28108. ACROSTICS. HITCHEN.: Acrostics. By the Hitchin Acrostic Club. London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1868. Small square 12mo, pp viii, 187, [1], title in red and black, bound in original bevel edged pictorial cloth, gilt, light crease in title else a bright near fine copy, FIRST EDITION, with signature of John Gatwall, Hitchen, on the endpaper, presumed editor. 'Some said John, print it; others said, not so...' In any case an extremely publication from the period of acrostic fanaticism in England. There was a 'Key' published to this volume which is even rarer, but sadly we do not have it. £75.00
28133. ANTHOLOGY. NITHSDALE.: The Nithsdale Minstrel: being Original Poetry, chiefly by the Bards of Nithsdale. Dumfries, Printed by C Monro and co for Preacher and Dunbar [sold by Baldwin, Cradock and Joy, London], , 1815. Small 12mo, pp xii, [13]-314, bound in contemporary green morocco, spine gilt ruled, light foxing but a very good sound tight copy, FIRST EDITION; this anthology of local poets is anonymously put together and dedicated in poetic form 'To the Ladies of Nithsdale.' ; This provincial area of poetic production was, of course, popularised by Robert Burns, though the anonymous poets of this collection have written mostly in English rather than dialect. £85.00
28050. BIBLIOGRAPHY. REED, JOHN CURTIS.: Humphrey Mosley, Publisher. OUP, 1928. 4to, pp iv, 142, original cloth backed boards, lightly browned, but a very good copy, FIRST EDITION, scarce reprint of this important 17th Century study from the Bibliographical Society Proceedings. £30.00
27845. BINDING. TENNYSON, AFRED, LORD.: Poems. London, Edward Moxon, 1863. Small 8vo, pp xii, 379, [1], bound in contemporary full bevel-edged dark green morocco, sides and spine richly gilt decorated within panels, , inner gilt dentelles, slightly rubbed, but a very good example of mid-Victorian binding, FIFTEENTH EDITION, a charming example of this popular edition of Tennyson. £35.00
28052. BIRDSALL BINDING. CENTLIVRE, MRS ET AL.: Bound volume of 4 plays, 2 by Centlivre, one by M G Lewis in Oxbery's ediiton. London, Oxberry, 1818-1819. 4 works in one volume, small 8vo, comprising Gay 'Beggar's Opera [lacking one leaf]; Centlivre ' The Busy Body' and 'A Bold Stroke for a Wife', M G Lewes 'The Castle Spectre' bound without the frontispieces sometimes but not always present in Oxberry's ediiton, fine full tan calf by Birdsall, circa 1900, spine richly gilt with brown label, slightly faded but fine. A very pleasing small collection of interesting, if diverse, plays of the 18th Century. £45.00
27859. BLAKE, WILLIAM.: The Poems of William Blake comprising Songs of Innocence and Experience, together with Poetical Sketches and some Copyright Poems not in any other edition. London, Basil Montagu Pickering, 1874. Small 8vo, pp xx, 166, uncut in original blind stamped drab cloth, spine lightly rubbed and faded, slight fraying to spine ends, but a very good sound clean copy, FIRST COLLECTED EDITION THUS; to some extent this printing was an attempt on the part of the editor, R H Shepherd to revive some commercial recompenses from his earlier Blake collections, collected here with a few minor unpublished poems; His own 'To Florence' poem of introduction from 1869 is also reprinted. His editing, scholarly as it was, did not supplant Rossetti's Aldine edition in lasting popularity. A pleasing copy. Bentley 292. £75.00
28093. BRIDGES, ROBERT.: Eros & Psyche. A Poem in Twelve Measures. London, George Bell & sons, 1885. Small square 8vo, pp [6], 158, [2, adverts], title in red and black, uncut in original vellum backed boards, spine gilt, a little darkened and soiled, but a very good sound tight copy, FIRST EDITION of the poem that made Bridges famous and ultimately Poet Laureate in 1913, this retelling of the Eros myth of Apuleius drew great critical praise at the time. Patmore predicting it would become the standard version of the story, which it did not, though it remains a high point in late Victorian English poetry £35.00
