Rare books from Lucius Books

London: Jonathan Cape. 1959. Sixth printing of the 1954 first edition. Sixth printing of the 1954 first edition. Signed by Ian Fleming. Original cloth in dustwrapper. A superb near fine, clean, bright and tight copy, the lightest of bumping to the spine tips, the contents complete and without foxing. With the "Four Oaks Farm" bookplate of film producer Stan Meyer to the front free endpaper. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked original dustwrapper which has a small chip to the bottom of the spine where it meets the back panel, which is a little dusty. Not price-clipped; 15s net. Signed by the author in blue ink on the front free endpaper. Provenance: From the library of Stanley and Dodo Meyer. Stanley Meyer, a producer at Warner Brothers, had in 1956 expressed an interest in buying an option on Live and Let Die and Moonraker. At the time of presentation he was producer and co-owner of the legendary Dragnet, the most successful police series on US television. Further details and… Read More

London: later published by J. M. Dent and Co. 1907. Pen, ink and watercolour on paper. The image measures 22 x 14.5 cms. Mounted, framed and glazed. With the artist's handwritten title label (and address) and the Royal Society of Painters in Water Colours exhibition label from July 1909 with the purchaser's details and price paid retained on the original backboard. In fine condition. This piece is illustrated as a full page colour plate opposite page 356 in the 1907 revised and enlarged edition of The Ingoldsby Legends, published by J. M. Dent (and re-issued by William Heinemann). Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.

London: William Heinemann in association with Henry Frowde. 1912. First edition in English. First edition in English. Colonial issue. Publisher's original red cloth with titles and decoration in gilt to the spine, blind stamped circular design to the upper and lower board. Lower page edges un-trimmed. An excellent better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little rubbing and bumping to the extremities. The contents are entirely complete and without loose or torn pages. The contents, with the previous owner's small Toronto address label to the front endpaper and a very faint marginal stain to page 553, are otherwise remarkably clean and bright throughout. Housed in a bespoke quarter black morocco solander case. A lovely example, which due to the weight of the 850 page text block and relatively thin binding, makes copies in collectable original condition exceptionally scarce in commerce. The first English translation of this major work of Russian literature, and the first… Read More

Original illustrated manuscript. c.1890. Oblong folio. 33 original watercolour illustrations artistically incorporating manuscript calligraphic text. Handsomely bound by Roger de Coverly in contemporary crushed brown morocco. Boards decorated and ruled in gilt, titles in gilt to the upper board and with decorative gilt dentelles. The spine with five raised bands, titles in gilt and compartments richly decorated in gilt. Marbled endpapers. Thick card pages, all edges gilt. In very good condition, the binding square, firm and bright with a little rubbing to the boards and bumping to the corners. The contents with the occasional spot are otherwise clean throughout and free from any previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. The superb watercolours remain fine and bright. A wonderful illustrated manuscript of Thomas Hood's 1827 poem in which Queen Mab and her fairies, threatened with immanent destruction, are rescued by the timely intervention of William Shakespeare. Little is known of the artist… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 1926. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. With a signed presentation card. Publisher's original black cloth with red titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent, near fine copy, the binding square and firm with a little pushing at the spine tips. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Small bookseller's label to the bottom left corner of the front endpaper. Complete with the very good, first state dustwrapper that is a little rubbed, nicked and creased at the extremities, with some toning to the spine and flap edges. Not price-clipped (correctly priced $2.00 to the upper front flap) and with a faint green date stamp "Dec 17 1926" opposite. An excellent example of a notable rarity in the correct dustwrapper. Loosely laid in is a small white card inscribed by the author in black ink "To A. Laura Murray [underlined] / With the compliments /… Read More

Original Artwork. 1985. Hand-painted and glazed collage on board. 229 x 191mm. Signed and inscribed "For Betsy Pinover with Best Wishes / Eric Carle" in pencil to the upper margin; additionally signed and dated by Carle in black ink on verso. In excellent condition, the colours bold and bright. A wonderful original artwork by the creator of "The Very Hungry Caterpillar" for the 1985 book "The Foolish Tortoise" by Richard Buckley. Tired of being so slow, the eponymous tortoise decides that the easiest way for him to move faster is to get out of his heavy shell. The only problem is, once he manages to leave, he finds himself too scared to walk anywhere, thus learning the hard way that there is no place like home. The present collage, although not used in the published book, appears to be an alternative design for the front cover illustration. A charming and characterful creation, executed in Carle's inimitable style. Provenance: from the collection of Betsy Pinover… Read More

Original artwork. undated [c.1910]. An original illustration of a woman on the floor of a forest, her voluminous skirts spread around her as she clutches her hand to her breast where an arrow has pierced her. Executed in ink and watercolour atop a tan background and heightened with gold ink. Signed to the lower right corner. Mounted and framed, the illustration and mount window measure 16 x 16cm, while the frame measures 34 x 35cm. Undated. Scottish artist Annie French (1872-1965) attended and later taught at the Glasgow School of Art during the era of the 'Glasgow Girls' (of which she was one) and the 'Glasgow Boys', whose distinctive collective style helped to shape the aesthetics of British art and crafts across the turn of the 20th century. Among her contemporaries were Margaret and Frances MacDonald and Jessie M. King. This gorgeous piece is a wonderfully typifying example of French's work and perfectly exhibits her delicate, fluid style, which manages to be highly… Read More

