{"title":"20th Century Literature","description":"","products":[{"product_id":"wren-percival-christopher-explosion-1935-4067","title":"Explosion","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: John Murray. 1935.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst edition. Signed by Wren and with his bookplate. 8vo. 187x120mm. pp. 464, [4pp publisher's list]. Original red cloth lettered in gilt to upper cover and spine. Lacking the scarce dust jacket but the striking front cover of this has been pasted onto the front free endpaper. Fading and soiling to spine and some slight foxing but otherwise in excellent condition throughout. Front pastedown has the armorial bookplate of Wren which is signed by the author. The title page is stamped with the name \"F.N.Ablewhite\". \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWren's purpose in this colonial adventure novel can perhaps be best summed up by reference to its dedication to the \"Friends of India, the real India of three hundred million unrepresented peasants, whose sole \"political aspirations\" are that the peace, the security, the justice, and the protection provided by the British Raj may for ever remain to them undisturbed, unweakened and unchanged\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref. 4067]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WREN, Percival Christopher","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42551905157311,"sku":"4067","price":350.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4067_3.jpg?v=1697566771"},{"product_id":"gallico-paul-the-snow-goose-1949-4222","title":"The Snow Goose","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Michael Joseph. 1949.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFifth impression. Illustrated by Peter Scott. pp. 54, [2]. Handsomely bound by Bayntun and Riviere in red half morocco, marbled paper. A little scuffing to the paper but otherwise a very nice copy. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref 4222]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"GALLICO, Paul","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":43429855854783,"sku":"4222","price":110.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/IMG_2033.jpg?v=1786796819"},{"product_id":"harris-frieda-bump-into-heaven-n-d-1957-8-4399","title":"Bump into Heaven","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: The Mitre Press. n.d. [1957\/8].\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003e\"What has been done was done by fate\". Thelemic poetry by Aleister Crowley's artist and disciple.\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. \u003cbr\u003eFrieda Harris was, in the words of her husband \"an artist and a good one. She takes her art seriously, in fact works at her painting seven days a week and generally twelve hours out of the twenty-four. She has had an immense output of pictures\". She is best remembered today as a devoted colleague and disciple of Aleister Crowley for whose deck of Thoth Tarot cards she produced the paintings. Both Harris and Crowley were perfectionists and the whole project took five years. Although the pictures were frequently shown in galleries and The Book of Thoth was published in 1944, no complete, full colour pack of cards was produced during Harris or Crowley's lifetime. \u003cbr\u003eHarris's poetry represents the more secretive, private side of her life. The work collected in \u003cem\u003eBump into Heaven \u003c\/em\u003eis spare, simple and spiritual, much influenced by nature, religion, the world of dreams and India which became her home from 1952 until her death in 1962.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eRef. 4399\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HARRIS, Frieda","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55124576141689,"sku":"4399","price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/P1030545.jpg?v=1748862556"},{"product_id":"frazer-j-g-the-golden-bough-1911-13-4595","title":"The Golden Bough","description":"\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Macmillan \u0026amp; Co, Limited. 1911-13.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eEdward Clodd's copy of The Golden Bough. Presentation copies with a letter from Frazer to Clodd.\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003ePresentation 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. Volume 3 (Taboo and the Perils of the Soul) has been repaired at the head of the spine (with a very slight loss of the gilt lettering). Some bumping to head of spines and slight chipping to head and foot of spine of volumes 10 and 11. Some slight marking and shelfwear. Internally very good and overall an excellent set of this vast and far-reaching study on comparative myth and religion. Few books have had so significant an influence on twentieth century culture. Wittgenstein, Freud, Jung, Eliot, Hemingway, Lawrence, Graves, Paglia and Coppola all fell under Frazer's spell.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003eVolume 1 (1911): The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings (Part 1). pp. xxxii. 