20th Century Literature

Being a translation of the Extant Sermons and Fragments of the Trismegistic Literature, with Prolegomena, Commentaries, and Notes.London and Benares: The Theosophical Publishing Society.. 1906. "I found greater pleasure in the spiritual considerations which insistently imposed themselves upon my mind". First edition. Three volumes. 8vo. 230x140mm. pp. xvi, 481 [1]; xi, [i], 403 [1]; xii, 371 [1bl], [7, 1bl, adverts]. Loosely inserted leaf of handwritten notes. Beige cloth, upper cover and spine lettered in gilt. Some soiling and rubbing and the head and foot of spines are bumped and rubbed. Spines darkened and that of volume III is soiled.

London: Granada Publishing. 1980. Signed by Sammy Davis Junior. First UK edition. pp. 215 [1bl]. Publisher's black cloth, lettered in gilt to the spine. Original illustrated dustjacket protected by a plastic wrapper. Some light shelfwear and wear to head and foot of spine of jacket but otherwise in very good condition. Verso of half title is inscribed "All my best. Sammy Davis Junior. P.S. SO. DO.

London: W H Allen. 1986. The son writes the father's wrongs. Presentation copy. 240x150mm. pp. [25],414,[6] Publisher's original black cloth. Lettered in gilt on spine. Near fine save for some rubbing at head and foot of spine. Original illustrated dust jacket near fine with just some minor creasing at head of cover. Internally fine. Inscribed by the author on half title page "For Mr. Brian Harrison with best regards from the author W R Hess, May 1986"Written by his son, this biography of Rudolph Hess recounts his infamous solo flight to Scotland on a dubiously conceived peace mission.

London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. 1959. A Chilling Account First edition in English. 225x145mm. pp.[16], 252,[2]. Publisher's original black cloth. Lettered in silver on the spine. Slightly bumped at head of spine but otherwise near fine. Original illustrated dust jacket is near fine with just some very small creasing at head of spine. Internally fine. This chilling first-hand account chronicles the bureaucracy and day-to-day operations of the largest Nazi concentration camp. Written by Hoess whilst awaiting execution, the book offers a disturbing report into the logistics of mass murder. [ref.

New York: Harry N. Abrams. 1970. Inside the mind of the great surrealist First edition. 200x145mm. pp. [14],156,[6]. Publisher's original beige cloth. Title and publisher lettered in black on spine. Title in a border lettered in black at top right of the front board. Very good condition save for a slight stain along the foot of boards and spine. Original illustrated dust jacket is in excellent condition save for very slight chipping to edge of front cover and slight bumping at the corners of head. Reverse of dust jacket shows patches of foxing. Internally very good.

London: Jonathan Cape. 1979. Second edition. 240x165mm. pp. [10],377,[3]. Publisher's original blue cloth. Lettered in gold on spine. Front and back boards have bumping to extremities and head and foot of spine show a degree of rubbing. Original dust jacket has signs of shelf wear at the top edge of front cover and foot of spine. Back cover has a small, closed tear at joint with head of spine. Book plate displaying inscription of Lauren Bacall's signature on front loose leaf. Internally near fine. An entertaining and wittily written book by one of the twentieth century's most glamorous stars.[ref.

New York: Ben Abramson. 1946. An irregular quarterly of Sherlockiana 2 volumes, 4 issues in each. 230x150mm. pp. [vol. 1] 516. [vol. 2] 507 [1]. Vol. 1, No.1 has some blue staining on front of paper wrap and Vol. 1, No.4 has a slight dent to front of paper wrap but otherwise each individual issue is in excellent condition. Internally each issue is fine. A very nice, well looked-after set. The Baker Street Journal is the leading publication for essays and stories about Sherlock Holmes.

