Rare books from Rooke Books

London: Methuen, 1928. First edition. Leather. Fine. 8" by 5". E. H. Shepherd. A beautifully bound first edition copy of A A Milne's noted story collection 'House at Pooh Corner'. A fine copy of this work, housed in a custom slipcase. In a custom binding by The Cottage Bindery, Bath. With their stamp to the rear endpaper. A charming vellum binding, with Winnie the Pooh, Christopher Robin and Piglet playing Pooh Sticks to the front board. A silhouette of Winnie the Pooh and Christopher Robin to the rear board. In a custom slipcase, with a panel from the original cloth laid the front of the slipcase. The first edition of this work. A finely bound, extremely clean first edition copy of this beloved children's work. Internally the work remains unblemished. Charmingly illustrated, with the noted pen and ink drawings by E H Shepard. Milne was a prolific author and is now best-remembered for his creation of Winnie-The-Pooh and his many friends. 'The House at Pooh corner' is the second… Read More

London: Black, Young and Young, 1831-2. Leather. Very Good. 11" by 8.5". None. An attractive first UK edition of this famous dictionary, in a uniform leather binding. The first UK edition, reprinted by E H Barker from a copy communicated by the author and containing manuscript corrections and additions. Complete in two volumes. 'Intended to exhibit I. The origin and affinities of every English word. II. The orthography and the pronunciation of words. III. Accurate and discriminating definitions. To which are prefixed an introductory dissertation on the origin, history, and connection of the languages of western Asia and of Europe; and a concise grammar.' With an ink inscription that states 'Given to Wm Layton Lowndes' who has charmingly unabbreviated some column heading works in the text. Webster's Dictionary, which first appeared in 1828 in America, has remained the standard dictionary in the United States. Webster's Dictionary sought to differentiate itself from the standard English… Read More

Philadelphia: Carey & Lea, 1832. First edition. Cloth. Good. 8" by 4.5". None. A scarce, first American edition of Jane Austen's final novel. In the publisher's original binding, and with the scarce adverts. Complete with the often missing publisher's catalogue to the rear of the first volume for Carey and Lea. These volumes are in the publisher's original binding, and held in a very bright custom slipcase. A scarce edition of Jane Austen's final novel. Persuasion was first published in England six months after Austen's death. It concerns Anne Elliot, the 27 year old protagonist whose family moves to lower their expenses. This novel is often regarded as Austen's most maturely written novel. Upon initial publication this work received moderate success, but its fame came later into the nineteenth century and continued onward to the twentieth and twenty-first centuries. Gilson (B3) notes that 'relatively few copies of the 1832-1833 Philadelphia editions are known to survive'. Austen's novels… Read More

London: Encyclopaedia Office, 1811-1821. Leather. Very Good Indeed. 11.5" by 9". None. A scarce, six volume set of John Wilkes' noted encyclopaedia. First edition of these uniformly bound volumes. Comprising volume IX dated 1811,volume XIV dated 1816, volume XV dated 1817, volume XVI dated 1819, volume XVII dated 1820, and volume XVIII dated 1821.With 139 plates to volume I  72 to volume II, 56 plates to volume XV, 65 plates to volume XVI, 57 plates to XVII, 49 plates to volume XVIII. Collated, volume XV is lacking two plates. With sections on heraldry, biography, horticulture, natural history, musics, optics, mineralogy.  In a half calf binding, with cloth covered boards. Externally, generally smart. Light rubbing to the head and tail of spine and to the raised bands. Small loss to the head of spine to volume IX. Internally, all volumes are firmly bound. Pages are bright. Chips to the occasional edges. Closed tears to pages 483-484 of volume XV, Very Good Indeed

New York: Dodd, Mead and Company, 1930. Cloth. Fine/Very Good Indeed. 7.5" by 5". None. The first U.S edition of this important Agatha Christie novel. Being the first appearance of Christie's favourite detective creation, Miss Marple. Extremely scarce, with the publisher's original dustwrapper, which is a rare survival. The first novel to feature Christie's famous elderly amateur detective, Miss Marple. Previously Marple had featured in some short stories published in The Royal Magazine and Story Teller Magazine. Marple was based on Christie's own step-grandmother and her cronies.The Murder at The Vicarage follows the amateur detective Miss Marple in this whodunit novel. A story of the 'village mystery' genre, Marple solves the murder of despised villager Colonel Lucius Protheroe who is found murdered in the vicar's study. Agatha Christie is one of the most prolific crime writers of the twentieth century and her work consists of 66 detective novels, 150 short stories and 19 plays; she is the writer… Read More