426 [2pp adverts]. On the front pastedown is a review from \u003cem\u003eThe Saturday Review\u003c\/em\u003e of the first three volumes of this edition of \u003cem\u003eThe Golden Bough\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cbr\u003eVolume 2 (1911): The Magic Art and the Evolution of Kings (Part 2). pp. xii, 417 [1bl], [2pp adverts]. \u003cbr\u003eVolume 3 (1911): Taboo and the Perils of the Soul. pp. xv [ibl], 446, [2pp adverts]. Tipped in and pasted in at the beginning and end of the book are three newspaper articles about The Golden Bough. Clodd has made some notes in pen and pencil referring to a conversation with Frazer (\"Frazer told me that obscurity invests the causes of imitation customs\") and to an article that he (Clodd) had written on \"Pre-Animism\". \u003cbr\u003eVolume 4 (1911): The Dying God. pp. xii, 305, [1bl], [2pp adverts]. Three newspaper articles are pasted in and tipped in. \u003cbr\u003eVolume 5 (1914): Adonis, Attis, Osiris (Part 1). pp. xvii [ibl], 317 [1]. [2pp adverts]. Three newspaper articles are pasted in and tipped in. Stamp of the \"Library of the Rationalist Press Association Ltd. 'Let us reason together'\". Edward Clodd was the Chairman of the Rationalist Press Association between 1906 and 1913.\u003cbr\u003eVolume 6 (1914): Adonis, Attis, Osiris (Part 2). pp. x, 321 [1bl], [2pp adverts]. On the front pastedown, a newspaper article has been pasted in. \u003cbr\u003eVolume 7 (1912): Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild (Part 1). pp. xvii [ibl], 319 [1bl]. Two newspaper articles are pasted in. Stamp of the \"Library of the Rationalist Press Association Ltd. 'Let us reason together'\". \u003cbr\u003eVolume 8 (1912): Spirits of the Corn and of the Wild (Part 2). pp. xii, 370 [1bl], [4pp adverts]. \u003cbr\u003eVolume 9 (1913): The Scapegoat. pp. xiv, 453 [1bl], [2pp adverts]. Three newspaper articles are pasted in.\u003cbr\u003eVolume 10 (1913): Balder the Beautiful (Part 1). pp. xx, 346, [2pp adverts]. Three newspaper articles are pasted in. One of these is by Clodd himself. Stamp of the \"Library of the Rationalist Press Association Ltd. 'Let us reason together'\". \u003cbr\u003eVolume 11 (1913): Balder the Beautiful (Part 2). pp. xi [ibl], 389 [1bl] [2pp adverts]. \u003cbr\u003eIn seven of the volumes there is a note \"with the Author's Compliments\". On it, Edward Clodd has signed his name. In the other four volumes, Clodd has signed his name. \u003cbr\u003eThe Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead. Volume III. The Belief among the Micronesians. London: Macmillan. 1924. pp. ix, [ibl], 326, [2pp adverts]. Tipped in is a note \"with the author's compliments\" and tipped in on the front pastedown is a letter by Frazer to Clodd dated 5th January 1925. \u003cbr\u003eThe eleven volumes of The Golden Bough and the additional, later, book were a gift from Frazer to Edward Clodd. Clodd is a fascinating and somewhat unlikely figure. He had a forty year career as a London banker but spent much of his time in Aldeburgh where he gathered around him, at celebrated Whitsun weekend parties, groups of artists, writers and intellectuals. Frazer was part of this circle but he and Clodd seem to have had a deeper friendship (they corresponded extensively over many years) forged by their shared interests in anthropology and belief systems. In the late nineteenth century, Clodd wrote on \"Myths and Dreams\" (1885) and on folk-lore and legend. He shared so many intellectual interests with Frazer that it is unsurprising that they should have become friends. They were both sceptical about the claims made by and for established religion. This is apparent from the fascinating letter from Frazer in the copy of \u003cem\u003eThe Belief in Immortality and the Worship of the Dead.\u003c\/em\u003e \"I quite agree with you as to the tragedy of seeing multitudes daily passing behind the veil in the sure and certain hope of drawing prizes in the great lottery. We cannot follow them behind the veil, but we suspect (if I may speak for you also) that all the lots in the lottery are blanks. However, if we are right, the multitudes will not be aware of their disillusionment.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"FRAZER, J.G","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55371993809273,"sku":"4595","price":3750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4595.Frazer_1.jpg?v=1750784176"},{"product_id":"cooper-jilly-score-1999-4888","title":"Score!","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Bantam Press. 1999.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eInscribed by Jilly Cooper\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eInscribed 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\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eNear mint, this is a superb copy of the first edition of the sixth of Jilly Cooper's \u003cem\u003eRutshire Chronicles\u003c\/em\u003e, set against the backdrop of the making of a film of Verdi's \u003cem\u003eDon Carlos\u003c\/em\u003e.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref. 4888]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"COOPER, Jilly","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57088719323513,"sku":"4888","price":175.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/Scan_20260725_2.jpg?v=1786789245"},{"product_id":"crews-harry-karate-is-a-thing-of-the-spirit-1972-4596","title":"Karate Is a Thing of the Spirit.","description":"\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Secker \u0026amp; Warburg. 1972.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eWondering what the hell's going on. \u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. \u003cbr\u003eCrews learnt karate in order to write this book - a typically immersive act. But the book is only partly about karate. Rather it is a study of the dark spirit of America - \"an America obsessed with sex, violence, and violent, loveless sex. It also a book about a man's quest for faith and belief; and about being alive and wondering what the hell's going on\".