{"title":"Pillars of Literature","description":"\u003cp\u003eBringing together the foundational voices of literature, in deluxe bindings, gilt designs, and striking vellum that make exceptional gifts for any collector.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eFeaturing Homer, Jane Austen, Ernest Hemingway, Shakespeare, and many more, this collection spans from antiquity to modern day. A refined selection for collectors seeking literature that has shaped centuries of storytelling.\u003c\/p\u003e","products":[{"product_id":"hg-wells-select-conversations-signed-first-edition-103457","title":"Select Conversations With An Uncle.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003einscribed presentation copy\u003c\/h4\u003eA major literary presentation copy of the author's first literary publication. Inscribed by Wells on the half title page, 'Grant Allen With the author's kindest regards'. Tipped in at the front of the book is a 3pp autograph letter signed by Wells, written to Allen and presenting 'the little book I have done. It's just fooling about with a piece of paper \u0026amp; a pen'. He then asks if Allen is fond of canals, remarking that there is good one in Woking which he would like to show him were he to visit. Allen was originally from Canada, he moved to the UK in the 1880s and lived not far from Wells in Surrey. A controversialist in his views on sexual politics and the 'new women' he shared many of Wells obsessions. Perhaps more importantly he had begun in the early 1890s to write speculative fiction. His subjects included time travel and the probable influence on the Time Machine of his story The Pallinghurst Barrow is notable.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, first impression, inscribed presentation copy; 8vo; illustrated title page, pages browned as usual, some marks and spots throughout, 3pp ALS from the author tipped in; publisher's grey, watered silk, titles to spine gilt, top edge gilt, edges a little rubbed; 16 pp ads at end. Very good indeed.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WELLS, H.G.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547210899761,"sku":"103457","price":6500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/103457.jpg?v=1780915149"},{"product_id":"beatrix-potter-jemima-puddle-duck-inscribed-1912-106905","title":"The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003einscribed by Annie Maria Harris nee Armitt\u003c\/h4\u003eInscribed on the front free endpaper: 'Mary Mackenzie from Mrs. Stanford Harris, Rydal Cottage, August 1912' and with six stanzas of verse by Annie Harris née Armitt on the front free endpaper and rear endpapers, beginning 'In memory of Rydal\/Where Mary lived awhile...', initialled 'A.M.H' on both pastedowns; the half-title additionally inscribed 'I think Jemima Puddle\/Was a very foolish duck;\/She made a wretched muddle,\/And scarce deserved her luck. A.M.H.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAnnie Maria Armitt (1850-1933), one of three gifted and well-educated sisters, was a novelist, poet, short story writer, and essayist. Unusually for the time Mr Armitt wanted to give his talented daughters a first class education, but in 1867 this plan went awry when he died suddenly leaving the trio facing severe financial difficulties. Undaunted however, together they opened a school in Eccles, Lancashire, which thrived, allowing them to travel and continue their own studies.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn 1912 the youngest sister, Mary Louisa, founded The Armitt Library, now known as The Armitt, a museum, library and gallery, devoted to preserving and sharing the cultural heritage of the Lake District. Beatrix Potter was one of the Armitt's earliest supporters, and the collection holds a number of her family's books, her own first edition copies of her books, and a large number of botanical watercolours by her. Annie Armitt married Stanford Harris in 1877 and went to live near Hawkshead in the Lake District. In 1882 Mary and Sophia received a substantial legacy and in 1894 they moved to Rydal, where they lived with Annie, now widowed, for the rest of their lives. Here the sisters enjoyed socialising with a large circle of distinguished friends, including John Ruskin as well as Beatrix Potter.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eJemima Puddle-Duck is her poem about [Hill Top Farm] itself, and anyone who is curious to reconstruct its exact appearance in those days can do so from the pictures in that book…' (Margaret Lane). Another of the author's most famous creations, Jemima Puddle-Duck, with her naive \u0026amp; trusting nature, was based on a real duck from Hill Top Farm, and proved immensely popular, spin-off merchandise including a Jemima painting book and illustrated fabric placemats hand-fashioned by Potter and distributed to friends. Critically, the book is considered one of Potter's best.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e16mo; inscribed on half-title and front and rear endpapers by Annie Maria Harris née Armitt; colour illustrations throughout, one leaf with vertical crease to right-hand side; publisher's green boards with inset rectangular panel to upper cover, pictorial endpapers, front free endpaper rubbed with slight surface loss to fore-margin, spine faded.