Search Results: Authors starting with V from Ash Rare Books

Manchester : Privately Printed, [1887]. First edition. A tour of the methods of engraving - wood-engraving, dot manner, line engraving, chiaro-oscuro, etching, soft-ground etching, dry-point, mezzotint, aquatint, stipple, Blake's manner, etc. - with reference to the great masters. The presidential address to the Birkenhead Literary & Scientific Society, Session XXXI, 1887-1888. Demy 8vo (23cm). [viii],106,[iv]pp. Five collotype plates. Original stiff card wrappers, top edge gilt; floral cotton endpapers; a few faint spots, but a very good copy in the original parchment dust-jacket, printed in red and black, and with a design by Thomas Bewick on the upper panel; the parchment a little soiled and discoloured.- but still attractive.

London : Edwin Self & Co., [ca.1952]. First edition. "A fascinating story of the modern Paris underworld with all the romantic and glamorous aspects of life with artist's models and midinettes" from "one of the newest successes in modern French literature". This and the rest of the authorial biography - poor boy from Montmartre, served with the Maquis, imprisoned by the Gestapo - is all a complete fiction. Valois was the pseudonym of Lisle Willis, ex-RAF English school-teacher, local councillor and prospective parliamentary candidate. Both he and his publisher, Edwin Self, were tried on bizarre obscenity charges in 1954 and, even more bizarrely, found guilty. Self went to prison, Willis heavily fined and barred for life from teaching (he went into television). For an excellent account of the whole affair see Steve Holland's "The Big Panic : The Story of Edwin Self and Pedigree Books". Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers in a design by Leonard Potts; some wear and creasing;… Read More

Edinburgh : Oliver & Boyd / London : Simpkin & Marshall, 1832. First edition. Selected Latin passages, moving on from simple constructions (nominative and verb, adjective and substantive, etc.), to longer and increasingly more complex anecdotes, maxims, and fables, etc., followed by an extensive vocabulary. Generally attributed to the schoolmaster Richard Valpy, said to have been "a mighty flogger", whose large and impressive library was dispersed at auction in 1832. Post 12mo (171 x 102mm). [iv],(224)pp. Contemporary full sheep; sprinkled edges; some minor rubbing and slight wear to corners; a few slight marks, but internally clean and sound, and barring the presence of a number of pencil marks, looking virtually unused. A very good copy of a standard text which remained in print throughout the century.

Charlottesville : for the Folger Shakespeare Library, by the University Press of Virginia, (1970). First edition. A thorough, extensive and richly illustrated study of Hollar and his milieu, presenting a fresh interpretation of the man himself. "He has left an invaluable record of seventeenth-century England". Royal 4to (28cm). (xiv),122pp. Folding plates. Numerous illustrations. Original canvas; top edge a touch dusty, but otherwise a very good copy in the dust-jacket - the jacket a little tanned, lightly worn and reinforced at tips.

London : Phoenix Press, [ca.1950]. First edition. "Doris Devereaux tossed her shingled, blonde head defiantly and there was a look of obstinacy in her deep blue eyes. Doris was a remarkably pretty girl" - and she wanted to go on the stage. Her bachelor uncle and guardian, himself not averse to the company of actresses and chorus girls, raises objections. Published from Phoenix's post-1949 Kennington Lane address. Crown 8vo (19cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - an unsigned design by H. W. Perl; lightly rubbed and creased, with a couple of tiny chips; staples rusting; text a little tanned, but a good, solid copy of a scarce book. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

Cleveland : Kaywin Publishers, (1951). First American edition. June and Lorna share a London flat - Lorna shameless, mercenary and sordid, her sister quite the reverse - "sinister side-streets of Soho and the garish glamour of London night clubs". Originally published by Archer in the UK the previous year. Archer Book 52. Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - Reginald Heade in top form; spine lightly discoloured in a couple of places; minor creasing to upper wrapper; a touch of rust to the staples, but still a very good copy. Just a single copy (Bowling Green) of this edition located in major libraries worldwide.

London : Modern Fiction, [1949]. First edition. Pretty secretary Claire Norton, orphaned in the war, sexually harassed from her last job, lands a new position with celebrated author "John Mallory" - who turns out to be a Joan Mallory, with a handsome artist nephew. Passport required for a new world of Biarritz, Cauterets, Pau and the Pyrenees. Crown 8vo (19cm). 64pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - an H. W. Perl blonde seemingly inspired by Marlene Dietrich; lightly rubbed; tiny chip at foot; 3cm chip to the slightly dusty rear wrapper, with the loss of a few letters; text lightly tanned, with some faint spotting to the outer leaves; but a good copy of an uncommon title. Just a single copy (British Library) traced in major libraries worldwide.

Stoke-on-Trent : Archer Press, (1950). First edition. "After what you have done to me ... kill me!" is the teaser tag on the cover - a torrid tale of girlish indiscretion, marital disillusion, passion and deceit. "The wages of sin are sometimes even worse than death" sententiously adds the back cover. Somewhat incongruously set in a respectable London suburb - Wimbledon, I think, from memory (McKeag was living in Clapham at the time) - but this versatile author in top form, abetted by a sensational cover-design by Reginald Heade (1901-1957), finest of all the pulp-artists - and one of his very best. Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; American price over-printed on upper wrapper; "Printed in England" stamp on title and copyright sticker on verso; a few faint signs of age; text a touch tanned, but a very good copy of a scarce and fragile item. Just two copies (British Library and Trinity College, Dublin) located in major libraries worldwide.