\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"CREWS, Harry","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57095861141881,"sku":"4596","price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4596.webp?v=1776542361"},{"product_id":"zangwill-edith-ayrton-the-call-1924-5135","title":"The Call","description":"\u003cbr\u003eLondon: George Allen \u0026amp; Unwin. 1924.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eA rare suffragette novel.\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eThe Call\u003c\/em\u003e is regarded as on of the most important suffrage and feminist novels. Drawing heavily on the life of her stepmother, the scientist Hertha Ayrton, Zangwill tells the story of a young chemist Ursula Winfield who, angered at the injustices faced by women, abandons her work to join the suffrage movement. As the war begins she returns to work where her development of a method of extinguishing liquid fire helps the war effort. Once more, she faces a struggle as she tries to persuade the military to use the invention. Edith Zangwill was an active (and activist) member of the Women's Social and Political Union and a founder of the Jewish League for Women's Suffrage. She acutely felt the difficulties faced by women both politically and professionally and this novel is her loud call for equality. Largely ignored through the twentieth century, \u003cem\u003eThe Call \u003c\/em\u003ehas recently been revived in a scholarly edition published by Bloomsbury and an attractive Persephone Books edition.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"ZANGWILL, Edith Ayrton","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57099509334393,"sku":"5135","price":3500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5135_1.jpg?v=1777655176"},{"product_id":"kundera-milan-the-unbearable-lightness-of-being-1984-4810","title":"The Unbearable Lightness of Being.","description":"\u003cbr\u003eNew York: Harper Row. 1984.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eSigned 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. Very light shelfwear but otherwise a fine, near mint copy of one of the great philosophical novels of the late twentieth century.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"KUNDERA, Milan","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57193330246009,"sku":"4810","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4810_1.jpg?v=1777655384"},{"product_id":"north-w-the-city-of-the-jugglers-or-free-trade-in-souls-1850-4943","title":"The City of the Jugglers; or, Free-Trade in Souls.","description":"A Romance of the \"Golden\" Age.\u003cbr\u003eLondon: H.J.Gibbs.. 1850.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003e\"Soul exchange\"\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. Some other light foxing and marking elsewhere but otherwise a very good copy of a rare book, only two appearing in the auction records in the last century and OCLC locating only ten copies.\u003cbr\u003eThis 1850 edition was, it seems, the only edition of this strange novel until the University of South Carolina Press reprinted it, with no doubt unintended irony, in the 2008, the year of the great financial crash. \u003cem\u003eThe City of the Jugglers\u003c\/em\u003e is a satire on the stock market frenzies of the 1840 and describes how, following a financial crash, there develops a futures market in human souls. A strange fantasy on the relation between mammon and the spirit. Incidentally, the frontispiece contains a portrait of the author asleep and dreaming of this \"soul exchange\". This is thought to be the only portrait of one of the most elusive of Victorian writers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"NORTH, W","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57193335554425,"sku":"4943","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4943_1.jpg?v=1777655498"},{"product_id":"plaatje-sol-t-mhudi-an-epic-of-south-african-native-life-a-hundred-years-ago-1930-5130","title":"Mhudi. An Epic of South African Native Life a Hundred Years Ago.","description":"\u003cbr\u003eLovedale, South Africa: Lovedale Press.. [1930].\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eThe first novel in English by a black South African. In the rare dust jacket.\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. An excellent copy, in the scarce dustjacket, of an important work of African fiction and one of the earliest attempts by an African writer to give an account of pre-colonial Africa and the first novel in English by a black South African. \u003cbr\u003eSol Plaatje (1876-1932) took his name from the Boer family who employed his family on their farm. A brilliant student, Plaatje mastered seven languages, including Dutch and English which gave him the right to vote although this would be taken away when the new Union of South Africa was created. Throughout his life, Plaatje was a leading figure in the struggle for black liberation and was a founder member and first General Secretary of what would become the ANC. Plaatje wrote Mhudi in 1919 although it would take him eleven years to get it published. During this long gestation, the book was revised and altered, some critics suggesting that it went through a process of censorship and bowdlerization. Whether or not that is so is a matter of scholarly dispute but what is not in doubt is that this novel, now firmly established in the African canon, represents a brave and early attempt to preserve and regenerate native South African tradition in the face of colonialism.