TALES FROM SHAKESPEARE. Into several remote nations by RACKHAM. ARTHUR. Illustrates.; LAMB. CHARLES AND MARY - 1909

Garden City Publishing Company. Star Books. New York. Circa 1931. EARLY U. S. EDITION. Inscribed by Shaw. 8vo.(8.4 x 5.7 inches). Shaw has inscribed the half title page; " Inscribed to Mr. Robert F. de Graaf. G. Bernard Shaw. 14th November 1931. I vehemently repudiate the portrait on the jacket. It has the horrible quality of being very like somebody else - I cannot for the life of me remember whom. You should have picked out something more impressive. No intelligent Woman would trust a man with a face like that." A fine clean copy of the book in publishers cloth and the original silver, black and white dustwrapper with portrait illustration of Shaw to front panel, designed by Robert De Graaf. Minor rubbing and a couple of small chips to extremities but overall a very good example indeed. Housed in a grey cloth covered clam-shell case with grey leather label, lettered in gilt.

J and R. Tonson. London. 1761. NEW EDITION. Three 4to volumes. (11.9 x 9.6 inches). Vol.1. lxxix, xxii,491pp; - Vol.2. 460pp, 116pp indexes; - Vol.3. 690pp, iipp index. (2 of the last 2 leaves, 4T & 4Ti have been bound in. One in the correct place at the end of the text and again, randomly, in the middle of one of the Poems on several occasions). Illustrated with 20 full page copper engraved plates, including 3 portraits as the frontispiece for each volume, plus 17 fine illustrations by Francis Hayman, each with some offsetting to the page opposite. Neat contemporary previous owners names to the top of the title pages and rear of frontispieces. Some minor foxing to the margins of a few pages, and darker offsetting to 2 leaves where a previous owner had inserted a fern leaf, otherwise a very good set which has been finely bound in recent full speckled brown calf. Spines with raised bands, the compartments double ruled in gilt. Red labels, gilt. Double ruled blind border on boards. An attractive… Read More

The Roycroft Printing Shop. New York. 1896. First edition, pirated by Elbert Hubbard, founder of the Roycroft movement. 8vo. Inscribed by the author on the title page, "I repudiate all responsibility for this bowdlerised piracy. Elbert Hubbard, who perpetrated it, is dead. Why not bury it with him? G. Bernard Shaw. 27/5/22." Additionally inscribed by Hubbard on the front free endpaper, "To Leonard D. Abbott with all good wishes from his friend Elbert Hubbard." Original cloth-backed boards. Housed in a blue half morocco slipcase and chemise. A fine copy.

Day and Son. Lithographers to the Queen. London. Published April 2nd 1860. 1860. FIRST EDITION. 4to. (11.6 x 8.1 inches). Illustrated with a total of 102 fine full page Chromolithograhic plates; Half title, title page, 99 numbered plates - each with a tissue paper guard, and the colophon leaf. 104 pp of text, printed in black within decorative red borders. A fine copy in a beautiful designer binding by The Ashley Bindery, of Somerset. Stamped to the rear inner board- 19 AB 81. Full black morocco with multi colour design of two boxed lines in brown morocco across both boards and the spine, with tan, green and red design within each box. The spine is also lettered in gilt. Wood effect endpapers. All edges gilt. Housed in a felt lines chemise with the same wood effect paper on the boards and a black morocco spine, lettered in gilt and with one of the red designs onlaid between the title and authors. This then fits into a felt lined slip case covered with the wood effect paper. A fine and beautiful… Read More

Hurst and Blackett, Successors to Henry Colburn. London. 1862. SECOND ENGLISH EDITION. Three volumes. 8vo. (8 x 5.3 inches). viii,395pp. : viii, 408pp. :viii, 404pp, 8pp publishers adverts. A few minor thumb marks but overall a bright, clean and tight set in the original publishers purple grained cloth bindings. Spines ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt. Boards with ruled and decorative blind stamped borders. Pale green coated endpapers. There are markings to the front boards where Mudie library labels have been carefully removed and there is a list of recent works of fiction in the Mudie select library mounted onto the rear pastedown of the third volume but the superior condition of this set suggests that it was rarely borrowed, and if so, read very carefully. Some mottling to the cloth on the spines but the gilt still bright and vibrant. Hinges are all tight and firm. Some fairly minor bumping to the extremities but overall a very good example of this classic, issued in the same format as the… Read More

