Search Results: RARE AND COLLECTIBLE from Back Lane Books (Member of IOBA)

A. J. Casson: His Life & Works/A Tribute, Duval, Paul. Published by Cerebus /Prentice Hall, Toronto, Canada, 1980. First Edition. Folio - over 12" - 15" tall. 285 pages. Text by Paul Duval. Burgundy cloth boards, gilt titles on spine, Casson embossed on front cover. navy blue endpapers, frontispiece illustrated painting: Winter Sunset, 1931. Full-page colour plates of Casson's work beginning in 1898 up to 1980. Ten chapters pages with gilt titles on heavy blue card stock; list of exhibition and chronology at rear. Volume has light fading to boards which are otherwise fine; binding fine. Light toning outside of text block and plates, otherwise fine without markings, tears or folds. Unclipped dustjacket has a few closed tears, edge ruffling and light age toning.
Alfred Joseph Casson, OC (1898 – 1992) was the youngest member of the Canadian Group of Seven. He is best known for his depictions of landscapes, forests and farms in the medium of watercolors.

The Adventures of Reuben Davidger; Seventeen Years and Four Months Captive Among the Dyaks of Borneo, James Greenwood, S.O. Beeton, London., 1865. First edition. 8vo up to 9½" tall. pp [xii], 356. Numerous engravings including 8 plates on tinted paper. Original burgundy leather boards with elaborate scrolled design front, back and spine with gilt design and titles front and spine; all edges gilt, grey endpapers. An occasional tiny foxing mark and otherwise contents in fine condition without marks, tears or folds. Binding is tight and square. Very light rubbing to corner and spine edges with gilt remaining fine and bright. A beautiful copy.
James Greenwood (1832–1929) was a notable Victorian journalist, social commentator and novelist. Greenwood is regarded as one of the pioneers of investigative journalism and wrote several articles sympathetic to the plight of the working-class. From 1861 he began writing adventure stories which were published in Boy's Own and followed this with several adventure… Read More

After Midnight, Keun, Irmgard, Translated by Anthea Bell. Published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1985. Yellow cloth boards, gilt spine titles. 8vo up to 9½" tall. 152 pages. Volume is in mint condition without marks, tears or folds; unclipped dustjacket has light ruffling top edge and otherwise in fine condition. Very scarce in hardcover. In 1937, German author Irmgard Keun had only recently fled Nazi Germany with her lover Joseph Roth when she wrote this slim, exquisite, and devastating book. It captures the unbearable tension, contradictions, and hysteria of pre-war Germany like no other novel. Yet even as it exposes human folly, the book exudes a hopeful humanism. It is full of humor and light, even as it describes the first moments of a nightmare. After Midnight is a masterpiece that deserves to be read and remembered anew.Rmgard Keun (1905–1982) became a sensation in her native Germany with the 1931 publication of her first novel, Gilgi, when she was 21. But her second novel, The Artificial… Read More

Alaska, 1899, Copper River Exploring Expedition, Abercrombie, Captain W. R., Washington, Government Printing Office, 1900. Senate Document No 306 56th Congress 1st Session. First Edition. 169 pages followed by 168 full halftone photo plates and attached folding map. Half leather over black boards, banded spine with gilt titles; all edges speckled light red; marbled green endpapers with reinforced red hinges. Boards have rubbing to leather with a crack to upper joint line. Map is clean, crisp and white with a small repairable tear to bottom panel outside left margin. Binding tight; contents in pristine condition and appear unread.
In 1989, Capt. W. R. Abercrombie, Second United States Infantry was commanded to lead an expedition to "open up a military road to Copper Center, and from the last-named point by the most direct and practicable route to Eagle City. …. This expedition will cover as much territory as possible, and will collect and incorporate in the reports all information that may lie… Read More

American Silver Thimbles, Rogers, Gay Ann. Haggerston Press, London, England, 1989.First Edition. Blue cloth boards, silver spine titles. 4to up to 12" tall. 223 pages including index. Volume in pristine condition, unclipped dust-jacket has the lightest of shelf wear.From the dustjacket: "This is the first comprehensive and authoritative study of American silver thimbles. It will be of particular value to collectors because it covers the full range of American silver thimbles, form the rarest and most fanciful to the common work-a-day examples. All are clearly illustrated and fully described with particular attention to design details and to dates and places of manufacture. American Silver Thimbles is aimed at collectors who want to identify particular thimbles as well as those who want a general history of American silver thimbles. Specific information about the thimbles comes from primary sources, notably trade catalogs from all the major and minor manufacturers of American thimbles, and articles… Read More