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"PLAATJE, Sol. T","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57193336766841,"sku":"5130","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5130_1.jpg?v=1777655524"},{"product_id":"rive-richard-writing-black-1981-5133","title":"Writing Black","description":"\u003cbr\u003eCape Town: David Philip. 1981.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eSigned by Rive.\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. Rive was something of a prodigy and few people have done more to give a voice to African writers.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"RIVE, Richard","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57193337422201,"sku":"5133","price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5133_1.jpg?v=1777655566"},{"product_id":"stoker-bram-draculas-guest-and-other-weird-stories-1914-4935","title":"Dracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories","description":"\u003cbr\u003eLondon: George Routledge \u0026amp; Sons, Ltd. 1914.\u003cbr\u003e\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003ethe first appearance of a new Dracula story\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. The jacket is chipped at head and foot of spine and there is some creasing to top edge and chipping at the head and foot of the folds with the flaps. Internally there is a some foxing and marking but overall a very good copy in the rare and striking dustjacket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cem\u003eDracula's Guest and Other Weird Stories\u003c\/em\u003e was published two years after Stoker's death. As his widow Florence explains in the preface, Stoker had, at his death, three collections of short stories planned for publication. This was one of them although Florence did add to this set the long title story which she describes as \"an hitherto unpublished episode from \"Dracula\"...originally excised owing to the length of the book\". She hopes that the story \"may prove of interest to the many readers of what is considered to be my husband's most remarkable work\". This is thus the first appearance of this additional Dracula story.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e","brand":"STOKER, Bram","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57193338405241,"sku":"4935","price":6500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/4935_1.jpg?v=1777655651"},{"product_id":"5233","title":"The Boy Friend","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon Andre Deutsch Limited. 1955.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBeautiful, signed copy of the script for Sandy Wilson's smash hit musical, with Wilson's own charming illustrations. A pastiche of generic musicals from the 1920s, The Boy Friend is a delightful divertissement with catchy musical numbers. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WILSON, Sandy","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63755994333561,"sku":"5233","price":175.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/TheBoyFriendfrontcover.jpg?v=1781358173"},{"product_id":"the-secret-pilgrim","title":"The Secret Pilgrim","description":"\u003cp\u003eNew York: Alfred A. Knopf. 1991. \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAs 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. A gripping thriller from a writer at the peak of his powers. \u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LE CARRÉ, John","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":63844734239097,"sku":null,"price":175.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/TheSecretPilgrimfrontcover.jpg?v=1782563065"},{"product_id":"5279","title":"The Sword in the Stone","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon Collins. 1938.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eThe once and future King\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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.\"\u003cbr\u003eAn enchanting, fantastical depiction of a child who would be king, guided in his fate by his mage mentor, Merlin. White's telling of the childhood of mythical British King, Arthur, has taken its place as definitive addition to the Arthurian canon.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WHITE, T.E","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64127455428985,"sku":"5279","price":475.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/IMG_1297.jpg?v=1785507333"},{"product_id":"5273","title":"Lady Chatterley's Lover","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon Penguin Books. 2006.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eBeautiful edition of an infamous classic, designed and signed by Sir Paul Smith\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eLimited 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eTo mark their 60th anniversary, Penguin commissioned notable British creatives to design new editions of five classic texts. This edition of Lawrence's notorious text features a dust jacket made from raw silk exquisitely embroidered with a forget-me-not motif, and a silk ribbon bookmark woven in Paul Smith's signature stripes. Includes Doris Lessing's introduction on the influence of Lawrence's sexual politics, and Michael Squire's edits and notes. A beautiful edition of a groundbreaking, banned book.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref.  5273]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"LAWRENCE, D.H","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64178874810745,"sku":"5273","price":225.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/IMG_1489.1.jpg?v=1786026520"},{"product_id":"5314","title":"A Clockwork Orange","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Penguin Books.. 