Rare books from Rainford and Parris Books - PBFA

Heinemann, 1950. Proof Copy. Softcover. VG++. Ultra rare proof copy. 124 x 185cm, 230pp. Publisher's original buff paper wraps with titles and "PROOF COPY" to the front cover and titles and publisher's windmill device to the spine, 230pp. The wraps have been printed on the verso of an unused illustration from a previous Heinemann book, Dog Days by K F Barker, so that parts of a bull terrier in full colour can be seen on the inside of the covers. The verso of the title page states "First Published 1950 - there is a pencil note on the front cover "Sept 30/[19?]50" - though the First Edition was not published until 22nd January 1951 in an edition of 7,500 copies. It is housed in a bespoke, black cloth solander (clamshell) box with gilt titles and lined with marbled paper. There are a few very light marks on the front cover, a very small 3 x 2mm chip near the top of its fore edge, a 3mm open tear at the top of the upper joint and one of 1cm at the foot of the same. The back cover has a toned… Read More

Legend Books Limisted, 1993. 1st Thus. Softcover. NF. FANGORN with lettering by FELL, Elitta. 1st Thus. Soft Cover Edition 19.5 x 28.2 unpaginated (92). Signed by Stan Nicholls and Fangorn. A fine book which is now protected by a removable, firm, archival cover. An excellent copy of this signed first edition. Rainford & Parris Books welcomes enquiries, so please do not hesitate to ask if you require further images or have any questions. All books are packaged with great care.

Ernest Nister, nd (c1890) 1890. 1st Edition. Hardcover. VG. 1st Edition. Nister code No. 1860. Brown cloth backed pictorial boards 19 x 25.5 cm blue and white decorative endpapers. Unpaginated (14) with black and white images within the text and 6 colour moveable pictures each activated by a tab. The images illustrate, Little Red Riding Hood, Humpty Dumpty, Little Bo-Peep, Hey Diddle Diddle, Mother Hubbard and The Three Bears. As the tab is pulled, the first colour illustration lifts to reveal a second colour illustration and as the tab is pulled again, a third and final colour illustration is revealed. The boards have a little rubbing with minor loss to the spine tips and a little rounding to the corners with a few scratches to the boards. Internally there is reinforcement to both hinges. There is a little uniform toning to the pages. All the pictures are complete and 5 of the 6 are in full working order with the Little Bo-Peep images not lifting without help. There are small closed tears… Read More

Legend Books Limited, 1994. 1st Thus. Softcover. F. FANGORN with lettering by FELL, Elitta. 1st Thus. Soft Cover Edition 19.5 x 28.2 unpaginated (92). Signed by David Gemmell. A fine book which is now protected by a removable, firm, archival cover. Rainford & Parris Books welcomes enquiries, so please do not hesitate to ask if you require further images or have any questions. All books are packaged with great care.

Jonathan Cape, 1968. VG. Uncorrected Proof Copy. 13 x 18.5cm. Publisher's device in white repeated over lime green softcovers, 255pp. Gilbert, p612. Spotting to both covers with slight toning and creasing to the spine. Light creases to the corners of the covers slightly affecting the corner tips the first and last few pages. The binding is firm and square. Internally, there is no name, inscription or bookplate, a number "10" in pencil at the top corner of the first page and "Kingsley Amis" written in pencil on the title page, otherwise they are clean. A very presentable copy. Rainford & Parris Books welcomes enquiries, so please do not hesitate to ask if you require further images or have any questions. All books are packaged with great care.

Kaye and Ward, 1982. 1st Edition. Hardcover. NF. 1st Impression. 22.2 x 14.2cm white pictorial boards with £4.95 price to the rear 103pp, no jacket as issued. Signed by the author to the title page. The boards are near fine with a hint of toning to the spine and slight bump to the bottom corner of the lower board. Internally there is an ownership name to the front free endpaper and the author's signature to the title page otherwise the book is very clean. A near fine copy of this early Michael Morpurgo scarce as a first edition made even rarer because of the author's signature. If you would like any additional images or information, please do not hesitate to ask. Rainford & Parris Books welcomes enquiries, so please do not hesitate to ask if you require further images or have any questions. All books are packaged with great care.