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFor the first edition of 1908 see Linder, p.427; Quinby 14.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"POTTER, Beatrix.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45547353211185,"sku":"106905","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/106905.jpg?v=1780911374"},{"product_id":"ernest-hemingway-in-our-time-first-edition-97639","title":"In Our Time.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eHemingway's American debut\u003c\/h4\u003eThe collection of short stories and vignettes that marked Ernest Hemingway's American debut and brought him fame.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWhen In Our Time was published it was praised by Ford Madox Ford, John Dos Passos, and F. Scott Fitzgerald for its simple and precise use of language to convey a wide range of complex emotions, and it earned Hemingway a place beside Sherwood Anderson and Gertrude Stein as one of the most promising American writers of that period. This collection contains several early Hemingway classics, including the famous Nick Adams stories Indian Camp, The Doctor and the Doctor's Wife, The Three Day Blow and The Battler. It introduces readers to the hallmarks of the Hemingway style: a lean, tough prose, enlivened by an ear for the colloquial and an eye for the realistic that suggests, through the simplest of statements, a sense of moral value and a clarity of heart. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNow recognised as one of the most original short story collections in twentieth-century literature, In Our Time serves as a key to Hemingway's later works. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBanned in Germany from 1933 to 1945 by the ruling National Socialist party.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, 8vo; slight age-toning, bookplate to upper pastedown, else fine; publisher's black cloth gilt, geometric design to upper cover, printed dust-jacket, the upper panel bisected into boxes containing appraisals of the author's literary skills and the rear one with reviews of this title from literary luminaries such as Ford Madox Ford, John Dos Passos and Waldo Frank, some age-darkening, more so to spine, chipped on corners and spine-ends with professional restoration to spine fold of upper panel, otherwise in a remarkably good state; [1-15], 16-214, [215, blank] pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"HEMINGWAY, Ernest.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45624599085361,"sku":"97639","price":15750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/97639.jpg?v=1780913807"},{"product_id":"beatrix-potter-tale-mrs-tittlemouse-1910-first-deluxe-109580","title":"The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eThe Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse was published with the boards in either blue or brown but neither has priority over the other.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst or second printing, deluxe issue; 16mo (140 x 103 mm; colour frontispiece, plain title vignette and 26 colour plates, contemporary ink gift inscription dated Christmas 1910 to half-title, a hint of finger-soiling to p. 9 and minor, faint spot opposite, else near-fine; publisher's blue cloth with fielded illustrative paste-down of Mrs. Tittlemouse, all edges gilt, tiny puncture to rear joint and a hint of rubbing to boards (as one would expect), otherwise a rare, near-fine copy preserved in a custom-made solander box.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLinder p.429; not in Quinby.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"POTTER, Beatrix.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45856219955505,"sku":"109580","price":4250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/109580_674eca83-1630-4ce0-9740-7f6cf45e230e.jpg?v=1780911383"},{"product_id":"homer-thomas-grenville-iliad-odyssey-large-paper-presentation-copy-112143","title":"Ilias kai Odysseia [Iliad and Odyssey, in Greek].","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eone of 25 large paper copies - presented to the Marquis of Stafford\u003c\/h4\u003eOne of 25 large paper copies of the 'Grenville Homer' presented by the editors to the Marquis of Stafford, finely bound in red morocco with the Stafford arms. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe presentation note bound in to volume one of the Iliad reads, 'Lord Buckingham, Lord Grenville and Mr Grenville present their Compliments to The Marquis of Stafford and request his acceptance of a Copy of the Large Paper Homer. 20 April 1807.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eA handsome copy of this scarce and sumptuously printed work with excellent provenance. Dibdin describes this edition as 'the most critical... which the University of Oxford has published.