Cleveland : Kaywin Publishers, (1951). First American edition. "Love, luxury, and lust in Latin America" - the white slave trade exposed. Originally published by Archer in the UK in 1950. Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - a saucy trio of chorus girls from Reginald Heade; small chip at head; repairs to spine splits; some light wear; small corner chip to front wrapper; larger chip to back wrapper, but overall still a good copy. No copy of this edition traced in any major library worldwide.

Stoke-on-Trent : Archer Press, [1949]. Second edition of an early Vane, first published in 1926. "The most daring exposure ever written of the world's wickedest city" - the lure of Montmartre, among the Apaches, black women and white men, gambling dens, tempting English girlhood, and more. Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - an unsigned design apparently by Reginald Heade; some very minor wear, a tiny nick and a few faint creases; a few edge spots; one staple a little rusted, but overall a very good copy. Just two copies of this edition (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

London : Phoenix Press, [ca.1946]. First edition. As they arrive in Paris, Madge Bradley rather regrets having become travelling companion to the fat, ugly, flashily-dressed, and intolerably rich widow, Mrs Brent. Published by Phoenix from their mid-1940s Deacon Street address. Crown 8vo (19cm). [96]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers - redhead, pink heels, wine and cigarettes - a typical design by H. W. Perl - Hyman Woolf Perlzweig (1897-1952); minor wear; some creasing; staples a touch rusted; text lightly tanned, but a very good copy of a very uncommon title. No copy of any edition located in major libraries worldwide.

London : Villiers Publications, (1960). First edition. Inscribed to Terence Haywood and signed by John Varney on the half-title. A collection of over 100 poems, including "Small Town Boy", "Manhattan Solaces", "Mavericks", "Leadbelly", "Irrevocably Local", "Liberals and Spain", "Rollcall of Illiterates", "I Bet on New Horses", etc. Demy 8vo (23cm). 188pp. Original blue cloth, lettered in gilt; slight spotting of edges, but a very good copy in the original dust-jacket - a design in red and black on off-white - just slightly nicked, but also very good.

London : Map Collectors' Circle, 1971. First edition. A listing of the 186 maps produced by John Arrowsmith (1790-1873) for the R.G.S. between 1832 and 1872, with an introductory essay, etc. Map Collectors' Series No. 76. Crown 4to (25cm). (36)pp. Original stapled wrappers; very faintly bruised and sunned, but a good copy.

London : Mellifont Press, [1952]. Third edition. Jimmy Holland, son of a wealthy member of the cabinet, shocks his father by becoming "a common policeman" (or at least a detective inspector). Originally published by Wright & Brown in 1939 and by Mellifont in 1943. Mellifont 4300. Crown 8vo (18cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; split across spine near staple; light wear and short split at foot; light creasing and tanning, but a good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

London : Mellifont Press, [1957]. Third edition. Successful crime writer needs 40,000 words by Saturday morning and it's already Wednesday - and his feckless brother desperately needs £2,000. Originally published by Wright & Brown in 1938, with an earlier Mellifont edition in 1944. Mellifont M44. Crown 8vo (18cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some light wear and marking; text a little tanned, but a good copy. Ownership inscription on upper wrapper. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

[London : Sir Isaac Pitman & Sons, 1939]. First edition. A comprehensive view of the world of the pre-war sweet-shop, toffee-hammers, dorothy bags and coconut ice - with material on stock, ordering, window displays (with some wonderful plates), serving, staff, accounts, fitting and layout, tax, insurance, and the additional lines (cigarettes, ice cream, biscuits and books - with eleven pages on running a library). Demy 8vo (23cm). [iv],332,[iv]pp. Plates. Diagrams, Tables, two folding. Original cloth; some minor spotting to edges and lower cover, but overall a very good copy.

London : Streamline Publications, [ca.1955]. Second edition : a variant with a cover price of 1/- and an advertisement for eleven romance stories on the lower wrapper. "Through the curse of a tortured slave, a terrible fate threatened every male Craig", but there is nothing supernatural about the bullet which killed Roger Craig. Inspector Brummel has been looking for a clue for years. First published by Wright & Brown in 1953. Crown 8vo (19cm). 112pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; very slightly frayed; staples rusted; a little worn and creased; a few minor marks and small flaws, but otherwise a very good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

London : Streamline Publications, [ca.1955]. Second edition : a variant with a cover price of 9d and an advertisement for Apal on the lower wrapper. "Through the curse of a tortured slave, a terrible fate threatened every male Craig", but there is nothing supernatural about the bullet which killed Roger Craig. Inspector Brummel has been looking for a clue for years. First published by Wright & Brown in 1953. Crown 8vo (19cm). 112pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little chipped, creased and frayed; staples rusted; some internal spotting, but a serviceable copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

London : Herbert Jenkins, [ca.1932]. A reprint in Jenkins' "Shilling Library" format. Clare Charters, famous actress, and a question over the timing of her husband's death. First published in 1925. Foolscap 8vo (18cm). 312pp. Original orange boards, lettered, ruled and decorated in black; a little worn, slight nick at head of spine; but a nice copy in the original dust-jacket - shadow of a gun on a clock-face - rubbed, chipped and slightly repaired but still attractive.

London : Agenda Editions, 1971. First edition : one of 100 numbered copies (of 400) on hand-made paper, signed by the translator, the poet Peter Dale. Seven verse translations from Villon. Printed at the Poets' and Painters' Press. Demy 8vo (23cm). (30),[ii]pp. Original pale grey stiff wrappers, lettered in red and black; slightly bruised; a few faint marks; very small sticker removed from lower wrapper, but overall a very good and unopened copy.