Carroll, Lewis
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland
Random House, 1969, First Edition.
One of 2500 copies on Manduere paper, Titlepage signed by Dali in pencil. Book unbound in original sheets as issued, size of each page is 43 x 29.5 cm. Etched frontispiece printed in 3 colours and 12 colour plates by Dali. Contents loose in half morocco slip case. A very good copy.
£4500
Bagnold, Enid
National Velvet
William Morrow and Company. 1935 First edition, inscribed. "Dearest Desmond, How I would like you to read this (although its only light). Have you time? There are three or four sentences of yours in it- pages 303-255. With love from Enid. Rottingdean. May: 1935.". 8vo,18.5cm. [viii],304,[4]pp. Illus by Laurian Jones. Original cloth, VG.
£500
The Loveliest Rose in the World
1901, 19x17cm. The queen lay upon a sick bed, and the doctors declared that she must die. “There is still one thing that could save her,” said one of the wisest among them. “Bring her the loveliest rose in the world; one which exhibits the purest and brightest love, and if it is brought to her before her eyes close, she will not die.” Various options are tried, a rose from the grave of Romeo and Juliet, from the grave of Walburg, a rose which sprouted from the blood-stained grave of Winkelreid, but none are successful... eventually a women brings the queen's little son, his small hands he holds a great book bound in velvet with silver clasps, a cross is visible on the upper cover... And the child seated himself by the bedside, and read from the book of Him who suffered death on the cross to save all men, even who are yet unborn. He read, “Greater love hath no man than this,” and as he read a roseate hue spread over the cheeks of the queen, and her eyes became so enlightened and clear, that she saw from the leaves of the book a lovely rose spring forth, a type of Him who shed His blood on the cross.
“I see it,” she said. “He who beholds this, the loveliest rose on earth, shall never die.” - .
Pen, ink and pencil drawing. The queen rather wan in her sick-bed, surrounded by, the King, a Bishop, nurse, woman and the queen's small child clasping a bible. A very accomplished drawing from the beginning of Rackham's career, perhaps one of his first illustrations to Andersen's Fairy Tales. Signed ¬AR' in bottom right corner and with the title in the lower left.
£2500
The Seven Ravens [Grimm]
1901. 19x17cm. A farmer has seven sons and wishes for a daughter, eventuallly she is born but is sick and weak. He send the seven sons to the well to fetch water for her, there is an accident and they do not return He curses them and they are turned into Seven Ravens. The daughter grows strong, healthy and beautiful and inadvertanly discovers the fate of her brothers. She starts out to look for them and eventaully finds and feeds them, whence they are returned to human form and return to the village. Pen and ink preliminary sketch. Beautiful girl in elegant brocade feeds the seven (..only five completed) in a snow-bound Eastern European setting. A most attractive drawing and one of Rackham's earliest attempts to illustrate the Folk Tales of the Brothers Grimm. Monogrammed AR in bottom right corner, faint pencil signature bellow, date `01. A most attractive drawing.
£2500
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Warne Ltd, [1922], Early Edition.
First published privately in 1902. Dated from adverts (d/w). 16mo, 13.5cm. 86pp. Colour plates. Paper covered boards: fine in extremely scarce glassine dust wrapper.
£900
Tarrant, Margaret [illus]:
The Twilight Fairies
Modern Art Society, [1926], 2nd Edition.
Verses by Marion St John Webb. 15.7cm. 42pp. 6 tipped in plates by Margaret Tarrant. Very good in extremely scarce dust wrapper.
£150
[Binding- Snakeskin] - Gustave Flaubert
Madame Bovary
Artheme Fayard et Cie, First published in 1857, this edition, 1934, Le Livre de Demain. Binding dates from ca 1942, and is probably (from size and pattern) Anaconda. 4to, 22.5cm. 224pp. 50 wood engravings by Claudel. Full professionally bound snakeskin: very good - scarce.
£750
Cam [i.e. Barbara Mary Campbell]
The Three Jolly Fishermen
Collins, [1952], First Edition.
Signed by Cam on titlepage, and with the ownership inscription of her daughter, "D M Campbell" in "This book Belongs To..." Box. 4to, 24.5cm. [32]pp. Colour plates throughout. Very good in pictoral boards.
£350
Milne, A A
When We Were Very Young/ Winnie-the-Pooh/ Now We Are Six/ The House at Pooh Corner
Methuen. 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928. A complete set of deluxe editions of the four `Pooh' books. The first appearance in book form of the most famous bear in the world. When We Were Very Young is a reprint deluxe edition (10th, not 7th i.e. first in this format, edition), all the others are first printings. 8vo, 18.5cm. Illustrated by E H Shepard. Publisher's uniform blue calf gilt: a near fine set in custom made slip-case.
£5000
Brent-Dyer,
Elinor M
Sharlie's Kenya Diary
Chambers, First Edition.
Scarce Brent-Dyer travelogue. Black and White photos. 72pp. Contemporary
ownership inscription: very good in linen wraps. [1951]
£300
Rowling, J K
Harry Potter and The Philosopher's Stone (Signed)
Bloomsbury. 1997 First edition, first issue, proof copy, precedes the hard back issue. One of only 200 copies. With a signed Bloomsbury bookplate "J K Rowling" The birth of the Harry Potter legend. Numbering sequence 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1. "Joanne Rowling" on back of title page. J A Rowling on title page. The proof copies were printed and bound by Caledonian International Book Manufacturing, Glasgow, in the author's adopted country. The paper used for the advance copies is of better quality than that used in the published edition (which is prone to browning), there are also significant differences in the arrangement of type, the text finishes on page 224 rather than 223. There were 200 advance (pre-publication copies) of which this is one, then 6000 trade paperback copies and 500 hardback copies, mainly for distribution to schools and libraries. 8vo,20cm. 224pp. Card wraps: a fine copy.
£7500
A Journey to the Moon And Interesting Conversations with the Inhabitants Respecting the Condition of Man
London, Howard and Evans, West-smithfield
An imaginary journey to the moon in which the narrator meets its occupants and discusses, by the use of question and answer, the nature and importance of God. 4to, 19cm. 8pp. 1 wood-engraving on front cover. Good - page 3 torn in half otherwise some folding to the other pages but without much loss to text. [c1800]
£100