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOne of 25 large paper copies, editor's presentation note bound in; 4 vols, 4to; half-titles, 2 engraved frontispieces (to vol. 1 \u0026amp; vol. 3), 3 engraved plates, ribbon markers, occasional faint offsetting, scattered faint spotting; contemporary straight-grain red morocco, gilt arms to covers, border tooled in blind with tiny gilt floral device to corners, spine lettered in gilt and tooled in blind with 5 double raised bands, gilt and blind inner dentelles, doublures tooled in blind, all edges gilt, slight rubbing to joints, expert repairs to spine extremities; a handsome copy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBrunet III, 275; Dibdin II, pp.61-62; Lowndes III, 1097.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"HOMER; GRENVILLE, Thomas (editor).","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":49180485353777,"sku":"112143","price":8500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/112143_e26dc5ff-21ee-4656-a32c-3c49894f4fe8.jpg?v=1781038498"},{"product_id":"beatrix-potter-fairy-caravan-signed-1929-112553","title":"The Fairy Caravan.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eunique inscription by the author\u003c\/h4\u003eThis privately printed edtion of only 100 copies, is numbered by Beatrix Potter in her own hand; 'This copy is no 7.' in pencil to upper paste-down and inscribed by her on the opposite free endpaper; 'To Jack and Wynne from H.B.H. Oct 26th 1929'. also in pencil. Jack Heelis was her nephew by marriage to William Heelis. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThis title was first published by David McKay Company in Philadelphia in October 1929 therefore contemporaneous with this' limited edition' issued in 100 copies by Beatrix Potter in order to protect the U.K. copyright. The first section of this book was printed by Middleton's of Ambleside, with the remaining plates taken from the David Mckay edition. It was not published for general sale in the U.K. until July 1952, i.e., after Beatrix Potter's death. The reason why the U.K. edition was withheld was because Beatrix Potter felt the book to be too personal, containing as it is does, a number of references to Sawrey, the surrounding district and with what are thought to be some thinly veiled references to people whom she knew.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eLimited edition, privately printed by the author, numbered (no. 7) and personally inscribed by her in pencil; 8vo (240 x 180 mm); frontispiece illustration and five further colour plates, numerous monochrome illustrations within the text, all by the author, off-setting to front free endpaper, some relevantly minor spotting, mostly to preliminary text leave but in the main clean and bright; original quarter dark green cloth over lighter green paper-covered boards, rubbed and bumped at extremities, slightly soiling but otherwise very good and totally unrestored.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBibliography: Linder, p. 431; Quinby 29.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"POTTER, Beatrix.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50060734464305,"sku":"112553","price":12000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/112553_514c8612-77fd-4e3f-91ab-e2f650c125dc.jpg?v=1780911370"},{"product_id":"beatrix-potter-cecily-parsleys-nursery-rhymes-first-edition-113624","title":"Cecily Parsley's Nursery Rhymes.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ein the original glassine dust jacket\u003c\/h4\u003eA very good copy in the exceptionally rare dust-jacket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, first printing (with the correct front and rear endpapers according to Linder); 16mo (160 x 110 mm); colour frontispiece, plain title vignette, 14 colour plates, colour pictorial endpapers, a little oxidising and mild spotting to some blank versos, some light spots to fore-edge (as usual but not affecting text or illustrations); publisher's red boards with inset colour illustration, spine slightly sunned, otherwise a very good copy in the original printed glassine dust jacket, somewhat frayed and tone, with some minute loss.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eLinder p.430; Quinby 26\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"POTTER, Beatrix.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50092718358833,"sku":"113624","price":2800.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/113624_1a1e1c91-239c-4e47-988b-a33c393fa09c.jpg?v=1780911369"},{"product_id":"hg-wells-time-machine-first-edition-112609","title":"The Time Machine.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ea cornerstone of science fiction\u003c\/h4\u003eWells' first and most famous book, known for popularising the concept of time travel in the science fiction genre.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst UK edition, first impression, later variant binding with all edges trimmed; Demy 12mo (175 x 120 mm); spotting to endpapers, else unmarked internally, without publisher's ads' at rear; publisher's tan cloth, brown lettering to spine and upper cover, sphinx vignette in brown to upper cover, publisher's device in brown to lower cover, cloth a touch faded at spine and lower cover, else very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WELLS, H.G.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":53505254392183,"sku":"112609","price":4750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/112609_49b34feb-46da-416b-867d-802cd46585b1.jpg?v=1780915155"},{"product_id":"oscar-wilde-lady-windermeres-fan-first-edition-large-paper-116713","title":"Lady Windermere's Fan.