1. Beckett, Samuel / John Montague.

Collection of interesting and rare publications, an early spoken word radio play by Beckett (Embers), a signed poetry book in english (Limited Edition of only 100 copies) as well as a stunning exchange of letters between the irish writer John Montague and irish artist Louis Le Brocquy, in which John Montague refers to Beckett: “The early Beckett is a smart alec; the break comes when he has to survive in post-war France and accept “his own darkness”. The Montague – connection is meaningful. John Montague was Beckett’s neighbour in Paris, became his friend and not only lectured on Beckett but wrote the most significant and revealing obituary upon Beckett’s death in the Guardian: “An Appreciation of Samuel Beckett” (Wednesday, 27th of December 1989) / [See images and full descriptions of each single item in this Beckett-Collection on our Homepage under “Libraries & Collections” – look for “Samuel Beckett Collection”].

London / Ballydehob (Ireland) / France / New York, Calder / BBC / Grove Press, 1959 – 1981. Octavo. Original Softcover / Stapled / Hardcover (differing bindings in this collection). Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Extremely rare collection of interesting titles, letters by irish writer John Montague to Louis le Brocquy on Beckett, a signed book of poems by Beckett, etc.

2. Cover Art Design – Fante, John / MacDonald, John D. / Rice Burroughs, Edgar / and many others.

A wonderful collection of over 900 vintage paperbacks, fastidiously hand-picked from all parts of North America by an avid and knowledgeable collector. The collection is still intact and has not been ‘robbed’ of its outstanding and often signed publications. (Please ask for detailed list). / Lovingly curated, with a particular eye for unusual titles, this collection represents mid 20th century American pop art at its best. From hard-boiled detective stories to alien invasions, from femme fatales to teenage angst, from swashbuckling buccaneers to gritty westerns, these books were collected for two reasons; their excellent condition, and their lurid, ‘one of a kind’ cover art and outrageous tag lines. The collection also contains some very scarce copies of highly collectible books, including John D Macdonald’s first book, ‘The Brass Cupcake’ and John Fante’s first paperback edition of ‘Ask the Dust’. The great paperback publishing houses are all represented here; Signet, Popular Library, Pocketbook, Penguin, Pan, Lion, Fawcett Gold Medal, and so on. This is a unique opportunity to own a highly respectable collection of 20th century publishing history.

New York and others, Signet, Popular Library, Pocketbook, Penguin, Pan, Lion, Fawcett Gold Medal, and so on, 1945 – Small Octavo. 100000 pages and more. Original, illustrated softcover. Very good+ condition with only minor signs of external wear. Price includes free courier shipment worldwide.

3. Dickens, Charles.

Collection of six First Editions, all bound uniformely around 1850 and all in their original state. A stunning set with nearly all of the books in their First state of First Edition printing and with all plates complete. The collection includes: Bleak House / Little Dorrit / Nicholas Nickleby / Martin Chuzzlewit / Dombey and Son / David Copperfield. A very rare occasion in which a contemporary 19th-century lover of Dickens’ Literature had all Novels in their first edition bound to his/her liking. The mid-19th-century bindings beautiful in their simplicity and uniform style.

London, Chapman and Hall, 1839 – 1857. Octavo. Hardcover / Mid-19th-century Half-Leather with gilt lettering on spine. Original marbled endpapers. Very good condition with only few layers and illustrations loosened and the usual tanning to the illustrations. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. [The David Copperfield Volume has a defect (see detailed description below)]. Perfect collection of first editions to start a Dickens-Collection in contemporary, 19th-century bindings.

4. Radcliffe, Ann.

The Mysteries of Udolpho.

First Edition. 4 Volumes [complete set]. London, Printed for G. G. and J.Robinson, 1794. Octavo. Collation complete with all four half-titles: Volume I: 428 pages / Volume II: 478 pages / Volume III: 463 pages / Volume IV: 428 pages. Original, unaltered, 18th-century half leather with gilt lettering on original spinelabels. All four bindings with vintage paper-covered boards and their original, reinforced corners. The set is now housed in a custom-made solander-box / clamshell-box. Excellent, firm condition of all four volumes with minor lesions to hinges and some rubbing to extremeties only and some general, neglectable external wear to corners and upper spines. In Volume I, two sentences partly censored with manuscript editing in ink. Interior very good with the occasional lesion (I, p.109), minor tear (II, p.93), and stains to a page here or there and a faded, very mild dampstain in the background of some pages of Volume IV. Two excellent provenance signs: Bookplate / Exlibris of “William Tennant, Ashton Hall” to the pastedown of each Volume / Previous owner-stamp of “O.W.O’Grady Young – Castlerea”. A fantastic, in this state, unbelievably rare version, of one of the most desirable books in the english language. The seminal gothic novel, a most desirable collectable and the best copy of this first edition we have ever handled.

