[Rarebooks] Offering: Bibliographies & Books on Books

[Michael John Thompson]

A few Interesting Books on Books, Bookseller 
Memoirs, Bibliographies. Prices are in Canadian 
Funds, trade discount allowed, post extra.




1.  BOOKSELLERS MEMOIRS]. KAYE, Barbara [Mrs. 
Percy Muir]. THE COMPANY WE KEPT. New Castle, 
Delaware: Oak Knoll Press. 1995 First American 
Edition. First American Edition. Octavo, original 
cloth, dust jacket. 224 pp., illustrated, Index. 
A fine copy in a fine dust jacket. Fine in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.
  Barbara Kaye tells the story of how the old 
established antiquarian book firm of Elkin 
Mathews survived the war years after evacuation 
to rural Essex in 1939. Originally issued in the 
UK by Werner Shaw in 1986.             $25.00

2.  BOOKSELLERS MEMOIRS]. STERN, Madeleine B & 
Leona Rostenberg. BOOKS HAVE THEIR FATES. New 
Castle, Delaware: Oak Knoll Press. 2001. First 
Edition, First Printing. First Edition. Octavo, 
original cloth, dust jacket. 199 pp., 
illustrated, Index. A fine copy in a fine dust 
jacket. Fine in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.
  "This book is by two of New York's most 
legendary antiquarian dealers. It is a collection 
of essays in which all the protagonists are 
books. The authors have scanned the sixteenth to 
the twentieth century looking for books with 
interesting narratives. This work brings to life 
a cast of characters such as Shakespeare, 
Descartes, Shelley, Poe, George Eliot, and many 
others. Within these pages, the fates of some 30 
books are traced and brought to life in 
suspenseful sequence." - from the Publisher.           $20.00

3.  BURTON, Sir Richard Francis]. PENZER, Norman 
M. AN ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY OF SIR RICHARD 
FRANCIS BURTON K.C.M.G. By Norman M. Penzer, 
M.A., F.R.G.S., F.G.S. Preface by F. Grenfell 
Baker, M.R.C.S., L.R.C.P., &c. New York: Burt 
Franklin. 1970 Reprint. Reprint of the 1923 
Edition. Octavo, original brown cloth titled in 
gilt on spine panel. 351 pp. Frontispiece 
portrait of Burton. Index at rear. Upper rear 
foredge of cloth bumped, otherwise a fine clean copy.
  Includes a brief biography of Burton, a British 
soldier, diplomat, explorer, linguist, and expert 
on the Middle East. Facsimile of the original 
1923 London edition.           $50.00

4.  CALIFORNIA PRINTING]. GRABHORN, Jane; BENDER, 
J. Terry. CATALOGUE OF AN EXHIBITION OF THE 
TYPOGRAPHIC WORK OF JANE GRABHORN In the Albert 
M. Bender Room of the Stanford University 
Libraries March 4 to April 7 1956. Los Angeles: 
Grabhorn Press. 1956. First Edition, First 
Printing. First edition. Octavo, original floral 
patterned khaki and cream coloured wrappers. 8vo, 
28pp., title-page with device of the Colt Press 
printed in red & other devices in text. 500 
copies printed. Tiny tears at edges of wrappers, 
a near fine copy.  Near Fine. Original Wraps.
  Catalogue of an exhibition held March 4 to 
April 7, 1956. Grabhorn Press Bibliography, no. 575.                $35.00

5.  CALIFORNIA PRINTING]. GRABHORN, Robert. A 
SMALL LOT OF ROBERT GRABHORN'S BOOKPLATES. 25 
bookplates. A small lot of small bookplates. 
Simple things, obviously posthumous, the text 
states "From the Library of Robert Grabhorn 
1900-1973 Printer". 25 bookplates, each about 1.5 
inches square. Likely made up by a bookseller to 
denote books from Grabhorn's library, but we 
don't really know the source, aside from where we 
found them, which was at Serendipity Books, about 
5 years ago (circa 2009).                $45.00

6.  DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan] GREEN, Richard 
Lancelyn and John Michael Gibson. A BIBLIOGRAPHY 
OF A. CONAN DOYLE. By Richard Lancelyn Green and 
John Michael Gibson. With a Foreword by Graham 
Greene. Oxford: Oxford: At The Clarendon Press. 
1983. First Edition, First Printing. First 
Edition. Octavo, original red cloth titled in 
gilt on spine panel. 712 pp., photographic 
frontispiece of Doyle. Issued as The Soho 
Bibliographies XXIII. A fine copy in a very 
slightly used dust jacket, small closed tear on rear panel.
  The standard bibliography for Doyle, including 
his Works of Fiction, Miscellaneous Works, Minor 
Contributions, Periodical and Newspaper 
Contributions, Biographical Sources, Appendices and Index.             $100.00

