The Spencer Family (Signed!) by Charles Spencer - 1999

London: Jane Wynne, 1843. First. Very Good. This is an extremely interesting book, written and published privately by a woman in early Victorian days to appeal her imprisonment in debtors' prison She was apparently married to a wealthy man who gave her cause to seek an annulment (after having a daughter with him) but who died before the legal annulment was completed Thus began a lengthy and convoluted chain of events and relationships that culminated in her losing her money and, in her view, being deceived by several men along the way, including the Marquis of Clanricarde She ended up writing the book to attempt to vindicate herself, but I can find nothing about her on the Internet except references to this book, and even the Marquis' Wikipedia entry doesn't mention any scandal at all From everything I can find, this appears to be the only copy currently available on the market The book itself is in quite good condition, in the original dark cloth, slightly rubbed with a small chip from the spine… Read More

London: G. Woodfall, 1754. First. Very Good. Elizabeth Canning (1734 â€"1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month She ultimately became central to one of the most famous English criminal mysteries of the 18th century She disappeared on 1 January 1753, before returning almost a month later to her mother's home, emaciated and in a "deplorable condition" After being questioned by concerned friends and neighbors she was interviewed by the local alderman, who then issued an arrest warrant for Susannah Wells, the woman who occupied the house in which Canning was supposed to have been held At Wells' house, Canning identified Mary Squires as another of her captors, prompting the arrest and detention of both Wells and Squires London magistrate Henry Fielding (yes, the famous author of Tom Jones!) became involved in the case, taking Canning's side Further arrests were made and several witness statements were taken, and… Read More

London: Rodwell and Martin, 1820. First. Good-. Horatio Walpole,4th Earl of Orford (1717 â€" 1797), known as Horace Walpole, was an English writer, art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician n 1764, he anonymously published his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto, regarded as the first Gothic novel He also wrote extensively on art and published biographies of several British monarchs He was the youngest son (though perhaps not biologically) of the first British Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole This four volume set of his correspondence is bound in contemporary ¾ calf that is significantly scuffed, with spines beginning to split on three volumes Lower half of spine leather missing on vol 2 8vo; pp lx, 508 [2], 511; 507; 566 [2] But all volumes are till intact with all boards attached Publisher's advertisements at the back of two (1 and 4) volumes Modest foxing, primarily on titles and endpapers Would be very good overall but for the worn boards Each volume has the armorial… Read More

London: Edward Arnold, 1897. First. Good. Albert Hartshorne (1839 â€" 1910) was an English archaeologist He developed a particular interest in church monuments, publishing The Recumbent Monumental Effigies in Northamptonshire between 1867 and 1876 His other work included Old English Glasses (1897), which explored the history of drinking glasses up to the end of the eighteenth century This book is in good to very good condition It is ¾ decorated vellum over black cloth, rear side of spine leather is splitting, corners are bumped and a bit wrinkling, but otherwise good Frontispiece color plate is loose, but the rest of the text shows only modest foxing and age toning Printed on thick art paper, this is a very heavy book, and it is common for the bindings to show weakness due to the sheer weight, but overall a handsome volume with little sign of wear Not ex-lib Interestingly, the half-title has a misprint "Old English Glasess" A letter from the publisher in 1925 (affixed to the ffep) explains… Read More

London: Cassell, 1948. First. Very Good+/Very Good-. A complete set of first editions of all of Churchill's speeches after WWII These volumes are scarcer than his War Speeches, since they were published in smaller quantities These are all the "true first" British editions US editions were published for the first four, but there was no US edition of the last, The Unwritten Alliance All DJ's are in protective mylar covers The Set includes: 1 The Sinews of Peace - 1948, 256 pp Book is fine in orange cloth, with no marks or damage at all Unclipped DJ is near fine, with just slight edge wear at spine ends [Woods A124] 2 Europe Unite - 1950, 506 pp Book is near fine in green cloth, with just very slight bumping at spine ends and extremely slight fading at top spine end Unclipped DJ is very good, with slight chipping at spine ends, and slight darkening on rear [Woods A128] 3 In the Balance, 1951, 406 pp Book is near fine in blue cloth, with just slight bumping on spine ends Cipped DJ is very good, with… Read More

