{"title":"Halloween 2025","description":"\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eWith Halloween upon us, we have assembled a collection of spine-chilling rarities spanning nearly five centuries. Among these 33 volumes you will find accounts of ghosts, witches and the occult, alongside items that evoke a more general sense of the uncanny. Notable inclusions feature Joseph Glanvill's infamous writings on witchcraft, oaths of abjuration for those convicted of conjuring, and a selection of gothic tales and supernatural narratives.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"whitespace-normal break-words\"\u003eSome of the books are currently on display at our shop on Bond Street, so if you would like to browse the shelves in person, please do come by and visit us.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"john-davidson-notes-taken-during-travels-africa-1836-first-edition-90993","title":"Notes taken during travels in Africa...","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eRare privately printed journal of Davidson's attempt to cross the Western Sahara from Tangier to Timbuktoo which ended with his murder in November 1836.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJohn Davidson (1797-1836), an English adventurer, embarked at Falmouth on 1834, taking with him the freed slave Edward Donellan. On arrival at Tangier the British consul begged Davidson to give up his visit to Timbuktu on account of the tribal warfare being waged on the edge of the Sahara, but the explorer pressed on regardless. He arrived at Fez and left for the desert, passing through Marrakesh, and eventually reached the Wadi Num (Noun or Assaka). In the region of Tindouf he was shot dead and his possessions stolen. Donellan continued with the caravan to Timbuktu and was never heard of again. Davidson's letters and most of his journal found their way back to Britain and were privately published in 1839. The fine plates depict two views of Wadnoon and one of the river Draha.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 4to (26 x 20cm); [viii], 218pp., half-title, 3 lithographed plates, polished black morocco by T. Lloyd, inner dentelles, gilt edges, marbled endpapers, plates slightly spotted, a fine copy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHowgego D4; Playfair \u0026amp; Brown, 609.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DAVIDSON, John.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547040375089,"sku":"90993","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/90993_870b9758-164c-4695-baff-7ef5c4f8029c.jpg?v=1780916439"},{"product_id":"sabine-baring-gould-margery-of-quether-first-edition-100676","title":"Margery of Quether and Other Stories.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ea rare example of an early vampire story\u003c\/h4\u003eThe eponymous Margery of Quether is discovered by a bell-ringer, George Rosedhu on Christmas Eve.  She explains she was once a living woman, now a dried up old crone who cannot die. George is so moved by her story that he takes her in his arms and carries her home. She drives her one remaining tooth into his flesh and clasps him so tightly with her claws that he is unable to remove her until she lets go of her own accord...\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Reverend Sabine Baring-Gould was an English hagiographer, antiquarian, novelist and eclectic scholar. He is remembered particularly as a writer of hymns, the best-known being Onward, Christian Soldiers and Now the Day is Over. He also translated the carol Gabriel's Message from Basque to English. He often wrote standing up and his first book of songs, Songs and Ballads of the West (1889-91), was the first collection published for the mass market. He wrote many novels including A Book of Ghosts and The Lives of the Saints. His folkloric studies resulted in The Book of Were-Wolves (1865), one of the most frequently cited studies of lycanthropy.  Reputedly, this last title and Margery of Quether, gave Bram Stoker his inspiration for Dracula, published six years later. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition in book form; 8vo; one spot to first three leaves, else fine; publisher's maroon cloth gilt, spine faded and ends bumped, corners rubbed, offsetting to both free endpapers and near contemporary ink ownership to front free one, otherwise very good. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BARING-GOULD, Sabine.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547157356849,"sku":"100676","price":875.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/100676_408800eb-0276-4b80-8c15-3fc2196ec808.jpg?v=1780920906"},{"product_id":"m-r-james-first-edition-the-five-jars-102683","title":"The Five Jars.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eThe Five Jars by M.R. James, master of the ghost story, is the author's only novel, taking the form of a fairy tale in which the narrator describes five stone jars containing a magical substance that allows its imbibers to engage with the fairy folk.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo; 7 plates, contemporary gift inscription to front free endpaper; publisher's cloth, some darkening but overall very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBleiler, Checklist of Fantastic Literature, 172; Reginald 07816\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"JAMES, M.R.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547199168817,"sku":"102683","price":380.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/102683.jpg?v=1780918088"},{"product_id":"edward-gorey-signed-first-edition-richard-elliott-103178","title":"A Song and a Diary for A.