1. Clarke, Arthur C.

Imperial Earth. A novel. [Together with signed letter (and two more interesting letters in copy) by Arthur C. Clarke on his personal stationery. Clarke makes some handwritten remarks about the allegations against him and writes: ‘I hope to make more money from the S. Smear than from all my books when the lawyers have finished with them !).

London, Victor Gollancz, 1975. Octavo. 287 pages. Original Hardcover with illustrated, unclipped dustjacket in protective Mylar. Near Fine condition with only minor signs of external wear. Rare in this exceptional condition.

2. [West Highland Line] / [Scottish Railway Line Glasgow to Mallaig] / [Rathad Iarainn nan Eilean – “Iron Road to the Isles”]

Massive Photographic Documentation of The Western Highland Line [Glasgow to Mallaig] in 900 [ninehundred] vintage Photographs, taken over a period of 30 Years by a Railway and Nature-Explorer and placed in four massive XXL Folders with extensive, beautiful and detaild annotations and explanations. The photographs range from smaller formats (10 cm wide x 15.2 cm high) to a huge amount of Extra-Large Vintage Photographs (39.2 cm wide x 29.4 cm high) and many even measure 40 cm x33 cm, filling entire leaves. Many of the photographs are impeccably applied inside these High-End-Archival-Folders with often numerous captions in the handwriting of the Photographer / Highland Explorer. An inexplicably stunning and absolutely unique documentation of the scottish landscape along the West Highland Line between the years 1974 – 2002. The images document Scottish rivers, Lochs and Roads, Mountains and Hills alongside the Railway-Lines but landscapes are also often shown without the Railway present. Besides the nature we also find photographs of architectural features like overpasses or industrial buildings and railway-track-imagery masterfully photographe, bordering on the abilities of a New Objectivity – photographer like Albert Renger-Patzsch. An important, maybe even singular photographic Impact-study of Railway to the Scottish Highlands. The anonymous photographer has injected himself occasionally in the images, beautifully showing his pitched tent and motorcycle in order let the viewer understand the dedication his travels have cost him. The masterful photographer also showcases his love for detail and artistry by ever so often partially and sparsely coloring Railway-Waggons or Locomotives within his black-and-white-photography, highlighting the technology in the vulnerable landscape, giving the whole collection an artistic and critical component of focusing the viewer on the object of his desire, yet contrasting how lost even a magnificent Locomotive and its carriages seems when vanishing in front of the majestic scottish landscape. The documentation is meticulous, often allowing for multiple vintage photographs on one page showing the same location during different times, exhausting all questions of functionality of the Railway opposed to the landscape with or without Railway in the shots. For the conservation-movement of the Scottish Highlands this collection is an unbelievable chance to preserve the memory of this landmark Railway-Line, connecting the extreme remote with the urban. For those who research the scottish landscape this is a unique opportunity to acquire the life’s work of one man’s obsession with “Railway and Landscape” in the Scottish Highland.

Scotland, 1974-2002. Oblong-Folio (44 cm wide x 36 cm high). Hardcover / Original Full-Leather Folders with stong, black cardboards and original tissue-guards. Excellent condition with only minor signs of wear. With hundreds of manuscript annotations on the photography, the photography-technique, film used and with extensive elaborations on each photograph in these albums. More images on request !

3. Taylor, Tom / [Abraham Lincoln].

Exquisite collection of six (6) items/original, vintage and personal materials by/of Tom Taylor. The collection includes a 2 1/2 page, signed manuscript letter [MLS] by Tom Taylor to an unknown recipient , discussing a memorial he sent to Robert Browning’s patron, John Kenyon and mentioning former Prime Minister Lord Aberdeen [George Hamilton-Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen]. The collection also includes two vintage 19th century cabinet photographs [Carte de Visite’s] of Tom Taylor, a later edition of Ballads and Songs of Brittany and two beautifully inscribed and signed presentation copies of his major works: 1. The first edition of Ballads of Brittany – London/Cambridge, MacMillan and Co.,1865 with many illustrations by Tissot, Tenniel etc. (This first edition is signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Emilia Ventana at Xmas 1864, before the publication of the book commenced) and 2. Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas. London, Chatto & Windus, 1877. Signed and inscribed by Tom Taylor to Marie de Beauvoisier in March 1879.

London / Cambridge etc., Chatto & Windus / Routledge & Sons / etc., c. 1850-1879. Octavo. Ballads and Songs of Brittany (1865 edition): Frontispice, XXII, 239 pages / Ballads and Songs of Brittany (Later Routledge edition): XVI, 176 pages / Tom Taylor’s Historical Dramas: VIII, 466, 32 pages. / Manuscript Letter: 2 1/2 pages. Original Hardcover / The manuscript letter in a Folder, it includes an A4 manuscript leaf from a 19th century autograph-collector describing the letter by Taylor. / The two vintage cabinet photographs of Taylor included in the Folder with the autograph. Very good condition with only minor signs of external wear.

