The Ruby in the Smoke by Pullman, Philip - 1985

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1985. First edition. Near Fine/near fine. THIS BOOK IS ON RESERVE FOR A CUSTOMER. A Near Fine copy (pastedowns and free endpapers replaced, minor opening crease to spine, corners and spine ends bumped) in a Near Fine jacket (light rubs at corners), SIGNED BY PHILIP PULLMAN on the title page. The first edition of this highly sought after book in acceptable condition is hard enough to find,and a signed copy is harder still. The book is virtually unworn (spine very lightly bumped, first number of pages have a bit of a wave, and age toning, and there are a very few pages with a crease from folding) with the corners are sharp and unworn (one corner bumped) and the silver spine lettering is complete, unrubbed, unflaked and quite bright. The dust jacket has a small bump at the same corner where the book is bumped, and very light wrinkling, but is quite clean and attractive with rich, vibrant colors. Many copies found are ex-library, and, while this copy is no exception, it seems to have escaped heavy reading and also to have escaped heavy marking by the library, which made minimal notice of its ownership and left the title, half-title and the text unmarked. There is a rough area to the ffep, which is stamped "Withdrawls For Sale", the copywrite page is stamped with the library name and is marked with a neat identification number within the print, but not affecting it and there is a small stray pen mark. There are no card pockets nor any evidence of removal thereof. All in all a rather nice copy of a difficult book to find, and especially difficult to find SIGNED BY THE AUTHOR. THIS BOOK IS ON RESERVE FOR A CUSTOMER.