Search Results: Authors starting with J from Ash Rare Books

London : H. F.& G. Witherby, (1975). First edition. Includes individual chapters on the finest of the nineteenth-century ornithological illustrators - William Swainson, Edward Lear, John Gould, Henry Leonard Meyer, Josef Wolf, Joseph Smit, John Gerrard Keulemans, Edward Neale, William Foster, Claude Wilmott Wyatt, Frederick William Frohawk, Henrik Grönvold, Archibald Thorburn, and George Edward Lodge - with a preliminary essay, bibliography, index, etc. Crown 4to (26cm). (134),[ii]pp. Fourteen colour plates. Original cloth; mild marking to endpapers, but a very good copy in a just lightly bruised dust-jacket.

London : Hurst & Blackett, 1885. First edition. The earliest history of the subject, tracing the illustrated periodical from the earliest English news-books to the Victorian illustrated newspapers and magazines. Compiled by Mason Jackson, himself a notable engraver and art editor of the "Illustrated London News" for nearly twenty years. Demy 8vo (23cm). xii,(364)pp. Numerous illustrations and facsimiles. Original decorative cloth gilt, expertly repaired, restored and refurbished; a few faint marks, but a very good copy. W. H. Smith Library blind-stamp on front free endpaper.

London : Charles Knight & Co., 1839. First edition. A monumental and attractive treatise on the whole history and practice of wood-engraving, with much on the antiquity of the process, the age of Durer, the revival under Thomas Bewick, the precise techniques and tools employed, etc. Jackson had served part of his apprenticeship under Bewick himself and was one of the finest practitioners of his time. His collaborator, William Andrew Chatto (father of the publisher), also wrote on the history of playing-cards, etc. Elephant 8vo (161 x 174mm). xvi,(750),[ii]pp. Seven plates, some coloured, including a Baxter print of Ovingham and a double-page "patent illuminated map" of Jerusalem by William Hughes. Numerous wood engravings in text, some coloured. Bound in a smart later (late twentieth-century) half calf; marbled sides and endpapers; text a little shaken, but firm in binding; a few slight marks, but overall a very good copy. Occasional interesting pencilled annotation from a widely-read and… Read More

London : Chiswick Press, 1891. Second edition. First published in 1887, but "much useful matter has [now] been added, and an attempt has been made to classify it". Jacobi was manager of the Chiswick Press and provides much useful advice. With chapters on the Composing Room; Machine and Press Work; Inks, Varnishes, etc.; Warehouse Work and Stationery; Mucilages; Stereotyping and Electrotyping; Lithography; Engraving and Process Work; Bookbinding, etc. Crown 8vo (19cm). (xiv),360,[viii]pp. Original cloth; expertly rebacked, repaired and refurbished, retaining the original cloth spine; some wear; pervasive mild stain to upper corners, almost throughout; a few leaves slightly chipped, but a good, working copy.

London : George Bell & Sons, 1893. A reissue of the original 1890 edition, with a cancel title and inserted advertisements dated 1895. Jacobi was manager of the Chiswick Press and provides a comprehensive illustrated survey, with sections on types, composition and distribution, reading, press-work, motive power, machine printing, warehouse work, etc. Includes a glossary. Foolscap 8vo (19cm). xviii,302,[x] + [iv],(12)pp inserted advertisements. Over 150 illustrations. Tables. Original cloth; some minor wear; endpapers starting; a touch shaken; some small marks, creases and general signs of age and use, but a good and serviceable copy.

Glasgow : McKenzie Vincent & Co., [ca.1950]. First edition. Murder on the outskirts of St Albans - Scotland Yard is called in. Crown 8vo (19cm). 96pp. Plan. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few slight creases; staples much rusted with attendant discolouration; small sticker removed from rear wrapper; a good copy of an uncommon production. Just a single copy (National Library of Scotland) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : W. Collins Sons & Co., (1917). First edition : one of just 2,000 copies. James mauling the plutocrats and laissez-faire capitalism - a novel unfinished at the time of his death, but here concluded with his extensive working notes, as well a perceptive preface by Percy Lubbock. "Nearer than anything else we possess to a living image of the creative process itself" (Manchester Guardian). Post 8vo (21cm). (viii),(348)pp. Photogravure portrait frontispiece by Emil Otto Hoppé (1878-1972). Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt; spine a touch darkened; minor wear at tips; a few slight marks; mild tanning of endpapers; some spotting, mainly of edges, but still a good copy.