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eone of 50 large paper copies\u003c\/h4\u003eOne of 50 large paper copies of Wilde's four-act comedy, first performed on Saturday, 20 February 1892, at the St James's Theatre in London. Like many of Wilde's plays, it bitingly satirises the morals of society.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, one of 50 large paper copies; small 4to (23 x 18 cm); ownership signature to limitation page, some browning to endpapers; publisher's straw coloured buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts, gilt lettering to spine, spine browned, very slight wear at head and foot of spine; a near-fine copy, housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMason 358.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WILDE, Oscar.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55156839154039,"sku":"116713","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/116713_c6d11117-d6dc-4042-b3e4-3203490f59b5.jpg?v=1780919109"},{"product_id":"oscar-wilde-poems-signed-inscribed-presentation-copy-118405","title":"Poems.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003einscribed presentation copy\u003c\/h4\u003eFourth edition of Wilde's first poetry collection, a presentation copy inscribed from the author to Ada Maud Story (née Broadwood), wife of his friend, the sculptor Thomas Waldo Story: 'To Mrs. Waldo Story, from her friend Oscar Wilde. Paris, May 9th '83'. Additionally inscribed 'Rien n'est vrai que le Beau' on the title, and with her husband's bookplate.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThomas Waldo Story (1854-1915) was born in Rome, the son of American Neoclassical sculptor William Wetmore Story. He was educated at Eton and Oxford before returning to Italy and joining his father's practice. The Storys cultivated an impressive clientele, including the Marlboroughs and Astors, for whom they developed large-scale decorative schemes, and Thomas Waldo is best known for the monumental two-colour marble sculpture Fountain of Love at Cliveden. In addition to Neoclassicism, he was inspired by the Aesthetic movement espoused by friends such as Wilde, who wrote to him in 1883 that Whistler 'spoke of your art with more enthusiasm than I ever heard him speak of any modern work' (Whistler Catalogue Raisonné, University of Glasgow). \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe present copy was inscribed in Paris in May 1883, following the Story's April marriage, and a year prior to Wilde's own marriage. Upon becoming engaged, Wilde wrote to Thomas Waldo, 'Well, we are to be married in April, as you were, and then go to Paris, and perhaps to Rome—what do you think? Will Rome be nice in May? I mean, will you and Mrs Waldo be there, and the Pope, and the Peruginos?… Her name is Constance and she is quite young, very grave, and mystical... quite perfect except that she does not think Jimmy the only painter that ever really existed: she would like to bring Titian or somebody in by the back door: however, she knows I am the greatest poet, so in literature she is all right: and I have explained to her that you are the greatest sculptor: art instruction cannot go further'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFourth edition, inscribed presentation copy; single leaf of publisher's ads at rear, bookplate of Waldo Story, free endpapers tanned, light spotting to the title and blanks and occasionally to the contents; publisher's parchment boards blocked in gilt, binding rubbed with some wear at the tips and a few spots and marks, including a 1cm mark on the upper board, spine rolled, very good condition; 234pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WILDE, Oscar.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55628763857271,"sku":"118405","price":30000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/118405_1b92cfd9-c9a3-4020-a47f-902bc2dfe9fd.jpg?v=1781110738"},{"product_id":"arthur-conan-doyle-return-of-sherlock-holmes-first-edition-119122","title":"The Return of Sherlock Holmes.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eThe first collected edition of 13 Sherlock Holmes stories, commencing with Holmes' return to London after being presumed killed at the Reichenbach Falls, and explaining the period from 1891–94, or 'The Great Hiatus' as it is known amongst Sherlock devotees. The last story in the work features Watson's statement that Holmes has retired and forbade him to publish any more stories - a sentiment later reversed, as two additional collections and a novel would follow.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst English edition, first impression; 8vo; 16 monochrome plates by Sidney Paget, 4pp. advertisements at end, bookplate to half-title, light sporadic foxing endemic to the edition; publisher's blue cloth boards, gilt lettering, joints a little rubbed, spine lightly sunned, some very faint marks to upper board, else in exceptional condition; 403pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGreen \u0026amp; Gibson A29a\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DOYLE, Arthur Conan.