5. Cervantes De Saavedra, Miguel [Jarvis Edition with an excellent provenance, being from the library of John Fane, (Lord Burgersh) the Earl of Westmoreland].

The Life and Exploits of the Ingenious Gentleman Don Quixote de la Mancha. Translated from the Original Spanish by Charles Jarvis, Esq. [Bound with: “The Life of Michael de Cervantes Saavedra” and an “Advertisement concerning the Plates”].

Second issue of the First Jarvis Edition. Two Volumes (complete set). London, J. & R. Tonson and R. Dodsley, 1738-1742. Quarto. Pagination: Volume I: Frontispiece, XXIV, (8), I – [XXIV], (interrupted with 8 unnumbered pages: “Supplement to the Translator’s Preface,” on the origin of books of chivalry, [by Wiliam Warburton]), continued pagination [XXV-XXXII], Second Frontispiece (Portrait of Cervantes by George Vertue after G. Kent), V, (2), 355 pages with 28 copperplates (including the two frontispieces). Volume II: XII, 388 pages with 41 copperplate illustrations. In total 69 copperplate engravings, all drawn by John Vanderbank and engraved by Gerard van der Gucht / Vandergucht. Modern Hardcover bindings by an english masterbinder, styled to the 18th century period and with new endpapers that carry the original bookplates / Exlibris of John Fane, (Lord Burgersh) the Earl of Westmoreland. Excellent condition with only minor signs of foxing to the outer margins of the pages. All illustrations in strong and fresh imprint. An excellent set from a famous library.

6. Robinson, Mary.

Walsingham; or The Pupil of Nature, A Domestic Story. By Mary Robinson, Author of Angelina – Hubert de Sevrac – The Widow – Vancenza, &c. &c.&c.

First Irish Edition. In Two Volumes (complete Set). Dublin, Printed by B. Smith for P.Wogan, C.Brown, H.Colbert, W.Porter and J.Rice, 1798. Octavo (12 cm x 17,5 cm). 336, 322 pages. Hardcover / Modern half-leather bound to the style of the 18th-century with spinelabels. Both Volumes in protective Mylar and now housed in a bespoke Solander Box. Very good condition with some minor signs of wear only to the edges and two tiny lesions to the titlepage of the first Volume. Faded dampstain to some pages of the lower bookblock of Volume II. While the bookblock is generally used and has the occasional very faint stain and a minor tear to a page, the set is in very good or even better condition ! Extremely scarce !

7. Meister, Ernst.

Ausstellung – Gedichte von Ernst Meister [Originalausgabe / wahrscheinlich das originale Korrekturexemplar des Autors oder Verlags].

Erste Ausgabe. Marburg, Verlag Marburger Flugblätter, 1932. Oktav. 64 Seiten. Original Softcover (cremefarbene Englisch-Broschur mit roter Betitelung). Der Buchblock minimal von der Broschur gelöst. Sonst in sehr gutem Zustand, mit Merkmalen eines Korrekturexemplars: Der obere Schnitt etwas uneben, einige Seiten mit handschriftlicher, zusätzlicher Numerierung (und auch Anmerkung) die eine andere Paginierungsfolge oder Reihenfolge der Gedichte suggeriert. Einige Textstellen mit handschriftlicher Änderung einzelner Buchstaben. Kurze Widmung auf dem Vorsatzblatt: “f. Ulla” (nicht verifizierbar ob von Meister). Das Gedicht “Der Gebückte” mit einer handschriftlichen Anmerkung die eine eventuelle, dreimalige Wiederholung des ersten Teiles (‘Er geht’) mit zwei Fragezeichen erwägt. Sehr seltene, erste Veröffentlichung von Ernst Meister. Der Fund dieser Ausgabe ist eine kleine Sensation da Ernst Meister die Auflage persönlich vernichtete nachdem der Verlag Ihm die Bücher zurückgesendet hatte. Seine Ehefrau Else Meister rettete, laut einigen Quellen, nur einige wenige Exemplare aus der Mülltonne. / Als Zugabe zu der Ausgabe liegt dem Band eine Sammlung von sehr seltenen “Mitteilung[en] für Freunde” bei. Ernst Meister hat diese “Im Handsatz als Manuskript gedruckt”. Beiliegen No.2 – 6 der Mitteilungen”. Diese sind signiert mit dem Namenszug “Ernst Meister” versehen und der Jahreszahl der Herausgabe auf der Titelbroschur.

8. [Herrick, Robert] / John Nott [Bristol] / Barron Field.