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, trade issue, signed by Gorey on the last leaf; folio; publisher's stapled wrappers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"GOREY, Edward (illustrator); ELLIOTT, Richard.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547208147249,"sku":"103178","price":550.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/103178.jpg?v=1780913619"},{"product_id":"joyce-cary-african-witch-1936-first-edition-103997","title":"The African Witch.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eThe author's landmark pre-war novel, not so common in the jacket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, first impression; 8vo; contents a little browned as usual; publisher's black cloth, titles to spine gilt, with the dust jacket, front hinge starting, a lovely copy in the spine sunned dust jacket with some small loss at the top of the spine panel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"CARY, Joyce.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547245863217,"sku":"103997","price":325.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/103997_6d0cb827-5e61-4cb0-9a74-cc093a3da11f.jpg?v=1780916922"},{"product_id":"philip-pullman-his-dark-materials-trilogy-signed-107674","title":"His Dark Materials trilogy.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003esigned by the author\u003c\/h4\u003eFirst UK editions of Pullman's acclaimed fantasy trilogy, signed by the author on the title of The Northern Lights and complete with original dust-jackets.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eHis Dark Materials charts the coming of age stories of Lyra and Will as they traverse a series of parallel universes. The individual books in the trilogy have won a number of awards, including the 1995 Carnegie Medal for Northern Lights and the 2001 Whitbread Book of the Year award for The Amber Spyglass. The trilogy has spawned a number of adaptations, including the National Theatre's two-part dramatisation (2003-2004), New Line Cinema's Hollywood film adaptation (2007), and, most recently, an HBO\/BBC television series (2019-).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst UK editions, 3 vols, vol. I signed by the author on title; 8vo; (225 x 145 mm); text leaves slightly toned at extremities in vols I and II, minor glue (?) stain to title of vol. I, minor ink stain at lower edge of text block of vol. II (not affecting text); publisher's cloth, lettered in gilt, unclipped dust-jackets, slight creasing to dust-jacket of vol. I with spines of vols I and III slightly sunned, very good overall condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"PULLMAN, Philip.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45957890933041,"sku":"107674","price":3750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/107674_d23e0560-c977-4597-a987-8a16287f7122.jpg?v=1780919441"},{"product_id":"charles-bell-organs-of-the-senses-familarly-described-113160","title":"The Organs of the Senses Familiarly Described,","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003erare popular anatomy by the neurologist who identified bell's palsy\u003c\/h4\u003eFirst and only edition of this rare popular work by the anatomist, neurologist, and artist Charles Bell (1774-1842), with twenty simple but attractive hand-coloured lithographs, likely by the author. WorldCat locates only eighteen copies, and it is not listed in auction records or in the Garrison-Morton Medical Bibliography.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBell undertook his surgical training in Edinburgh during the 1890s, and at the same time studied art with the painter David Allen, publishing his System of Dissections, a guide for anatomy students, while himself still a student in 1798. 'In 1802 he published The Anatomy of the Brain, Explained in a Series of Engravings. He provided his own illustrations to this work, and insisted that in this department of anatomy in particular the task could not be left to an artist who lacked a training in the field... Along with [his brother] John Bell he also published an Anatomy of the Human Body. Charles's special contribution on the anatomy of the brain and nerves appeared in 1804. The work passed through numerous editions' (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs a surgeon in London after 1804 Bell continued developing his special interest in the nervous system, and set out to show that the brain was not an undifferentiated mass, but that its parts had separate functions, which could be proved anatomically by severing the nerves leading to the rest of the body. The results were published in 1811 in Idea of a New Anatomy of the Brain, though priority for the more sophisticated and correct version of the discovery is usually awarded to the French physiologist François Magendie.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn the introduction to this volume, which was intended for general readers or older children, Bell writes, 'that the organs of the senses are most wonderfully contrived, is so generally known as to amount to a truism: but how few are those who have even the slightest idea of their structure... it is hoped, that a short treatise, describing in plain and common terms the several parts and connexions of these organs... will afford a general and easy comprehension of their nature, and accompanied by several coloured plates, will not be either uninteresting or uninstructive'. The plates focus primarily on the eyes, including the lens's effect on light passing through it and the facial muscles and bones of the skull around them, and there are also plates on the ear and tongue.