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55628766216567,"sku":"119122","price":4000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/119122.jpg?v=1780910850"},{"product_id":"virginia-woolf-voyage-out-first-american-edition-114545","title":"The Voyage Out.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003erare 1927 issue in dustjacket\u003c\/h4\u003eVirginia Woolf's first novel, the first edition of which was put out by Duckworth in 1915 and not issued in the US until 1920, at which time Woolf took the opportunity to revise sections with which she was unhappy. An unknown number of sheets of that printing were imported by Duckworth, a portion being issued in 1920, and a small number reissued as this present, so-called 'Cheap Edition' in 1927.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWe know of just one example of the 1915 printing still to exist in jacket and have handled just 2 jacketed copies of the 1920 English issue. This being the first similarly complete example of the 'Cheap Edition'.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst American edition, second English issue; 8vo; faint offsetting to endpapers, else unmarked internally; publisher's navy blue cloth, gilt lettering to spine, with the original dustjacket priced '5\/- net' on spine, slight fading to spine and extremities, light bump to head of spine panel; a fine copy in near-fine dustjacket.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eKirkpatrick A1c.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WOOLF, Virginia.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55643469447543,"sku":"114545","price":5000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/114545.jpg?v=1780922252"},{"product_id":"oscar-wilde-woman-no-importance-first-edition-large-paper-119720","title":"A Woman of No Importance.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e'after a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one's own relations'\u003c\/h4\u003eOne of only 50 large paper copies. This play contains some of Wilde's most famous epigrams.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst performed in April 1893, prior to being published in book form, A Woman of No Importance addresses many social issues with Wilde's wit and dark humour. The run of the play was cut short as a result of Wilde's arrest and prosecution. The scandal dampened enthusiasm for Wilde's work until after his death in 1900, when interest in his work began to revive.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, one of 50 large paper copies; 4to; printed on hand-made paper, contemporary ownership inscription to limitation, endpapers browned; publisher's straw coloured buckram with gilt decorations by Charles Ricketts, gilt lettering to spine, spine browned, a couple of trivial marks to covers, else very good plus; housed in custom purple cloth chemise and matching quarter morocco slip-case.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMason 402.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WILDE, Oscar.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":55723512496503,"sku":"119720","price":9500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/119720_9d320276-599c-4c14-8046-47d3c202a674.jpg?v=1780919113"},{"product_id":"william-shakespeare-comedies-histories-tragedies-london-1807-120812","title":"Comedies, Histories, \u0026 Tragedies.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003efirst facsimile of the First Folio\u003c\/h4\u003eThe first facsimile edition of Shakespeare's First Folio, a striking example in full contemporary green vellum tooled in gilt.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe First Folio was published in 1623 in an edition of between 500 and 600 copies. The edition set the standard canonical list of thirty-six plays attributed to the Bard, and marked the first appearance in print of eighteen plays: The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, Measure for Measure, The Comedy of Errors, As You Like it, The Taming of the Shrew, All's Well That Ends Well, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale, King John, Henry VI, Henry VIII, Coriolanus, Timon of Athens, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra, and Cymbeline. Troilus and Cressida 'was originally intended to be set-up following Romeo and Juliet but was withdrawn, probably because of difficulties regarding copyright, and only included in the volume when it was too late to be noted in the Catalogue or to be pages as part of the Tragedies' (Pforzheimer).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe 'first reprint of the first edition in its original form' (Jaggard), with provenance for the industrialist Benjamin Gott (1762-184) of Armley House, Leeds. His factory was once the largest in the world and is now home to the Leeds Industrial Museum.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst facsimile edition; folio (39 x 24.5 cm); engraved portrait vignette title, pencil notes to front free endpaper, bookplate to front pastedown, a little toned; striking contemporary green vellum, covers with gilt roll borders of laurels and mantles, within double gilt fillets, gilt spine in 7 compartments, all edges gilt, a little rubbed with minor loss to extremities, slightly soiled, very good; [18], 303, [1], 1-100, [2], [69]-232, [2], 79-80, [26], 98, [2], 109-156, 257-993 [i.e. 393], [1]pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eJaggard p.510.