Ask the Dust by Fante, John & Bukowski, Charles (Preface) - 1980

Henry and Co. London. 1893. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. Original blue buckram, lettered in gilt. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase and chemise. Small bookplate to front pastedown, related bibiliographic material pasted to endpapers. Shaw's very scarce first play, published in an edition, according to Laurence, of "not more than 500" copies. It was not an overwhelming bestseller. Shaw wrote to John Lane (quoted in Laurence) that the publisher "never advertised it even once; and the sale, which was only effected by great perseverance & determination on the part of the purchasers, was 150 copies." When the publisher retired in December 1897, they ceded to Shaw 194 sets of unbound sheets, which Shaw claimed to have commissioned Sotheran & Co. to bind for him. "So few of these [in purple cloth] in the Sotheran binding have turned up, however, that it is unlikely Shaw had all of the copies bound; a considerable number must eventually have been pulped â¦" Copies in green cloth have been noted as well,… Read More

Longmans, Green, and Co. London and Bombay. 1902. FIRST EDITION. Colonial Issue. 8vo. (7.4 x 5.3 inches). Illustrated with sixteen mono plates by Sidney Paget. Tisue guard to the frontispiece. A few of the plates are bound in different places than listed on the contents page but all are present. 4 pages of publishers adverts for the colonial library at the rear of the book. The text and illustrations are fine, clean and bright throughout and look unread. Publishers decorative green cloth which has dark blue illustration to the front board and spine. Gilt lettering to the spine. Decorative light blue and white floral endpapers with ship and swan designs. There are a couple of small closed tears to the spine and the cloth is a bit rubbed and bumped and has a few small marks but is generally in very good condition with the gilt on the spine still quite bright. Previous owner's small typed name label on the plain verso of the front free endpaper, reading H. B. Rattray. This is almost certainly Captain… Read More

WE ARE HAPPY TO PRESENT: Flack, Marjorie. THE STORY ABOUT PING. ILLUSTRATED BY KURT WIESE. FIRST EDITION 1933 VIKING PRESS. 3 lines of copyright information. HARDCOVER. BACK DJ FLAP INCLUDES JUNIOR VIKING COUPON. Matching blue floating duck back board and dust jacket panels do not bear weekly reader logo. PLEASE SEE OUR PHOTO OF DJ BACK PANEL. Unclipped Front DJ flap priced at $1.00 . QUITE THE FIND. USED. VERY GOOD CONDITION/ GOOD CONDITION UNCLIPPED DJ. Unpaginated. 7 X 9 1/4. A CLEAN SOLID COPY. PLEASE SEE OUR PHOTOS.

Richard Bentley. London. 1847. Bentley's Standard Novels and Romances, volume 25. Reprint of the 1833 edition. 8vo. (7 x 4.5 inches). Illustrated frontis engraving by Pickering. Publishers dark brown morocco grained cloth with elaborate blind stamped decorative border to the boards. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Yellow endpapers with lists of other titles published by Bentley. Neat previous owner bookplate to the top of the front paste down endpaper. Some staining to the bottom of the frontispiece, not affecting the image or type, otherwise a very clean and fresh copy. The cloth is clean and tidy, with sharp corners, and the gilt on the spine still bright and fresh. A little rubbing to the extremities but this is a superior copy. Scarce in such nice condition.

William Heinemann Ltd. London. 1961. THREE VOLUMES. Reprint of the 1951 Edition. 8vo. (8 x 5.4 inches). Fine and clean set in the rare Publishers delux leather bindings of full red Morocco. Spines with blind ruled bands and lettered in gilt. Gilt stamped Author's symbol device to the front boards. Blue marbled endpapers. Top edges gilt. Each volume with a red silk page marker. Housed in a red cloth covered slip case with marbled paper lining. The spines are a bit rubbed and there are a couple of small scratches but overall this is an attractive set of this important collection. Only a few sets were issued in these publishers delux leather bindings and they seldom turn up on the market.

London: Brandbury & Evans, 1857. 1st. Paperback. Very Good. W. M. Thackeray. 1857-59. The original twenty-four numbered parts in the original yellow wrappers in publisher's crushed morocco solander case. Illustrated yellow paper covers, with the fourty-eight etched plates and woodcut vignettes in the text, all after drawings by the author; the original yellow pictorial wrappers a little soiled and frayed, otherwise very good condition.

Henry and Co. London. 1893. FIRST EDITION. Octavo. Original blue buckram, lettered in gilt. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase and chemise. Small bookplate to front pastedown, related bibiliographic material pasted to endpapers. Shaw's very scarce first play, published in an edition, according to Laurence, of "not more than 500" copies. It was not an overwhelming bestseller. Shaw wrote to John Lane (quoted in Laurence) that the publisher "never advertised it even once; and the sale, which was only effected by great perseverance & determination on the part of the purchasers, was 150 copies." When the publisher retired in December 1897, they ceded to Shaw 194 sets of unbound sheets, which Shaw claimed to have commissioned Sotheran & Co. to bind for him. "So few of these [in purple cloth] in the Sotheran binding have turned up, however, that it is unlikely Shaw had all of the copies bound; a considerable number must eventually have been pulped â¦" Copies in green cloth have been noted as well,… Read More

Longmans, Green, and Co. London and Bombay. 1902. FIRST EDITION. Colonial Issue. 8vo. (7.4 x 5.3 inches). Illustrated with sixteen mono plates by Sidney Paget. Tisue guard to the frontispiece. A few of the plates are bound in different places than listed on the contents page but all are present. 4 pages of publishers adverts for the colonial library at the rear of the book. The text and illustrations are fine, clean and bright throughout and look unread. Publishers decorative green cloth which has dark blue illustration to the front board and spine. Gilt lettering to the spine. Decorative light blue and white floral endpapers with ship and swan designs. There are a couple of small closed tears to the spine and the cloth is a bit rubbed and bumped and has a few small marks but is generally in very good condition with the gilt on the spine still quite bright. Previous owner's small typed name label on the plain verso of the front free endpaper, reading H. B. Rattray. This is almost certainly Captain… Read More

WE ARE HAPPY TO PRESENT: Flack, Marjorie. THE STORY ABOUT PING. ILLUSTRATED BY KURT WIESE. FIRST EDITION 1933 VIKING PRESS. 3 lines of copyright information. HARDCOVER. BACK DJ FLAP INCLUDES JUNIOR VIKING COUPON. Matching blue floating duck back board and dust jacket panels do not bear weekly reader logo. PLEASE SEE OUR PHOTO OF DJ BACK PANEL. Unclipped Front DJ flap priced at $1.00 . QUITE THE FIND. USED. VERY GOOD CONDITION/ GOOD CONDITION UNCLIPPED DJ. Unpaginated. 7 X 9 1/4. A CLEAN SOLID COPY. PLEASE SEE OUR PHOTOS.

Richard Bentley. London. 1847. Bentley's Standard Novels and Romances, volume 25. Reprint of the 1833 edition. 8vo. (7 x 4.5 inches). Illustrated frontis engraving by Pickering. Publishers dark brown morocco grained cloth with elaborate blind stamped decorative border to the boards. Spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Yellow endpapers with lists of other titles published by Bentley. Neat previous owner bookplate to the top of the front paste down endpaper. Some staining to the bottom of the frontispiece, not affecting the image or type, otherwise a very clean and fresh copy. The cloth is clean and tidy, with sharp corners, and the gilt on the spine still bright and fresh. A little rubbing to the extremities but this is a superior copy. Scarce in such nice condition.