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo; 20 hand-coloured lithographic plates, contents tanned and foxed, stab holes to fore-edges of plates, final leaf and rear blank opened clumsily leaving a portion of the latter attached to the former; original green cloth blocked in blind, rebacked in green cloth with gilt title in 20th-century typeface, corners worn, cloth rubbed and darkened with a few small marks, hinges repaired, very good condition; 85pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJeffrey (Sir Charles Bell) 23, p217.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BELL, Charles.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49818941260081,"sku":"113160","price":2750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/113160_df5aa696-2124-4007-a6d4-a89893bffd73.jpg?v=1780912340"},{"product_id":"samuel-hibbert-philosophy-of-apparitions-first-edition-1824-113162","title":"Sketches of the Philosophy of Apparitions;","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ean early and influential materialist explanation of ghost sightings\u003c\/h4\u003eFirst edition of a key work attributing ghost sightings to the human mind, an early examination of the unconscious. Rare in commerce, with no copies in recent auction records.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Two of the most influential studies upon the nature and origin of hallucinations in the early nineteenth century centred their examination upon the supposed sighting of apparitions and phantoms of the dead. In these works, John Ferriar and Samuel Hibbert — both medical physicians — outlined the theory of spectral illusions — the argument that apparitions were to be traced to disorders and diseases of the bodily apparatus, rather than to insanity, revelation, or post-mortem haunting... Hibbert enlarged upon Ferriar's writings and outlined the similar thesis that \"apparitions are nothing more than ideas, or the recollected images of the mind, which have been rendered as vivid as actual impressions\". Agreeing with Ferrier that ghosts could be understood as waking dreams, Hibbert used analogies with the chemical world to illustrate the changeable nature of the individual's mental state such as the intoxications of dangerous miasmas and the \"visonary world\" induced by exposure to nitrous oxide. A recurring reference-point in Hibbert's text was that the \"renovation of past feelings\" through association to a certain level of intensity could produce apparitions in the mind... Though stressing the optical sense in their theories of spectral illusions, Ferriar and Hibbert supported those who argued that such visual phenomena had a peripheral origin in the brain. They stressed that people experienced spectral illusions were neither insane nor ghost-seers, but merely peripherally affected by abnormal impressions and could be treated by such down-to-earth methods as bleeding and the application of active purgatives' (McCorristine, Spectres of the Self, pp45-46).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Hibbert concluded that whatever their exciting cause, apparitions... resulted from the recall of forgoten memories... No feelings or ideas he maintained were ever lost even if forgotten and could be revived into consciousness by an appropriate stimulus... It is surprising to find so early in nineteenth century psychiatry this basic assumption of an unconscious and its elation to conscious mind\" (Hunter \u0026amp; Macalpine).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA previous owner of this copy, William Schroeder, was a Brooklyn physician whose scrapbooks are now at the Center for Brooklyn History.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo (17.5 x 10 cm); folding chart and tables within the text, offsetting and a little scattered spotting to the contents, ownership signature and ink stamp to front free endpaper, tiny catalogue note tipped-in on the rear free endpaper; contemporary calf rebacked to style, gilt titles, raised bands, blind stamps to compartments, top edge dyed red, binding rubbed and scuffed, very good condition; 459pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"HIBBERT, Samuel.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49818941522225,"sku":"113162","price":2750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/113162.jpg?v=1780921022"},{"product_id":"thomas-gibson-anatomy-epitomized-illustrated-1737-114210","title":"Anatomy Epitomized and Illustrated:","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA later printing of this unusual and attractively illustrated anatomical work, originally published in 1682 by Thomas Gibson (1648\/49-1722), physician-general to the Army. Copies of any edition are rare in the trade.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGibson studied at St. John's College, Cambridge and then at the University of Leiden, and was admitted to the Royal College of Surgeons in July 1676. A Presbyterian, his 'religion and connections to the Cromwell family led to his being removed from the list of fellows of the College of Physicians when the college received a new charter under James II in 1687. After 1688 Gibson was reinstated and on 21 January 1719 he was appointed physician-general to the army' (Oxford Dictionary of National Biography).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eGibson is best known for the present book, which 'he claimed to have been initially reluctant to write. The book is essentially an expanded and updated version of Alexander Read's earlier text, The Manuall of the Anatomy of the Body of Man (several editions from 1638), but it was significantly revised as Gibson explained in his opening address to the reader. In this address, Gibson also felt obliged to defend his decision to write a book like this in the vernacular. Firstly, he said it was appropriate since Read brought out his text in English, but also because doing this would \"avoid the injury of a paltry Translator\"... It was a best-seller in its day and went through at least six editions by 1703, being expanded several times' (Evans, 'Thomas Gibson's Life and Times', Early Modern Medicine blog, 2017).