New York: Random House. [1943]. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Inscribed presentation copy. Publisher's original pictorial boards, in dustwrapper. Illustrated with 13 full page (one double page) colour plates and black and white drawings by the Walt Disney Studio artists throughout the text. An attractive near fine copy, the binding square and fresh with just a little shelf wear rubbing at the corners. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with the very good rubbed, nicked and creased dustwrapper that has several small chips to the edges and some archival strengthening to short closed tears and splits on the underside. Not price-clipped ($1.00 to the top of the front flap). Signed and inscribed by Walt Disney in black ink on the half title "To Ann Gale / from / Walt Disney". A highly desirable example of Roald Dahl's first book. The Walt Disney Production referred to on the upper cover was abandoned due to… Read More

Copenhagen: Joachim Schmetgen. 1696. First edition. First edition. Folio. pp. [16], 1-40, [1], 43-201, [5], [41] + [2], 97, [1]. Contemporary full vellum with manuscript title in black ink to the spine. Red speckled edges. Title page printed in red and black. Illustrated with an engraved frontispiece, 41 engraved plates (two of which are double-page) and with a decorative headpiece, tailpiece and large engraved initial to each chapter, each illustrated to represent the category of artefacts discussed therein. The standard collation of the work is 37 plates, however the present copy also includes the 'Auctarium rariorum' (1699) and so contains an additional four plates of numismatic subjects. A near fine copy, the binding square and firm; the vellum with some minor marking is otherwise unusually clean and bright. The frontispiece with the margins trimmed and three closed tears (10cm, 7cm and 3cm) laid down to the recto of the second front blank. The entirely complete contents with a small… Read More

London: William Heinemann. 1959. First UK edition, first printing. First UK edition, first printing. Inscribed by the author on a Halloween visit to London, in the year the British first edition of Lolita was published. Publisher's original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little bumping to the rear joint, the cloth bright and fresh. The contents with a gift inscription and some spotting to the text block edges, extending occasionally to the page are otherwise clean throughout. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that is a little spotted to the lower panel. Not price-clipped. Rare in signed state. Inscribed by the author "Vladimir Nabokov Oct 31 1959, London" likely at the behest of Jean, to whom the book was inscribed five months prior (in a different hand). Nabokov's Dozen was first published in book form in the US in 1958; this UK edition published 16 March 1959, includes four… Read More

Venetiis [Venice]: apud Ioan. Gryphium 1547. First edition of the earliest printed edition of the most important classical work on vegetarianism, and one of the very first texts to advocate the diet's practice. First edition of the earliest printed edition of the most important classical work on vegetarianism, and one of the very first texts to advocate the diet's practice. Quarto. Contemporary paper-covered boards with the original sewing of the spine preserved. ff. [6], 100. Woodcut pictorial chapter initials. Title written in old ink to the bottom edge of the text block. A very good copy, the binding square and secure with a little perishing to the original spine covering. The contents with some occasional spotting to the blank outer margins are otherwise in very good order throughout. An excellent, unsophisticated copy.� Housed in a custom made navy blue cloth solander case. Alongside Plutarch's essay 'On the Eating of Flesh' (contained within his 'Moralia' c.100… Read More

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company. 1925. First edition, first printing of the first Charlie Chan book. First edition, first printing of the first Charlie Chan book. Publisher's original orange cloth with green titles to the upper board and spine, in dustwrapper. Top edge orange. A better than very good copy, the binding square and firm with some mild bumping at the spine tips and corners, the cloth fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the good or slightly better rubbed, torn and creased dustwrapper that is chipped with a little loss to the bottom of the spine and fold corners. The correct first edition dustwrapper remains bright, in one piece, and without repair or restoration, seldom encountered thus. The first of the Detective Charlie Chan mysteries, adapted several times for stage and screen. A Haycraft Queen Cornerstone (one of the most influential works of mystery fiction as listed by the crime fiction historian Howard Haycraft… Read More

London: Secker and Warburg. 1949. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original green cloth with red titles to the spine, in the maroon Michael Kennard designed dustwrapper. Top edge purple. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth bright and fresh with a little fading to the extreme edges. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. The text block edge is a little toned with a few spots of foxing to the top edge, the purple however remains vivid and without fading. Complete with very good rubbed and nicked dustwrapper, that has a couple of small chips with associated creasing to the upper tip of the habitually faded spine. The present example, in entirely original condition, does retain some of its red colour to the spine panel rendering the white titles still legible and is therefore uncommon thus. Not price-clipped (10s net to the lower front flap). Housed in a bespoke grey and black quarter morocco… Read More

Belfast: Festival Publications. 1965. First edition, first issue with the purple nine-pointed sun figure to the front panel. First edition, first issue with the purple nine-pointed sun figure to the front panel. This copy belonged to Rosemary Goad (1921-1998), a director at Faber and Faber who would later become a close friend of the poet. Goad's name is written in pencil to the upper left corner of the front panel in what appears to be Heaney's hand. Original stapled wrappers lettered in black to front and rear panels. A very near fine copy, the binding strong, the pages flat, with no traces of spotting. The lightly toned wraps are a little darker near the spine fold. Housed in a bespoke quarter black morocco solander case. The rear panel explains that this pamphlet "is one in a series to be published monthly and to include [list of nine poets including, Heaney, Michael Longley, and Derek Mahon]", each volume priced "Two shillings and sixpence [...]; subscription for series… Read More

New York: Dodd, Mead and Company. 1934. First American edition of this Hercule Poirot mystery, published in the UK under the title Murder on the Orient Express. First American edition of this Hercule Poirot mystery, published in the UK under the title Murder on the Orient Express. Publisher's original tan cloth with titles in black to the upper board and spine, in the Clayton Rawson illustrated dustwrapper. Illustrated endpapers, fore-edge untrimmed. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth with minor darkening to the extremities and a couple of mild production creases to the upper board. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked price-clipped dustwrapper that has tiny chips at the head of the spine and is otherwise bright and without fading or tears. A scarce title in dustwrapper, especially so in this, original condition. (Hubin). Further details and images for any of the items listed are… Read More