7.  DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan] Rupert Books [David 
G. Kirby]. A CENTURY OF SCARLET. A Centenary 
Catalogue. Cambridge: Rupert Books 1987 First 
Edition, First Printing. Octavo, original full 
red leather titled in gilt. [34] pp, colour 
illustrations throughout. Issued as Catalogue 
Number 8. One of only 30 leather bound copies for 
Special Friends and Customers. This copy is 
inscribed to Sherlockian and Conan Doyle 
Collector John Ruyle: "For John / With all good 
wishes and regards to a fine printer and 
publisher, John Kirby". A fine copy without dust 
jacket, as issued. Fine. Leather Bound.           $85.00

8.  GERBER, Richard. UTOPIAN FANTASY. A Study of 
English Utopian Fiction since the End of the 
Nineteenth Century. London: Routledge & Kegan 
Paul Ltd. 1955 First Edition, First Printing. 
First Edition. Octavo, original green cloth 
titled in gilt on spine panel. 162 pp, Notes, 
Appendices, Index. Crown of spine lightly bumped, 
endpapers with minor foxing, a very good, bright 
copy in dust jacket, the jacketwith some mild 
browning & a couple of very small closed tears & 
chips. Overall, an attractive copy.               $25.00

9.  HAGGARD, H. Rider.] McKAY, George L. A 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WRITINGS OF SIR RIDER 
HAGGARD. By George L. McKay. London: "The 
Bookman's Journal". 1930. First Edition, First 
Printing. First Edition. Octavo, original brown 
cloth titled in gilt on spine panel. 265 pp. 475 
numbered copies printed, of which 400 were for 
sale, this being copy # 14. Addenda slip tipped 
onto verso of half-title leaf, as issued. One 
small stain to upper corner of front free 
endpaper, a nearly fine, bright copy. Near Fine. Hardcover.
  The first published comprehensive bibliography 
of H.Rider Haggard.             $125.00

10.  HAGGARD, H. Rider.] SCOTT, J.E. A 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF THE WORKS OF SIR HENRY RIDER 
HAGGARD 1856-1925.By J.E. Scott. Takely, Bishops 
Stortford, Herts.: Elkin Mathews Ltd. 1947. First 
Edition, First Printing. First Edition. Octavo, 
original green cloth titled in gilt on spine, 
Haggard's signature reproduced in gilt on front 
cover. 258 pp, frontispiece portrait of Haggard 
and 5 additional plates reproducing letters and 
manuscripts by Haggard (two of which are two-page 
spreads). 500 numbered copies printed, of which 
this is copy #456. Inscribed by the author on the 
front free endpaper "For J.G. Muir / with the 
compliments / of J.E. Scott / August 1948.". As 
well as being inscribed, there is a long TLS 
(Typed Letter Signed) from Scott to Muir, dated 
March 31st, 1949. Approx. 450 words, return 
address Pendyffryn Hall, Penmaenmaer, N. Wales. 
The letter discusses a misattribution in a 
Bookseller's catalogue, a visit to buy Haggard 
books, and Scott's attempts to sell an original 
Rackham Drawing and a signed Lewis Carroll to the 
recipient's namesake - obviously referring to 
Percy H. Muir, who was also the publisher of this 
book under the Elkin Mathews imprint. Also laid 
in is an obituary of Rider Haggard's son 'Jock', 
clipped from the East Suffolk Gazette, 17 Feb, 
1891, which describes the funeral in great 
detail. Text block lightly browned, a nearly fine 
copy in original cloth. Near Fine. Hardcover.
  The second Haggard Bibliography, incorporating 
the material from George L. McKay's 1930 
'Bibliography,,,' and the 'Additions and 
Corrections to the Haggard Bibliography' by McKay 
& Scott published by The Mitre Press in 1939.               $250.00