The Architecture of Arthur Erickson, Erickson, Arthur. Tundra Books, Montreal, 1975, Second printing 1976. Card Covers. 11 1/2 by 11 1/2 Inches. 228 pages including plates and credits. Illustrated throughout with black & white and full color photos. Signed, dated and inscribed by Arthur Erickson on title page. Card covers have light wear; contents are in fine condition. " Great buildings that move the spirit have always been rare. In every case they are unique, poetic, products of the heart." Arthur Charles Erickson, (1924 –2009) was an internationally well known Canadian architect and urban planner.

The Arrow of Gold - A Story Between Two Notes, Conrad, Joseph. Published by Doubleday, Page & Company, Garden City, 1919. First Edition, First Printing with "credentials and apparently" (no "who") on lines 15 and 16 of page 5 and Publisher's list of 20 titles opposite title page. 8vo up to 9½" tall., 385pp. Navy cloth boards with gilt titles within panel and gilt ship medallion to front, gilt titles to spine. Rubbing to corners, head and tail of spine; very slight spine lean and otherwise boards are fine. Gilt remains bright front and spine, gilt to top edge is dulled. Contents have very light age toning, outer edge dusting and otherwise fine without markings, tears or folds. In collectible condition. The American edition precedes the British edition by four months.

The Arunta, A Study of a Stone Age People, Spencer, Sir Baldwin; F.J. Gillen Published by Macmillan and Co. Ltd., St. Martin's Street, London, 1927. First Edition. Two volumes. 8vo up to 9½" tall. Paged continuously: xxviii, 390; xvi, 391-646pp plus plates; bibliographical references and index. Paged continuously: xxviii, 390; xvi, 391-646pp plus plates. Hundreds of black and white plates, illustrations and diagrams in both volumes. Volume One has large folding map with title tissue overlay; Volume Two has double-paged colour plates and a fold out colour plate of Ceremonial Objects with title tissue overlay. Green cloth boards with gilt spine titles; top edge gilt. Contents of both volumes are in near mint condition with pages presenting as bright, white and unmarked. Small closed tear to gutter of fold out map Volume One not affecting map itself; tiny closed tear and fore edge ruffle page 273, Volume One; small chip edge of rear free endpaper Volume Two. Very light wear to boards; binding is… Read More

The Awakening: A Fantasy by Stella Benson. Published by Lantern Press, San Francisco, 1925. This is no. 89 of a limited edition of 500 copies printed by Edwin and Robert Grabhorn for The Lantern Press. 8vo up to 9½" tall. 16 pages including one full page illustration by Donald McKay. Black paper over spine with gilt-stamped spine title; red paper over board. Rough cut edges; wide margins with text in black and decorative large letters in red. A discreet light split along lower half of spine, fading to top of boards and very light corner rubbing; spine titles remain bright and binding is firm and square. Two pages adjacent to illustration are lightly offset, otherwise contents are pristine. A very nice copy. Stella Benson (1892-1933) was an English feminist writer who published during her relatively short life 7 novels, many short stories, 20 poems, a verse drama, 2 volumes of travel sketches, and a biography of Count Nicolas de Toulouse Lautrec de Savine.

Babies Three, Illustrated by Honor C. Appleton, Published by Thomas Nelson and Sons Limited. Undated but assumed First Edition listed by both WorldCat and Copac as 1921. 4to up to 12" tall; 32 pages, with illustrated frontispiece and 3 additional full-page colored plates and other line drawings by Honor C Appleton. Professionally re-backed with library binding, reinforced corners and decorative endpapers. Boards have wear; light damp-staining to top edge of a few pages (not affecting text block or plates); final text page is browned. Binding is tight and contents are generally clean and bright. Very scarce.
Honor Charlotte Appleton (1879–1951) was a British illustrator of over 150 children's books and literary classics.