London : Methuen & Co., 1903. First edition : in the variant and possibly secondary blue binding. Eleven short stories - "Mr. James's best sort ... nearly every story contains an idea of real power and interest" (Westminster Gazette, 21st March 1903). A copy from the library of Sir Stephen Spender (1909-1995), with his occasional pencil markings. Spender's "The Destructive Element" (1935) remains one of the most interesting and influential studies of James and his contemporaries. Crown 8vo (20cm). [viii],312pp. Original blue cloth, ruled in gilt and blind, and lettered in gilt; a little rubbed and slightly marked, but a good copy with an interesting provenance. With the earlier ownership inscription of G. Hastings, and with a facsimile of the Stephen & Natasha Spender bookplate designed by John Craxton neatly inserted.

London : William Heinemann, 1899. First edition : [one of 2,000 copies]. Eighteen-year-old Nanda enters the decadent fin-de-siècle marriage market - "We begin by being afraid that we shall not understand enough, we end by fearing that we may understand too much ... It is a strong book, but there is one thing greater than its strength, and that is its audacity" (Morning Post, 29th June 1899). A copy from the library of Sir Stephen Spender (1909-1995). Spender's "The Destructive Element" (1935) remains one of the most interesting and influential studies of James and his contemporaries. Crown 8vo (20cm). vi,414,[ii] + [32]pp. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt and decorated in blind with an art-nouveau iris design; some very mild rubbing; a few internal marks and spots; a handful of leaves roughly opened, but otherwise a very good copy with an interesting provenance. With the earlier ownership inscription of Mary Lillias Johnston, the small bookseller's label of R. J. Porteus & Co. of Newcastle,… Read More

London : Faber & Faber, (1977). First edition. A young girl found murdered in East Anglia, but then a second death at the forensic laboratory investigating the case - Commander Dalgleish is called in. "One of the most unusual and puzzling cases of his career". Post 8vo (21cm). [vi],(266)pp. Original red boards, ruled and lettered in gilt; a few slight marks; small erasure from foot of title-page, but otherwise a very good copy in the Terry Trott dust-jacket - the spine lettering of the jacket sunned, as usual, but otherwise very good, clean and unworn.

Barnsley : Remember When, (2008). First edition. "Exotic dancer Maud Allan saves the London Olympics from certain failure. 90,000 people fill the previously empty stadium to see the biggest celebrity of the day ... Standing beside her was her lover, the PM's wife Margot Asquith". The story of the sensational libel trial brought against the famous dancer Maud Allan (1873-1956) in 1918, a case which threatened to bring down the British establishment. Medium 8vo (25cm). 480pp. Plates. Portraits. Original black boards, blocked and lettered in gilt; a very good copy in a just faintly used dust-jacket.

London : Cambridge University Press, 1972. First edition. A study of this distinctive style, with material on the gothic background, the social setting, origins, styles, embossing machines, materials, etc, with an illustrated catalogue of sixty-two examples, with indices of names, publishers, etc. Cambridge Bibliographical Society Monograph No.7. Crown 4to (26cm). viii,(96)pp. Plates. Original wrappers; lower wrapper a little creased and slightly nicked; top edge a touch dusty, but a good and serviceable copy.

London : S. D. Frances, [1950]. First edition. Interesting not least for a fascinating tongue-in-cheek passage at the end of the first chapter where a forward young woman lectures Hank on spanking, perversion, frustration and sublimation. Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial wrappers - a design by Reginald Heade - willowy redhead at her dressing-table looks over her shoulder at a hatted man caught in her hand-mirror; minor wear at tips; staples a little rusted; tiny crease to title-page, but a very good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide. Williams & Holland 17.

