime novel from this hugely talented author, possibly unseen by Mr. Hubin who fails to include it amongst Kitchin's better known 'Malcolm Warren' titles in his Bibliography of Crime Fiction 1749 -1975.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original brown cloth with silver titles to the spine, in the W. Stein illustrated dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with some toning to the closed text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the near very good rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has chips to the upper corner of both the front and rear panel and also at the head of the spine, none of which affect the text or illustration. Not price-clipped (9s 6d net to the front flap).

A decent example of what proves to be the scarcest of Kitchin's Malcolm Warren mysteries. (Hubin).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original purple cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in the W. Stein illustrated dustwrapper. A better than very good copy, the binding firm with spine slightly rolled. The cloth and gilt is bright and fresh. The contents with a previous owner's name to the front endpaper are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the rubbed and nicked price-clipped dustwrapper which has small chips and a hole to the spine and a couple of short closed tears at the folds. The rear panel is darkened and has a couple pink stains. Scarce.

First edition, first printing. Original dark green cloth with silver titles to the spine, in dustwrapper retaining the wraparound band. A very good or better copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with a little spotting to the prelims and text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the original dustwrapper which although without loss or large tears is somewhat toned to the spine and panel edges with some spotting to the lower panel. Correctly priced 16s net to the front flap. The wraparound band is toned uniform with the dustwrapper but otherwise without loss or tears.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles on the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked original dustwrapper which has a small hole to the upper panel. Not price-clipped (16s net to the front flap).

Inscribed by the author in blue ink on the front free endpaper "For Marie, with many good wishes / from Clifford / April '60". Consistent with all presentation copies we have seen and handled of this title, this copy has autograph corrections in blue ink to the text in five places (all correcting Aunt Alice to Aunt Violet).

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original red cloth with silver titles to the spine, in the Ronald Searle illustrated dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with some rubbing and a little mottling to the board edges. The contents, with some spotting to the prelims and text block edge are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that is somewhat darkened to the rear panel and has several short closed tears repaired with small pieces of tape to the underside. Not price-clipped (12s 6d net to the lower front flap).

Inscribed by the author in black ink on the front endpaper "For Bonzo Starling / with gratitude from / Clifford H. B. Kitchin / July '54".

First edition, first printing. Signed limited edition. Publisher's original grey cloth, with gilt titling to the spine and gilt monogram to the upper board, in grey cloth slipcase. A fine as new copy, still in shrink-wrap, with no fading or rubbing to the cloth.

Signed by the John le Carre on the title page, in an edition of 250. John Le Carré's twenty-fourth novel.

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents with a little dustiness to the closed text block edge are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that is darkened to the rear panel and otherwise bright and without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (8s 6d net to the lower front flap).

The sixteenth crime novel by the sisters Constance and Gwyneth Little. Although unmarked as such, this example is one of the publisher's 'editorial department' file copies. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding firm, the spine just a touch rolled. The cloth remains fresh with small patches of fading at the spine tips. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. The top edge of the closed text block is a little dusty. Complete with the rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has several short closed tears with associated creasing, three of which has a small piece of tape to the underside. Not price-clipped (7s 6d net to the lower front flap).

The eleventh crime novel by the sisters Constance and Gwyneth Little. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's file copy. Original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and tight with a little bumping at the spine tips, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents, with the publisher's large 'File Copy' stamp to the front endpaper are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the rubbed and creased dustwrapper that is darkened to the rear panel and is otherwise without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (9s 6d net to the lower front flap). Scarce.

The seventeenth crime novel by the sisters Constance and Gwyneth Little, this example with a particularly pleasing provenance. (Hubin; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original dark blue cloth, with gilt titles and decoration to the spine, double lined border and decoration in blind, ship illustration in gilt to the front board, titles and illustration in gilt to the spine. Illustrated throughout with 24 in text black and white woodcuts, eight colour plates and fold out map. Single page publisher's advert to the rear. A good copy, the book has been professionally re-cased using the original cloth preserving the spine and original coated endpapers, the binding square and firm, with bumping and refurbishment to the spine ends and corners, the gilt somewhat dulled. The contents are foxed to the pages and tissue guards throughout, and toned to the closed text block, but are otherwise free from inscriptions or stamps. All plates are present, with light foxing.

An account written by the master of the Resolute, one of the five ships sent to search for Sir John Franklin's, H.M.S. Erebus and Terror, between April 1852 and the abandonment of the Resolute in 1854.

First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in the Geoff Hunt illustrated dustwrapper. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, the cloth and gilt bright and fresh. The contents, with the unavoidable toning to the paper stock are otherwise clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the fine original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. Not price-clipped (£14.99 to the lower front flap).