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"SHAKESPEARE, William.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56217759777143,"sku":"120812","price":5000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/120812.jpg?v=1780922704"},{"product_id":"works-bronte-anne-charlotte-emily-thornton-117576","title":"The Novels of the Sisters Brontë","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA highly regarded edition of the Brontë sisters' works, enhanced by Elizabeth Gaskell 's biography of her friend, Charlotte Brontë, who died in 1855 and whose biography Charlotte's father, Patrick Brontë, urged her to write. It is the first and only biography by someone who knew the author and was alive during her lifetime; written with warm-hearted admiration and sensitivity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Thornton' Edition; 12 vols, 8vo (22 x 15 cms); illustrated with frontispiece and monochrome plates throughout including portraits and photogravures, Jane Eyre (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 9 plates), Wuthering Heights (1 vol, frontispiece and 4 plates), Agnes Grey (1 vol, frontispiece), The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (2 vols, 2 frontispieces), Shirley (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 10 plates), Villette (2 vols, 2 frontispieces and 4 plates), The Professor (1 vol, frontispiece and 3 plates), Mrs. Gaskell's Life of Charlotte Brontë (1 vol, frontispiece and 25 plates), foxing to fore-edges, spotting to prelims as is typical, some otherwise scattered throughout the last title and pp 1-15 to the second, otherwise clean; uniform publisher's green cloth, spines with art nouveau style flower decorations lettered in gilt, top edges gilt, others uncut, minor signs of shelf wear, microscopic loss to front cloth of second title, gilt decoration remarkably intact, hence still a Very Good set.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BRONTË, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56292554801527,"sku":"117576","price":1250.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/117576_52157f5b-7dd9-491b-a43b-c332fe867ede.jpg?v=1780922814"},{"product_id":"121283","title":"Rhyme Stew.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003esigned\u003c\/h4\u003eA signed first edition of this gleefully malevolent plundering of traditional nursery rhymes, a 'wonderful addition to the literature of the absurd.'\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition, first impression, inscribed by the author on the upper free endpaper, 'Sammy Love Roald Dahl'; 4to (255 x 20 mm0); illustrations by Sir Quentin Blake offsetting from Dahl's inscription of upper pastedown and jacket flap, otherwise internally bright and near-fine; publisher's boards, pictorial dust-jacket, just a hint of fading to the spine, otherwise a near-fine copy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eErrington A9(a)\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DAHL, Roald; BLAKE, Quentin (illustrator).","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56395328029047,"sku":"121283","price":2200.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121283.jpg?v=1780909928"},{"product_id":"arthur-conan-doyle-thirteen-first-editions-1892-1927-121315","title":"Collection of Thirteen First Editions:","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eall first editions\u003c\/h4\u003eA fine collection of 13 first edition titles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, including 7 Sherlock Holmes titles bound in full blue morocco gilt by Bayntun-Riviere, the majority with their original cloth covers bound-in, and 6 further titles in uniform half red morocco gilt.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eComprising The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (1892), The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (1894), The Return of Sherlock Holmes (1905), The Hound of the Baskervilles (1902), The Valley of Fear (1915), His Last Bow (1917), The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes (1927), The Great Shadow (1892), The Doings of Raffles Haw (1892), Uncle Bernac (1897), Songs of Action (1898), A Duet (1899) and The Great Boer War (1900).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst editions; 13 works in 13 vols., comprising 7 Sherlock Holmes titles in full blue morocco gilt by Bayntun-Riviere, all edges gilt, all titles but for 'The Return' and 'His last Bow', and 6 other works uniformly bound in half red morocco gilt, marbled boards, top-edge gilt; a fine set of 13 first editions.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56467201196407,"sku":"121315","price":15000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121315_a95a304a-c569-44a4-a57c-a5338e94df59.jpg?v=1781110345"},{"product_id":"john-milton-paradise-lost-london-1678-120696","title":"Paradise Lost.