London : S. D. Frances, [1950]. First edition. Hank is taken off a big story to fly to St. Louis - there is a reason. The scarce second book of the second series. The book attracted forty-nine destruction orders (Holland. p.322). Later republished under the Roberts & Vinter imprint as "Play It Quiet" in 1962. Crown 8vo (19cm). (3)-128,[ii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - a Heade blonde in bonds, heels and little else; some very minor wear to tips and edges; a touch of rusting to staples; a few trifling marks, but a very good copy of a scarce and fragile publication. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : New Fiction Press, [1951]. First edition. The first of the "silver" Jansons - all that can be seen of the original Reginald Heade cover design is a splash of purple sheet, the tip of a shoe and a few hairs from the top of the half-naked brunette's head. The original artwork (saucy even by Heade's standards) was silvered over prior to publication on account of increasing attention from the authorities. Later republished under the Alexander Moring imprint as "Don't Scare Easy" in 1958. "One of the three or four best books by Janson" (John Fraser). Crown 8vo (19cm). 125,[iii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; just a touch of wear at foot; a few very faint marks, but a very good copy indeed. Only the British Library copy located on COPAC. Williams & Holland 32.

London : S. D. Frances, [1950]. Originally published in 1948 and here in an early reprint - the second full-length Hank Janson title, and probably definitive in terms of fully establishing his modes of characterisation, gritty dialogue and overall style. "Sheila was disguised as a boy until another fella tried to strip away her pants. That started a rumpus which involved the important citizens". The subject of forty-seven destruction orders from local magistrates. Crown 8vo (18cm). (112)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - a leggy blonde in stockings and disarray by Reginald Heade; some slight wear and bruising; a few marks; staples rusting; text a little tanned, but otherwise a very good and sound copy of an elusive early title.

London : S. D. Frances, [1950]. First edition. "Every year there's fifty-five thousand people listed as missing in Chicago alone ... That's why I'm writing this story. The inside story of Judge Pearson. Not the story of what happened to him when he disappeared. But the much more revealing story of what happened earlier and why Judge Pearson disappeared at all". Crown 8vo (19cm). 126,[ii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - an Amazonian Heade redhead in unlikely attire; slightly chipped at foot; some mild creasing and wear; a few faint marks on rear wrapper; faint spotting of edges; some mild tanning, but a good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : S. D. Frances, [1949]. First edition. A mystery phone-call from a voice like velvet to the Chicago Chronicle news-desk sets the wheels in motion. The first book in the Second Series - advertised as "the most sexciting best-sellers of today". The subject of forty-four destruction orders from local magistrates (Holland p.320). Later republished under the Roberts & Vinter imprint as "Prey for a Newshawk" in 1961. Crown 8vo (19cm). (5)-132pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - a Reginald Heade blonde bound and gagged; some minor wear; slight mark to spine; diagonal crease and a few other slight creases to front wrapper; staples rusted, but otherwise a very good copy of a scarce early title. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : George Turton (Publishers), [1959]. First edition. Journalist Hank gets beaten up investigating a spate of industrial strikes and disputes - then a union boss's secretary comes to see him - "There can be something very revealing about the way a dame puts herself into a chair". Printed in Paris. Crown 8vo (18cm). (160)pp. Original pictorial wrappers; a few minor signs of use, but a very good copy. Just two copies (Bibliothèque Nationale and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : New Fiction Press, [1952]. First edition. Interesting in bringing into the plot the Basque game of Fron-Ton (pelota). Although the original Heade artwork (bosomy redhead in state of undress) was replaced before publication by a slightly toned-down but very knowing strawberry-blonde (again from Heade - see Holland pp.90-91) - the novel still managed to be the subject of eleven local authority destruction orders (Holland p.323). The penultimate book in the Third Series - later republished as "Lose This Gun" under the Alexander Moring imprint in 1958. Crown 8vo (19cm). 125,[iii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some minor wear and slight creasing; a few slight marks, but a very good copy. Just two copies (British Library and National Library of Scotland) located in major libraries worldwide.