4. Porter Jr., LCDR William Hamilton / [Howard Chandler Christy].

Archive of Naval Captain, Lieutenant commander [LCDR] William Hamilton Porter Jr.‘s Love Letters to his wife Amy Manning Porter and letters to his mother Barbara Hamilton Porter, from his service during and after graduating from United States Naval Academy Annapolis MD, 1914. The Collection includes not only the Yearbook of the Brigade of Midshipmen, called “Lucky Bag”, signed with nearly all Graduates and with numerous amazing photographic illustrations of sports like American Football, Lacrosse, early photographs of Basketball and Baseball – Teams, images of visits to Ireland etc., but the collection includes nearly 50 manuscript letters by LCDR Porter from the USS Alden, USS Columbia, writing back home to his wife Amy between 1916 and 1920, reflecting his first tour of duty and sending letters from Constantinople, Smyrna, Venice, Dalmatia, Split, Naples, Samsoun, etc. The collection is full of reports of life on ship and upcoming tours to Naples, Genoa and Villefranche, relationship to the captain, Porter’s view on politics etc. Telegram about “USS Alden and two Destroyers of the 26th Division to be designated by USADRA proceed to Manila”. / Fantastic archive of an Annapolis Graduate with amazing artwork by Howard Chandler Christy in the “Lucky Bag” and a collection of letters in all its complete scarcity of completeness. The collection also includes the original letter of “Washington Granite Monumental” to Porter’s wife upon Porter’s burial at Arlington National Cemetery (he died in 1937).

Baltimore (Maryland) / Annapolis / USS Alden etc., 1916-1920. Octavo. Lucky Bag [Vol. XXI [Volume 21] of the Annual of the Brigade of Midshipmen at Annapolis / Two Ringfolders with original letters, telegrams and some photographs. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only. Check out a large collection of high quality photographs on our website, depicting Baseball, Crew Rwoing, Handball, Basketball and Baseball at the Academy in Annapolis. Rare collection with the wonderful original signatures of nearly all Graduates who served with LCDR Porter.

5. [Tey, Josephine / Daviot, Gordon] / [Gielgud, John].

Josephine Tey – John Gielgud Collection of stunning Association copies of Plays which crucially defined both of their careers as writers and actors. The collection includes important, signed and inscribed association – copies of the two significant productions “Richard of Bordeaux” and “Queen of Scots”, both from John Gielgud’s personal library and with manuscript inscriptions to John Gielgud [and Laurence [Larry] Olivier] by Josephine Tey, aka Gordon Daviot, aka Elizabeth MacKintosh. The collection includes: 1. Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey] – “Richard of Bordeaux – A Play in Two Acts” – With John Gielgud’s Bookplate (Ex Libris). The ultimate Association-copy, warmly and lengthy inscribed by Josephine Tey to John Gielgud. First Edition. London, Victor Gollancz, 1933 / 2. “Richard of Bordeaux” – Original Programme of “The Streatham Hill Theatre”, 1934. Signed by John Gielgud / 3. Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey] – “Richard of Bordeaux” – Original File-copy with dustjacket and Publisher’s wrapper “The Play of the Year” at the New Theatre” – First Edition, 1933 / 4. Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey] Gordon Daviot – “Richard of Bordeaux – A Play in Two Acts” – [Fifth Edition, 1933] – Special Cast, Producer and Production-Signed copy and inscribed to one “Eileen Grainger”, with the most interesting dedications in manuscript signatures – Signed and inscribed by lead actor and producer John Gielgud [Richard II], Signed and inscribed by leading Lady, actress Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies, Signed and inscribed by Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey], Also beautifully signed and inscribed with a musical score by Shakespeare-composer and Musical Director for John Gielgud, Herbert Menges OBE ! / 5. “Queen of Scots – A Play in Three Acts” – The Ultimate Association-copy, inscribed by Josephine Tey to her producer: “John Gielgud – from ‘his Gordon Daviot’ / July 1934” / 6. Gordon Daviot – “Queen of Scots – A Play in Three Acts” – Association-copy, signed and warmly and lengthy inscribed by Josephine Tey to Laurence Olivier / 7. Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey] – “Richard of Bordeaux” – A Softcover-Version of the Play in Fourth Impression, 1933 / 8. Josephine Tey – “The Daughter of Time” – First Edition, Second Impression (Second Printing). London, Peter Davies, July 1951 [The First Edition was in June 1951]. Original Hardcover with the slightly frayed original dustjacket in Mylar / 9. John Gielgud – “Early Stages” – New and Revised Edition. London, The Falcon Press, 1948. With pages of detail about the work of John Gielgud with Gordon Daviot [Josephine Tey] / 10. Jennifer Morag Henderson – “Josephine Tey – A Life” – With a Foreword by Val McDermid. Sandstone Press, 2015 //

London, Victor Gollancz, 1933 – 1948. Octavo. Hardcover / Original Publisher’s cloth. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear.

