Rare books from Shelley and Son Books

London: Chapman and Hall, 1881. Hardcover. Very Good +. In 1881 Chapman and Hall produced a set of the Works of Charles Dickens, limited to 1000 copies. Generally it was 30 volumes but a few were "30 volumes bound as 60." This set has 60 volumes and is number 34 of 1000.The set contains extra illustrations and four hand colored illustrations in the Christmas volume.Three quarter leather on marbleized boards. Spines are hubbed and contain gilt floral decoration as well as author/title in gilt. Uncut fore edge. The condition is marvelous. Minor shelf wear on some bottom edges and a bit of spine wear. The image shown only shows about half the set, please ask for more photos to see more. Due to the size and weight of this set, an additional shipping charge will apply. Please note that set will be delivered in multiple boxes, which will arrive with "signature required" upon delivery.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, Various . First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good . The Outward Bound Edition complete in 36 volumes. Various dates of publication from 1897 to 1937. Original publisher's 3/4 morocco with blue marbled boards. Spine in six compartments of raised bands and gilt floral motifs. Gilt text in compartments two & three. Top edges gilt. Edges are uncut. Marbled end-papers. Volumes 32- 33 an 34 have considerable wear on the boards with some areas completely worn off.The Outward Bound edition was published in installments between 1897 until the end of Kipling?s life in 1936. The complete set eventually included 36 volumes. However variations appeared in the printing over the years. Text published in two volumes in earlier printings was combined into single volumes to save money on the part of the publishers. The published letters of Rudyard Kipling (2004) indicate that Kipling often disapproved of the cost-saving measures of Scribner's, preferring that… Read More

London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1945. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good +. 0x0x0. Signed by Lewis. SIGNED FIRST EDITION. This is the third book in Lewis' cosmic trilogy and he acknowledges debt to Olaf Stapledon. Lewis considered it a book fiction that correlated to his nonfiction book Abolition of Man. This story takes place on earth and thus some people are reluctant to call this trilogy by Lewis a "space" trilogy. Brown 31. Hooper 16. Black cloth boards with gilt text on the spine. 476 pp. Artistic dust wrapper with yellow text. The book is near fine with a bit of dust foxing on the top and fore edges. The wrapper is VG+ with some wrinkling at the bottom of the back cover. Full refund if not satisfied. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S.Lewis, J.R.R.Tolkien & the Inklings.

New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1992. Limited Edition (300 copies). Hardcover. Fine. 11.5" x 13. Etchings by Sean Scully. SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. LIMITED EDITION #23 of 300. SIGNED BY THE ARTIST. Publisher's newsletter laid in. Features the unique etchings of Irish-American artist Sean Scully. Four full-page color etchings that bleed off the edges and four half-page etchings, printed on all-cotton stock paper specially made in Pescia, Italy. Each plate protected with tissue paper laid in. Typographic design by Dan Carr using French typeface Fournier. Text size is fourteen point, with six-point interlinear spacing. Printed on Lana Royale stock in an off-white tint, made in France. Full-bound by hand in black Nigerian oasis goatskin, titled in gold on spine. Laid inside lined, clam-shell box covered in black canapetta linen, titled in gold on leather label on spine. Book and box in FINE condition. Due to this book's size and/or weight, additional shipping may be needed.… Read More

Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, 1936. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Signed on the title page, "with kind regards / C. S. Lewis / June 1938." Elegantly rebound in maroon leather by V. Wiering Bookbinder.  Front and back are blank ... spine has text in gilt.  378 pp. Brown 10.  Hooper 4. A very pleasing book.  Exterior is marvelous.  Interior has no ownership marks except one library stamp from Truro Public Library verso title page.  That is the only library mark.  One small stain on the dedication page, half the size of a dime. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S.Lewis, J.R.R.Tolkien & the Inklings.

Cambridge: At the University Press, 1961. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. Signed by author. Signed by Lewis on the title page. Cambridge: at the University Press, 1961.  Signed first edition. Blue cloth boards with black block on spine containing author, title and publisher.  143 pp. Dust wrapper has white text against red and black ground. Brown 75.  Hooper 37. Fine condition except foxing on first leaf, last three leaves, and page edges.  The dust wrapper is nearly fine with only minor edge wear.  The publisher printed the dust wrapper with an American price at the top and a British price at the bottom of the front flap.  This is a British copy so the publisher cut off the American price at the top.

London: Victor Gollancz, 1937. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good -. FIRST EDITION. SIGNED on the half title page: "Salutations Distinguees / Dorothy L. Sayers."  The phrase "salutations distinguees" is French and, roughly translated, it means, "your sincerely."  On the first front end paper is the name "Ce'cile Peel." Orange cloth boards with a black symbol at the bottom of the front cover.  The spine has author and title in black.  446 pp.The book is in nearly very good condition with wear at all edges. Slightly cocked.  The binding feels slightly loose, but no cracked hinges. It is difficult to write a summary paragraph about Sayers.  She is most famous for her detective novels featuring Lord Peter Wimsey as the detective.  Early in her career she worked for an advertising… Read More

London: The Folio Society, 2019. Limited and Numbered Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Leonid Pasternak. A new exclusive translation by Nicolas Pasternak Slater (author's nephew). This work is limited to 750 hand-numbered copies signed by the translator, of which this is copy number 154. Limitation label tipped in. Introduced by Ann Pasternak Slater (author's niece). Quarter-bound in navy blue full-grain leather blocked in gold. Hand-marbled paper boards. Gilded page edges. Ribbon marker. Lavishly illustrated with more than 60 works by Leonid Pasternak (author's father). Pamphlet from publisher laid in that describes and offers background information on this limited edition publication. 669 pp. Presented in navy blue paper-covered slipcase blocked in gold foil. In fine condition. Due to this book's size and/or weight, additional shipping may be needed. Full refund if not satisfied.