London: Nonesuch Press, 1929-1933. First edition. Leather. Near Fine. 9.5" by 6.5". None. A fantastic, bright set of this Nonesuch limited edition of William Shakespeare's works. The first edition of this Nonesuch set.A super set with much more even colour than usually seen. With the text based on the first folio, with quarto variants and a selection of modern readings. It follows the text of the First Folio faithfully, in its misprints and intermittent use of a comma for a full stop at the close of an uninterrupted speech. The editors note describes in detail the intention and treatment regarding substantive errors between the early editions. Numbered 60 of 1600 copies of this work, which have been designed by Francis Meynell and printed by Walter Lewis, printer to the University at the Cabmbridge University Press. The Nonesuch Press specialised in limited edition and private press. They were founded by Francis Meynell, his second wife Vera Mendel and their friend David Garnett. Their aspiration… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1959. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. 7.5" by 5". None. A very smart first edition copy of the seventh James Bond novel. With the original Richard Chopping dustwrapper in a fantastic condition. With the original dustwrapper which is price-clipped. Restoration to the head of the spine to the dustwrapper, which is near imperceptible. The seventh James Bond novel, which sees the development of James Bond's character. Bond is presented as a more complex individual than in the previous novels. Upon its release 'Goldfinger' went to the top of the best-seller lists. It was also adapted into the third Bond film. A first edition of this novel, in a fantastic condition. In the publisher's original cloth binding. With original dustwrapper, which is price-clipped. Externally, in an excellent condition with minor shelfwear to the extremities. Dustwrapper is also in an excellent condition due to restoration to the head of the spine. The Restoration is nearly imperceptible and… Read More

Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black, 1877-1879. Leather. Very Good. 7" by 4.5". Unnamed. A charming set complete in forty eight volumes with the illustrated edition of Sir Walter Scott's novels. The illustrated edition complete in forty eight novels. Comprising Waverley, Guy Mannering, The Antiquary, Rob Roy, Old Mortality, The Heart of Midlothian, A Legend of Montrose, Bride of Lammermoore, Ivanhoe, The Monastery, The Abbot, Kenilworth, The Pirate, Fortunes of Nigel, Peveril the Peak, Quentin Durward, St. Ronan's Well, Redgautlet, The Betrothed, The Talisman, Woodstock, The Highland and Widow, Two Drovers &c, The Maid of Perth, Anne of Geierstein, Count Robert of Paris, Castle Dangerous, amd The Surgeon's Daughter. The 'Waverley Novels,' also known as the 'Abbotsford series,' is a collection of novels by popular author Sir Walter Scott. The series was named after Sir Walcot Scott's home, where he also died in 1832. Waverley was Scott's first novel, published anonymously in 1814 when he… Read More

London: Chapman and Hall, 1837 . First edition. Leather. Very Good. 9" by 6". Phiz [Hablot Knight Browne]; R. Seymor; Buss. The first edition in book form of Charles Dickens' first and immensely popular novel. With many first issue points present, and containing the two suppressed Buss plates. The first edition in book form of Charles Dickens' first novel, initially published serially over the course of twenty months. In a half calf signed binding from Bickers.The first edition in book form, mixed but very early issue. With the issue points: 'Veller' to the sign on the engraved title page; five lines of footnotes to page 9; with mark between 'r' and 'u' in 'rum' in the last line of page 10; with the last 'e' of page 17 broken; with the signature 'E' present to the tail of pages 25 and 27; without the parenthesis in lines 14 and 15 from the bottom of page 34; with the quotation mark indistinct before 'Sir' in the ninth line of page 244; line 29 of page 260 reading 'hodling' for 'holding'; page 261… Read More

London: S. O. Beeton, 1861. First edition. Leather. Very Good. 7.5" by 5". Not Stated. The first edition, first impression of this important and comprehensive work on household management and cooking by Mrs Isabella Beeton. The first edition, first impression of this work, with 18 Bouverie St stated to the illustrated title page, and the farmyard frontispiece.Illustrated with a colour frontispiece, colour illustrated title page, twelve colour plates, and in-text engravings. Collated and complete.Isabella Beeton's comprehensive guide to cookery, with a wide variety of recipes, advice for the organisation of kitchens and larders, marketing, and a calendar of food in season. She also gave advice on table decorations, how to wait a table, how to set a table, and how to carve meats and fish. Some of the recipes included vary from meat, poultry, salads, tarts, cold sweets, sandwiches, bread, jams, and icing. This is an interesting look at life in a Victorian household, and the running of it.Beeton's work… Read More