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLater edition; 4to (19.5 x 12.5); 17 engraved folding plates, contemporary ownership signature on the front free endpaper and initials on the title, a little toning of the margins and occasional spotting, some creasing and closed tears to the plates; contemporary calf, manuscript title label to spine, raised bands, calf dulled and rubbed with some small marks, including an old wax mark on the title which has been written over, corners bumped, very good condition; 182pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"[GIBSON, Thomas] M.N.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54781669671287,"sku":"114210","price":3500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/114210_2_24e4d6ab-fd4c-4adb-a1bf-8a8b96135a17.jpg?v=1780921877"},{"product_id":"franklin-journey-polar-sea-1823-first-edition-114904","title":"Narrative of a journey to the shores of the Polar Sea in the years 1819, 20, 21, and 22;","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003euncut in original boards\u003c\/h4\u003eA rare survival, uncut in original boards. Franklin's famous journey was made to the mouth of the Coppermine River, largely overland and with the aid of canoes. The coast east of the mouth was surveyed. It is one of the most terrible journeys on record, many of the party dying from cold, hunger, or murder. The distance travelled was some 5,500 miles, and Franklin's narrative at once became a classic of travel literature. With an important appendix on natural history.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 4to, xvi, 768 pp., errata slip, 8pp. ads dated 1823 at end, 30 plates engraved by Finden after drawings by Lieuts. Back and Hood (10 of these hand-coloured), 4 folding maps incl. one large (30 x 23 cm) with tear to one fold, an uncut copy in contemporary parchment over original boards, spine lettered in manuscript, light spotting to title and frontispiece and occasionally elsewhere, a fine copy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAbbey (Travel), 635; Books on Ice 3.1; Hill 635; Sabin 25624.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"FRANKLIN, John.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54857697853815,"sku":"114904","price":2850.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/114904.jpg?v=1780914213"},{"product_id":"susan-hill-woman-black-first-edition-115246","title":"The Woman In Black.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eSpooky in the extreme; the stage adaptation was a topping success, its longevity second only to the The Mousetrap.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, first impression; 8vo; half-page and vignette illustrations within text, unmarked internally; publisher's green cloth, slightly age-toned, with the price-clipped illustrated dustjacket, light creasing to extremities, else very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"HILL, Susan.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":54906423017847,"sku":"115246","price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/115246_579e073c-4e05-490a-8ac1-a832b58ac0ce.jpg?v=1780921689"},{"product_id":"james-benignus-winslow-anatomical-exposition-human-body-1734-114395","title":"An Anatomical Exposition of the Structure of the Human Body.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eleading 18th century anatomy\u003c\/h4\u003eReissue of the 1733 first English language edition with cancel title dated 1734, originally published in French as Exposition anatomique de la structure du corps humain in 1732. Illustrated with four attractive folding plates based on the works of Eustachius.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJacques-Bénigne Winslow (1669-1760), 'one of the most brilliant anatomists of the eighteenth century', was born in Denmark but spent his career in France, serving as a professor of anatomy at the Jardin du Roi between 1742 and 1758. 'Among his numerous contributions in the field of human anatomy, the Exposition anatomique de la structure du corps humain (1732) had a great influence on anatomical literature for over a century' (Olry, 'Winslow's contribution...', Journal of the History of Neuroscience, August 1996). A copy of the 1756 London edition was one of the books sold by Thomas Jefferson to the Library of Congress in 1815.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eReissue of the 1733 first edition with cancel title dated 1734; 2 vols in 1 plus appendix, 4to, (24.5 x 19.5 cm); 4 engraved folding plates, second title printed in red and black, single leaf bookseller's ad at end of vol. I; contemporary ownership signature to the front pastedown, faint spotting to the title and early leaves, light partial offsetting to late leaves from turn-in, overall contents fresh; contemporary speckled calf, spine elaborately gilt in compartments with floral tools, red morocco label, double gilt fillets, red speckled edges, some rubbing and scuffing of the calf, upper joint worn but firm, very good condition; 182, 210, \u0026amp; 145pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WINSLOW, James Benignus [Jacques-Bénigne]; DOUGLAS, G. (translator).","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55034919027063,"sku":"114395","price":1750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/114395_25077bc1-49f6-4c5d-9b76-61f4b318094c.jpg?v=1780916114"},{"product_id":"agatha-christie-sparkling-cyanide-1945-115728","title":"Sparkling Cyanide.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eFirst published in the USA in February 1945 under the title of Remembered Death, it was published in the UK in December of the same year under Christie's original title.