Rare books from Ashton Rare Books ABA, PBFA, ILAB

The First UK Printing published by Dent in 1980. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Very mild pushing to the spine ends. The gilt titling remains bright. Some light toning to the text block and to the page edges due to the quality of the paper stock used. A small neat penned number to the upper rear end paper. The WRAPPER is complete and is in near FINE condition. Very light creasing to the upper spine tip with mild rubbing to the upper corners. The wrapper is very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. The book has been inscribed and signed by the author to the front blank end paper: 'To Adrienne, Best wishes, Lynne Reid Banks'. Wonderful B/W illustrations throughout by Robin Jacques. The first title in the highly acclaimed series which was successfully adapted into a movie. A very scarce title, more-so with such attributes, as most copies ended up in the library system. Collectible. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK Printing published by Constable Young Books (London) in 1963. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Light toning to the text block and a little offsetting to the end papers. A neat previous owner's name to the upper front end paper. A sharp copy. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ condition. Mild edge-wear with a little loss at the spine and flap fold ends. A 5 cm. closed tear to the upper rear flap fold area. Some toning to the spine and edges. Some offsetting of the red boards to the verso but this does not show through to the front. A little light spotting in places and light rubbing to the folds. The wraparound dustjacket art by Anthony Maitland is notably different than that of the American edition, showing the three principal characters, Meg, Charles Wallace, and Calvin tessering with Mrs. Who, Mrs. Which, and Mrs. Whatsit. The wrapper looks very attractive in the removable Brodart archival cover. A neat bookplate signed (without dedication) by the author is tipped-in to… Read More

The First UK printing with the William Nicholson illustrations published by Faber and Faber in 1929. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. The decorated vellum boards are very clean having been protected by the original glassine wrapper. Front board has some early bowing. Top edge gilt, others uncut. Free from inscriptions and erasures. Number 107 of only 300 copies issued which were Signed by both Siegfried Sassoon and William Nicholson to the limitation page. 7 full page illustrations and headers by William Nicholson. Two of the tissue guards are not present. The WRAPPER is complete and is in near Fine condition. Some toning to the spine and edges. Mild edge-wear with a little loss at the upper spine and rear edge. The wraparound wrapper artwork looks very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. The scarce plain Glassine wrapper is complete. A very scarce title with such attributes. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK printing published by Macmillan & Co. Ltd., London in 1937. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Correct first issue with original blue cloth, titles gilt to spine, frontispiece and 15 other plates, 5 full-page maps with 2-pages of advertisements at the rear. Light offsetting to the end papers and a hint of toning to the text-block. Light pushing and rubbing at the spine ends and corners. Free from inscriptions and erasures. The binding romans very tight. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ or better condition. A few nicks with a tiny amount of loss at the corners. 4 cm closed tear to the lower rear flap fold. Light toning to the spine and upper rear cover. A very small area to the rear cover has had a professional tissue repair to the verso which has resulted in the loss of one letter to the rear cover in the title of 'The making of modern Turkey'. The wrapper looks very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. A very sharp copy of what is considered by many modern… Read More

The First UK printing published by MacDonald, London in 1954. The BOOK is in Very Good++ condition. Some pushing and light fading at the spine tips. Light rubbing to the lower edges. Mild bumping to the lower corner. Light spotting to the prelims with a little offsetting to the end-papers. Light toning to the text-block. Previous owner's bookplate to the front paste-down with his penned name and date to the front blank end-paper. The WRAPPER is neatly price-clipped and is in Very Good++ condition. Mild edge-wear with light fading to the spine and a little spotting to the flaps. The wrapper design looks very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. Illustrated in B/W by Renato Guttuso. A scarce title. Collectible. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK printing of this illustrated edition published by Cassell and Company, Ltd, London in 1907. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. 179 pages, b/w plates and text illustrations, 8 colour plates. Top edge gilt. All of the pages and colour plates are present Light wear at the top and bottom of the spine, with mild rubbing at the corners and edges. The gilt decoration to the front cover and spine remains very bright. Free from bookplates and inscriptions. Some spotting and age related marking to the prelims, text block and page edges due to the quality of the paper stock used. The plates remain clean and vibrant. Wonderfully illustrated throughout by Charles Robinson. The book is protected in a removable Mylar archival cover. An extremely elusive title to find as the first issue and complete. The reprints of this work (from 1913 onwards) were issued in a smaller format. Collectible. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK printing published by Publications from Pall Mall Ltd., London in 1937. The book was issued by the publishers as 'The Coronation Edition'. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Some pushing with very slight splitting to the extreme spine tips. The original blue publisher's boards remain very clean with just some tiny rubs to the lower corners. The gilt titling and decorations remain bright. Free from inscriptions and erasures. Light toning and spotting to the text-block and prelims. Mild offsetting to the blank end-papers with light spotting to the prelims with one small mark to the fore edge of the title and frontis pages. This edition was issued with two different wrappers. This is the more scarcer of the two and is a stiff glassine pictorial wrapper. The WRAPPER is in Very Good condition with edge-wear and loss to the spine ends and rear upper edges due to its fragility (see images). Some closed tears and nicks in places. Priced at '7/6 net' to the lower front flap. The… Read More

The First UK printing published by Gollancz, London in 1938. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Light pushing at the spine ends. Light toning and spotting to the text-block with some of the spotting encroaching onto the page edges in a few places. Some spotting and light toning to the end-papers and prelims. A neat previous owner's penned name to the front blank end-paper. The binding remains tight. The fragile WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ condition. Some edge wear with loss at the spine ends and corners. Some nicks and light creasing to the edges. A professional Japanese tissue repair to the verso of a closed tear to the lower front spine fold but no restoration. Light toning to the spine, folds and flap edges. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. There is also a loosely laid in 13 x 9 cm colour photograph of Daphne Du maurier with her two dogs. This photo has been signed : 'Best wishes from Daphne Du Maurier . Additionally there is a loosely laid… Read More