11.  HEAVENLY MONKEY]. MILROY, Rollin. A 
CATALOGUE OF BOOKS FROM HEAVENLY MONKEY And its 
Predecessor A Lone Press. 1998-2003. Vancouver: 
Heavenly Monkey. 2003. First Edition, First 
Printing. First Edition. Octavo, original green 
printed wrappers. 16 leaves, sewn in wrappers. 
100 copies issued, all printed on a Washington 
Handpress, in paper wrapper made by Reg Lissell. 
The first 25 copies were numbered & slipcased, 
making this one of 75 regular copies. Tipped in 
photos and a small paper sample. A fine copy in wrappers.
  The eighth publication by Milroy, following his 
two works issued under the 'A Lone Press' imprint 
- 'El Autobus Azul' (1998) and 'Fragments and 
Glimpses' (1999), and the first few works issued 
as 'Heavenly Monkey' - 'Charles van Sandwyk - An 
Interim Bibliography 1983-2000' (2000), 'Reid's 
Leaves' (2001), 'The Shadow Over Innsmouth' 
(2002), 'The Innsmouth Look' (2003), & 'A Letter 
from Carl Dair About the Paper Mills of Amalfi' (2003).                 $100.00

12.  HILLERMAN, Tony]. HIEB, Louis A. TONY 
HILLERMAN: From The Blessing Way to Talking God. 
A Bibliography. By Louis A. Hieb. Tucson: Press 
of the Gigantic Hound. 1990. First Edition, First 
Printing. First Edition. Octavo, original 
rust-brown cloth titled in black on spine panel. 
88 pp. 1,000 copies issued, this copy signed by 
the author [Hieb] on the limitation leaf. A fine 
copy without dust jacket, as issued.
  The first published bibliography of the works 
of Hillerman, who specialized in mystery fiction 
concerning the Navajo people.           $45.00

13.  MEDICAL]. GARRISON, Fielding H., M.D., and 
Leslie T. Morrison. A MEDICAL BIBLIOGRAPHY. A 
Check-List of Texts Illustrating The History of 
Medical Sciences. Originally Compiled by the Late 
Fielding H. Garrison, M.D., and now Revised, with 
Additions and Annotations, by Leslie T. Morrison, 
Librarian, St. Thomas's Hospital Medical School. 
London: Grafton & Co. 1943. First Edition, First 
Printing. First Edition. Octavo, original brown 
clothwith brown leather spine titled in gilt. 
412pp. Indexes. Leather rubbed & worn, shaken, a 
good copy. Previously, the copy owned by 
Bookseller Andrew Block [author of 'The Book 
Collector's Vade Mecum' [1938], 'The English 
Novel 1740-1850' [1939] and other works, with his 
signature on the front endpaper. The text is 
*heavily* annotated by Block, with notes, 
underlining, and dozens of clippings from 
catalogues, mostly illustrations of title pages 
from early printed books, tipped in or laid in 
loose throughout. Obviously, a working 
bookseller's copy, used heavily while scouting 
for these books during the war and the period 
afterwards. A wonderful item, showing in detail 
the types of books available to the book scout at 
the time.               $75.00

14.  MORRIS, WIlliam. BUXTON FORMAN, H. THE BOOKS 
OF WILLIAM MORRIS Described. With Some Account of 
his Doings in Literature and in the Allied 
Crafts. New York: Ben Franklin. 1969. Reprint. 
Reprint, first issued in 1897. Octavo, original 
cloth, 224 pp., Illustrated with frontispiece 
portrait, numerous illustrations and facsimiles. 
A fine copy without dust jacket, as issued. Fine. Hardcover.
  With engraved frontis portrait, numerous 
illustrations and facsimiles. Buxton Forman, 
(1842-1917), a noted editor and bibliographer, 
was exposed in 1934 for his complicit role in 
forgeries of the works of Morris, Shelley, Keats 
and other Victorian authors. Includes an Appendix 
with Morris's contributions to Periodicals, 
Lectures, Addresses and Kelmscott Publications. 
This bibliography is more than comprehensive but 
note that some items included in this 
bibliography are forgeries.           $35.00

15.  OCCULT] CAILLET, Albert L. MANUEL 
BIBLIOGRAPHIQUE DES SCIENCES PSYCHIQUES OU 
OCCULTES. SCIENCES DES MAGES - HERMETIQUE - 
ASTROLOGIE - KABBALE - FRANC-MACONNERIE - 
MEDECINE ANCIENNE - MESMERISME - SORCELLERIE - 
SINGULARITES - ABERRATIONS DE TOUT ORDRE - 
CURIOSITES. Paris: Lucien Dorbon, 1912 / 
Reprinted Martino Publishing, 2003. 2003 Reprint. 
Facsimile reprint of the 1912 edition. Octavo, 
three volumes. Octavo, original gray cloth titled 
in green on spine panels. 531 + 533 + 767 pp. A 
fine set without dust wrappers, as issued. 11,648 
entries, annotated, text in French. A standard 
and indispensible bibliography on the occult 
sciences, with detailed bibliographical 
descriptions, notes and brief biographical 
sketches. Fine. Hardcover.              $250.00

