[Rarebooks] FS: Reductions in Price: Selected Books

[Michael John Thompson]

FS: A Selection, Reduced in Price.

Sale prices are net in Canadian Dollars; post is 
extra at cost; usually about $15 for Expedited 
posy to send one book from Canada to the USA. GST 
(5%) is extra for orders shipped within Canada


1) BLACKWOOD, Algernon. INCREDIBLE ADVENTURES. 
First Edition, Colonial Issue, in Dust Jacket. 
London; Macmillan and Company 1914. First 
Colonial Edition. Octavo, original light blue 
paper-covered boards stamped in darker blue 
(vertical stripes and wreaths binding), gilt 
titles. 366 pp. + 8 pp publisher's catalogue 
inserted at rear, dated 5.7.14. Issued as volume 
642 in Macmillan's Empire Library. The 
publisher's catalogue bound in at the end of the 
text is for MACMILLAN'S EMPIRE LIBRARY OF 
COPYRIGHT BOOKS, "For Circulation only in India 
and the British Dominions over the Seas". Titles 
up to number 640 are listed, and all volumes are 
available in paper covers at 2s. 6d.; or 'cloth' 
covers at 3s.6d. per copy. Minute chipping at 
spine head and mild tanning to the spine panel, a 
nice copy, very good, in the very rare dust 
jacket which has a portrait of the author on the 
front panel. The jacket is frayed and worn along 
the edges and there is some internal repair to 
the spine panel, where a missing section has been 
neatly reinforced with matching paper; very 
neatly done. Both front and rear jacket flaps 
have separated and have been re-affixed with 
internal paper, there is a small piece of tape on 
the inside of the rear flap. Overall, a good 
example of the extremely rare dust jacket. 
Colonial editions typically preceded the 
regularly published domestic UK editions but tend 
to suffer the ravages of the Colonies; even 
simply nice copies are very scarce, nice copies 
in jackets are rare. ¶ Blackwood's sixth short 
story collection, written at the height of his 
powers. Stories included are 'The Regeneration of 
Lord Ernie'; 'The Sacrifice'; 'The Damned'; 'A 
Descent into Egypt'; and 'Wayfarers'. S. T. Joshi 
has stated that "his work is more consistently 
meritorious than any weird writer's except 
Dunsany's" and that this particular short story 
collection "may be the premier weird collection 
of this or any other century". Very Good in Dust 
Jacket. Hardcover.                 ($850.00)  $400.00

2) ENGLAND, George Allan. DARKNESS AND DAWN. 
Illustrated. Boston; Small, Maynard and Company 
1914 First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, 
original red cloth titled in gilt on spine, 
titled in gilt and bordered in blind on front 
panel. Illustrated endpapers. 672 pp. Colour 
frontispiece and three additional black & white 
plates by P. J. Monahan. Ink name of Marguerite 
Driscoll on front endpaper, dated 1914, plus a 
later blindstamp of collector William Henry 
Hopkins on half title leaf. A minor bit of 
rubbing to the tips, otherwise a bright clean 
copy, very tight, nearly fine. An excellent copy 
of this thick, oversized book which tends to wear 
badly. ¶ Post catastrophe novel set in the 
distant future. A sleeper awakes novel: a man and 
a woman from the 20th Century awake after a 
thousand year sleep to find civilization in 
ruins. They encounter a race of white barbarians 
in a bottomless abyss. An important early 
American Science Fiction novel.          ($475.00)   $200.00

3) NISBET, Hume. THE EMPIRE MAKERS. A Romance of 
Adventure and War in South Africa. London: F.V. 
White & Co. 1900. First Edition, First Printing. 
First edition. Octavo, original red cloth titled 
and with a crown design in yellow on front panel, 
titled and with the crown in gilt on spine. 312 
pp. Frontispiece. Name in pencil on front free 
endpaper, dated 1901, and again in pen on the 
half-title leaf; some browning to text block, 
endpapers browned, a few marks to the covers; a 
clean, very good copy. ¶ Lost race novel, the 
discovery of tribe of amazon women in South 
Africa. Rare. Very Good. Hardcover.           ($450.00) $175.00

4) MORRIS, Kenneth. THE SECRET MOUNTAIN And Other 
Tales. With Decorations by K. Romney Towndrow. 
London; Faber & Gwyer [1926] First Edition, First 
Printing. First edition. Octavo, original black 
cloth titled and decorated in gilt. 199 pp. Eight 
inserted colour plates by K. Romney Towndrow. The 
second issue binding, with "Faber & Faber" at 
base of spine panel. Minor browning to endpapers, 
corners a touch soft, a nearly fine copy in dust 
jacket which has some tiny closed tears and 
nicks, a few small tape repairs on the verso and 
faint evidence of a small label removed from the 
upper right front panel. A very nice copy of a 
very attractive book. ¶ The author's rare second 
book and the only collection of his short stories 
to be published in his lifetime. Morris was 
considered to be one of the three 'master 
stylists' of modern fantasy by Ursula K. Leguin 
(along with E.R. Eddison and J.R.R. Tolkien, 
strong company indeed). His tales are fine, 
subtle works set throughout history, many are 
Celtic in origin. "Morris's influence has been 
small, but he is central to the genre." - Clute 
and Grant (eds), The Encyclopedia of Fantasy 
(1997). "The 10 tales in this fine collection are 
religious fantasies-religious, happily in the 
most universal and unparochial sense. In 10 
different ways Morris traces the quest for 
beauty, truth, goodness in and beyond this mortal 
life. And he does so with an elegant style and 
lucid, finely wrought stories." Tymn (ed), 
Fantasy Literature; A Core Collection & Reference Guide, p. 144.
  Very Good in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.           ($450.00)  $175.00