Doubleday, 1989. 1st Edition. Paperback. VG+. Uncorrected Book Proof. 13.7 x 21.5cm paper back 166pp (6). Signed and inscribed by the author to the title page with publisher's information sheet about the book laid in. The book is now protected by a rigid clear plastic cover and is in very good plus condition, clean and bright with just a little spotting to the edge of the text block. The publisher's information sheet has a little creasing and very faint toning along the right hand side edge where it originally stuck out of the book. Rainford & Parris Books welcomes enquiries, so please do not hesitate to ask if you require further images or have any questions. All books are packaged with great care.

Dennis Dobson , 1955. 1st Edition. Hardcover. F/NF. 1st Edition, 1st Printing. 12.5 x 19cm. Publisher's original dusky rose coloured boards with gilt titles to the spine, 191pp, together with original dust jacket priced at 9s 6d. Noting a light dust mark near the top of the upper joint, the boards are in fine condition with no shelf-wear. The spine titles are beautifully bright and fresh. All fore edge corners are firm, sharp and square. The binding is very tight and square, such that the book appears unread. There is a little tab of paper, 2 x 5mm, at the bottom fore edge of p125/126 that extends out from the text block, where it has not been cut properly in production. Internally, there is age related acid migration toning to the endpapers and a light vertical band of it on the pastedowns. There is no name, inscription or bookplate and the pages are beautifully clean with no spots, marks or blemishes. The dust jacket which is now protected in a removable plastic cover (not shown in… Read More

Oswald Wolff (Publishers) Limited, 1958. 1st UK Edition. Hardcover. VG+/VG. 1st UK Edition. Blue cloth with gilt stamped titles to the spine 195pp. Together with original price clipped dust jacket and scarce publisher's wrap around band. Tucked inside is a typewritten letter from the author asking his British publisher to send copies of the book to three academics in Cambridge and London A very good plus book that has been well protected by its dust jacket and has only a hint of shelf wear to the bottom corners and spine tips. Internally there is a little toning and spotting to the half of the front and rear free endpapers not covered by the dust jacket but otherwise the book is clean and bright and without marks or inscriptions. The dust jacket is very good, complete with only a hint of rubbing to the spine tips and corners and a little toning to the spine and a little fading to the spine area of the wrap around band. The rear panel is a little spotted and has an area of toning along the top… Read More

Arthur Barker Limited, 1937. 1st Edition. Hardcover. VG+/VG-. 20.5 x 29.1 cm green cloth boards with gilt stamped titles on black spine labels, 143pp including 20 brightly coloured images. The book comes with 5/- net price. A VG+ book, the larger of two versions of the first edition, with fading on the boards where there is loss to the dust jacket. Internally, clean and bright and without names or inscriptions but with very light spotting to the endpapers. There is also a small drip mark of ½ cm on pp38 and 39. The dust jacket has some significant loss with a 10 ½ cm x 5cm triangular section missing from the front panel and 1 ½ cm missing from the spine head and 3 cm from the foot. There is also lesser loss from the spine edge corners a number of closed tears and a little associated creasing. A scarce volume, particularly with a dust jacket in any condition. It is significant because, largely on the basis of this work, Noel Langley was chosen to adapt Frank L Baum's Wizard of Oz for the… Read More

Rich and Cowen, 1935. 1st Edition. Hardcover. VG+/VG-. 1st thus with previously suppressed poems included. 15.2 x 22.7 cm. Blue cloth with gilt stamped titles to the spine, top edge grey, other edges uncut. 82 (1)pp, including photographic frontispiece showing signed poem by Douglas. Signed, inscribed and dated by the author, in green ink to the front free endpaper. With original blue dust jacket priced at 7/6 net. A very good book that has mainly been well protected by the dust jacket. There is a little toning to the head and foot of the spine aligning to where there is loss to the dust jacket and a little dust staining to the top and bottom edges but otherwise the boards are clean and the titles are bright. There is a little pushing to the top corners. Internally the book is generally very clean with only a hint of spotting to the endpapers and light toning to the uncut edges. There is also a copy of Douglas' poem, 'Winston Churchill', stuck in on the rear pastedown. The dust jacket is… Read More

