Rare books from Michal Sawka Rare & Collectable

London: Theatre Quarterly, 1971. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Two Volumes. 8vo - 8" x 10.2". Finally bounded by The Cordex Modern Bookbinders Ltd. Blackburn. Red leather with gilt titling to the spine. Each volume include four periodicals: Volume I: Jan-Mar 1971, Apr-Jun 1971, Jul-Sep 1971, Oct-Dec 1971; Volume II: Jan-Mar 1972, Apr-Jun 1972, Jul-Sep 1972, Oct-Dec 1972. Text-block edges show slightly browning. Contents clean and firm. Very solid binding. .

London: Hurst and Blackett, 1865. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Vol. I and II. Octavo. Full dark blue levant morocco bindings with fancy gilt turn ins, full bright gilt edges, decorative spine with gilt lozenge design, red leather labels in compartments between raised bands and bound by Holloway. Bookplate on endpaper. Minor brown blemishes to the colour plates and on the pages opposite. Wear to the joints on v.2, front joint is cracked down to the first compartment, otherwise are tender, covers are lightly rubbed with scattered dark blemishes and minor wear to the gilt edges, top corners on both volumes are slightly chipped and bumped. Otherwise both volumes are both firmly bound and in very good condition. 504 & 643 pp. .

Amsterdam: Marc-Michel Rey, 1775. Book. Good+. Hardcover. 1st Edition. 2 volumes bound in one, imperial octavo (210 x 265mm). [4], 160, [2]; 160pp. First French edition, edited by Diderot, complete with all 5 engraved plates (three in the text and two frontispiece), beautiful 65 vignettes, 3 folding plates and 4 folding printed tables. Full calf leather, five raised bands, spine gilt to compartments, gilt title, marbled endpapers, all edges in red. The spine of the leather binding is slightly damaged, minor rubbing on edges and on covers. The first pages have some moisture damage (unobtrusive). The three engravings have been amateurishly restored. No notes and/or tears (apart from aforementioned restorations). Gently creasing on some pages. The writer was the great reformer who, commissioned by the enlightened czarina Catherine II, made education accessible for all children, both boys and girls. In association with Diderot, he presented the French translation of this important book in Amsterdam.… Read More

Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1914. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 8vo. xxiv, 912pp. Finely bound in full morocco, with ornate panel style decoration in gilt and colours, lettering pieces in gilt ('Life, like a dome of many-coloured glass, stains the white radiance of eternity') to a central panel on the rear cover; spine divided into six compartments by raised bands, git lettering pieces on red morocco label in compartment two, repeated gilt decoration in the remainder, gilt top edges, colored endpapers, decorative leather turn ins, illustrated frontispiece. Joints are creased with some wear but not tender; spine is faded to brown, gilt still reasonably bright, rubbed at the head and foot ends; boards are bright with minimal wear to edges and corner. No binder's mark or sticker, unfortunately. Crisp, bright and clean throughout. Stunning binding. .

London: The Times / J.P. Bland [1915], 1914. Book. Good. Hardcover. Collection of The Times Monthly Reviews of the War with the following dates: October 1, 1914 (Campaign in France); November 3, 1914 (Campaign in France and Belgium); December 1, 1914 (The Campaign in Poland); January 5, 1915 (The Advance of the Allies in the West); March 1, 1915 (The War in the West week by week); April 1, 1915 (The British Victories in Flanders. Plan of the Battlefields of Neuve Chapelle and St. Eloi.); May 1, 1915 (The Critical Battlefield in Flanders); June 1, 1915 (The Battlefields of French Artois); July 1, 1915 (In the District of the Somme); August 1, 1915 (Review of the First Year of the War); September 1, 1915 (The New Landing in Gallipoli Peninsula); October 1, 1915 (The German Advance into West Russia); October 6, 1915 (The War Clouds of the Balkans' map + war reports); November 1, 1915 (The Invasion of Serbia); December 1, 1915 (Greece and the Balkan Campaign); January 4, 1916 (The Threatened Invasion of… Read More

London: Macmillan & CO, Limited, 1901. Book. Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Octavo. 20th-century red calf by Bayntun, Bath, five raised bands to spine, titles to blue and green spine labels, gilt tooling in compartments, covers bordered with a double gilt fillet, elaborate decoration to board edges and turn-ins, marbled endpapers, edges gilt. Frontispiece and nine more illustrations in b/w printed on glossy paper. Small sticker and short ink dedication to front endpaper. A fine copy..

