Literary criticism & biography
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SACKVILLE-WEST, Vita. Nursery Rhymes.London : 1947
First edition, signed limited issue, number 10 of 25 signed and specially bound copies; from a total edition of 550 copies. Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 146136
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WOOLF, Virginia. Beau Brummell.New York : 1930
Signed limited edition, number 91 of 550 copies only, signed by the author in her customary purple ink on the half-title verso. This essay was first published in Nation and Athenaeum, 28 September 1929. Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 145936
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GAY SUNSHINE PRESS: GINSBERG, Allen, & Peter Orlovsky. Straight Hearts' Delight.San Francisco : 1980
First edition, first printing, letter O of 26 specially bound copies signed by Ginsberg and Orlovsky. This is publisher and editor Winston Leyland's own copy of the deluxe issue, additionally signed by him on the title page, and with two unpublished autograph letters signed from Ginsberg to Leyland laid in. The first letter, dated 26 November 1982,... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 123246
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GAY SUNSHINE PRESS. Gay Roots.San Francisco : 1991-3
First edition, first printing, Winston Leyland's own copy of the deluxe signed limited issue, letters B and Z of 26 specially bound copies signed by Leyland, these volumes additionally signed by Leyland on the title pages and deriving from his personal collection. There were also 300 unsigned cloth copies, the vast majority of which were sold to libraries.
Winston... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 123228
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. Inquisiciones.Buenos Aires : 1925
First edition, first impression, a superlative presentation copy of the author's first work of prose. One of 505 copies printed, this is a uniquely untrimmed, unnumbered, and specially bound presentation copy inscribed by Borges on the first blank to his fellow Argentine author, and muse, Norah Lange (1905-1972).
Borges's inscription, using the... Learn More£27,500.00Stock Code: 145266
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STRACHEY, Lytton. Pope.Cambridge : 1925
First edition, first impression, presentation copy inscribed on the front free endpaper "To H.T.J.N. with love from the Author". The recipient was Harry Norton, a fellow Cambridge Apostle and close friend of Strachey's, he was also the dedicatee of Strachey's Eminent Victorians (1918). This is a lovely association copy. Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 146014
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BEATTIE, James - FORBES, Sir William. An Account of the Life and Writings of James Beattie, LL.D.Edinburgh : 1806
First edition of Forbes's principal work, an excellent association copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper to the author's son, "William Forbes Esqr. from the author"; together with a small group of related contemporary autograph material laid in which reflects the strong ties between the Forbes and Beattie families.
Sir William Forbes, 6th... Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 118450
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COWARD, Noël. Present Indicative.London : 1937
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy from the author, inscribed on the front free endpaper, "For Dennis Wheatley, from Nöel Coward"; with Wheatley's bookplate to the front pastedown. Present Indicative is Coward's "entertaining and often revealing memoirs" (Philip Hoare in ODNB). Learn More£900.00Stock Code: 114439
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SENNETT, Mack, & Cameron Shipp. King of Comedy.Garden City, NY : 1954
First edition, first printing. Presentation copy signed by Sennett and inscribed by Shipp on the front free endpaper, "For Wally and Joan Meier, keep laughing! Mack Sennett, Cameron Shipp". Mack Sennett (1880-1960) was a Canadian-American actor and director, an Academy Award winner and the innovator of slapstick comedy in Hollywood. Learn More£650.00Stock Code: 81753
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STRACHEY, Lytton. Landmarks in French Literature.London : 1923
First edition thus (second overall), first impression, presentation copy inscribed on the front free endpaper "To Dadie from Lytton", and with the recipient's pictorial book plate to the front pastedown, and with a couple of minor corrections in ink by either one of them.