Signed by Patrick O'Brian in black ink on the title page.

First edition, first, second or third printing. Original dark green paper covered boards with pictorial onlay. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with some rubbing to the extremities. The contents are entirely complete and without loose or torn pages. There is a contemporary previous owner's inscription facing the half-title, otherwise the contents are clean and bright throughout.

With '1909' on the title page and without the notice board in the illustration on page 14 which was removed in later issues. (Linder p.428).

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original black cloth with orange titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding firm, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents are clean throughout with s few spots to the closed text block edge. Complete with the very good original dustwrapper that whilst without loss or large tears is rubbed to the extremities with some toning and a moisture stain to the spine. Correctly priced 7/6 net to the spine. A very scarce title in dustwrapper.

From the library of the Edgar and CWA Diamond Dagger Award winning author Martin Edwards, with his penciled signature to the endpaper. The second of E. R. Punshon's novels to feature Inspector Carter and Detective Bell. (Hubin).

An enlarged edition, embellished with several fine engravings. Contemporary full sheep. 360 pp. Half title. Frontispiece and seven further illustrations to the Complete Masterpiece; The Experienced Midwife with another three illustrations; Book of Problems and Last Legacy are not illustrated. A good or better entirely unsophisticated example, the binding firm but worn especially at the corners. The contents, with marginal tears to the two pages (133 and 212), the odd corner crease or stain to the blank margins, are otherwise clean throughout. Binder's waste visible to the gutter after the endpapers, front and rear.

A scarce York printing of the four popular pseudo-Aristotelian manuals on procreation, gestation, and childbirth. Aristotle's Complete Masterpiece, the most influential of these texts, was the first sex manual in English when it first appeared in 1684, and was reprinted multiple times throughout the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. It discusses various topics, from the purpose and pleasures of sex (groundbreakingly acknowledging women's sexual pleasure), to virginity and fertility, pregnancy, childbirth, and 'monstrous births' (exemplified by the woodcuts on pp. 69-72). Aristotle's Experienced Midwife (first published in 1700) was apparently 'translated' (i.e. edited, with some of the text drawn from Nicholas Culpeper) by the self-trained popular empiric William Salmon (1644– 1713), a prolific author of domestic medical treatises. The Book of Problems was a medieval compilation of questions and answers on natural history, with only a few devoted to reproduction. The final part, Aristotle's Last Legacy, first appeared around 1720, and was in effect a digest of the Masterpiece. These texts were all frequently reprinted, but early printings are now uncommon.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original green cloth stamped in yellow and purple to the upper board and spine, in the Robert Hallock illustrated dustwrapper. Pink top stain. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked, price-clipped dustwrapper which has as closed tear at the bottom of the upper spine fold and tiny chips at the tips of the lightly faded spine. An attractive example.

(Hubin).

First edition with these illustrations. Publisher's original grey cloth with a beautiful gilt, navy, and tan illustration and titles to the upper board and gilt titles to the spine. Illustrated endpapers. All pages grey. 16 tipped in colour illustration plates (as well as an additional tiny plate to the title facing page), along with black and white illustrations and decorations on every leaf, many also accented with red. The title page, prelims, and endpapers also feature additional colours. a near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the spine tips and board corners slightly rubbed and bumped. The contents are clean and bright throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. An excellent example.

The first title in the Willy Pogány illustrated Wagner Trilogy, which also includes Parsifal and The Tale of Lohengrin.

First edition, first printing. Publisher's original blue-green cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Illustrated with front endpaper map, a frontispiece and 31 photographic plates. A good or better copy, the binding firm with bumping fraying to the lower spine fold, tips and corners. The cloth is faded to the spine and has the insignia of Wellington College stamped in gilt to the central upper board. The contents, with a Wellington College prize plate tipped in at the front pastedown, a toning to the half title and the occasional foxing spot to the margins are otherwise clean throughout. One page has a short closed tear to the fore-edge and an newspaper obituary of the author is tipped in at the rear pastedown. Scarce in first edition.

As Commander of the Endurance, which was crushed and sank on Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, Worsley navigated the lifeboat James Caird with Shackleton and four other men in their sixteen day winter open-boat voyage from Elephant Island to South Georgia to arrange rescue of the rest of the Endurance crew.� "This book, the first edition of which is mostly an account of Shackleton's 1914-17 expedition, has remained enormously popular over many years of publication. Worsley wrote with extreme modesty and deference and seemed to regard Shackleton with an almost holy reverence: the very fiber og the narrative is Worsley's love for his leader" (Rosove 361.A1a).