16.  [OCCULT]. FERGUSON, John. BIBLIOTECA 
CHEMICA: A Bibliography of Books on Alchemy, 
Chemistry and Pharmaceuticals. Two Volumes. 
London: Derek Verschoyle. 1954. Second Edition. 
Second Edition. Octavo, original grey cloth, gilt 
titles on spines, red labels. [xxi, 487 + 598 
pp]. Covers and backstrips lightly rubbed, 
corners slightly bumped. Contents crisp, clean 
and unmarked. Quite a nice set, lacking the 
original plain printed dust jackets.
  Reprint of the 1906 edition. The catalogue of 
the collection of James Young, which was acquired 
by Ferguson and is now in the library of Glasgow 
University together with Ferguson's own 
substantial library. The collection was the most 
extensive ever assembled and covered not merely 
early chemistry but also alchemical and 
pharmaceutical books. "As a bibliography, it is 
an extremely detailed, scholarly piece of work. 
The items themselves have precise title-page 
transcriptions and collations. Ferguson carefully 
noted other works by the same author, other 
editions and translations of the work fully 
described, references to the author in many other 
standard works (eg histories and encyclopaedias) 
and, unusually for a bibliography, a concise and 
critical biographical account of the author and 
appraisal of his work. Ferguson's facts and 
judgements have in most cases yet to be superseded."          $195.00

17.  [OCCULT]. SCHULKE, Daniel [editor]; Andrew 
D. Chumbley, et al. EIKOSTOS. Xoanon Limited, 
1992-2012. A Bibliography [accompanied by] VOX 
BAETYLA XX. Xoanon Publishing 1992-2012. A 
catalogue of an Exhibition at the Esoteric Book 
Conference, September 15-16, 2012. [No Place]: 
Xoanon 2012 First Edition, First Printing. First 
Edition. Octavo. Full variegated natural linen 
with colour printed dust jacket. 106 pp, 32 
illustrations in full colour, plus additional 
black & white images. 740 copies printed. A fine 
copy, as new in dust jacket. Our copies are 
accompanied by the pamphlet VOX BAETYLA XX. 
XOANON PUBLISHING 1992-2012. ESOTERIC BOOK 
CONFERENCE SEPTEMBER 15-16, 2012. Octavo, 
original colour printed wrappers. 24 pp. Issued 
in a limited edition of 250 hand-numbered copies. 
Illustrated in full colour. A catalogue of 96 
items displayed at the special Xoanon Exhibition 
at the 2012 Esoteric Book Conference. A stunning 
exhibition catalogue, the display included 
original manuscripts, talismans, initiatic 
editions and original monadic transmissions. Fine in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.
  The face of the magical order Cultus Sabbati, a 
body of English traditional witchcraft initiates, 
first manifest in 1992 with the publication of 
AzoÎtia: A Grimoire of the Sabbatic Craft by 
Andrew D. Chumbley. The book presented a sharply 
different view of the historical practice of 
witchcraft at the close of the twentieth century, 
at once drawing resonance with the phantasmagoric 
Sabbath of the Witches, cults of Sumerian and 
Graeco-Roman witch-deities, and the high magical 
operations of medieval necromancy. The most 
important and enduring feature of the Cultus was 
its inheritance of orally-transmitted spellcraft 
and lore, in part derived from the topological 
features of the daimonic medieval Witchesí 
Sabbath. In its textually-transmitted numen, it 
took as its chosen corpus the grimoire, a 
spell-book or manual of black magic, thus 
becoming a book of magic rather than about it. 
The dense layering of incantation, complex 
sorcerous precepts and preternatural imagery gave 
the AzoÎtia a visceral and living quality which 
continues to emanate from its pages. The dreamt 
name for the entic manifestation of the book was 
XOANON, the ëEffigy fallen from the Skyí, which 
came to embody the exterior guise or glamour of 
Sabbatic Witchcraft. In the years that followed, 
Xoanon gave birth to a steady procession of 
ìliving booksî, each driven by its own familiar 
spirit, and each possessing its own distinct 
magical vehicle. EIKOSTOS, a Greek word meaning 
ëTwentiethí, is a complete historical 
bibliography of the first two decades of Xoanon 
Limited. Fully illustrated in colour and black 
and white, it details the history, specifications 
and arcana of each Xoanon title. The text draws 
upon previously unpublished images, texts and 
correspondence to embody the patterning of 
magical emanation crucial to the manifestation of 
the XOANON corpus. Also included are notes on 
critical reviews, rare and privately published 
magical volumes, ephemera, and forthcoming works 
by the initiates of the Cultus Sabbati. As a 
scribe bearing witness to time, EIKOSTOS unfolds 
the witch-gnosis of the Sabbatic Current as 
manifest through the bound pages of the enchanted book.            $125.00