Working copy with annotations and inscription by Editor John Nott and also being an “Association Copy” between John Nott and Barron Field of: “Select Poems from the Hesperides, or Works both Human and Divine of Robert Herrick, Esq. with occasional remarks by J.N. [in our copy, Nott has completed his pseudonym himself and reveals the “Nott”, followed by “M.D”]. – Accompanied also with the Head, Autographe and Seal of the Poet [this Frontispiece is missing in our copy].

Bristol, Printed and Published by J.M.Gutch, no year [1810]. Octavo. IV, 253 pages, followed by an interleaved section at the end of the book, being the original, printed Review by Barron Field from “The Quarterly Review” in 1810 in which Barron Field reviews Nott’s publication of Herrick’s Hesperides, which Nott has inscribed Hardcover / Modern half-leather in style of early 19th-century bindings. Very good condition with only minor signs of wear. Inscribed: “Barron Field – from the editor, Dr. Nott of Bristol – Hotwell [Waters]”. This being the original copy which Dr.John Nott sent to Barron Field for Review. With additional annotations and explanations on page 5, where Nott elaborates on 17th century poet Alexander Brome being the inspiration for the idea of Poem VII “No Loathsomeness in Love” and then Nott wrote down part of the poem by Brome in ink: “I vow I am so far from loving none….” (9 lines). Other annotation in ink (Nott) and pencil (possibly Barron Field) throughout the Volume.

9. Radcliffe, Ann.

The Mysteries of Udolpho – A Romance; interspersed with some pieces of Poetry.

First Dublin Edition / First Irish Edition. 3 Volumes [complete set]. Dublin, , by Hillary and Barlow, for Messrs. P. Wogan, W. Jones, and H. Colbert, 1794. Small Octavo (17.5 cm x 11 cm). Collation complete: Volume I: 310 pages / Volume II: 321 pages / Volume III: 357 pages. [Few pages with misprinted numerals, as often the case, but all pages in order and complete]. Original, unaltered, 18th-century full leather with gilt lettering on original spinelabels. Very rare, complete set of the first Dublin Edition. Very good- condition with stronger signs of external wear but all three Volumes in firm, original condition. Lesions to the leather-covered-boards and some stronger rubbing to extremeties. Interior with only very few problems. All three Volumes used to have two endpapers before and after the text and some of these endpapers are torn or missing. Textblock in general very good with some very minor and only occasional staining only. In Volume I, tear to corner of page 101/102 and 135/136. Faded stain to only the outer margins of pages 239 to 310 (text never affected). Volume II with small tear to pages 21/22 / Volume III with lesion to page 281/282 and tear to corner 305. These all sound worse than they are and the set is still in very good- condition. From the library of the Meade family in Ballymartle, the titlepage of each Volume bears the name of Helena Meade. An extremely rare and highly collectable set of one of the rarest titles in english literature.

10. Lescure, Jean / [André Frénaud].

Original Typescript with manuscript annotations and corrections of “Poèmes métaphysiques”. Jean Lescure’s personal copy with corrections and additions to his earliest collection of poems. Loosely inserted into the collection are the three pages of the typescript for “Apologie de L’Aveugle – à André Frénaud” reflecting his close friendship and collaboration with André Frénaud [according to our research, Rachel E. Perry identifies in her essay “Histoire De L’Aveugle: Matiérisme’s Critique of Vision” that Jean Lescure composed this poem together with Paul Eluard and it was published in “A la gloire de la main” in 1949]. The poems in the Typescript / Manuscript of Lescure are all dated between 1937 and 1940. The original composition of the poem-cyle “Trois chansons de mer pour l’equinoe” is completely replaced by an autographe, manuscript-entry of Lescur. The poems in this original Typescript/Manuscript of “Poèmes métaphysiques” are titled: “Porte ouverte ou fermee” (″mars-avril 1939”)/ “Dialectique d’un printemps” (″hiver 1937 – ler 5 decembre 1939”)/ “Present de la journee” (″5-6 decembre 1939”) / “Noel pour une fille que fleurisse le jour” (″7-18 decembre 1939”) / “Chant montagnard pour saluer la fin de l’hiver” (″Fev. 1940-Mars 1941”)/ “La Nourriture de l’Amour”(″Fevrier 1941 – Mars 1942”)/ “Double aspect de l’iris” (″20 dec. 1939 – Jan.1940”) / “Double Fer” (″Jan – 25 avril 1940”) / “Debut sur le jour” / “Aspect de la Solitude” / “Chansons de mer pour l’equinoxe” [1.Chanson du patron – 2. Chanson du gabier (Manoeuvre a la vie pare et vire) – [Chansons du precheur] – 3. Chanson du timonier] (″Sept – Oct 41”) //

[France], c. 1945 – 1949. Quarto (21,5 cm x 27 cm). 33 pages plus 3 pages “″Apologie de L’Aveugle”. Original Softcover. Excellent condition with some minor signs of wear only.