5) COSTELLO, Frederick H. SURE-DART. A Story of 
Strange Hunters and Stranger Game in the Days of 
Monsters. With Five Illustrations by Walter J. 
Enright. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co. 1909. First 
edition. Octavo, original pictorial blue cloth 
stamped in yellow, black and green on spine and 
front cover. 320 pp. Frontispiece and four 
additional full page plates. Ink name on front 
free endpaper, dated 1909, and the same owner's 
rubberstamp on rear paste-down, another older 
name in pencil. Mild stain to the upper margins 
of the first few leaves of text, covers a bit 
rubbed. A very good copy of a rare book. ¶ 
Prehistoric novel, set in an imaginary time when 
cave-men and dinosaurs co-existed, with several 
sensational dinosaur plates.          ($450.00)  $150.00

6) WALLACE, Edgar; CURTIS, Robert. THE TABLE. 
 From the Film Scenario by Edgar Wallace. Told by 
Robert Curtis. London; Hutchinson & Co. No Date 
[1936] First Edition, First Printing. Octavo, 
original red cloth titled in black on spine & 
front panel. 287 pp + 40 pp publisher's catalogue 
at rear, dated "Spring, 1936". Ex-lending library 
copy, with four small rubberstamps on the 
endpapers from lending libraries in Vancouver, BC 
(two on the front endpapers, two on the rear; two 
ink note "T23344" on front endpapers, previous 
owner's signature & address in pencil on front 
fly, no other marks at all. One corner a bit 
bumped, slight dusting to the cloth, a very good, 
bright copy. ¶ One of the posthumous 
novelizations of Wallace's film screenplays, done 
by his long-time secretary. This is the true 
first edition, and it is rare. Very Good. 
Hardcover.              ($250.00)  $100.00

7) WALLACE, Edgar; CURTIS, Robert. SANCTUARY 
ISLAND. From the Film Scenario by Edgar Wallace. 
Told by Robert Curtis. London; Hutchinson & Co. 
No Date [1936] First Edition, First Printing. 
Octavo, original red cloth titled in black on 
spine & front panel. 288 pp + 40 pp publisher's 
catalogue at rear, dated "Spring, 1936". 
Ex-lending library copy, with four small 
rubberstamps on the front free endpaper from 
lending libraries in Vancouver, BC; one small 
stamp at base of first page of text, no other 
marks at all. Front hinge lightly cracking, spine 
a bit canted (cocked), a very good, bright copy. 
¶ One of the posthumous novelizations of 
Wallace's film screenplays, done by his long-time 
secretary. This is the true first edition, and it 
is rare. Very Good. Hardcover.             ($250.00) $100.00

8) BARRIE, J.M. THE LITTLE MINISTER. In Three 
Volumes. London; Cassell & Company, Limited 1891. 
First Edition, First Printing. Three volumes. 
Octavo, original brown cloth titled in gilt on 
spine panels, light brown floral endpapers. 232 + 
239 + 232 pp, [16] pp publisher's catalogue at 
end of Vol 1, dated 5.G. 9.91. With all 
half-titles. Evidence of labels (Mudie's 
Library?) removed from front covers,some marks to 
the cloth and slight wear; quite a decent set in 
the original cloth, all housed in a solander case 
(worn) with brown leather spine, gilt. ¶ Barrie's 
most critically acclaimed work, compared on 
publication with Thomas Hardy's "Tess of the the 
D'Ubervilles". Very Good. Hardcover.                 ($250.00)  $100.00

9) DOYLE, Arthur Conan. THE LAND OF MIST. London: 
Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd. No Date 
[1926]. First Edition. First edition. Dark green 
cloth stamped & lettered in light green. Pencil 
marks on front endpaper, some light wear to 
corner tips, a very good clean copy. Very Good. 
Hardcover.            ($250.00) $100.00

10) GARDNER, John. GRENDEL. Illustrated by Emil 
Antonucci. New York; Alfred A. Knopf 1971 First 
Edition, First Printing. Octavo, original purple 
cloth decorated in gilt on front panel, titled in 
gilt on spine. 174 pp. Tiny marks to endpapers, 
hint of fading to edges of purple cloth , a very 
fresh, very good clean copy in the original dust 
jacket, price-clipped but with only just the 
faintest hint of the usually horrible spine 
fading common with this title. ¶ Gardner's third 
and certainly best book, the story of Beowulf as 
told from the monster's point of view. Very Good 
in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.             ($250.00)  $100.00