George Humphrey Wolferstan "Dadie" Rylands (1902-1999), became one of Leonard... Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 143674
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FRAZER, R. W. A Literary History of India.London : 1898
First edition, presentation copy from the author, with a full-page inscription on the front free endpaper: "I wrote this book in six months time and have repented ever since that I wrote it. It is however a pleasure to know that it has found an honoured home in the Library of Mr. J. Carleton Young. I now sign it in token of kindest regards and sincerest... Learn More£295.00Stock Code: 141343
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HORNBY, Nick. Fever Pitch.London : 1992
First edition, first impression, inscribed on the title page "Best wishes, Nick Hornby". Learn More£375.00Stock Code: 142960
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FREEMAN, Kathleen. The Work and Life of Solon.Cardiff : 1926
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy of the author's first book, inscribed by the author to her long-term partner, at the very start of their acquaintance, on the front free endpaper, "Lilian M.C. Clopet, from Kathleen Freeman July 14th, 1926". This work, "considered essential reading", is uncommonly found in the jacket or inscribed, this... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 142281
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FERLINGHETTI, Lawrence, & Nancy J. Peters. Literary San Francisco.San Francisco : 1980
First edition, 84th printing, presentation copy inscribed to Beat icon, Carolyn Cassady, "For Carolyn in San Francisco on 'Literary San Francisco Day' 22 Sept 80", signed by both authors on the front free endpapers, and Cassady's annotations, on p. 179, correcting the text in her own entry, about her book Off the Road (1990).
The recipient, Carolyn... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 141947
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PAUL, Eden & Cedar. The Appreciation of Poetry.London : 1920
First edition, first impression. Presentation copy inscribed to the publisher Stanley Unwin on the front free endpaper: "To Stanley Unwin with the writers' kind wishes. October 30th, 1920." Learn More£65.00Stock Code: 140810
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REMINGTON, Frederic. Frederic Remington.Cody, Wy : 1996
First edition, first printing, deluxe issue, number 246 of 250 copies signed by both editors on the title page of the first volume. Frederic Sackrider Remington (1861-1909) was an American artist and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West. Learn More£250.00Stock Code: 141811
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MARCEAU, Marcel. Ronald A. Wilford Presents Marcel Marceau and His Partner Pierre Verry.New York : 1973
First edition thus, first printing, inscribed by Marceau on title page verso "In dear memory of Bip flower doodle Marcel Marceau, 1973"; together with a programme signed "Bip flower doodle Marcel Marceau, 1973" for one of Marceau's show in Denver, in March 1973. Dunetz published similar performance souvenir programmes from the late 1960s to 1976. Wilford... Learn More£225.00Stock Code: 140997
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GAUDIER-BRZESKA, Henri - EDE, H. S. A Life of Gaudier-Brzeska.London : 1930
First edition, first impression, number 147 of 350 copies, of this illustrated biography of Henri Gaudier-Brzeska, "designed to be a worthy memorial of his work", as pointed out in the loosely inserted publisher's promotional leaflet. Of the edition of 350 copies, ten were issued signed and bound in leather. The regular issue is uncommon in the dust... Learn More£850.00Stock Code: 140770
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WAUGH, Evelyn. Edmund Campion.London : 1935
First edition, signed limited issue, number 45 of 50 copies signed by Waugh "for private distribution". Learn More£4,000.00Stock Code: 112493
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WILDER, Thornton Niven. The Memorial Service.Battell Chapel : 1976
First edition, sole impression, inscribed by Wilder's sister Isabel on the front panel "For Peter & Kenneth, remembering Thornton's affection & admiration for Bart & the many memories we share with affection Isabel Feb - 24, 1977", and with a manuscript note also from Isabel laid-in loose "and ALWAYS greetings & affection to Jan from Isabel Wilder".... Learn More£175.00Stock Code: 140296
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HEANEY, Seamus, and others. A Tribute to Kevin Sullivan.New York : 1991
First edition, number 3 of 25 copies signed to the title page by all five contributors (Seamus Heaney, Thomas Flanagan, Benedict Kiely, Sean White, and June K. Davison). An unsigned issue was also released in an unrecorded run. The tribute reproduces the speeches given at the memorial reading for Sullivan at Queen's College, New York, on 2 May 1988.... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 140158
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DAHL, Roald. Going Solo.London : 1986
First edition, first impression. Inscribed by the author on the half-title, "To Jenny with love, Roald Dahl, 1988". Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 112116
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RUNCIMAN, Steven. Medieval History and the Romantic Imagination.Oxford : [1963]
Scarce original offprint inscribed by the author "with best wishes SR" to the front free endpaper. This copy is from the library of John Julius Cooper, 2nd viscount Norwich (1929-2018) a hugely prolific popular historian and television presenter. Runciman and Norwich led very similar careers: both educated at Eton, both dabbling in the Foreign Service,... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 139947
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BRADBURY, Ray (intro.); SKEETERS, Paul W. Sidney H. Sime, Master of Fantasy.Pasadena, CA : 1978
First edition, number 73 of 200 copies signed by Bradbury and Skeeters, additionally number 16 of 50 copies with a copy of Arthur Machen's drawing for Sime's "The Hill of Dreams" loosely inserted, and a dust jacket reproducing "A Beast" by Sime, both numbered in manuscript.