London: John Lane the Bodley Head, 1938. First Edition. Hardcover. Fair/No Jacket. FIRST EDITION. On the flyleaf Harwood signed his name, "Cecil Harwood". This is the classic first book in the cosmic trilogy of C. S. Lewis.Mauve cloth boards with mauve top stain on the top edge. 264 pp. plus four pages of ads.Condition only fair. Spine completely stripped away. Heavily cocked. Lacking dust wrapper. Full refund if not satisfied. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S.Lewis, J.R.R.Tolkien & the Inklings.

London: The Bodley Head, 1955. First Edition. Hardcover. Near Fine/Near Fine. FIRST EDITION. Book six, in order of publication, in the Chronicles of Narnia series. Green cloth boards with silver text on the spine.  183 pp. Blue dust wrapper with an illustration in the center, white text above and black text below. An owner's name neatly writ inside the front cover with no other writing in the book. The book has no wear but on the front board, in the center, there is a black spot the size of a pin head. The unclipped dust wrapper is near fine with slight wear at the head and heal of the spine. A marvelous copy. One seldom sees a children's book in condition this nice. Full refund if not satisfied. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S.Lewis, J.R.R.Tolkien & the Inklings.

London: Geoffrey Bles, 1951. First Edition, Signed by the Ill. Hardcover. Near Fine. Pauline Baynes. Signed by the Illustrator. FIRST EDITION, 1951. SIGNED BY ILLUSTRATOR, PAULINE BAYNES. Prince Caspian by C. S. Lewis. Signed by Bayne on the title page. In publishing order, this is the second book in the Narnia series. Half leather on marbleized paper. Hubbed spine with two sections blacked to accommodate gilt text. 195 pp.  Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. Very nearly fine with an owner's name opposite the half title page and slight tape residue on the map. Full refund if not satisfied. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien & the Inklings.

London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1852. First Edition Roget's Thesaurus. Hardcover. Good. 8vo. FIRST EDITION, 1852. Roget created this work in 1805 but it was not published until April of 1852. This is the first (British) edition which precedes the first American edition by two years. It is one of the great reference books of all time. The book carries the book plate and signature of Henry Middleton. but this is neither the Henry Middle, member of Continental Congress, nor Henry Middleton Governor of South Carolina. This book is good only for two reasons.  It is leather bound and the leather on the spine is completely gone. The hinge is cracked after the title page but fortunately the firmness of the binding is not compromised. There is some stripping of the leather on the covers, see the image. Fortunately the text block and the end sheets are quite nice. Full refund if not satisfied.

London: Smith, Elder and Co, 1858. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good -. 8vo. FIRST EDITION, 1858. Phantastes by George MacDonald. This book had a huge influence on C. S. Lewis. He first read it when he picked up a copy at a train station when he was about 17. He was an atheist at the time but later, after his conversion to Christianity, he said that the reading of this book as a teen "baptized his imagination." Shaberman 8. Half leather on marbleized boards. 323 pp.  <br><br>CONDITION: The exterior is rough and heavily rubbed. The interior has occasional foxing but is quite satisfactory and the binding is tight. One owner's name but no other writing. End sheets have been replaced. <br><br>Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien & the Inklings. Full refund if not satisfied. Full refund if not satisfied.

Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin, 1938. First American edition, first st. Hardcover. Good/No Jacket. 8vo. FIRST AMERICAN EDITION, FIRST STATE, 1938. The first state of the first American edition has a bowing hobbit (facing to the left) on the title page. In the second state this device is replaced with a worn publisher (facing to the right). Tan cloth boards with the title in blue and a bowing hobbit in red.  310 pp. Map end sheets. Hammond A3b1. The binding is tight but there is too much wear to call it VG so it is good only. End sheets are dirty. Final end sheet has a moisture stain and a bookplate from the United States Naval Institute.  Some pages soiled. Lacking dust jacket. Shelley and Son Books specializes in C.S. Lewis, J.R.R. Tolkien & the Inklings. Full refund if not satisfied.

London: Geoffrey Bles / The Bodley Head, 1950, 1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956. British First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Pauline Baynes. BRITISH FIRST EDITION. 7 VOLUME COMPLETE SET IN DUST WRAPPERS. The Chronicles of Narnia by C.S. Lewis.  According to a list on Wikipedia, the first Narnia book, The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe, is the seventh best selling book in history. All books in this set are first editions and first printings. The books and dust wrappers are at least very good. Please see details below.<br><br>The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe. London: Geoffrey Bles, 1950. Light discoloration on boards and spine. An owner's printed book plate inside the front cover. No other writing in the book. The dust wrapper is not price clipped and has just a modest amount of edge wear along the top. Very nice copy.<br><br>Prince Caspian. London:… Read More