18.  PEAKE, Mervyn. WATNEY, John. MERVYN PEAKE by 
John Watney. New York: St. Martin's Press. 
[1976]. First American Edition. First American 
edition. Octavo, original boards. 255 pp., 
Illustrated, Index. A very good clean copy in a 
near fine dust wrapper, price-clipped.
  Biography of Peake, best known for his GORMENGHAST trilogy.            $30.00

19.  PEAKE, Mervyn]. BATCHELOR, John. MERVYN 
PEAKE. A Biographical and Critical Exploration, 
by John Batchelor. [London]: Duckworth. [1974]. 
First Edition, First Printing. First edition. 
Octavo, original red cloth, gilt titles to spine. 
176 pp, Index. Small price sticker removed from 
front free endpaper, a fine copy in a fine dust 
jacket with none of the usual fading to the spine 
panel, almost inevitable with this title. Certainly uncommon thus.
  Biographical and critical work on the great 
Peake, author of the acclaimed 'Gormenghast' trilogy.              $47.50

20.  PENNY DREADFULS]. ANGLO, Michael. PENNY 
DREADFULS And Other Victorian Horrors. London: 
Jupiter Books. [1977]. First Edition, First 
Printing. First Edition. Quarto, original black 
boards titled in silver on spine panel. [125] pp, 
illustrated throughout in colour & black & white, 
pictorial dust jacket. A fine copy in dust 
jacket. Fine in Dust Jacket. Hardcover.
Illustrated history of the lurid British 'Penny 
Dreads' . Varney the Vampyre, Sawney Beane, 
Sweeney Todd, Spring-Heeled Jack - a fascinating 
glipse into a long-forgotten world.                $30.00

21.  PHILLPOTTS, Eden]. HINTON, Percival. EDEN 
PHILLPOTTS. A Bibliography of First Editions. By 
Percival Hinton. Birmingham: Greville 
Worthington. 1931. First Edition, First Printing. 
First Edition. Octavo, original cream patterned 
paper-covered boards with vellum spine titled in 
gilt. 350 numbered copies printed, this being 
copy No. 3. 164 pp. With a portrait photogragure 
frontispiece of Phillpotts, signed by him in 
pencil in the lower margin, one facsimile of a 
page of manuscript. Boards slightly rubbed, a 
very good, clean copy. Loosely laid into this 
copy are two ephemeral items: Catalogue No. 131, 
1935-6, 'First Editions and Autograph letters of 
Eden Phillpotts on sale by C.A Stonehill, Jr, 26 
Museum Street, London; and a prospectus and 
subscription form for 'A Comedy Royal in Four 
Acts' by Eden Phillpotts, issued by T. Werner Laurie in 1925.
  Still the best bibliography of Phillpotts.             $75.00

22.  WOOLF, Virginia]. KIRKPATRICK, B.J. A 
BIBLIOGRAPHY OF VIRGINIA WOOF. By B.J. 
Kirkpatrick. London: Rupert Hart-Davis 1957. 
First Edition, First Printing. First Edition. 
Octavo, original burgundy cloth titled in gilt on 
spine panel. 179 pp, Frontispiece (Virginia 
Woolf, 1938, from a photography by Gisele 
Freund), 3 additional plates and two 
illustrations in the text. Issued as 'The Soho 
Bibliographies', Volume IX. A fine copy in a 
nearly fine dust jacket. An excellent copy.               $75.00


---
Michael John Thompson, Antiquarian Bookseller
Imladris House
5275 Jerow Road
Hornby Island, BC
Canada V0R 1Z0
Ph:  250-335-1182
Fax: 250-335-2241

http://www.ThompsonRareBooks.com
http://www.BeltaneBooks.com
http://www.Mjtbooks.com