London: The Hogarth Press, 1927. First edition. Cloth. Very Good. 8" by 6". None. The first edition of one of Virginia Woolf's most influential works, published by the Hogarth Press. The first edition, first impression, with no further impressions stated. Lacking the Vanessa Bell dust wrapper.To the Lighthouse tells the story of the Ramsay family and their trip to Isle of Skye. The work is a masterpiece of modernist writing with the plot really taking second place to the metaphysical themes. Written by the Bloomsbury author Virginia Woolf, a central figure of the literary group, herself known for her experimental writings and affair with fellow author Vita Sackville-West. Published by the Hogarth Press, the Bloomsbury publishing house founded ran by Leonard and Virginia Woolf. The press was founded in the interwar period, as printing became a hobby for the couple, diverting Virginia when her writing became too stressful. Both Woolfs' taught themselves to use a printing press, publishing 527 titles… Read More

Dublin: Thomas Ewing, 1775. First edition. Leather. Very Good. 10.5" by 8.5". None. A striking and important edition of Samuel Johnson's dictionary of the English language, the first complete edition to be printed in Ireland. The first edition thus, being the first quarto edition and first complete edition printed in Ireland. This printing is based on the fourth London folio edition of 1773, a conclusive edition which was the only one for which Johnson provided any additions or corrections.ESTC citation number T117233.Complete in two volumes. List of subscribers to the front of Volume I. Collated, complete.'A Dictionary of the English Language' is one of the most influential dictionaries in the history of the English language, and was the pre-eminent English dictionary under the 'Oxford English Dictionary' was completed one-hundred and seventy-three years after Johnson's was published.Johnson took around seven years to complete this dictionary, and worked on it single-handedly.'A History of the… Read More

London: Martin Secker , 1927-30. Cloth. Near Fine. 7" by 5" . None. The handsome Adelphi edition of Jane Austen's works, uniformly bound in the original cloth. The Adelphi edition. Complete in seven volumes. All volumes are first thus, with the exception of 'Mansfield Park', 'Pride and Prejudice', and, 'Lady Susan and The Watsons', which are second impression. Rare to see uniformly bound in the publisher's original full cloth binding with gilt lettering. Each volume is complete with it's half title page. This set comprises of: "Sense and Sensibility", one of Austen's most famous works, this novel follows the lives of the three Dashwood sisters as they are forced to move from their childhood estate, in search of a new home. "Pride and Prejudice", Austen's famous novel of manners. The story follows Elizabeth Bennett as she learns the difference between superficial goodness and genuine goodness. This work is one of the most popular novels in English literature,… Read More

London: Oxford University Press, 1936-1958. Cloth. Fine/Very Good. 9" by 6". Not Stated. Four early edition works of the American anthropologist, Walter Evans-Wentz, regarding Tibetan Buddhism. Four works by Walter Evans-Wentz regarding Tibetan Buddhism. Evans-Wentz was an American anthropologist and leading scholar in the study of Tibetan Buddhism, best known for his English translation of 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead', which is included in this collection. Each volume is bound in the original green cloth binding with gilt detail, alongside the original dust wrappers. Each dust wrapper is unclipped, excluding, 'Tibet's Great Yogi Milarepa'. The half title pages are present in each volume. This collection consists of: 'The Tibetan Book of the Dead', the second impression of the first edition. With a foreword by Sir John Woodroffe. The Tibetan Book of the Dead, also known as 'The Bardo Thodol', is an important text from the teachings of Karma Lingpa, describing the journey of… Read More

London: Heinemann, 1964-1980. First edition. Cloth. Near Fine/Very Good. 8.5" by 5.5". None. A large collection of novels from Wilbur Smith, two of which are signed by the author. The set includes his debut novel When the Lion Feeds. Fourteen volumes. First edition. Both Wild Justice and A Falcon Flies are signed by the author to the title page with the inscription "For Trevor, with best wishes, Wilbur Smith." Written by Wilbur Smith, a Northern Rhodesian-born British-South African novelist known for his historical fiction centered around Southern Africa across four centuries. Trained as an accountant Smith published a total of forty-nine books in his lifetime, selling over 140 million copies worldwide. His debut novel, When the Lion Feeds, which gained him a film contract and allowed him to become a full-time writer. This set includes: When the Lion Feeds, 1964. First edition, second impression. Reprinted before publication. The Dark of the Sun, 1965.… Read More