28200. BRIDGES, ROBERT.: October and other Poems with occasional verses on the War. London, Heinemann, 1920. Slim 8vo, pp xii, 63, [1], uncut in original boards with paper label, minor browning and slight wear to joints, but a very good copy in like dust-wrapper, one inch chipped at head of spine, which is also slightly browned, overall a very good copy in dust-wrapper, FIRST TRADE EDITION; though Bridges is not much remembered as a war poet, he made a notable contribution to the genre, including many of the poems included here. The pre war poems had been previously privately printed, and include Christmas Eve 1913, one of his most evocative pieces, later set to music in Gerald Finzi's great Christmas choral work ;In Terra Pax.' £75.00
28134. BROWN, JOHN [EDITED GEORGE HUNTINGTON OF TENBY].: The Autobiography of John Brown the Cordwainer; with his sayings and doings in town and country ... Edited by a clerical friend. [A tale. By George Huntington.] Oxford and London : A. R. Mowbray, J. Masters, Simpkin & co, 1867 Small 8vo, pp iv, 268, [16, adverts], 2 lithographed plates, original textured pale green cloth, a little rubbed and dulled to spine, but a very good copy, FIRST EDITION. an amusing working-class country life autobiography, presented as genuine, but in fact by George Huntington, vicar of Tenby. £35.00
28114. COLLINS, WILKIE.: The Dead Secret...New Edition. London, Sampson, Low and co, 1862. Small 8vo, viii, 317, [1], engraved vignette frontispiece dated 1861, bound in contemporary half calf, spine gilt with raised bands and black label, marbled endpaper, lightly rubbed but a nice neat copy, FIRST ONE VOLUME EDITION; Collins' fourth novel, originally published in Household Words during 1856, and in three volumes the same year. An early novel of mystery the preceded the more famous Woman in White. £75.00
28137. CRABBE, GEORGE.: Poems. London, J Hatchard, 1807. 8vo, pp xxv, [1], 256, half title, uncut in original boards with paper label, worn at joints and spine ends but quite a sound unsophisticated copy,, FIRST EDITION, scarce in this original state. £60.00
27867. CRUIKSHANK, GEORGE/ VICTOR HUGO.: Hans of Iceland. London, J Robins and co, 1825. Small 8vo, pp [4], 225, [1], frontispiece and 3 etched plates by George Cruikshank, untrimmed in near contemporary half green morocco, spine gilt with raised bands, slightly rubbed, an excellent clean copy almost free of the usual foxing, FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH, an abridgement of Victor Hugo's first published novel of two years earlier. A supremely imaginative fantasy 'it has all the ingredients of a Gothic novel: dreadful murders by the hand of a human monster, a young hero in love with the destitute heroine, royal court intrigues and rebellious uprising, all set in dungeons, dark towers and the untamed nature of Norway...' Ctuikshank rose to the occasion with some of his more fantastic images, especially for the frontispiece, recalling his contemporary work illustrating Grimm's Fairy Tales. This book was, no doubt, aimed at a similar audience. £150.00
27836. DAVENPORT, RICHARD A.: Sketches of Imposture, and Credulity. London, Thomas Tegg and son, 1837. Small 12mo, pp xvi, 368, engraved frontispiece of Joan of Arc, a few wood-engravings in text, untrimmed in original printed linen cloth, recased in matching buckram with spine and side panels laid down, later replacement endpapers, title and frontispiece lightly foxed, else a very good well restored copy, FIRST EDITION, a pioneering attempt to give a history of public incredulity and gullibility, including superstition and financial swindles. The subject matter is very reminiscent of Mackay's later and far more famous 'Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions' and was issued only once, her in the Family Library series of titles by Thomas Tegg. Dickens owned a copy, sold with his bookplate at the Gadswill sale. £450.00
28128. DICKENS, CHARLES.: Sketches by Boz, Illustrative of Every-Day Life and Every-Day People. London, Chapman & Hall, 1839. London, Chapman & Hall, 1839. 8vo, pp viii, 526, bound without half title, etched frontispiece, extra title and 38 plates by George Cruikshank, bound in near contemporary half calf, spine richly gilt with raised bands and double black labels, minor rubbing but sound, some mainly foxing to some plates, but most are fairly clear of it, but one plate has an early poem written on the verso with unfortunate ink show-through, else a very good decently bound copy, NEW EDITION, the first one volume edition, issued originally in parts, reprinting the text of the original two volumes or series which were in smaller format; for this edition Cruikshank enlarged the original plates, and added 13 new ones, for which reason this edition has always been popular amongst collectors £200.00