1972.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003e\"too didactic to be artistic\"\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003ePresentation 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 \u003cem\u003eA Clockwork Orange. \u003c\/em\u003eIn 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eA unique copy of a controversial novel. Even Burgess himself later declared that he was \"nauseated\" by the violence and found the book \"too didactic to be artistic\".\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e\"We all suffer from the popular desire to make the known notorious. The book I am best known for, or only known for, is a novel I am prepared to repudiate: written a quarter of a century ago, a \u003cem\u003ejeu d'esprit\u003c\/em\u003e knocked off for money in three weeks, it became known as the raw material for a film which seemed to glorify sex and violence. The film made it easy for readers of the book to misunderstand what it was about, and the misunderstanding will pursue me until I die. I should not have written the book because of this danger of misinterpretation, and the same may be said of Lawrence and \u003cem\u003eLady Chatterley's Lover\u003c\/em\u003e.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref. 5314]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BURGESS, Anthony","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64190529175929,"sku":"5314","price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5314cover.jpg?v=1786201717"},{"product_id":"5317","title":"Body","description":"\u003cp\u003eA Tragicomedy\u003cbr\u003eNew York: Poseidon Press. 1990.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eFlexing tragicomedy muscle\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eSet 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref. 5317]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"CREWS, Harry","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64190530027897,"sku":"5317","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/Scan_20260801_d9af12e0-f605-4c52-b3b2-688b4f37486e.jpg?v=1786202045"},{"product_id":"5318","title":"The Norfolk Broads","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon Methuen \u0026amp; Co. Ltd. 1930.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eExceptionally bound edition of a scarce Norfolk guide\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFourth 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e A beautiful, privately bound edition of a classic Norfolk text. Dutt is still considered an authority on the manmade network of rivers and lakes which comprises The Norfolk Broads. This copy is highly collectable, with its exquisitely crafted binding.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e[ref. 5318]\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DUTT, William A","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64190530224505,"sku":"5318","price":195.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/IMG_2059.jpg?v=1786201986"},{"product_id":"5339","title":"The Baker Street Journal","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew York: Ben Abramson. 1946.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eAn irregular quarterly of Sherlockiana\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003e2 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eThe Baker Street Journal is the leading publication for essays and stories about Sherlock Holmes. It is known scholarly and serious literary and historical research and writing and for \"playing the game\" (shorthand for treating Holmes and Watson as real historical figures). Founded in 1946, this complete set from the journals first two years is uncommon and even more so in such good order.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref. 5339]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SMITH, Edgar W. (ed.)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64190537793913,"sku":"5339","price":120.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/BakerStreetJournals.jpg?v=1786201924"},{"product_id":"5302","title":"By Myself","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Jonathan Cape. 1979.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eSecond 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eAn entertaining and wittily written book by one of the twentieth century's most glamorous stars.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref. 5302]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"BACALL, Lauren","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64238430486905,"sku":"5302","price":45.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/IMG_1606.jpg?v=1786636532"},{"product_id":"5304","title":"Dali by Dali","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNew York: Harry N. Abrams. 1970.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eInside the mind of the great surrealist\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eAs flamboyant as he was influential, the artist Salvador Dali remains a touchstone in the field of surrealism. This intimate and beautifully illustrated autobiography is a unique insight into the famous surrealist's mind. A notable book for anyone with an interest in one of the 20\u003csup\u003eth\u003c\/sup\u003e century's most enigmatic artists. A lovely copy of a highly sought-after book.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref. 5304]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"DALI, Salvador","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64238432256377,"sku":"5304","price":48.