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis is the last appearance of Colonel Race to solve the mysterious deaths of a married couple, exactly one year apart.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst UK edition; 8vo; a little toning to wartime page stock, rear hinge cracked but holding; publisher's red cloth, titles to spine in black, spine tips bumped, with the price-clipped pictorial dust-jacket, spine a touch faded, light creasing and rubbing to extremities, the odd nick to edges, else very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"CHRISTIE, Agatha.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55084584403319,"sku":"115728","price":975.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/115728_0a8efeee-1c82-48f8-9081-b7279662e03a.jpg?v=1780910380"},{"product_id":"mr-james-ghost-stories-antiquary-first-edition-116521","title":"Ghost Stories of an Antiquary.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA superb copy of the author's first collection of spooky and macabre stories, 'generally taken to mark the beginning of the modern era of supernatural fiction. In the opinion of many the foremost modern writer of supernatural fiction' (Bleiler, The Guide to Supernatural Fiction, p279). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Let us, then, be introduced to the actors in a placid way', wrote James in 1924: '...let us see them going about their ordinary business, undisturbed by forebodings...and into this calm environment let the ominous thing put out its head, unobtrusively at first, and then more insistently, until it holds the stage.' Like Lewis Carroll and Tolkien, James viewed fiction as an essential diversion from the mundane necessities of work and study, consequently many of his stories originated as tales to be read by candlelight to fellow dons and senior pupils at Cambridge. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIncreasingly scarce, especially in such good order.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo; frontispiece and 3 plates by James McBride, without advertisements, some very light scattered spotting, very light browning to endpapers, armorial bookplate to front pastedown, bookplate to front free endpaper; publisher's buckram, titles to spine and upper cover in black, ruled in red, yapp edges, very light toning and a faint splash mark to spine; a very good example.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eCurrey p.261; Lovecraft (Supernatural Horror in Literature), pp.100-105; Tymn 3-125.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"JAMES, M.R.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55196755394935,"sku":"116521","price":4500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/116521.jpg?v=1780918704"},{"product_id":"baba-yaga-teffi-1952-116570","title":"Baba-Yaga.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eCelebrated first edition of this folklore as told by Teffi. A wonderfully illustrated and large format children's book. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBaba Yaga is a tale about the witch-like character of the same name who lives in the forest and frequently appears in Russian folklore tales. Since Alexander Afanaseev began to collect and publish fairy tales in the mid 19th century many numerous illustrated versions of Baba Yaga appeared but this émigré publication is of particular rarity and charm. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNathalie Parain (1897-1958) was born in Kyiv and was a student at the Imperial Academy of Arts until the Revolution of 1917 forced an end to her studies. She moved to Moscow in order to gain a state recognised art degree at Vkhutemas and it was here that under the direction of Petr Konchalovsky her artistic style veered towards the avant-garde.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; large 4to (32.2 x 28.4; 24pp.; illustrated throughout by Parain; original publisher's lithographed wrappers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"TEFFI, Nadezhda Alexandrovna; PARAIN, Nathalie (illustrator).","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55203897278839,"sku":"116570","price":650.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/116570_d344994f-52b7-4034-9964-d49a8960d8ef.jpg?v=1780910957"},{"product_id":"doyle-round-fire-stories-1908-first-117572","title":"Round the Fire Stories.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA lovely copy of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's seventeen \"grotesque and terrible\" short stories.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo (20 x 13 cm); frontispiece by A. Castaigne, internally fine; publisher's red cloth with gilt pictorial vignette to upper board, gilt lettering to upper board and spine, a touch of rubbing to extremities but a near-fine copy not often found in such nice condition; [8], 372, [6]pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55301968789879,"sku":"117572","price":450.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/117572.jpg?v=1780913387"},{"product_id":"conan-doyle-edge-unknown-1930-first-117574","title":"The Edge of the Unknown.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA handsome copy of this collection of essays and articles written by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle originally for newspapers such as The Strand and Daily Express, mostly concerned with ghosts and other macabre musings.