28110. DRAMA. BALDWYN, CHARLES [PUBLISHER].: The Old English Drama. A Selection of Plays from the Old English Dramatists. Nos 1-IV [i.e. 5]. London, Charles Baldwyn, [1824]. 5 separately printed plays in one volume with a general title page to the first 4 and wood-engraved plate as frontispiece, bound in contemporary half calf, rubbed and with large chip to spine at head, internally fine. Baldwyn usefully reprinted early quarto editions as follows: 1. Anon. The Second Maiden's Tragedy. From MS. 2. The Ball by Chapman and Shirley. 3. A Pleasant Conceited Comedy. Anon. 4. The Rape of Lucrece by Heywood. 5. Love's Mistress by Heywood. Each play was separately printed with a title page dated 1824 and a historical introduction, an important collection in the 19th Century revival of English Jacobean drama. Baldwyn continued issuing these attractively printed reprints until 1827 £45.00
28140. ENGLISH CIVIL WAR. VICARS, JOHN.: England's Worthies under whom all the civill and bloudy warres since anno 1642 to anno 1647 are related ... As also, severall victories by sea by the noble Admirall Robert, Earle of Warwick. London, G Smeaton, 1819. Small 4to, pp [4], 67, [1], engraved allegorical frontispiece of Cromwell, title page in red and black, 18 tinted etched portraits, disbound in plain wrappers, light marginal foxing, a very good copy, FIRST EDITION THUS, an attractive early reprint of John Vicars' original work of 1647 as published by Rothwell, with the addition, as Smeeton's preface explains, of the famous allegorical frontispiece of Cromwell. One of the most famous memorial volumes of the English Civil War it was again reprinted in 1847, a common volume as compared to this far scarcer one in Smeeton's long series of reprinted tracts. £75.00
28150. EVANS, ROBERT WILSON.: Parochial Sketches in Verse. London, Francis & John Rivington, 1850. Small 8vo, pp vi, 260, [2, 8, adverts], vignette title page and 13 vignette wood-engraved plates, original blind-stamped purple cloth, faded to spine and edges, spine slightly chaffed at ends and creased, else a good sound copy complete with the errata slip and tissue interleaves,, FIRST EDITION; This rather charming small work comprises 226 single page devotional poems by the vicar of Heversham reflecting the day to day events of his parochial life, illustrated with views of the countryside setting in which he operates. Village life in Westmoreland evidently allowed plentiful time for writing books judging by Evans' long list of publications. £35.00
27868. GAELIC MUSIC. MONRO, JAME S [SEUMAS].: Am Filidh: co-thional ur de Dh-Orain 's de Dhuanagan. Dun-Eudin [Edinburgh], Oliver and Boyd, 1840. 32mo, pp 71, [1], 12 pages of engraved music at the end, original unlettered orange morocco, blind stamped, edges gilt, a little rubbed but a very good clean sound copy, FIRST EDITION; entirely in Gaelic, a seminal Scottish folk song collection of the pocket variety. £70.00
27843. GRAHAM, HARRY [ET AL]. H FRASER SIMPSON: A Southern Maid. Musical Play in Three Acts. Book by Dion Clayton Calthrop and Harry Graham. Music by Harold Fraser-Simpson. Lyrics by Harry Graham and Adrian Ross. Additional \Numbers by Ivor Novello and G H Clutsam. Additional lyrics by Douglas Furber London, Ascherberg, Hopwood & Crew, 1920. 4to, pp [4], 140 of vocal musical score, colour portrait frontispiece of Jose Collins original cloth, gilt with only photograph of Jose Collins, a fine copy, FIRST EDITION of the final version, with additional numbers, of this once popular English operetta staring in the original role Jose Collins who is heavily promoted in this well produced edition. Produced at Daly's Theatre by Robert Evett it never achieved the success of Fraser-Simpson's Maid of the Mountains, £25.00