This is the definitive work on the artist noted for illustrating the... Learn More£300.00Stock Code: 139783
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NICOLSON, Harold. Paul Verlaine.London : 1921
First edition, first impression, presentation copy of the author's first book, inscribed by the author on the front pastedown, "For William Rothenstein, with all thanks from Harold Nicolson. See p. 213"; with Rothenstein's bookplate to the front free endpaper. On p. 213 is an account of how Rothenstein "saddened by the plight of Paul Verlaine... had... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 139526
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MARSH, Edward. Edward Marsh's Little Book.Eton : 1990
First edition, limited issue, number 417 of 626 copies (26 were deluxe signed copies). This is the first printing, reproducing the original in facsimile, of the notebook presented in 1911 by Lady Diana Cooper to Sir Edward Marsh (1872-1953), who was Winston Churchill's secretary and a great literary impresario in his own right. Marsh determined "to... Learn More£250.00Stock Code: 139388
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STRICKLAND, Agnes - POPE-HENNESSY, Una. Agnes Strickland. Biographer of the Queens of England 1796-1874.London : 1940
First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication to Georgiana Fanny Julia Foster, "To Miss Foster in gratitude from Una Pope-Hennessy April 1940". Foster's ownership inscription, "F. Foster Park Lane Cottage Southwold", appears on the front pastedown.
Foster (1891-1975)... Learn More£175.00Stock Code: 138334
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BERG, Alban - ADORNO, Theodor W. Berg. Der Meister des Kleinsten Übergangs.Wien : 1968
First edition, first impression. Inscribed by the author on the title page to the poet Stephen Spender, "Für Stephen Spender, aller herz lichst von seinem Th. W. Adorno" and re-signed "Th. W. Adorno Frankfurt, 30. V. 69." Learn More£975.00Stock Code: 75441
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DICKENS, Charles - SMITH, F. Hopkinson. In Dickens's London.New York : 1914
First edition. One of a limited edition of 150 numbered sets, each signed on the limitation leaf by the artist and the publisher. Additionally signed by Smith on the print "Coffee-Room, George Inn". Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 75760
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GARCÍA MÁRQUEZ, Gabriel. Vivir para contarla.Mexico : October 2002
First Mexican edition, first printing, a lovely presentation copy of García Márquez's first (and the only completed) volume of autobiography, inscribed to his close friend the writer and actress María Luisa Elío Bernal (1926-2009), who was the dedicatee of Cien Años de Soledad. The inscription, on the dedication page, reads, "Por María Luisa otra... Learn More£1,500.00Stock Code: 128476
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DOUGLAS, Norman. Looking Back.London : 1933
First one-volume edition, first impression. Looking back was first published as a signed limited edition of two volumes in 1933. Learn More£175.00Stock Code: 88777
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FORSTER, E. M. The Development of English Prose Between 1918 and 1939Glasgow : 1945
First edition, inscribed by Forster on the half title: "Monroe Wheeler, with E. M. Forster's best wishes. May 1946." Forster has made one correction to the text (page 10); laid in is part of the original stamped envelope hand-addressed by Forster to Wheeler at the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Wheeler (1899-1988) became the inaugural Director... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 128015
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BECKETT, Samuel - HAYMAN, David. Ulysses: The Mechanics of Meaning.Englewood Cliffs, NJ : 1970