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo (19 x 13 cm); touch of spotting to preliminary pages; publisher's blue cloth with gilt lettering to upper board and spine, spine a little faded, the lightest of rubbing to extremities, a very good and handsome example; [8], 332pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55301969084791,"sku":"117574","price":250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/117574.jpg?v=1780912729"},{"product_id":"redgrove-god-glass-first-edition-1979-118686","title":"The God of Glass.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eFirst edition of The God of Glass by Peter Redgrove. Inscription to D.M. Thomas.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe God of Glass originated in Peter Redgrove's play of the same title, which was commissioned by the BBC in 1974, and was first broadcast on Radio 3 on 31 July 1977. The play won the Imperial Tobacco Award for Radio Drama (Original Single Play) in 1978.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo; inscription to front endpaper, minor spotting and toning to edges; black cloth hardcover, original dustjacket, minor wear and dents to dustjacket; vii, 148pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"REDGROVE, Peter.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55486456496503,"sku":"118686","price":150.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/118686_0e8a1bba-82a3-42aa-a937-f3cdc6ce771b.jpg?v=1780920374"},{"product_id":"mervyn-peake-gormenghast-trilogy-109345","title":"Titus Groan [and] Gormenghast [and] Titus Alone.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ethe Gormenghast trilogy - first editions\u003c\/h4\u003eA set of three first editions from Mervyn Peake's (1911-1968) Gormenghast trilogy, comprising Titus Groan, Gormenghast, and Titus Alone, his last published novel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst editions; ownership inscription to front free endpapers of Titus Groan, half-titles, Titus Alone with woodcut frontispiece; publisher's red cloth, original unclipped dust-jackets, later red cloth slipcases, closed tear to dust-jacket spine of Gormenghast; minor tear to top-edge of Titus Alone dust-jacket, minor wear generally to extremities of jackets, occasional light spotting internally, boards with slight colour loss, spines toned; 438; 453, [1]; 222, [2]pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"PEAKE, Mervyn.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55628755140983,"sku":"109345","price":2200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/109345.jpg?v=1780918513"},{"product_id":"micheal-dibdin-dirty-tricks-inscribed-1991-119597","title":"Dirty Tricks.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003einscribed by the author\u003c\/h4\u003eThis is a very good inscribed copy of Micheal Dibdin's sixth novel. The dust-jacket, designed by Irene von Treskow, situates us in Oxford with its citation of quadrangle architecture, the Racliffe Camera, Tom Tower, and the towers of Merton College Chapel, St Mary's, and All Saints. Dibdin's Oxonian thriller explores sex, violence, and murder.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis edition is inscribed by the author, 'For Clive Sinclair, with admiration and humility'. Sinclair was a Jewish, British author best known for Hearts of Gold (1979), Bedbugs (1982), and The Lady with the Laptop (1996). Dibdin reviewed Sinclair's work in The Independent and The Observer. They both lived transatlantic lives, having grown up in England, Sinclair studied and lectured at UC Santa Cruz and Dibdin studied in Canada and settled in Washington State.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, inscribed by the author in pen to title page; 8vo; interior lightly toned; publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in white, a very good edition with pictorial dust-jacket lightly rubbed on edges; 241pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DIBDIN, Micheal.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55710985617783,"sku":"119597","price":125.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/119597.jpg?v=1780918551"},{"product_id":"joseph-glanvill-seasonable-reflections-discourses-london-1676-119897","title":"Seasonable Reflections and Discourses","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eThe first edition of this attack on nonconformist Christianity by the Latitudinarian philosopher Joseph Glanvill (1636-1680), best known for his association with the Cambridge Platonist Henry More, and for his posthumously published defence of the belief in witchcraft, Saducismus Triumphatus.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe present work is divided into four sermons, on 'The Sin and Danger of Scoffing at Religion', 'The Church's Contempt from Prophane and Fanatick Enemies', 'Moral Evidence of a Life to come', and 'The Serious Consideration of the Future Judgement'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 8vo (16.5 x 10 cm); woodcut initials and headpieces, ownership inscriptions to rear endpapers, MS delineation of line numbers to first sermon, small closed-tear to title, repaired to verso with archival tape (offsetting from old adhesive), trimmed quite close to text block; eighteenth-century calf, later gilt panel tooling to covers (at time of restoration), rebacked, original gilt spine laid down, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece, very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eESTC R23378.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"GLANVILL, Joseph.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56008214184311,"sku":"119897","price":900.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/119897_013bd9aa-f354-4547-9056-b7a0bafb4c74.jpg?v=1780916897"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/collections\/Halloween.png?v=1779290352","url":"https:\/\/shapero.com\/collections\/halloween.oembed","provider":"Shapero Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}