The First UK printing published by Heinemann, London in 1967. The BOOK is in near Fine condition and appears unread. Some light pushing to the upper spine end. Internally clean and from inscriptions and erasures. The WRAPPER is neatly price-clipped and is in near Fine condition. Some very light creasing and a hint of toning to the edges and to the spine. The wrapper is protected in a removable Brodart archival cover. The book has been inscribed, signed and dated by the author in the year of publication to the front blank end-paper : 'To Peter, with love from Dodie, 1967'. The sequel to the '101 Dalmatians' and profusely illustrated throughout by Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone. A very sharp copy and increasingly scarce with such attributes. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK printing published by The Hogarth Press, London in 1959. The correct first issue with the mention of 'a fire at the piano-works almost every year' to page 272. This was subsequently removed in later printings. The BOOK is in Very Good++ or better condition. Original green boards with gilt titling to the spine. A hint of pushing at the spine ends. Some light toning and spotting to the text-block. A neat previous owner's penned name and date to the top and bottom of the front blank end-paper. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ condition. It is the correct first issue. Slight loss at the spine ends and corners. A little light rubbing in places. Mild toning to the spine and upper flap edges. The John Ward wrapper artwork looks very striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. The book has been signed (without dedication) by the author to the front blank end-paper. The first title in Laure Lee's acclaimed trilogy. Scarce with such attributes. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

2 volumes. The First UK Printings published by Macmillan & Co.Ltd, London in 1941. The BOOKS are in Very Good++ or better condition. Original cloth with gilt titling. Light pushing at the spine ends. Mild offsetting to the end papers with light toning and spotting to the text-block. Some spotting to the prelims of Vol.1 and lightly to the page edges in a few places in both vols. Free from inscriptions and bookplates. The WRAPPERS are complete and are in Very Good++ or better condition. Light edge-wear with a little loss to the corners and spine tips in Vol.1. Light toning to the spines. Mild creasing to the edges of Vol.1. The wrappers present very well in the removable Brodart archival covers. 32 photogravure plates from photographs. After five years of marriage, Rebecca West was again ready for independent travel. Her opportunity came via the newly formed British Council, which sent her as a lecturer, first to the Baltic states, and then to Yugoslavia. Though she endured sexual harassment and… Read More

The First UK Printing published by The Bodley Head, London in 1968. The BOOK is in near Fine condition with some light ghosting to the spine of the titling from the wrapper. Light fading to the extreme edges and mild spotting to the upper text-block. Free from inscriptions and erasures. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ or better condition. Very light edge-wear with just a little toning to the spine and flap edges. A thin black line to the middle of the rear spine fold. The Peter Davis wrapper artwork looks striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. One of the all-time best selling children s fantasy novels, selling over five million copies worldwide as well as being translated into 20 different languages. The author said that he was inspired by his upbringing reading a staple amount of mythology and fantasy novels. The Dorothy Lanthrop novel 'The Call from Moon Mountain' particularly influenced him. An extremely difficult title to find in any collectible condition due to the small… Read More

The Sole UK printing published by The Pandora Press in 1961. Number '8' of only 150 numbered copies issued. The BOOK is in near Fine condition with just very slight splaying of the front board and a hint of toning to the text-block. Original navy cloth with the spine lettered in gilt. This copy additionally has the blue cloth board blocked in gold to the front (Deadman notes 'a few ' thus and corrects the edition size to 145). Free from inscriptions and erasures. 11 illustrations (3 full-page) printed from lino, rubber cuts and line-blocks in various striking colours by Rigby Graham. No Wrapper as issued. The edition was originally intended to consist of 250 copies, but disaster struck after the seventy-sixth printing; the sheets had been spread out to dry over the floor of an attic, when a sudden spell of sunshine hatched out woodworm in the floor, and overnight more than one hundred of the sheets were peppered with holes. As the sheet had a five-colour linocut on it, reprinting was impossible, and… Read More

The First UK printing published by The Bodley Head, London in 1967. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. Light toning to the board edges with a hint of pushing at the spine tips. Very early splaying of the front board. Internally clean with just a little light toning to the extreme page edges. Striking pictorial end-papers. Free from inscriptions and erasures. The WRAPPER is neatly price-clipped and is in Very Good++ condition. Some toning to the edges and spine. Light edge-wear with some creasing, a few small closed tears and a little rubbing in places. A 3cm closed tear to the upper rear edge and a very light small water stain to the lower spine which is barely discernible from the front. The wrapper is protected in a removable archival cover. Wonderfully illustrated in colour throughout by the author. Sendak's classic title and very scarce with the wrapper in such collectible condition. More images available on request. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.

The First UK printing published by Andre Deutsch, London in 1966. The BOOK is in near Fine condition. The covers are clean and the gilt titling remains bright. A hint of pushing at the spine tips and a little spotting to the upper text-block. Free from inscriptions. The WRAPPER is complete and is in Very Good++ or better condition. A hint of rubbing at the spine tips and folds. Some light age related markings and a little toning to the rear cover edges. Light fading of the red lettering to the spine. Mild creasing to front panel upper edge. The wrapper artwork looks striking in the removable Brodart archival cover. A very sharp copy of the author's scarce first novel which was the 'Winner of the 1966 William Faulkner Foundation Award' for notable first novel. Ashton Rare Books welcomes direct contact.