First edition, first impression. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Sam Beckett, from whose first letter to me I quote: 'in Joyce the form of judgement more and more devoured its gist and the saying of all the saying of anything, in a way more consistent with Bruno's identification of contraries than with the intellectualism of... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 75895
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BECKETT, Samuel - HAYMAN, David. Tristan and Isolde in Finnegans Wake:[University Park, PA] : 1964
Offprint from the journal of Comparative Literature Studies. Inscribed by the author above the title, "For Sam Beckett with warm regards, David". Hayman is a literary critic and professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison who participated in the publication of Joyce's complete manuscripts, and has also written a number of essays on Beckett's works.... Learn More£750.00Stock Code: 75881
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MARBLE, Alice. The Road to Wimbledon.New York & London : 1946
First edition, first printing, signed by the author on the front free endpaper. Uncommon signed, this is the first memoir by Alice Marble (1913-1990), ranked World No. 1 from 1936 to 1940. She became Wimbledon champion in 1939, winning not only the women's singles, but also the doubles and mixed doubles titles. Billie Jean King recalled: "Alice Marble... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 134406
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STEIN, Gertrude. An Acquaintance with Description.London : 1929
First edition, no. 199 of 225 copies signed by the author. Stein signed the limitation slips in Paris and returned them to London to be tipped-in opposite the title page. This is the second work published by the press, found by Robert Graves with his literary partner Laura Riding in 1927. An Acquaintance with Description is part of Stein's explanatory... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 133140
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BORTIN, Virginia. Elinor Remick Warren: her life and music.Metuchen, New Jersey : 1987
First edition, first printing. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by Remick Warren, "To Patsy, with all loving good wishes and happy memories of neighborhood days, from Elinor Remick Warren Griffins" on the front free endpaper. Works signed by Remick Warren are uncommon. Warren's "neo-Romantic style which was accessible to audiences and characterized... Learn More£125.00Stock Code: 134308
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MURDOCH, Iris. Sartre. Romantic Rationalist.Cambridge : 1953
First edition of the first monograph study on Sartre in English and Murdoch's first book, first impression, signed by the author on the title page. This exploration of Sartre "reveals a novelist's capacity to sink and merge her personality within the mind of another, and criticizes Sartre's ideas and novels accessibly". Murdoch first met Sartre in 1944.... Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 132556
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YEATS, W. B. The Trembling of the Veil.London : 1922
First edition, signed limited issue, number 844 of 1,000 subscribers copies signed by the author and printed on handmade paper. The Trembling of the Veil was the second of Yeats's seven autobiographical works, and was described by Arthur Symons as "an absolute masterpiece: far & away the best thing Yeats has ever done" (Ross, p. 559). The following... Learn More£2,000.00Stock Code: 131699
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ELIOT, T. S. Religious Drama: Mediaeval and Modern.New York : 1954
First edition, first impression, number 49 of 300 copies signed by the author. This work presents the text of an address Eliot gave to the Friends of Rochester Cathedral in 1937. This copy is from the library of author William Vincent Sieller, with his bookplate on the front pastedown. Learn More£600.00Stock Code: 131428