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e'one of the greatest works of the human imagination'\u003c\/h4\u003eThe revised, third edition of Milton's masterpiece Paradise Lost, re-telling in blank-verse the story of the Fall of Man, and the first edition to be published following Milton's death in November 1674. A lovely example expertly repaired and retaining the original rear mottled calf board.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore his death Milton had reorganised the work into 12 books, consciously adopting the division used by Virgil in the Aeneid, and thereby making 'explicit the parallel with the epics of classical antiquity' to which he had always aspired (ODNB).\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWith the oft omitted frontispiece portrait of Milton by William Dolle, as well as the prefatory note on 'The Verse' making the case for 'English Heroic Verse without Rime, as that of Homer in Greek, and of Virgil in Latin', and the short commendatory poem by Milton's friend, the noted metaphysical poet and satirist Andrew Marvel, defending his 'sublime' use of blank verse.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThird edition; 8vo (18 x 11.5 cm); engraved portrait frontispiece of Milton by William Dolle, bound without final blanks ff, slightly toned with occasional spotting; contemporary rear mottled calf board, expertly rebacked with replacement upper board, gilt spine, contrasting red morocco lettering-piece, marbled edges, very good; [8], 331, [1]pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eESTC R19396; Wing M2145; Pforzheimer 719.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"MILTON, John.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56553053454711,"sku":"120696","price":5000.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/120696.jpg?v=1780916594"},{"product_id":"enid-blyton-first-editions-the-secret-seven-set-115807","title":"[The 'Secret Seven' books].","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e\u003c\/h4\u003eA very good, complete first edition set of the 15 full-length Secret Seven novels, scarce to find together in collectable condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThe Secret Seven, 1949, colour frontis \u0026amp; black \u0026amp; white ills. by George Brook; The Secret Seven Adventure, 1950, ill. George Brook; Well Done, Secret Seven!, 1951, ill. George Brook; Secret Seven on the Trail, 1952, ill. George Brook; Go Ahead Secret Seven, 1953, ill. Bruno Kay; Good Work Secret Seven, 1954, ill. Bruno Kay; Secret Seven Win Through, 1955, ill. Bruno Kay; Three Cheers Secret Seven, 1956, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Secret Seven Mystery, 1957, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Puzzle for the Secret Seven, 1958, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Secret Seven Fireworks, 1959, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Good Old Secret Seven, 1960, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Shock for the Secret Seven, 1961, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Look out Secret Seven, 1962, ill. Burgess Sharrocks; Fun for the Secret Seven, 1963, ill. Burgess Sharrocks.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst editions, first impressions; 15 vols (complete); 8vo (194 x 138 mm); frontispieces and illustrations by George Brook, Bruno Kay, and Burgess Sharrocks, some with spotting to text block edges with the very occasional encroachment to a few page extremities, otherwise very good condition; publisher's pictorial cloth with lettering to boards and spines, unclipped dust-jackets, except for 'Three Cheers Secret Seven', no ownership or gift inscriptions (except faint pencil erasure shadow in two to be absolutely precise), some discreet closed tears and reinforcement to dust jackets but of note are losses to rear panel, spine extremities and upper flap fold of dust-jacket for Go Ahead Secret Seven, binding remains firm in each and every volume, remarkable preservation of colour to all dust-jackets, very good.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BLYTON, Enid.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56759130685815,"sku":"115807","price":2500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/115807_167bb98e-5b6b-4e12-8976-f6830a16f80d.jpg?v=1780913759"},{"product_id":"charlie-chocolate-factory-roald-dahl-first-u-k-121590","title":"Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003e'For who could hate or bear a grudge, against a lovely bit of fudge?'\u003c\/h4\u003eWhilst the first US edition was published in 1964, the UK edition is noteworthy because the author chose to make some minor textual alterations, whilst retaining the pagination of the US edition of 1964.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst UK edition; 4to (270 x 170mm); several in-line illustrations in b\u0026amp;w, hint of age-toning, pages are wonderfully clean, no foxing\/spotting; publisher's original laminated pictorial boards, without dust-wrapper as issued, only a small chip to lower spine laminate, otherwise intact, rubbing to extremities of spine, which is slightly cocked, however the binding is firm, very good; 128pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"DAHL, Roald (author) JAQUES, Faith (illustrator)","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56803030204791,"sku":"121590","price":750.