Rare books from The Plantagenet King

Pan. The complete first edition set of the James Bond novels, all published by pan between 1955 and 1968. This is a very good set. The spines for all the copies are in tact and all are well bound. Pleasingly there is no previous owner's ink in any of the copies. The most valuable book is OHMSS and that has a repair to the bottom of the spine but otherwise is in nice condition and in a protective cover. Casino Royale also has very little wear. All the volumes have browned pages as can be expected and some minor wear to the covers. Two or three volumes have creases to the covers. Overall a very good set and rare with all volumes being first print and the earliest state according to Gilbert the bibliography of Fleming's works.  . Very Good. Soft cover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1955.

Methuen. First edition published by Methuen in 1915. This copy is scarce because it is in very near fine condition. It is a superb copy. The boards have very little wear at all. The spine is a shade faded. The book is square with no bumps or wear at all. The pages are clean and without marks. It is a high grade book.  Ransome's first book and his only work of fiction published outside of the Swallows and Amazons series. It is particularly rare to find in first print, with only 1200 printed of which around 300 were ruined. Making this very near fine copy a remarkable survivor. A supernatural novel involving an ancient evil and the quest for eternal life. Lovecraft described the book as "attaining some darkly excellent effects". A very rare book indeed.  . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1915.

Michael Joseph. First UK edition published by Michael Joseph in 1960. This is a near fine copy. The jacket is very clean with no loss. The unclipped wrapper displays the correct price of 15s net. The spine is a shade toned with light rubbing to the top. The book has very little wear at all and no previous owner's ink. The author Roald Dahl has signed boldly to the title page in the typical felt pen that he signed many books with. He has signed without dedication.  Dahl's collection of macabre short stories that also included for the first time "The Champion of the World" a precursor to his classic children's novel Danny Champion of the World. A rare book to find in this condition and signed by Roald Dahl.   . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1960.

Lutterworth Press. First editions published by Lutterworth Press between 1956 and 1963. This is a very good set. The dust wrappers for all six volumes are complete with very little loss. The books are also in respectable condition. Guiana (1956) has a short tear to the front panel and light wear to edges. It has a sellotape repair to the reverse. Dragon (1957) has the spine ends reinforced on the reverse with tape. The spine is a shade faded. Paraguay (1959) has a short tear at the top of the back panel. There is a faint small date stamp to the fep. Paradise (1960) is faded to the spine of the jacket and tiny loss to spine ends. Madagascar (1961) is price clipped and has a small booksellers label to the inside board. Capricorn (1963) has a piece of tape to the bottom spine end on the reverse of the jacket. Overall a tidy set and rare in that David Attenborough has signed the sixth volume Capricorn, without dedication to the title page.  David Attenborough's breakthrough series on the BBC… Read More

World Publishing. First edition published by World Publishing Cleveland in 1969. This being the US first and true first edition with the code A3450 on the reverse, shown as being printed in Japan and complete number string down to 1. This copy is in very good condition. It does not have its dust wrapper. The boards are in the main clean with only the odd light mark and mild rippling to the right hand edge of the front board. The boards are gently bowed. There is a neat inscription to the top left hand corner of the leaf opposite the title page. The string binding is shaken in places but all pages are held by it. There is the very occasional small mark to the odd page. Overall a very good copy. Now presented in a loose protective cover.  One of the greatest children's books of all time, selling over 50 million copies and being translated into 60 different languages. It has won many awards and been adapted for TV. This is where it all began, published first in the US in… Read More

Century. First edition published in 2005 by Century. This is a near fine copy. The elusive glossy white wrapper is complete without any loss. There is the occasional mark and tiny amounts of edge wear. There is very little toning though. The book is square and tight. There is a shade of toning to the spine. The copyright page shows the correct numberline going down to 1, indicating a first print copy. Overall near fine. Most first edition books in hardback were issued and sold without a jacket, with only a small quantity within the print run obtaining one. So jacketed copies are hard to find. . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 2005.

Alfred Knopf. First editions published by Alfred Knopf between 1960 and 1990. This is a superb very near fine set. The first volume Rabbit Run (1960) is in near fine condition. There is minor scuffing marks to the top of the spine of the dust wrapper. Otherwise it is excellent. It is a first state wrapper priced at $4.00. The other three novels Rabbit Redux (1971), Rabbit is Rich (1981) and Rabbit at Rest (1990) are all in wonderful fine condition. All four volumes have been signed directly to the page by the author John Updike. A superb very near fine first edition set and very rare with the author's signature in all volumes. Updike's key novels about anti hero Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom. Updike takes a comical and retrospective look at the relentless questing life of Rabbit against the background of major events in the latter half of the 20th century. His first novel Rabbit Run, is the novel most associated with Updike but Rabbit is Rich and Rabbit at Rest both won the author… Read More

Eyre & Spotiswoode. First editions published by Eyre & Spotiswoode between 1946 and 1959. The set consists of Titus Groan (1946), Gormenghast (1950) and Titus Alone (1959). It is a fantastic near fine set. Titus Groan has the first state jacket. It has a mark to the back panel.  Gormenghast jacket the spine is sunned. All three volumes are excellent and have not been price clipped. The pages are clean and without marks. One of the greatest fantasy works of the twentieth century, Mervyn Peake's three volume sequence has been adapted to the stage, screen and radio over the years. About the inhabitants of castle Gormenghast. A fantastic set in near fine condition. . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1946.