28051. HUNT, J. H. LEIGH.: Juvenilia; or, a Collection of Poems; written between the ages of twelve and sixteen. London, J Whiting, 1802. 8vo, pp xxiii [including subscribers to this 3rd edition], [1, errata], 215, [1], engraved frontispiece portrait, etched plate after Bartolozzi, uncut in original boards, worn to corners and edges, original paper spine repaired and chipped, else a sound clean copy internally in unsophisticated state, THIRD EDITION, an important and expanded edition from the two previous which were in small octavo format necessitating the Bartolozzi print being folded as frontispiece. The fine portrait of the boy Hunt appears here for the first time, THIRD EDITION. As one would expect, the great essayist's first published work, written whilst at Christ's Hospital School, with its then brutal punishment regime, is a remarkable achievement. He left Christ's when he was thirteen, and three years later his father succeeding in getting this volume of verse published by subscription. It marked the beginning of a long literary career. £120.00
24078. IBSEN, HENRIK.: Hedda Gabler. Skuespil I Fire Akter. Copenhagen, G Boghandels, 1890. 8vo, pp [4], 236, contemporary quarter roan, joints restored, internally lightly browned as always, but a very good copy bound without wrappers, FIRST EDITION, preceded only by a copyright printing in London of a few copies. This first Danish printing appeared in both wrappers and cloth, and is often found rebound. Ibsen's masterpiece, and one of the great masterpieces of dramatic literature, was written in Danish, although he was himself Norwegian. It was translated into English the same year by William Archer, and the first performance took place after publication in 1891. £150.00
27968. KEN THOMAS. PLUMPTRE, E.H.: The Life of Thomas Ken Bishop of Bath and Wells. London, Wm Isbister, 1888. 2 volumes, 8vo, pp xviiii, [2], 316: ix, [3], 312, [4, adverts], 2 frontispieces [one folding], 22 text wood-engravings, uncut in original cloth, gilt, slightly rubbed but a very good set with the bookplates of the historian Malcom Oxley, FIRST EDITION, one of the better products of Victorian historical biography, and still the standard study of Ken. 'the book has something of the charm of Walton's lives, and breathes the still air of a cathedral' - DNB. £75.00
28047. LAURENCE, MISS H.: London in the Olden Time: or, Tales Intended to Illustrate the Manners and Superstitions of Its Inhabitants from the Twelfth to the Sixteenth Century. Second Series. London, Longman, 1827. 8vo, pp [8], 329, [1, advert for first series], uncut in original textured cloth, neatly but plainly rebacked with new endpapers, a few spots and stains to margins, but a very good copy, FIRST EDITION; a second series of four short Gothic historical novellas by this obscure female author, identified by DPEL. The first series was published in 1825 and each series is quite separate. £75.00
28049. LOCKER-LA,MPSON, FREDERICK.: Patchwork. London, Smith, Elder, 1879. Small 4to, pp viii, 234, [2], uncut in original blind-stamped drab cloth, a little frayed at spine ends, and with front endpaper removed, inserted presentation leaf partly browned, else good, FIRST EDITION, LARGE PAPER ISSUED., a classic anthology of poetry and prose, Victorian wit in its many forms. This large paper edition carries no limitation, however the part printed page at the front indicates this copy was presented to Lord Delamere by Frederick Locker, January 1879, inscribed in his hand. Delamere, an influential politician of Vale Royal Abbey was doubtless a patron of Locker-Lampson £45.00
27860. MEREDITH, GEORGE.: Modern Love and Poems of the English Roadside, with Poems and Ballads. London, Chapman & Hall, 1862. Small 8vo, pp viii, 216, half title, uncut in original green ribbed cloth, very neatly recased preserving original cream endpapers, minor rubbing, a fine clean copy otherwise, FIRST EDITION, in first issue binding, one of the great products of the romantic movement in Victorian poetry. Sometimes described as a novella in verse, this collection of sonnets details the break-up of Meredith's marriage to Thomas Love Peacock's daughter in terms of frank moral ambiguity which shocked the Victorian literary establishment. A very good copy of this major volume of verse £85.00