6. [100 Years Buddenbrooks in America] Mann, Thomas.

Buddenbrooks. [First American Edition in stunning condition with an amazing, signed Letter by Thomas Mann, thanking an admirer for reflecting on reading his masterpiece “Buddenbrooks”. Signed on 21st of June 1940, on personalized stationery of Thomas Mann from Princeton, New Jersey, Mann wrote: “Thank you for writing to me and for telling me that you liked ‘Buddenbrooks’ when you read it recently at Colby College. It gave me pleasure, too, to know that you heard my daughter Erika lecture and had ‘thoroughly enjoyed’ yourself. With all good wishes, yours sincerely. Thomas Mann” ]. Translated from the German by H. T. Lowe-Porter [American Translator Mrs. Helen Tracy Lowe-Porter].

Two Volumes (complete set). New York, Knopf, 1924. Octavo. 389, 359 pages. Original Hardcover with the very rare, original dustjackets in breathtaking condition (now in protective collector’s Mylar). Unusually Fine condition with the meaningful letter by Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann.

7. [Buckingham Palace] Wardrop, Colonel F.M. [C.B. abd Military Attache to the British Embassy in Vienna (1900-1909) as well as Aide de Camp during the Egyptian War].

Original Luncheon-Invitation-Ticket-List, published in Book-Form with original Ivory-Head-Pencil by Johann Faber (Bavaria), attached on the occasion of King Edward VII’s Coronation Dinner at : “Hotel Belgravia / Buckingham Palace” – Original Ticket-Book: “List of Guests for Luncheon and Dinner – 1902 for King Edward VII’s Guests Colonel F.M.Wardrop, C.B., Colonel Commandant Johann von Belnay, Lieutenant-Colonel Ludwig Koch and Captain Adalbert Guilleaume”.

[London], Buckingham Palace / Hotel Belgravia, 1902. Oblong Octavo (14.6 cm wide x 11.8 cm high). 40 pages with partial perforation for detaching of Luncheon- and Dinner-Tickets. Hardcover / Original Royal Blue Publisher’s cloth with gilt lettering on cover and pencil-satchet attached to the binding. Some minor staining to the binding only. Overall in very good condition with only minor signs of wear. With the pencil included and the original elastic ribbon which allows the booklet to be closed. Wonderful example of the wealth of the Coronation-Event at the end of the Victorian and the beginning of the Edwardian Age (printed ticket-books for 4 attendees seem very luxurious indeed). Five tickets were used for Dinner at the Belgravia and each remaining stub was signed / monogrammed by Colonel F.M.Wardrop.

8. Foster, Vere [Henry Louis / Lewis] / [Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster] / [Georgiana Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire].

Amazing Vere Foster-Collection including Educational Materials and as a centerpiece the “Presentation Copy of “The Two Duchesses” with Autograph / Manuscript – Letter by Vere Foster to his niece, Emily Albinia “Alba” Foster. With a stunning, unpublished, two-page-letter, revealing several important details about the immediately favorable reviews and reception of the book [″in the Daily Telegraph”] and Vere Foster’s disdain about some criticism from one J.Donohue [which led to an alteration in the second edition of the book]. Vere Foster is also expecting a review to appear in the “Athenaeum” but reports “the Athenaeum has nothing yet”. Vere Foster apologizes to his niece for the delay in sending the book and explains that he had left 12 “parcels″£ with Blackie’s agent and gave instructions to send them but a few days later found they had been “untouched”. / The Two Duchesses – Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire – Family Correspondence of and Relating to Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire / Elizabeth, Duchess of Devonshire, Earl of Bristol (Bishop of Derby), The Countess of Bristol, Lord and Lady Byron, The Earl of Aberdeen, Sir Augustus Foster Bart, and Others, 1777-1859. [See Full list of items which are part of this collection, on our website under the topic “Libraries & Collections”].