London Methuen & Co. Ltd. 1930. Exceptionally bound edition of a scarce Norfolk guide Fourth edition, revised. 225x165mm. pp. [1bl] x, 408 [8bl]. 46 colour plates, 23 in monotone by SOUTHGATE, Frank, R.B.A. Calf leather intricately tooled in black, with gilt lettering to front cover and spine. Six compartments and five raised bands on spine. Title in second, author's name in third and illustrator's name in fifth compartments. Binding by Syd. A. Howe, Guildford. Marbled fixed and free front and back endpapers. Foxing to all edges and internally.  A beautiful, privately bound edition of a classic Norfolk text.

A TragicomedyNew York: Poseidon Press. 1990. Flexing tragicomedy muscle First edition. 220x145mm. pp. 240. Quarter bound in publisher's black cloth with cream boards front and back and cream lettering to spine. Original dust jacket. One bump to foot of dust jacket spine. Two creases to front flap. Internally excellent; overall in very good condition.  Set in the obsessive, extreme world of U.S. bodybuilding, Crew's characters play out the minor tragedies and dramas of everyday life in his characteristic Southern Gothic style.[ref.

London: Penguin Books.. 1972. "too didactic to be artistic" Presentation copy with illustration of a clockwork orange on title page. 180x112mm. pp. 143 [1]. This is a reprint from the same year as the first Penguin paperback edition of A Clockwork Orange. In the highly distinctive David Pelham designed wrappers. Some rubbing to wrappers and soiling and toning to edges. Hinges delicate and slightly creased. Inscription in blue ink reads "(the last chapter is missing) To Kristian with kindest regards Anthony Burgess London 8.2.90", with Burgess's line drawing of a clockwork orange. A unique copy of a controversial novel.

London Penguin Books. 2006. Beautiful edition of an infamous classic, designed and signed by Sir Paul Smith Limited edition. No. 78/1000. Signed by Sir Paul Smith on title page. 245x170mm. pp. xxxvi, 364. Publisher's purple cloth with white lettering to spine and front cover. Textile dust jacket with embroidery to spine, front and back covers. Front and back pastedown and free endpapers printed with botanical illustrations in purple ink. Text printed in purple ink. In excellent condition throughout. To mark their 60th anniversary, Penguin commissioned notable British creatives to design new editions of five classic texts.

London Collins. 1938. The once and future King First edition. 208x150mm. pp. 339. Publisher's black cloth with white lettering to spine. Illustrated dust jacket protected by mylar. Bumping to head and foot of spine. Chipping and some loss to head and foot of dust jacket. Foxing to fore edges. Slight toning to text block. In very good condition overall. Gift inscription on front endpaper "Mum With best love from Mar[?] June 16th. 1939."An enchanting, fantastical depiction of a child who would be king, guided in his fate by his mage mentor, Merlin.

New York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1991.  First U.S. edition. Signed by le Carré on title page. 240x165mm. pp.[8], 335 [3]. Publisher’s black cloth, gold lettering to spine and front cover. Original dust jacket. Light fading to head of boards, corners slightly bumped. Internally excellent, overall in very good condition. As intelligence agent Ned approaches retirement, he looks back over his career in the field. Ethical disquiet is increasingly at the forefront of his mind and mentor George Smiley can only offer uncomfortable truths.

London Andre Deutsch Limited. 1955. First edition. Signed. 222x143mm. pp.(iibl) x,126, (iibl). Publisher's blue cloth, gilt lettering on spine. Original dust jacket. Illustrated throughout; illustrations on front and back pastedown and free endpapers. One minor tear and chip to head of dust jacket. Internally excellent; overall in excellent condition. Sandy Wilson's signature in blue ink on front half-title. Beautiful, signed copy of the script for Sandy Wilson's smash hit musical, with Wilson's own charming illustrations.

London: George Routledge & Sons, Ltd. 1914.the first appearance of a new Dracula storyFirst edition. 8vo. 182x120mm. pp. [8], 200. Red cloth, decorated and lettered in blind on upper cover. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt and blind. Illustrated dustjacket in a later state with the price of 1/3net replaced with 2/- but in all other regards the jacket is the same as that of the first impression with its chilling illustration by Handforth. There is a split to the cloth at the joint with the lower cover and some fading to spine.