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121590_99e42129-28ec-4f4d-aa8f-4af9f6bd7c25.jpg?v=1780912471"},{"product_id":"haworth-bronte-sisters-wellington-prize-122131","title":"The Life and Works of Charlotte Brontë and her Sisters.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eWellington College prize binding\u003c\/h4\u003eA highly regarded edition of the Brontë sisters' works, enhanced by Elizabeth Gaskell 's biography of her friend, Charlotte Brontë, who died in 1855 and whose biography Charlotte's father, Patrick Brontë, urged her to write. It is the first and only biography by someone who knew the author and was alive during her lifetime; written with warm-hearted admiration and sensitivity.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Haworth' Edition, later printing, with an introduction by Mrs. Humphrey Ward; 7 vols, 8vo (200 x 140mm); illustrated with frontispiece and monochrome plates throughout including portraits and photogravures; contemporary full red leather, Wellington College prize-binding, gilt-embossed school arms to upper boards, boards are ruled in gilt, spines are gilt-tooled, gilt titles, marbled fore-edges and endpapers, minor 1 cm blemish to lower board Jane Eyre, otherwise a robust set in near fine condition.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"BRONTË, Charlotte, Emily and Anne.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56803031843191,"sku":"122131","price":1950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/122131.jpg?v=1780914942"},{"product_id":"hg-wells-works-atlantic-edition-1924-1927-93350","title":"The Works.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003ethe best edition - signed by the author \u003c\/h4\u003eThe best edition of Wells' works, with the author's revisions to the texts, special Preface to each volume, and general introduction to the set. A list of titles is available on request but the set includes all the classics such as War of The Worlds, The Invisible Man, First Men In The Moon, The Time Machine, Mr. Polly, etc.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWells' works were banned from 1933 to 1945 by the ruling National Socialist party following the author's criticism of the political situation in Germany.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAtlantic edition, limited to 1050 sets for the U.S.A., signed by the author; 28 volumes, 8vo; photogravure frontispiece to each volume, modern burgundy half-morocco gilt, original spine labels tipped-in at rear, a complete and very handsome set.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"WELLS, H.G.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56938764435831,"sku":"93350","price":5500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/93350.jpg?v=1780915157"},{"product_id":"jane-austen-northanger-abbey-persuasion-1817-first-edition-121787","title":"Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion.","description":"\u003ch4 class=\"srb-faux-head\"\u003eAusten's final two published works\u003c\/h4\u003eThe first appearance in print of Jane Austen's first and last works, complete with all four half-titles. Written in 1797-98 and 1815-16 respectively, they were published shortly after her death by John Murray (Byron's publisher) along with a biographical note by her brother, Henry Austen, that introduced her to the public for the first time.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eSold by Henry to a London bookseller for the princely sum of £10 in 1803, Northanger Abbey (then titled Susan) initially never saw the light of day. After he bought back the manuscript thirteen years later, Jane reworked the novel, though died shortly after. Her brother eventually had it published under its new name alongside Persuasion, her last and arguably most refined work.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFirst edition; 4 vols, 12mo (180 x 110 mm, 7 x 4¼ in); half-titles as issued, publisher's two terminal blanks to vol. IV, early ownership inscriptions in ink to titles, later embossed library stamps to preliminary blanks, title page of vol. I starting a8t foot of gutter, vol. II with a very small closed tear to the upper edge of B2, occasional spotting throughout as usual; later full olive calf, spines uniformly toned to brown, gilt-tooled in six compartments, contrasting red lettering pieces gilt, gilt-stamped fleurons to board corners, triple fillet border ruled in blind, decorative edges and turn ins in blind, lightly scuffed and marked, a very good set; vol. 1: xxiv, 300; vol. 2: [4], 331, [1, blank]; [4], 280; [4], 308, [4, blank] pp.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eGilson A9; Keynes 9.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"AUSTEN, Jane.","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57006709047671,"sku":"121787","price":28500.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/files\/121787_89084349-fcf9-4722-89c7-050fde82770c.jpg?v=1780916214"}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0733\/4694\/1233\/collections\/Pillars_of_Literature_e3bcf77a-a201-4f52-853c-a3c8fb98f0bd.png?v=1777467439","url":"https:\/\/shapero.com\/en-us\/collections\/pillars-of-literature.oembed","provider":"Shapero Rare Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}