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. El "Martín Fierro"Buenos Aires : 1953
First edition, first printing, presentation copy inscribed by Borges and his co-author on the half-title, "Augosto 1953, A Gilda, profetizándole mucha felicidad, Jorge Luis Borges" and "A Gilda con carino autentico y eterno agradecimiento, Margot Guerrero." We have not been able to identify the recipient, but the double presentation and warm wording... Learn More£2,750.00Stock Code: 130217
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BORGES, Jorge Luis. Leopoldo Lugones.Buenos Aires : 1955
First edition, first printing, presentation copy inscribed by Borges on the title page, "Para Vicente Barbieri, afectos y un abrazo, Jorge Luis Borges". Barbieri (1903-1956) was a notable Argentine poet, posthumously awarded the National Prize for Poetry after his early death from tuberculosis. In this work Borges addresses the legacy of another Argentine... Learn More£5,000.00Stock Code: 129522
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STARK, Freya - COOPER, Pamela. A Cloud of Forgetting.London : 1993
First edition, inscribed on the front free end paper, "to the dear Gunns with love and gratitude from Pamela". The Gunns are Jean Gunn, a good friend of Freya Stark's in her later years and her husband Dr William Gunn, founder of the European Centre for Disaster Medicine, former Director of Emergency Humanitarian Operations for the WHO and author of... Learn More£85.00Stock Code: 127649
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(SHELLEY, Percy Bysshe.) SHELLEY, Lady Jane (ed.) Shelley Memorials:London : 1859
Second edition, presentation copy inscribed by Lady Jane Shelley, Shelley's daughter-in-law, "The Countess of Malmesbury, from J. Shelley", on the front binder's blank. Jane Shelley was motivated to produce this memoir of her father-in-law as a response to his biography by Thomas Jefferson Hogg, which was published in 1858 to unfavourable reviews. In... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 124955
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[BREEN, Walter, pseud.] EGLINTON, J. Z. Greek Love.New York : 1965
First edition, second printing, of this controversial historical study, "the only comprehensive work in any language, to my knowledge, that unequivocally espouses the right of an older male to have social-sexual relations with a young boy" (Dr Albert Ellis's postscript). This copy has the ownership inscription of gay publisher Winston Leyland (b.1940),... Learn More£200.00Stock Code: 122977
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CLINTON, Bill. My Life.New York : 2004
First edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To my friend Judy Collins with thanks - Bill Clinton", additionally inscribed by Collins, with a heart, on the title page, together with a typed letter signed by Clinton. The letter reads: "Dear Judy: Happy birthday! I hope this year will be full of happiness,... Learn More£2,500.00Stock Code: 122796
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BEATON, Cecil. Diaries.London : 1961
First edition, first impression, presentation copy from the author, inscribed to Arabella and Mark Boxer, dated June 1961. Mark Boxer was a profile artist, cartoonist and magazine editor, becoming founding editor of the Sunday Times colour supplement and later being appointed editor of Tatler in 1983. Lady Arabella Boxer is a successful cookery writer.... Learn More£500.00Stock Code: 121526
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BOSWELL, James. The Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.London : 1791 & 1793
First editions, presentation copies, both the Life of Johnson and Principal Corrections with individual autograph presentation inscriptions from the author to Andrew Lumisden (1720-1801), a friend of Boswell's who had assisted in preparing the Life by deciphering Johnson's manuscript notebook of his trip to France in October-November 1775.