London: The Bodley Head, 1955. Book. Illus. by Pauline Baynes. Very Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Octavo. First impression, 'First Published 1955" on the copyright page. Green cloth, silver title to the spine. With 15 full page mono illustrations and numerous in text. Cover slightly soiled by black marks (top and bottom) on the front and rear panel (in the same places), edges slightly tanned, minor foxing on the preliminary and final pages. Original dust jacket not price clipped, front and back flaps stained by sellotape, slightly soiled mostly to the rear panel, minor creased to the front wrap, minor wear along edges, foxing on inside. Nice and fresh copy, bright and firm throughout, with no inscriptions. .

London: John Lane The Bodley Head Limited, 1925. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. vii, 298pp [+14 ads]. 'Cheap edition 1925' stated to the copyright page. Original green cloth, black title to the spine and front cover together with decorated motif in black. Spine slightly faded, little wear to spine ends, pages edges tanned, minimal foxing. Included original dust jacket with some restoration, slightly soiled. Clean and fresh copy. .

London: The Bodley Head, 1974. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Folio (305 x 220mm). Inscribed by Chaplin to the title page:"To Prime Minister and Mrs Wilson - Charlie Chaplin". Harold Wilson was the Prime Minister who, encouraged by Louis Mountbatten, included Chaplin in the 1975 Queen's New Years honours list, conferring upon him the title Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE). The book comes from the collection of Harold and Mary Wilson (included catalogue from the auction as provenance). The book is firmly bound in clean black cloth lettered in white to the spine, the extremities are a little bumped and rubbed. The text block is slightly toned and dusty. The dust jacket is the original, it is price clipped and slightly grubby with some minor nicks, closed tears and rubbing to the edges. With excellent provenance, and an important association with the British Prime Minister who granted Charlie Chaplin the establishment recognition he… Read More

London: Secker & Warburg, 1950. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Fourth Printing. Very Good in an about Very Good jacket, unclipped (10s. net), generally rubbed and toned, a few small chips, creases and closed tears throughout. Green buckram, faded at the spine and edges and with a ghost mark of the text from the jacket on the front board. Firmly bound with a slight forward lean, former owner's information on the front endpaper, clean otherwise. One of the best dystopian novels of all-time, it is the story of Winston Smith and his rebellion against the totalitarian state in which he finds himself..

London: Bloomsbury, 1998. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. First edition, sixth impression, hardback, inscribed by the author 'to Laura - with best wishes - and I like the necklace! J K Rowling', 8vo, original pictorial boards, dust jacket, textblock slightly toned. Provenance: Inscribed for the vendor at a book signing in Edinburgh c.1998; according to her recollection the necklace was made of candy..

Krakow: Wydawnictwo Literackie, 1978. Book. Very Good. Soft cover. Signed by Author(s). Octavo. Signed and inscribed by the author: "Dla Pawla Warmuza - Stanislaw Lem, Kraków 1981." Original pictorial cloth, previous owner's name on the verso of the front free endpaper. Slightly soiled, spine creased, small tear at the spine foot, front corner bumped. Contains 11 stories. This edition of "Opowiadania wybrane" by the prolific science fiction master, Stanislaw Lem, is a literary gem that showcases the timeless storytelling of this renowned author. Published in 1978 by Wydawnictwo Literackie, this collection of selected stories offers readers a captivating journey into Lem's imaginative and thought-provoking worlds. A very good copy, clean and firm..

New York: Scribner, 1999. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. First Edition, first impression with line '1-10' on the copyright page. Signed and inscribed by the author, "With best wishes, Stephen King 9/8/01." Bound in original black and blue cloth with a red title on the spine. Comes with the dust jacket, which is in excellent condition. The book itself is in fantastic shape, with only minor soiling along the edges of the text block."Hearts in Atlantis" is a departure from King's traditional horror genre. Instead, it delves into more subtle and psychological themes, showcasing King's versatility as a writer. "Hearts in Atlantis" was adapted into a film released in cinemas in 2001, with the main role played by Anthony Hopkins..

London: Head of Zeus Ltd, 2021. Book. Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. Signed and limited edition: 6 volumes in total, including The Remembrance of Earth's Past Trilogy (The Three-Body Problem; The Dark Forest; Death's End), along with The Redemption of Time, Hold Up The Sky, and Of Ants and Dinosaurs. All books are signed by the author, with the volume The Redemption of Time additionally signed by the translator. The book are in pristine condition. .

New York: Scholastic Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). 1st Edition. First US edition, copyright page with number line from 10 to 1. Signed by author on title page, certified with the official hologram as called for (bearing the 21/07/07 date). .