First Edition. London / Glasgow and Dublin, Blackie & Son Limited, 1898. Octavo (15 cm x 22 cm). Pagination: Frontispiece, IX, [3], 497 pages with 18 Illustrations (including frontispiece and one Vignette of the two Duchesses opposite page 1). Hardcover / Original, publisher’s green cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only. This is an astonishing find for the Vere Foster Research Community and the letter gives significant insight into the importance the publication had for him, its reception as seen by Vere Foster and it solves the riddle why an altertaion was necessary for the second edition [which Vere Foster explains in a brief note to the reader at the beginning of the second edition]. The heartfelt inscription to his niece Albinia Foster is also of great importance and to our knowledge the only presentation-copy of this book on the international market for the several decades we can look back at auction records.

9. [Lehmann, John] / [Liddell Hart, Adrian] / [Harold Acton] / [Manuscript Postcards from Lehmann to Liddell Hart].

Provenance: From the personal library of Adrian Liddell Hart / Collection of three personal autograph/manuscript-postcards from John Lehmann to Adrian Liddell Hart, together with 28 Volumes of John Lehmann’s “New Writing”, some bearing the name of Adrian Liddell Hart, including Volume I (includes George Orwell’s “Shooting an Elephant” in second edition). Besides the 28 Volumes of Lehmann’s “New Writing”, the collection also includes: 1. John Lehmann’s personal copy of Sean O’Faolain’s “Vive Moi!” – An Autobiography (First Edition, London, Rupert Hart-Davies, 1965), with John Lehmann’s name on the front free endpaper and some markings in the text. / 2. John Lehmann – Pleasures of New Writing – An Anthology of Poems, Stories and other Prose Pieces from the pages of NEW WRITING. Edited by John Lehmann. (First Edition, London, John Lehmann, 1952). [Even though this Volume is also from Liddell Hart’s library, it bears a different name of a pre-owner on the half-title].

Mixed Editions. 30 Volumes. London, John Lehmann / Allen Lane – Penguin Books / Rupert Hart-Davis, 1940-1965. Octavo. [The Postcards written from Venice, Florence and Santa Barbarabetween the years 1952 and 1977 / Postcard I: From John Lehmann in Venice to Adrian Liddell Hart: “This city does not boast a supply of the “Sunday Dispatch”, and as the writer was gripped and enthralled by the last installment on June 1st, he hopes you will keep copies of the …for him to read on his return in ten Days time – J.” / Postcard II: From John Lehmann in Florence to Adrian Liddell Hart: “Am staying with [Sir] Harold Acton here in his marvellous Villa – calme luxe [″Villa La Pietra”], all night……pity, you aren’t with me. Off to the sea this afternoon – may post this in Porto Ercole. Your old friend is relaxing. Gracefully – Love J.” [Date hard to decipher, possibly in 1962] / 3. Postcard III: From John Lehmann in Santa Barbara in California to Adrian Liddell Hart: “Terribly sorry to hear about the broken leg, may it mend quickly, as surely it must undo the ministrations of Florence …..Nightingale. I expect to be in England all March, but then off again – to Jimmy Carter Country – Love J.” [20.2.77]. Hardcover and Softcover. Of the series of 28 Volumes of the “New Writing ″ Series, only three with stronger signs of wear and in poorer condition. All others in very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Lehmann’s personal copy of Sean O’Faolain’s Autobiography with the original dustjacket in poor condition but the Volume itself very good.

10. [Earl of Southesk, Charles Noel Carnegie, 10th] [Provenance: Adam Smith, Lady [Janet] and subsequently the Alpine Club London] / Carnegie, V.M.

A Kenyan Farm Diary – With Illustrations. [From the library of eminent scottish Writer, Mountaineer and Literary Critic, Janet Adam Smith and subsequently the Alpine Club in London for which Janet Adam Smith was Vice-President during the years 1978-1980 and to which she possibly had donated this book (our company has purchased a large stock of fantastic books and periodicals from the famous Alpine Club through Forum Auctions several years ago)].

Second Impression. Edinburgh and London, William Blackwood & Sons Ltd., 1931. Octavo. Frontispiece, XII, 271 pages. With seven photographic illustrations on four plates. Original Hardcover with the very rare original dustjacket in protective collector’s mylar. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear and foxing to the edges and several pages. This book is very rare in its original dustjacket. Inscribed and signed by Charles Noel Carnegie, 10th Earl of Southesk (1854-1941): “To Lady Adam Smith from the Earl of Southesk – Jan 1934”. With a newspaper-clipping on an event of Inverness Central School loosely inserted and with a newspaper-clipping shopwing the elderly “Earl of Southesk and Mr. Donald Steuart-Fothringham going out to shoot over Petterden Moor, Angus”. A wonderful association copy !