Knaresbrough: Hargrove and Son, 1815. Eleventh. Very Good. Eugene Aram (1704â€"1759) was an English philologist, but also infamous as the murderer celebrated by Thomas Hood in his ballad, The Dream of Eugene Aram, and by Bulwer-Lytton in his 1832 novel Eugene Aram In 1734 he moved to Knaresbrough, where he remained as schoolmaster till 1744 In that year a man named Daniel Clark, a shoemaker and an intimate friend of Aram, after obtaining a considerable quantity of goods from some of the tradesmen in the town, suddenly disappeared Suspicions of being concerned in this swindling transaction fell upon Aram His garden was searched, and some of the goods found there However, there was not sufficient evidence to convict him of any crime, and he was discharged In February 1758 a skeleton was dug up at Thistle Hill in Knaresbrough, and some suspicion arose that it might be Clark's Aram's wife had more than once hinted that her husband and a man named Houseman knew the secret of Clark's disappearance… Read More

London: Jane Wynne, 1843. First. Very Good. This is an extremely interesting book, written and published privately by a woman in early Victorian days to appeal her imprisonment in debtors' prison She was apparently married to a wealthy man who gave her cause to seek an annulment (after having a daughter with him) but who died before the legal annulment was completed Thus began a lengthy and convoluted chain of events and relationships that culminated in her losing her money and, in her view, being deceived by several men along the way, including the Marquis of Clanricarde She ended up writing the book to attempt to vindicate herself, but I can find nothing about her on the Internet except references to this book, and even the Marquis' Wikipedia entry doesn't mention any scandal at all From everything I can find, this appears to be the only copy currently available on the market The book itself is in quite good condition, in the original dark cloth, slightly rubbed with a small chip from the spine… Read More

London: G. Woodfall, 1754. First. Very Good. Elizabeth Canning (1734 â€"1773) was an English maidservant who claimed to have been kidnapped and held against her will in a hayloft for almost a month She ultimately became central to one of the most famous English criminal mysteries of the 18th century She disappeared on 1 January 1753, before returning almost a month later to her mother's home, emaciated and in a "deplorable condition" After being questioned by concerned friends and neighbors she was interviewed by the local alderman, who then issued an arrest warrant for Susannah Wells, the woman who occupied the house in which Canning was supposed to have been held At Wells' house, Canning identified Mary Squires as another of her captors, prompting the arrest and detention of both Wells and Squires London magistrate Henry Fielding (yes, the famous author of Tom Jones!) became involved in the case, taking Canning's side Further arrests were made and several witness statements were taken, and… Read More

London: T. and W. Boone, 1849. First. Good. Memoirs of the Life of Vice-Admiral Lord Viscount Nelson 2 vol, engraved portrait frontispieces, facsimiles and folding plates, contemporary full calf gilt, unfortunately 3 of 4 boards detached, thus good only Would be very good + if boards were intact, since the books and boards otherwise are in solid, undamaged condition, with tight text blocks 1) [xxxiv],501pp, portrait frontispiece, plate of facsimiles of Nelson's autographs, 3 facsimile letters, 5 facsimile autographs in text & 2) [ii]+668pp, portrait frontispiece, folding engraving of the Danish fleet at Copenhagen, 2 plates of Lady Hamilton, 7 facsimile letters and signatures Interestingly, both volumes include custom facsimiles on quality stock of period newspaper articles of Nelson related stories Most are undated, but one is dated 1853 These are bound in at the end of each volume, 11p in vol1 and 21 p in vol2 This is a quite important work, as it includes facsimile and transcribed Nelson letters… Read More

London: Heinemann, 1966. First editions, first printings all. Fine/Near Fine. This is a complete set of the 8-volume official biography of Winston Churchill, together with the complete 13 companion volumes of Churchill's papers up to 1939 (Four additional volumes of his wartime papers were published later) All 21 volumes are the British first (i.e. "true first") editions, first printing All are in near fine to fine condition, and all include dust jackets There are some minor tears on several dust jackets, apparently from shelf wear, but the books themselves appear unread The companion volumes are all essentially pristine There is really nothing else in print to rival the scale and comprehensiveness of this set, which documents the life of one of the 20th century most important leaders (The last three companion volumes total nearly 5,000 pages by themselves!) In 1966, Winston Churchill's son Randolph began writing a was intended to be a definitive, comprehensive biography of his father However, he… Read More