27869. MORIER, JAMES.: The Adventures of Hajji Baba of Ispahan, in England. London, John Murray, 1828. 2 volumes, 12mo, pp xxxii, 306: [2], 352, attractively bound in contemporary half tan calf, spines gilt with raised bands and double green black lettering/numbering pieces, a little rubbed but an excellent clean and attractive set, FIRST EDITION, WITH STAFFORD H NORTHCOTE BOOKPLATES, perhaps the eminent Victorian politician rather than his grandfather of the same name. £120.00
27878. MUSIC. GRAVES, CHARLES L.: The Life and Letters of Sir George Grove. London, Macmillan, 1903. 8vo, pp xi, [1], 484, 3 photogravure portraits including frontispiece, a couple of text illustrations, finely bound in contemporary half maroon morocco, spine gilt with raised bands, edges gilt, minor fading to cloth infill, a fine copy throughout, FIRST EDITION, the standard authorised biography, and still a useful source on English music during the second half of the 19th Century. A very attractive copy. £35.00
27876. NINETIES POETRY. FANSHAWE, REGINALD.: Two Lives. A Poem. London, George Bell, 1894. Small square 8vo, pp xxxi, [1], 180, half title, uncut in original grey-green cloth, decorated in gilt, slightly faded to spine else a fine copy, FIRST EDITION; rare. according to Reilly Fanshaw was born in 1855 but his death is not recorded. he studied at New College Oxford where he was a fellow from 1877 before becoming Professor of Classics at Bristol University. His residence was later given as Boars Hill House, Oxford. This was apparently his first [of 2] volume of verse. £60.00
28139. OPIE, AMELIA.: The Father and Daughter. A Tale in Prose. London, Longman and Rees, 1801. Small 8vo, pp viii, 235, [1], engraved frontispiece, bound in contemporary quarter calf, rubbed and lacking label, upper joint cracked but sound, internally clean and tight, SECOND EDITION; with its moralistic tone, this might be regarded as an example of early juvenile fiction, though Opie in her 'To the Reader' is anxious to avoid the dubious epithet of 'novel' for a work 'totally devoid of those attempts at strong character, comic situations, bustle, and variety of incident.' This seems a rather poor advertisement for what, in the final reckoning, is a somewhat dull story, but remarkably scarce in any early printing, being Opie's first but by no means last foray into fiction. £120.00
28149. RAILWAY LIBRARY.: Hodge-Podge for Railway Travellers; or How to Shorten a Long Journey.BOUND WITH: Mr Verdent Green Married and Done for, being the third and concluding part. London, Ward and Lock, 1855/ James Blackwood, 1857. 2 works bound in one volume, 8vo, pp iv, 124; iv, 112. text wood-engravings in both works, finely bound in contemporary full green morocco, spine richly gilt with raised bands, sides with ornate gilt panelled borders, rubbed to joints and corners, joints with short cracks, but a sound attractive copy, very clean internally, BOTH FIRST EDITIONS. This would appear to be two third class passengers travelling in a first class compartment, but clearly the original Victorian owner thought both works sufficiently amusing to be expensively preserved. The first work is an early example of the railway anecdote book whose jokes have not stood the test of time at all well. In cataloguing another copy a colleague has recently cast doubt on the books capacity to 'shorten a long train journey in this century' but then perhaps he has not taken into account the coming benefits of HS2. In the case of the second work Verdant Green part 3, Sadleir [3434] seems to suggest that ours in the first edition of this scarce separate publication, though here, of course, without the wrappers or adverts that adorned his own copy,,, perhaps few other surviving ones. £95.00
27864. RITSON, JOSEPH.: The Caledonian Muse: a Chronological Selection of Scottish Poetry from the Earliest Times. Edited by the late Joseph Ritson, esq. London, Printed 1785; and now first published by Robert Triphook, 1821. Small 8vo, pp iv, 160, *131-232, with engraved vignettes by Heath after Stothard, wood-engraved tailpieces, bound in neat contemporary half maroon morocco, spine with raised bands, minor rubbing, first 2 gatherings lightly foxed, cancel leaf [159]/160 present with clean tear and no loss, a nice copy with early [cancelled] stamp of Edinburgh University Library on title verso, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, a portrait was added to later issues, but this issue is complete without it. Ritson's original edition of 1785 was abandoned when printing was close to finish owing to a fire in the printers' workshop. The original sheets were issued here by Triphook with a new title page and leaf explaining the peculiar circumstances of the publication. £120.00