Stanley Nott. First edition published by Stanley Nott in 1935. This is a very good or better copy. The orange dust wrapper with black lettering is complete with only minor wear along the edges. There is no loss and it is not price clipped. The spine is faded. The book is square and tight. The corners are gently pushed. There is light and sporadic foxing that becomes moderate to 3 or 4 pages. Overall a very good or better copy. A book Ezra Pound struggled to get published due to its fascist overtones. Pound compares US democracy with capitalism and facism. He then draws comparisons between fascist prime minister of Italy Benito Mussolini and the US third president Thomas Jefferson. Pound had been living in Italty for some years by this point and had met Mussolini in 1933. A controversial book, Pound's views would continue to be aired, in particular with radio broadcasts, and it would culminate with his imprisonment by the US Army in 1945. A scarce book to find with the dust wrapper and most… Read More

HarperCollins. First editions all published by Harper Collins between 1993 and 2002. This is a near fine set consisting of 1. The Downing Street Years (1993) - double signed by both Margaret and Dennis Thatcher without dedication. The spine of the wrapper is faded a shade. There is a flyer where presumably the previous owner obtained the signatures. 2. The Path to Power (1995) - double signed by both Margaret and Dennis Thatcher inscribed to a previous owner. 3. The Collected Speeches (1997) signed by Margaret Thatcher without dedication. A difficult title to find signed. 4. Statecraft (2002) signed by Margaret Thatcher without dedication. A super set with little wear at all. All four volumes are signed and two are signed by both Margaret and Dennis Thatcher.  . Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1993.

Grayson & Grayson. First edition part of the Grayson Books - a series of limited editions. This being 26 of 285, signed by the author. Published by Grayson & Grayson in 1935. This is a very good or better copy. The dust wrapper is not clipped and is complete. The spine is toned and there is mild wear to the extremities. The boards are a tad bowed which seems to be a common flaw with this book. There is a small booksellers label to the inside board. There is very occasional and light foxing marks to a couple of pages. A rare signed book by Graham Greene, and was number 11 out of 12 in the series edited by John Hackney that also included authors H.E Bates and James Hanley.   . Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 1st Printing. 1935.

Van Longhum Slaterus. The first appearance in print of Anne Frank's Diaries, this being fragments of her diary published in De Nieuwe Stem in 1946. This volume, in the publisher's hardback binding is in near fine condition. It is in an oatmeal cloth with blue lettering on the upper board and spine. The pages are very clean and the binding strong and square. There is a circular previous owner's bookplate on the title page. The contents is listed in contributor order and 'Frank, Anne. 'Dagboekfragmenten' (diary excerpts) is listed.  The diary excerpts are 11 pages from page 431 to 442.  Otto Frank typed his daughter's diaries out and then initially gave a draft to people within his close circle to read. One of these people was professor Jan Romein. He initially wrote an article about what he had read on the front page of the newspaper 'Het Parool' in April 1946. He was also on the editorial board of literary journal De Nieuwe Stem… Read More

John Murray. First edition and first issue set published by John Murray in 1868. Two volumes in the original green cloth with gilt lettering on the spine. Binders ticket to rear paste down. A previous bookseller and previous owner's plates to the front pastedown in volume 1. The reverse of first blank end paper are two previous owner's written names, in both volumes. Volume 1 has one name crossed out and remnants of a previous booksellers remarks written in pencil. The same remnants of pencil marks are on the rear last blank end paper. Both volumes have light foxing marks to preliminary pages. Both volumes have been recased with minor repairs made to the spine ends. The set presents as very good or better.  The set is first issue with 1 line publishers imprint on the spine, 5 lines of errata in volume 1 and 7 lines in volume 2. Along with 43 in text wood engravings including impressive depictions of pigeons and fowl. Volume 1 has all the engravings. Volume 1 has ads… Read More

Faber and Faber. First edition set published by Faber and Faber between 1957 and 1960. All four volumes are first edition and first print copies. The set consists of 1. Justine (1957) with the first issue dust wrapper without the hand print on the spine. This is a very good copy. It has a little loss and wear to the spine ends. There are small short tears to the corners. The spine is a shade browned. There is a piece of archival tape to the reverse of the jacket. Two of the corners of the book are bumped. The front free end paper has an impression of a previous owner's pencil inscription. This copy of Justine comes with its original book society wraparound band along with a card that is tucked into the front and signed by Laurence Durrell. 2. Balthazar (1958) is a very good or better copy. The spine of the jacket has browned and there is a patch of browning to the front and back panel. The book is in nice shape. 3. Mountolive (1958) is about near fine. With a browned spine and minor wear to… Read More

Harper / Voyager. London: Harper / Voyager (1996-2011). A complete run of first UK editions. all volumes uniformally large 8vo., 1) A Game of Thrones (1996) original red cloth boards, with gilt lettering to the spine, with the original dust jacket; pp. [viii] 694 [i]; A very good or better copy. Mild rubbing to the spine ends. Pages have started to yellow to the edges. A smart copy. 2) A Clash of Kings (1998) blue cloth with gilt to spine; pp [x] 741; a near fine copy. only very mild handling wear. 3) A Storm of Swords (2000) blue cloth with gilt to the spine; pp. [xvi] 973 [ii]; A very good or better copy. The corner of the upper spine has been pushed. A handful of the preliminary pages have a crease to the side text block. 4) A Feast for Crows (2005) red boards, with gilt; pp. [x] 753 [xxi]; A fine copy. 5) A Dance with Dragons (2011)  Black boards with silver on the spine; pp 1016; a near fine copy. The text block has bowed forward due to the weight of the… Read More