Curiosities

Unique Work English Literature – The Prose of Christina Rossetti – Lynda Palazzo – Original PhD Thesis Durham University1992

A high quality PhD thesis the author gaining a doctorate from Durham University. A unique work on the prose of Christina Rossetti more remembered for her beautiful poetry. Rossetti’s nine works are explored to a depth unseen elsewhere and Palazzo also presents here unpublished work – “notes on Genesis” with permission of descendant Joan Rossetti and a manuscript page from “Treasure Trove” permission of the Fitzwilliam Museum. Typed one sided 168 pages of A4 hardbound with blue cloth covers gilt titling to front and spine. Fine condition unmarked. Beautifully written superbly structured and full references.

The author Lynda Carol Palazzo went to Kings School Macclesfield before entry to the prestigious University of Durham. This Thesis led to her published work ten year later in 2002 the highly regarded “Christina Rossetti’s Feminist Theology”.

A Unique work for lovers of 19th Century English Literature

About Christina Rossetti

Christina Rossetti (1830-1894) sister of Pre-Raphaelite Dante Gabriel Rossetti (for whom she sat in a number of his greatest works including “The Girlhood of Mary Virgin”. She published her first work at the age of eighteen – on the death of Elizabeth Barrett Browning she was hailed as the natural successor as female laureate. She was a strong minded Victorian woman opposed to war, slavery, cruelty to animals, the exploitation of girls in under age prostitution. Sadly in later life she suffered from Graves disease and later developed and died of breast cancer – she is buried in Highgate. Her poem “In the Bleak Midwinter” became Voyager’s favourite Christmas Carol.

$80.00

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Unproduced Film Script – Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness”

Late 1970’s unproduced film script titled “Voyage to the Inner Station: Joseph Conrad’s Descent and Return from the Heart of Darkness” 134 pages of script in the agency covers of Paul Kohner – Michael Levy.

The author is named John nelson Reid and believed to be one of the many pseudonyms of successful writer Shimon Wincelberg (Naked City, The Time Tunnel, The Paper Chase, Have a Gun – Will Travel etc).

The copy of Ilse Lahn who as a successful producer and worked at the agency around that time. Paul Kohner was in the movie business from the early days and would have been in his seventies when this script appeared. He was very successful and managed Ingmar Bergman, Maurice Chevalier, Dietrich, Garbo, Huston and many more. Michael Levy headed up CBS Theatrical Films which was generally unsuccessful.

There are no telling reasons why this script didn’t get to production. One of the difficulties would be that there was another unfulfilled script based on the book written by Orson Welles … it did not make it either … it was regarded as to difficult (read expensive) to produce but many think it was because Welles was frozen out of Hollywood because he upset Randolph Hearst when he made Citizen Kane.

We have read it through and we like it!

We also have the book see separate listing for the summary storyline.

Could be a gold mine waiting – Conrad’s Heart of darkness scripted but not acted

$190.00

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Forbidden Books (Victorian Erotica) – An Old Bibliophile – 1902 Privately Printed 375 Copies.

Notes & Gossip on Tabooed Literature … The Old Bibliophile was John S Farmer. This book published for the author and his friends in Paris 1902.

Limited edition of 375 copies. Small quarto 227 pages khaki marbled paper covered boards vignettes at chapter headings. Very good condition.

Summaries of banned books largely with an erotic content. John Farmer was a brilliant lexicographer and this book is supposedly based on publications by Charles Carrington who was known for his naughtiness.

Rare and naughty from the Old Bibliophile

$140.00

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War and Peace – The book of the picture story of Leo Tolstoy’s great novel.

Published by Frederick Fell. New York in 1956. Large octavo 120 pages after preliminaries. Very good condition with near full dust jacket just some signs of ageing particularly the back of the dust jacket. Internally fresh and clean. Over 120 images from the screen and how good are they.

Adapted from the novel and the motion picture by Bernard Geis and he did a good job given the size of the Tolstoy volume and the length and complexity of the film. A relevant forward by Professor Atwood Townsend, New York University. The cast as famous as the book with the gorgeous Audrey Hepburn as Natasha and Henry Fonda as Pierre Bezukhov and then we have John Mills, Herbert Lom (a very Napoleon Napoleon) and Anita Ekberg as Helene.

A special book for fans of Tolstoy, War and Peace, Fonda and Hepburn and the cinema

$40.00

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Ethnology of the Sixth Sense, Studies and Researches into its Abuses, Perversions, Follies, Anomolies, and Crimes – Dr Jacobus X – 1899

By Jacobus X [Louis Jacolliot] published by Charles Carrington, Paris based bookseller and publisher of erotica in 1899. A limited first edition of 1000. Original blue cloth binding, 422 pages all in fine condition.

The “Sixth Sense” not the psychic sense but the genital sense which is explored in its active phase.

Includes, among many topics, clinical accounts of deformities of the sexual organs, such as “profound despondency of the unfortunate persons who have lost their penis”, “penis found in stomach of dog” etc.

Interestingly the preamble says “this work, printed for a small number of Subscribers – Medical Men – Experts and Specialists in Nervous Diseases – Lawyers etc.” The limitation page suggests 1000 copies but is unnumbered as with other copies we have seen.

You need to be over 18 and eccentric to buy this book – proof required

$90.00

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Rhingia Campestris (Snout Fly) – Whole Insect Slide 19thC

The Snout or Hover Fly is common in the Paleartic region at certain times of the year. It has a very long “snout”’ which allows it to get at pollen that other insects cannot reach. A good 19th century whole insect slide with a good example of the aforementioned snout

Nice whole Northern Hemisphere insect slide

$50.00

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Unique Work English Literature – The Prose of Christina Rossetti – Lynda Palazzo – Original PhD Thesis Durham University1992

Unproduced Film Script – Joseph Conrad’s “The Heart of Darkness”

Forbidden Books (Victorian Erotica) – An Old Bibliophile – 1902 Privately Printed 375 Copies.

War and Peace – The book of the picture story of Leo Tolstoy’s great novel.

Ethnology of the Sixth Sense, Studies and Researches into its Abuses, Perversions, Follies, Anomolies, and Crimes – Dr Jacobus X – 1899

Rhingia Campestris (Snout Fly) – Whole Insect Slide 19thC

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