Bar-Room Ballads, Service, Robert. Published by Reginald Saunders, Toronto, 1940. First Canadian Edition, First impression. Signed (not inscribed): Best of Luck: Robert Service on endpaper. 8vo up to 9½" tall. viii, [2], 169 pp. Bright teal cloth boards with gilt titles front and spine. Light spine slant, 3 tiny water spots to front board, light bumping to edges and corners. Owner's name in script top edge free endpaper; light toning to pages; otherwise contents are clean without marks, tears or folds. Unclipped jacket protected in mylar has rubbing; ruffling to rear panel top edge; sunning to spine with chip to head; and sunning to verso of jacket. Robert William Service (January 16, 1874 – September 11, 1958) was a British born poet and writer whose poetry and verse is known and still celebrated world-wide.

Belle Starr "The Bandit Queen", The True Story of the Romantic and Exciting Career of the Daring and Glamorous Lady Famed in Legend and Story Throughout the West, Rascoe, Burton, Deputy Sheriff of Pottawatomie county, Oklahoma. Published by Random House, New York, 1941. First Edition/Stated First printing. 340 pages including a chronology and necrology from 1837 to 1924, a glossary of Western terminology, an extensive annotated bibliography plus index. Frontispiece of Belle Starr and 12 additional black and white illustrations and photographs. Gray cloth boards with red titles front and gilt titles blocked in red to spine, top edge stained red. Light soiling to endpapers and outside edges; text block fine without markings, tears, folds and pages remain bright. Light spine lean; binding and boards otherwise fine. Unclipped jacket has chips and tears and back flap is partially separated at hinge line.Myra Maybelle Shirley Reed Starr (1848 – 1889), was a notorious American outlaw a "Female Jesse James"… Read More

Espingarda Feiticeira: A Introducao Da Arma De Fogo Pelos Portugueses No Extremo-Oriente. The Bewitched Gun: The Introduction of the Firearm in the Far East by the Portuguese, Rainer Daehnhardt. Published by Texto Editora, 1994. English and Portuguese text. 4to up to 12" tall; 139 pages including chronology and bibliography. Beautifully illustrated in color and black and white with drawings and photographs. Maroon silk cloth boards with red stamped titles, time charts endpapers. Both unclipped dustjacket and volume in pristine condition. A very scarce volume. Rainer Daehnhardt is a well known Portuguese-German historian and collector. He has authored several books and articles on armory and the history of Portugal.

Borneo and the Indian Archipelago with Drawings of Costumes and Scenery, By Frank S. Marryat, late midshipman from H.M.S. Samarang, surveying vessel. Published by Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, Paternoster-Row, London, 1848. First Edition. 4to up to 12" tall; Pp. (4), [v]-viii,[1]-232, colour chromolithograph frontispiece, colour-illustrated engraved title page, 20 leaves of chromolithograph plates, 37 woodcuts to text. Bound in burgundy half leather with marble paper over boards; banded spine with gilt titles; endpapers and all edges marbled. Contents are in near fine condition with an occasional light thumb mark and very light toning; Cornell University label to pastedown. Boards have surface rubbing to marbled paper, front hinge and joint professionally repaired; rubbing to corners and edges. A collection of drawings made on the last surveying cruise of the H.M.S. Samarang in 1843-46, under the command of Captain Belcher, with an engaging narrative description of people and places such as… Read More

British Columbia: From the Earliest Times to the Present, Scholefield, Ethelbert Olaf Stuart. Published by The S. J. Clarke Publishing Co. Vancouver, Winnipeg, Montreal, Chicago, 1914. 4to up to 12" tall. Volume I, 688pp., Volume 2, 727pp., Volume 3, 1161pp., Volume 4, 1208pp. Illustrated throughout with hundreds of plates, maps, photographs, etchings, and historical documents. Volumes 1 and 2 include indexes and appendices; Volumes 2 and 3 are arranged alphabetically and contain the biographies and portraits of notable British Columbians. Volume 1 bound in half black leather over green pebbled cloth boards; Volume 2,3, 4 are uniformly bound in brown leather over green. Banded spines with gilt titles, gilt top edge, decorative green endpapers, inner linen hinges. Lightly weakened hinges Volume 1 and 2: first and last signatures of Vol 1 are loosened; one page is detached and one plate is partially detached in Vol 2. Contents are otherwise fine without marks, tears, folds and pages remain white.… Read More

