Fiction

The Lost City – By Major Charles Gilson – 1920′s

Another adventure by Charles Gilson in striking pictorial covers published in the 1920’s. Gilson has been promoted since he wrote “On Secret Service”. Another Voyager favourite.

Published by “The Boy’s Own Paper”, Bouverie Street, London. Octavo, 378 pages with frontispiece in colour and eight other illustrations.

The longer title, as usual, gives a clue … “The Lost City … being the Authentic Account by Professor Miles Unthank of the search for the Sarcophagus of Serohis, and the Theft of the Mystic Scarab, formerly in the British Museum”. We love it!

Collectable … The Lost City

$70.00

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The Songs of Sappho – Miller and Robinson – Fine Production 1925

A beautiful edition published by Frank-Maurice, New York in 1925.

Longer Title … “the Songs of Sappho – Including the Recent Egyptian Discoveries – The Poems of Erinna – Greek Poems about Sappho – Ovid’s Epistle of Sappho to Phaon”. Translated by Marion Mills Miller (Editor of “The Classics – Greek and Latin”) with Greek texts prepared and annotated and literally translated in prose by David Moore Robinson, Professor in Classics, John Hopkins University.

Large octavo, 435 pages, rough cut page edges as issued. Very good near fine copy, original green boards with quarter vellum to spine with gilt titles. Top edge richly gilt. A limited edition of 750 copies. Ten full page plates.

Sappho (630BC – 570BC) was an archaic Greek poet from the island of Lesbos. Sappho is best known for her poems about love and women. Most of the poetry is now lost and surviving items are mainly in fragments, except for one complete poem “Ode to Aphrodite”. Little is known of Sappho’s life, although likely from a wealthy family. Sappho was exiled to Sicily around 600BC … legend surrounds her love for the ferryman Phaon.

Sappho’s work has continued to influence writers. Beyond her poetry she is known as a symbol of love and desire between women.

From “Old Love is Best”’ …
“Whose soft footfall sets my heart a-bounding
Wilder than when the clarions are sounding;
Whose bright face hath power more to charm me
Than Lydia’s army!”

Finely bound beautiful Sappho – 1925

$120.00

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Horace – Horatii Fiacci Opera – Munro and King – Bickers Binding – 1869

A delightful copy of “Horace” illustrated by with well over 100 classical cameos or “gems” and bound in superb style by Bickers and Sons of London with their discrete stamp at the front.

Published by Bell and Dalby, London in 1869. Large octavo, with 456 pages after preliminaries, the back section of the book being a lengthy and scholarly description of the said “gems”.

The Latin text revised by Munro and the “gems” selected and detailed by King both Fellows of Trinity College Cambridge.

Quintus Horatius Flaccus (65BC – 8 BC) known as “Horace” was a leading Roman lyric poet during the time of Augustus. This is a well-produced and scholarly edition and we learn in the preface that the “gems” are authentic, whilst earlier attempts to illustrate Horace have succumbed to using inappropriate “modernised” versions etc.

The Bickers binding is full red morocco, spine panelled with raised bands, gilt lines to spine and boards, marbled endpapers with gilt rolled borders internally and to board edges, all page edges richly gilt. All a trifle rubbed … a solid a special binding. The shading on the right hand (front) board is our scanner not the board!

Nice inscription on endpaper … a gift to the Rev Mayo M.A. by his “Horace” class at Fauconberg School in Beecles … the distinguished grammar school was formed by Dr Fauconberg in 1712

Best Illustrated “Horace” in Bickers Binding

$140.00

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La Princesse de Cleves – Madame de la Fayette – With Aquarelle by Edith Follet – 1920′s

The original novel was published anonymously in 1678. This is the stunning 1920’s production by Nilsson, Paris and contains ten striking tipped in aquarelles (watercolours) as well as the beautiful front cover by Edith Follet.

In the French language, quarto soft covers (protected0, 186 pages in very good condition. All the aquarelle bright and clean.

La Princesse de Cleves is regraded by many as the first psychological novel and is regarded as a classic. The story takes place between 1558 and 1559 at the Royal Court of Henry II of France. The novel reflects that era with precision. The characters mainly (apart from the heroine) represent real individual and the events that unfold are faithful to the historical record.

Striking beautiful illustrations by Follet

$140.00

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Studies in Murder – Edmund Pearson

An unusual Modern Library edition given the factual content. A nice 1950′s copy with slightly chipped dust jacket. Top edge stained blue to match jacket as required.

True crime by American criminologist Pearson famous for his analysis of the Lizzie Borden Murders and the Hauptmann Case. We have catalogued it also under fiction because of his easy story telling style

Edmund Lester Pearson (1880-1937) was a highly regarded write of real crime … he was also a librarian to Congress which is why he had time to research and write no doubt!

Person Understood the motive …

$40.00

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Penguin Island – Anatole France

An early Modern Library edition, pre WWII publication. Very good condition, top edge stained grey blue to match the binding, very good dust jacket.

Written in French a most unusual fantasy book by Anatole France, who was awarded the Nobel Prize.

A wayward Christian lands on an island and mistakes some auks for noble pagans and proceeds to baptise them. As this should only happens to humans, when he finds out he transform the auks to human form and from there the history of Penguinia unfolds .. a satire emulating the history of Europe and some strange affairs.

Maybe underneath we are really all penguins or auks?

$30.00

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The Lost City – By Major Charles Gilson – 1920′s

The Songs of Sappho – Miller and Robinson – Fine Production 1925

Horace – Horatii Fiacci Opera – Munro and King – Bickers Binding – 1869

La Princesse de Cleves – Madame de la Fayette – With Aquarelle by Edith Follet – 1920′s

Studies in Murder – Edmund Pearson

Penguin Island – Anatole France

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