28120. SCOTT, MICHAEL.: The Cruise of the Midge. Edinburgh, William Blackwood [and T Cadell, London], 1836. 2 volumes, small 8vo, half title in volume one, neatly bound in contemporary half calf, spine gilt with double maroon labels, minor rubbing only, else a fine clean set with green bookplates and name on title of John F Richards, FIRST BOOK FORM EDITION IN UK, having appeared previously in Blackwoods Magazine and in book form in Paris. An attractive set of this collection of adventures of a West Indies sailor in the early 19th century based upon the author's own experiences in Jamaica, and written as a sequel to his 'Tom Cringle's Log.' This book form edition appeared shortly after the author's early death in 1835. £85.00
28162. PHILIP: Rhyme and Reason; short and original poems. London, Black and Parry, 1803 Small 8vo, pp vii, [1], 152, complete with half title, bound in contemporary tree calf, joints lightly cracked but sound, black label slightly defective, small leather abrasion to lower joint, tiny corner tear to title page, else internally fine, a neat pleasing copy. FIRST EDITION; author identified from H & L, and Watts giving Philip Smyth as of New College Oxford [circa 1760-1840]. A scarce volume of light verse inspired by the, early romantic movement in poetry. Author was also identified in the Monthly Review of 1803 'as he has afforded us pleasure we feel bound to make some return...' £85.00
28194. SYMONS, A.J.A.: The Quest for Corvo. An Experiment in Biography. London, Cassell, 1934 8vo, pp [12], 293, 4 plates, well bound in modern full red calf, plain but gilt titled to spine, in customised fleece lines buckram slip-case, a very nice well presented copy, FIRST EDITION, a groundbreaking study of Corvo in which the author's own role as biographer and researcher is highlighted along with the subject himself. £45.00
28068. WILDE, OSCAR. STUART MASON.: Bibliography of Oscar Wilde...with a Note by Robert Ross. London, T Werner Laurie, [1914]. Thick 8vo, pp xxxix, [1], 605, [3, adverts], frontispiece, plates and facsimiles, bound in original bevel-edged blue rubbed cloth, gilt lettered to upper board and spine, the spine gilt slightly rubbed, minor rubbing, small ownership stamp on front free endpaper, a very good copy, FIRST EDITION, in the first issue binding. Written at a time when so many of Wilde's friends and associates were still alive, Mason's effort provided remarkable insights into the highly discursive nature of Wilde publications and remained a standard work for many years. £45.00
28098. WOOD, MRS HENRY.: East Lynne. Copyright Edition. Leipzig, B Tauchnitz, 1861. 3 volumes bound in one, small square 8vo, bound in neat contemporary half tan calf, spine gilt with raised bands and red label, a little rubbed to joints and edges, inner joints lightly cracked, but a very good sound clean set, FIRST TAUCHNITIZ EDITION, from the first English edition of the same year. thus [perhaps correctly] designated second edition by some, first continental edition by others. Whatever, this edition represents a very close to first printing of a classic of the Victorian 'sensation' genre of novel, enlarged from its first serialisation in the new Monthly Magazine. £50.00
28160. YONGE, CHARLOTTE M.: My Young Alcides. A Faded Photograph. London, Macmillan, 1875. 2 volumes, 8vo, pp viii, 267, [1], [32, publisher's catalogue dated January 1875]: vi, 284, half titles and vignette on title pages, bound in original blue green decorated cloth, gilt, black endpapers, slightly rubbed and worn at extremities, Xmas 1875 inscription on endpaper, later bookplates, light cracks to inner joints, a few mainly marginal spots and stains in volume one, but still a good sound set, FIRST EDITION, one of the best and scarcest of Yonge's later adult novels, recounting the rather unlikely, if not unlucky, adventures of an exceptionally strong young man who performs the twelve 'labours of Hercules' in order to expiate his early, apparently political, crimes, for which he has for a time been transported to the colonies. £95.00