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5304_1.jpg?v=1786636396"},{"product_id":"5307","title":"Commandant of Auschwitz","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: \u003cem\u003eWeidenfeld\u003c\/em\u003e \u0026amp; Nicolson. 1959.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003eA Chilling Account\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eThis 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref. 5307]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HOESS, Rudolf","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64238433304953,"sku":"5307","price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5307_1.jpg?v=1786636670"},{"product_id":"5308","title":"My Father Rudolf Hess","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: W H Allen. 1986.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eThe son writes the father's wrongs.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003ePresentation 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\"\u003cbr\u003eWritten by his son, this biography of Rudolph Hess recounts his infamous solo flight to Scotland on a dubiously conceived peace mission. It gives a detailed account of the flight and Hess' time in Spandau prison where he remained until his death.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e[ref. 5308]\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"HESS, Wolf Rudiger","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64238433829241,"sku":"5308","price":195.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/5308_1.png?v=1786636599"},{"product_id":"sammy-davis-junior-hollywood-in-a-suitcase-1980-4649","title":"Hollywood in a Suitcase","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLondon: Granada Publishing. 1980.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eSigned 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. I.\"\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eMulti-talented Sammy Davis Jnr had one of the most extensive private film collections in Hollywood and was known as a devoted film buff.  His love letter to Hollywood is part movie trivia, part film industry gossip, and wholly enjoyable.\u003cspan style=\"font-family: 'Gill Sans MT',sans-serif; color: #171717; mso-themecolor: background2; mso-themeshade: 26;\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e[ref. 4649]\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"SAMMY DAVIS Junior","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64238435500409,"sku":"4649","price":95.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/Scan_20260723.jpg?v=1786635518"},{"product_id":"5329","title":"Thrice-Greatest Hermes. Studies in Hellenistic Theosophy and Gnosis","description":"\u003cp\u003eBeing a translation of the Extant Sermons and Fragments of the Trismegistic Literature, with Prolegomena, Commentaries, and Notes.\u003cbr\u003eLondon and Benares: The Theosophical Publishing Society.. 1906.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch4 class=\"vrb_heading\"\u003e\"I found greater pleasure in the spiritual considerations which insistently imposed themselves upon my mind\".\u003c\/h4\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_desc\"\u003eFirst 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. Internally, there is some foxing and the blank front free endpaper of volume one is loose. Overall a very good set of this comprehensive survey of the Hermetic literature attributed to the Egyptian sage Hermes Trismegistus. Mead states in his introduction that his \"sole object was to render the more important of these beautiful theosophic treatises into an English that might, perhaps be thought in some small way worthy of the Greek originals\". The work then expanded to include a wider range of texts, particularly the Trismegistic Sermons, and scholarly commentary. As Mead says, \"I found greater pleasure in the spiritual considerations which insistently imposed themselves upon my mind\". All of this makes Mead's study perhaps the most complete, and certainly the most erudite, introduction to the Hermetic tradition. \u003cbr\u003eGeorge Mead (1863-1933) was one of the most influential members of the Theosophical Society. His interest in the esoteric was sparked when, as a classics undergraduate at Cambridge, he read Alfred Sinnett's Esoteric Buddhism. Mead became Helena Blavatsky's secretary in 1889 and then the General Secretary of the Esoteric Section of the Theosophical Society. Mead took a much more intellectual and objective approach to Theosophy and esotericism and his growing frustration with Blavatsky's dogmatism led to a split in 1909 when Mead founded the Quest Society. This was much more in the way of a learned society devoted to the study of comparative religion, philosophy and science. Through its programme of lectures and its in-house quarterly review, the Quest Society had a wide influence on figures such as Jung, Hess, Yeats and Pound.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_note\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"vrb_prov\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eref. 5329\u003cspan class=\"vrb_biblio\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"MEAD, G.R.S","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":64979982156153,"sku":"5329","price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1484\/0910\/files\/36.Mead.jpg?v=1792757802"}],"url":"https:\/\/voewoodrarebooks.com\/collections\/20th-century-literature.oembed?page=2","provider":"Voewood Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}