Garden City Publishing Company. Star Books. New York. Circa 1931. EARLY U. S. EDITION. Inscribed by Shaw. 8vo.(8.4 x 5.7 inches). Shaw has inscribed the half title page; " Inscribed to Mr. Robert F. de Graaf. G. Bernard Shaw. 14th November 1931. I vehemently repudiate the portrait on the jacket. It has the horrible quality of being very like somebody else - I cannot for the life of me remember whom. You should have picked out something more impressive. No intelligent Woman would trust a man with a face like that." A fine clean copy of the book in publishers cloth and the original silver, black and white dustwrapper with portrait illustration of Shaw to front panel, designed by Robert De Graaf. Minor rubbing and a couple of small chips to extremities but overall a very good example indeed. Housed in a grey cloth covered clam-shell case with grey leather label, lettered in gilt.

J and R. Tonson. London. 1761. NEW EDITION. Three 4to volumes. (11.9 x 9.6 inches). Vol.1. lxxix, xxii,491pp; - Vol.2. 460pp, 116pp indexes; - Vol.3. 690pp, iipp index. (2 of the last 2 leaves, 4T & 4Ti have been bound in. One in the correct place at the end of the text and again, randomly, in the middle of one of the Poems on several occasions). Illustrated with 20 full page copper engraved plates, including 3 portraits as the frontispiece for each volume, plus 17 fine illustrations by Francis Hayman, each with some offsetting to the page opposite. Neat contemporary previous owners names to the top of the title pages and rear of frontispieces. Some minor foxing to the margins of a few pages, and darker offsetting to 2 leaves where a previous owner had inserted a fern leaf, otherwise a very good set which has been finely bound in recent full speckled brown calf. Spines with raised bands, the compartments double ruled in gilt. Red labels, gilt. Double ruled blind border on boards. An attractive… Read More

The Roycroft Printing Shop. New York. 1896. First edition, pirated by Elbert Hubbard, founder of the Roycroft movement. 8vo. Inscribed by the author on the title page, "I repudiate all responsibility for this bowdlerised piracy. Elbert Hubbard, who perpetrated it, is dead. Why not bury it with him? G. Bernard Shaw. 27/5/22." Additionally inscribed by Hubbard on the front free endpaper, "To Leonard D. Abbott with all good wishes from his friend Elbert Hubbard." Original cloth-backed boards. Housed in a blue half morocco slipcase and chemise. A fine copy.

Day and Son. Lithographers to the Queen. London. Published April 2nd 1860. 1860. FIRST EDITION. 4to. (11.6 x 8.1 inches). Illustrated with a total of 102 fine full page Chromolithograhic plates; Half title, title page, 99 numbered plates - each with a tissue paper guard, and the colophon leaf. 104 pp of text, printed in black within decorative red borders. A fine copy in a beautiful designer binding by The Ashley Bindery, of Somerset. Stamped to the rear inner board- 19 AB 81. Full black morocco with multi colour design of two boxed lines in brown morocco across both boards and the spine, with tan, green and red design within each box. The spine is also lettered in gilt. Wood effect endpapers. All edges gilt. Housed in a felt lines chemise with the same wood effect paper on the boards and a black morocco spine, lettered in gilt and with one of the red designs onlaid between the title and authors. This then fits into a felt lined slip case covered with the wood effect paper. A fine and beautiful… Read More

Hurst and Blackett, Successors to Henry Colburn. London. 1862. SECOND ENGLISH EDITION. Three volumes. 8vo. (8 x 5.3 inches). viii,395pp. : viii, 408pp. :viii, 404pp, 8pp publishers adverts. A few minor thumb marks but overall a bright, clean and tight set in the original publishers purple grained cloth bindings. Spines ruled, lettered and decorated in gilt. Boards with ruled and decorative blind stamped borders. Pale green coated endpapers. There are markings to the front boards where Mudie library labels have been carefully removed and there is a list of recent works of fiction in the Mudie select library mounted onto the rear pastedown of the third volume but the superior condition of this set suggests that it was rarely borrowed, and if so, read very carefully. Some mottling to the cloth on the spines but the gilt still bright and vibrant. Hinges are all tight and firm. Some fairly minor bumping to the extremities but overall a very good example of this classic, issued in the same format as the… Read More