This... Learn More£185,000.00Stock Code: 119415
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HEANEY, Seamus. The Door Stands Open.Dublin : 2005
First edition, signed limited issue, number 94 of 275 copies signed by the author, printed on blue and grey handmade paper, 25 of which were not for sale; a further 60 copies were issued in a glass slipcase, ten of which were not for sale. Published to commemorate the death of the Nobel Prize winning poet Czeslaw Milosz on 14 August 2004, this work... Learn More£1,000.00Stock Code: 118300
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DAHL, Roald. Going Solo.New York : 1986
First US edition, first printing. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title, "To Jan, Love Roald". The recipient was Jan Ross-Munro. Jan, an art historian who regularly lectured at the Victoria and Albert Museum, was a close friend of Dahl's second wife, Liccy. Learn More£1,600.00Stock Code: 118338
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KENNEDY, John F. Profiles in Courage.New York : 1956
First edition, first printing. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Mr. and Mrs. John Knight - with the very highest regards - John Kennedy". John S. Knight (1894-1981), a pioneering journalist and close personal friend of the Kennedys, founded Knight Newspapers, which would later become Knight Ridder, which was... Learn More£17,500.00Stock Code: 117813
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AYER, A. J. Part of My Life.London : 1977
First edition, first impression, of Ayer's autobiography; presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Caroline Anne Tuell, with my best wishes from Freddie Ayer. Bournemouth, October 13 1977". Anthony Smith's review for The Observer of A. J. Ayer: A Life in Philosophy by Ben Rogers is laid in to the front (20 June 1999).... Learn More£325.00Stock Code: 117409
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ARNOLD, Matthew Essays in Criticism.London and Cambridge : 1865
First edition, first issue, presentation copy inscribed "From the Author" in the hand of the publisher on the half-title. This is the first of Arnold's two influential Essays in Criticism, published by Arnold as Oxford Professor of Poetry. The second was published in 1888. The subjects in this work include Heinrich Heine, Pagan and Mediaeval Religious... Learn More£425.00Stock Code: 115429
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LEWIS, Wyndham. Time and Western Man.London : 1927
First edition, first impression, presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper, "To H. E. Dounce, from Wyndham Lewis, October 1927". Harry Esty Dounce (1889-1947) was an American journalist and book reviewer. Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 115120
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BLAKE, William - KEYNES, Sir Geoffrey. Laocoon. A Last Testament.Clairvaux : 1976
First edition, number 11 of 380 copies thus, this copy inscribed on the limitation leaf by the publisher Arnold Fawcus, "For Raymond: Geoffrey's most recent and exciting contribution to Blake scholarship, warmest regards, Arnold", from a total edition of 438 copies. This Trianon production constitutes a finely illustrated disquisition by Keynes on Blake's... Learn More£875.00Stock Code: 115020
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GOLDING, William (foreword); GEKOSKI, R. A. & P. A. Grogan. William Golding: A Bibliography, 1934-1993.London : 1994
First and limited edition. Number 54 of 900 copies which were supposed to have been numbered by Golding in Roman numerals, but instead were numbered in Arabic. There were also 1,000 copies bound in quarter leather, numbered in Arabic numerals and signed by Golding. This copy is unsigned and comes with an erratum slip tipped-in at the limitation page,... Learn More£225.00Stock Code: 112721
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JOHNSON, Samuel; BIRRELL, Augustine. Aphorisms on Authors and their Ways;[London] : 1917
First and only edition, 100 copies printed. Presentation copy from the author, inscribed on the initial blank, "To M.C, from AB, Christmas 1917" on the initial blank, and latterly in the collection of American-born Conservative politician and diarist Sir Henry "Chips" Channon (1897-1958), with his pencilled ownership inscription to the front free endpaper.... Learn More£250.00Stock Code: 111281
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DERRIDA, Jacques. The Work of Mourning.Chicago & London : 2001
First edition, first printing, presentation copy, inscribed by Derrida to the poet and photographer Ira Cohen on the title page, "Pour Ira, de tout coeur, J.D." The book is a collection of eulogies, essays and condolences on the deaths of 14 writers and thinkers who were Derrida's friends or colleagues: Roland Barthes, Michel Foucault, Louis Althusser,... Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 111353
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BARTHELME, Donald. Here in the Village.Northridge : 1978
First edition, signed limited issue, accompanied by the author's extensively hand-corrected galley proofs for the preface and the first essay in the book. This is number 7 of 275 copies signed by the author (a further 50 signed copies were also issued, with a collage by the author as a frontispiece). Learn More£1,250.00Stock Code: 109942
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MAILER, Norman. Gargoyle, Guignol, False Closet.Dublin : 1964
First separate edition, one of 100 copies. Presentation copy, inscribed by Mailer on the front cover to Herb Yellin (1935-2014) the American book collector and founder of the Lord John Press in 1976 to publish signed limited editions of significant American authors: "For Herb Yellin, cheers, cheers. Norman Mailer, March 1992." Yellin published two of... Learn More£1,750.00Stock Code: 109702