11) CABELL, James Branch. THE CREAM OF THE JEST. 
A Comedy of Evasions. New York; Robert M. McBride 
& Company 1917 First Edition, First Printing. 
Octavo, original brown cloth stamped in gilt. 
Presentation copy, "Inscribed for / T.R. Smith / 
This miscellany, in the hope / he may like some 
of it / James Branch Cabell / 10 March 1921" on 
the front free endpaper. Spine dull, hinges a bit 
loose; a very good copy without dust wrapper. ¶ 
An important association copy. T.R. Smith was the 
editor of CENTURY magazine, later the editor at 
Boni and Liveright. He was the editor of The 
Modern Library, publishing Cabell's novel BEYOND 
LIFE in 1923. The Modern Library was sold to 
Bennet Cerf and Donald Klopfer in 1925 and 
several books by Cabell, including this title, 
were later published under their editorship. Very 
Good. Hardcover.             ($225.00) $100.00

12) RUSSELL, William [a.k.a. "Thomas Waters"]. 
CHARLES OLDFIELD, THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A STAFF 
OFFICER [cover title: Charles Oldfield; or, 
Recollections of a Staff Officer]. [Yellowback 
edition]. London: C.H. Clarke. No Date [1871]. 
First Edition, First Printing. First edition. 
Octavo, original pictorial boards, a yellowback. 
318 pp., The Renier copy, with the small Renier 
bookplate on the verso of the front free 
endpaper. Chip affecting a small portion of the 
spine panel; light wear; a very good copy. Rare, 
the only located copy is in the BM; not in 
Sadlier or Wolff. ¶ Historical fiction, the life 
of a British officer in the early 19th Century. 
Part of the book is set amongst the United Empire 
Loyalists in Upper Canada just after the War of 
1812. Very Good. Hardcover.              ($225.00) $100.00

13) WHEATLEY, Dennis. "OLD ROWLEY". A Private 
Life of Charles II. Illustrated by Frank C. Papé. 
AN INSCRIBED COPY. London: Hutchinson & Co. 
[1933]. First Edition, First Printing. First 
edition. Octavo, original blue cloth titled in 
gilt on spine panel. 201 pp + [3] pp ads for 
Wheatley books + 12 pp publisher's catalogue at 
rear, dated Autumn, 1933. Frontispiece and seven 
additional full-page black & white plates by 
Papé, Index and Key. INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR ON 
THE TITLE PAGE: "For / Harry L. Bantock / with 
all kind thoughts / from / Dennis Wheatley". 
Spine panel and edges of boards faded, vertical 
stain near fore-edge of front panel, a very good 
sound copy. ¶ Biography of King Charles II, 
focussing on his amorous adventures. The author's 
third book, preceded only by THE FORBIDDEN 
TERRITORY and SUCH POWER IS DANGEROUS; very 
scarce inscribed. Harry L. Bantock is the father 
of Nick Bantock, author of the GRIFFIN AND SABINE 
books. Curiously, the book is illustrated by 
Frank Papé, the artist who designed Wheatley's 
bookplate. Very Good. Hardcover.            ($200.00)  $85.00

14) BENSON, E.F. THE VALKYRIES. A Romance, 
Founded on Wagner's Opera. Illustrated by T. 
Noyes Lewis. London: Dean & Son, Ltd. 1903. First 
Edition, First Printing. First edition. Octavo, 
original decorated brown cloth, front and spine 
panels stamped in gold and silver. 259 pp + [4] 
pp ads at rear. Frontispiece plus eleven 
additional full-page illustrations, plus numerous 
line drawings, decorated title page, etc, all by 
Lewis. A bright, attractive copy. ¶ Fantasy tales 
based on Norse Mythology and the Opera by Richard 
Wagner. Very Good. Hardcover.                 ($175.00)  $85.00

15) DISCH, Thomas M. ECHO ROUND HIS BONES. 
London; Rupert Hart-Davis 1969 First British 
Edition. First British (and first hardcover) 
edition. Octavo, original gray boards titled in 
gilt on spine. 156 pp. About fine in dust jacket, 
mild rubbing to edges. ¶ Science Fiction novel.          ($175.00)  $75.00

16) KINGSOLVER, Barbara. THE BEAN TREES. New 
York; Harper & Row [1988] First Edition, First 
Printing. Octavo, original boards with cloth 
spine. 232 pp. Review copy, promotional slip laid 
in. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. ¶ An 
advance review copy of the author's highly 
praised first novel, which combines a strong 
sense of place, warm humour and an active social 
conscience. One of the most sought -after and 
elusive first books of recent years.  Fine in 
Dust Jacket. Hardcover.             ($175.00)   $75.00



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