The Burning of The Reichstag, Reed, Douglas, Special Correspondent of The Times at the Leipzig Trial. Published by Victor Gollancz, London, 1934. First Edition, Publishers Note Laid-In. 8vo up to 9½" tall., 352pp. with four black and white plates. Black cloth boards, gilt spine titles. Text block is clean without markings, tears or folds; a very light toning to edges. Boards are clean and binding is strong. Un clipped dust jacket has darkened along spine and edges. Minor chipping to head and foot. Protected in mylar. An exceedingly rare copy in original wrapper.The Reichstag fire February 27, 1933 was a critical event in the expansion of Nazi power. Hitler seized upon the building's fire as evidence of communist scheming and the following day, a state of emergency was declared and orders were given for all KPD (The Communist Party of Germany) members of the Reichstag to be arrested. The Reichstag Fire Decree imposed restrictions on the press, banned political meetings and marches, and intercepted… Read More

Carrie, King, Stephen. Published by New English Library, London, 1983. 2nd printing of the first UK edition published in 1974. 8vo up to 9½" tall., 222pp. Black paper over boards with gilt spine titles. Volume is in fine, unread condition. Unclipped jacket has a tiny rub lower front corner and otherwise, in fine condition. A rare print run with an iconic pictorial jacket.

Ceylon, An Account of the Island: Physical, Historical, and Topographical with Notices of its Natural History, Antiquities and Productions, James Emerson Tennent. Published by Longman, Green, Longman, and Roberts, London, 1859. Third Edition, Thoroughly Revised. Two volumes. 8vo. Vol. I: pp. xxxix, 643, with wood-engraved frontis; 31 wood engravings; 6 maps; 7 plans and charts. Vol II: xvi, 663, with wood-engraved frontis; 59 wood engravings; 3 maps (2 folding one of which is partly colored); 10 plans and charts. Three quarter leather over marbled paper boards; paneled spines with elaborate gilt design and leather labels in green and maroon; marbled endpapers; marbled edges. This set came from the private Library at Somerhill Park belonging to Sir Isaac Goldsmid; 2 custom bookplates (engraved by Wyon) at pastedowns are inked with the initials I.G. and are presumably his. In overall beautiful condition; binding is tight and square and gilt remains bright; very light rubbing to corners and edges of… Read More

The Classics and The Man of Letters: The Presidential Address delivered to the Classical Association on 15th April 1942, T.S. Eliot, Oxford University Press, London, New York, Toronto, 1942. First Edition; early printing (see Donald Gallup A40). 12mo up to 7½" tall., 27pp. Light blue, yapped-edge card covers with black titles front; sewn binding with two sewn signatures. Contents in fine condition and appear unread without marks, tears or folds. Light wear and sunning to card edges; front card has 2 pin pricks and 2 small water marks. T.S. Eliot (1888-1965), was poet, literary critic, dramatist, and editor and publisher and considered one of the 20th century's major poets. His many awards include: Order of Merit (United Kingdom 1948), Officier de la Legion d'Honneur (France 1951), Presidential Medal of Freedom (USA 1964), the Nobel Prize in Literature (1948). The Classical Association was founded in 1903 to encourage both academics and amateur to share and discuss their passion for Classics

Crazy Pavements. Nichols, Beverley. Published by Jonathan Cape, London, 1927. First Edition with no other printings noted. Red cloth boards, gilt spine titles; spine is faded. Boards in very good condition, slight spine roll. Owner's name and date (192_?) and light toning to free endpaper. Pages are clean without markings, folds or tears.
Crazy Pavements, Nichols' fourth novel, is a satire of the 'Bright Young People', the circle of socialites in which Nichols himself moved. The story has much in common and is thought to have influenced Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies, published 3 years later. Crazy Pavements went through four impressions in its first year of publication. An advertisement by publisher Jonathan Cape proclaimed 'First impression Sold Out on the day of publication', Times Literary Supplement, 17 February 1927. The Saturday Review of Literature noted, "Crazy Pavements" combines technical dexterity and substantial matter with smart gaiety; it is an extremely encouraging book'. The Bookman… Read More