Maclehose Press/Quercus, 2008. 1st Edition. F/F. The Millennium Trilogy – all first edition, first printing hardcovers with publisher's number line 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1, all in at least near fine condition. Uncorrected Proof Copies of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and The Girl Who Played with Fire (SIGNED by the translator) and an Advance Reading Copy of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. The Uncorrected Proof of The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo has publisher's original blue card covers with white titles and publisher's device to upper cover, white titles to spine and white printing to lower cover. Lower cover states 'This is an uncorrected proof copy and is not for sale.' There are a couple of very minor creases to the spine and a small creased, circular orange sticker (7mm diameter) which someone has tried to remove at some point. There is some barely significant rubbing to the spine edges in places and an 8mm closed tear together with a small crease form the fore edge of the upper cover.… Read More

Horace Cox, 1894 1894. 1st Edition. Hardcover. VG. 1st impression. Publisher's original brown cloth with gilt stamped vignette to the front and titles to the front and spine. Inscribed by the author to 'Miss Barnett / With love from the author. / Xmas 1894.' Together with Mary Jaques family Church Services Book, 20 black and white photographs and Miss Barnett's autograph book c. 1905 which includes vers and illustrations from both Mary Jaques and Emma Hartley (a.k.a. "Didymusa", in Texan Ranch Life). The notes from a recent Texas A&M reprint say: J. Frank Dobie once claimed that 'the English write our best Western books:' and Jaques' account bears him out. Out of print for some ninety years, this collector's classic will delight and inform, entertain and amuse - a valuable resource on early Texas life, long sought by collectors and historians alike.' A very rare signed copy. Chipping to head and foot of spine, light rubbing to corners, two splits in the cloth at lower joint and a few white… Read More

Motor Racing Publications, 1994, 2003, 2008 1994. 1st Edition. Hardcover. F/NF. Limited Edition of the Standard Binding set (2,200). Green boards with gilt titles to the spine, buff endpapers and publisher's original dust jackets, each with a different photograph and superimposed car outline. Editions numbered 1417, 565 & 1088. Volume 1 has been signed directly by 36 team members, 31 to the front free endpaper and 5 to the dedication page. Vol.1: The Front Engined Cars – a fine copy noting a small crease in the bottom right corner of the front panel and ghosting from the signatures on the dedication page through to the title page. Vol.2: Spaceframe Cars – a fine copy. Vol.3: Monocoque V8 Cars – a fine book in a near fine dust jacket, its back panel having some light scoring and a 1.5cm closed tear at its bottom edge. All dust jackets are now protected by a clear removable cover. The team signatures are as follows: LH Column ~ Colin Atkins, Engine Build Shop-Foreman * Ben Casey, Racing… Read More

Hodder & Stoughton, August 1944 1944. 1st Edition. Hardcover. VG-/G++. SOPER, Eileen. 1st Edition, 1st Impression. 12 x 19.5 cm blue boards with black titles to front and spine, pictorial endpapers printed in blue, white and black, colour frontispiece, 8 full page 2 colour illustrations (4 in red and black and 4 in blue and black) and numerous illustrations in black only throughout. The first impression dust jacket is unclipped and shows a price of 6/- net on the front flap, whilst the back flap has the extract from the Daily Sketch and lists the Happy, Merry and Jolly Story Books as called for. The boards have some mottling to the front fore edge, spine and rear as is sometimes found with this book and there is a little toning to the very tips of the spine which are a touch pushed. There is a small ding on the top edge of the upper boards and the corners are lightly rubbed with the top corners having a hint of creasing. Internally there is a gift inscription dated Christmas 1944 but otherwise… Read More