Cape Town: David Philip. 1981.Signed by Rive.First edition. 210x145mm. pp. [8], [8 photographs], [2], 221 [1bl]. Signed by Richard Rive on the title page. Red cloth, lettered in gilt to spine. Original dustjacket with photograph of Rive on upper cover. Slight soiling and light shelfwear to dustjacket but otherwise a near fine copy of Rive's "rumbustious, always perceptive autobiography" which was developed and expanded from his ground-breaking key-note speech at the University of Indiana's African Literature Association conference in 1979.

Lovedale, South Africa: Lovedale Press.. [1930].The first novel in English by a black South African. In the rare dust jacket.First edition. 8vo. 185x120mm. pp. [12], 225 [1bl]. Green cloth, lettered in gilt to upper cover and spine. Original illustrated dustjacked, chipped and a little torn along top and bottom edges but overall very good and rare in any condition. Internally there is some foxing.

A Romance of the "Golden" Age.London: H.J.Gibbs.. 1850."Soul exchange"First edition. 199x120mm. pp. xii, 250 [2bl, 5 publisher's adverts, 1bl]. Frontispiece and three etchings by F.H.T.Bellew. Modern brown cloth, slight rubbing to extremities. Frontispiece is a little chipped along fore-edge and all plates are a little foxed and there is offsetting from them.

New York: Harper Row. 1984.Signed by Kundera on the title page. First US edition and the first edition in English translation. 219x138mm. pp. [6], 314. Publishers black paper covered boards, and tan cloth, spine lettered in black. Original dustjacket.

London: George Allen & Unwin. 1924.A rare suffragette novel.First edition. 8vo. 182x120mm. pp. 378. Green cloth, lettered in red. Fading and slight soiling to spine and bumping to head and foot of spine. Edges toned and slight cracking to hinges. Ownership inscription on front free endpaper. Overall a very good copy of a scarce book, Worldcat recording eleven copies and no copies appearing in the auction records. The Call is regarded as on of the most important suffrage and feminist novels.

London: Secker & Warburg. 1972.Wondering what the hell's going on. First UK edition. 197x125mm. pp. 218. Publisher's blue cloth with slight damage to spine. Original illustrated pop art dustjacket designed by Paul May in the manner of Roy Lichtenstein. Some slight rubbing to the extremities of the jacket, marking to the lower cover and creasing to the spine. Internally in excellent condition throughout. A rare book and an even rarer dustjacket. Crews learnt karate in order to write this book - a typically immersive act. But the book is only partly about karate.

London: Bantam Press. 1999. Inscribed by Jilly Cooper Inscribed copy. First edition. 234x150mm. pp. 593 [1bl]. Original red cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Original illustrated dustjacket. Inscribed "To Maurice mon ami Lots of love Jilly (Cooper). P.S. Lovely to see you again". Near mint, this is a superb copy of the first edition of the sixth of Jilly Cooper's Rutshire Chronicles, set against the backdrop of the making of a film of Verdi's Don Carlos. [ref.

London: Macmillan & Co, Limited. 1911-13.Edward Clodd's copy of The Golden Bough. Presentation copies with a letter from Frazer to Clodd.Presentation copy to Edward Clodd. Third edition. Eleven volumes, without the Bibliography and General Index, but with a copy of volume III of the 1924 The Belief in Immortality with an ALS from Frazer to Edward Clodd. Original publisher's green cloth (although volumes 5-8 are in blue cloth). Upper cover is decorated with a mistletoe design in gilt. Spines lettered in gilt.

London: The Mitre Press. n.d. [1957/8]. "What has been done was done by fate". Thelemic poetry by Aleister Crowley's artist and disciple. First edition. 8vo 183x122mm. pp. 64. Original bright blue cloth lettered in gilt with original illustrated dust jacket. Some very minor marking and rubbing to the jacket and slight soiling to the spine. Internally there is some mild foxing in one or two places but overall a very good copy. Rare in commerce and with eight copies recorded institutionally. Frieda Harris was, in the words of her husband "an artist and a good one.