New Arrivals
Role of Honour
London: Jonathan Cape and Hodder & Stoughton, 1984. Approximately 5 1/4 x ". Illustrated dust jacket by Trevor Scobie with author photo, original price of £7.95 intact, in fine condition; Black paper over boards with crisp, gilt lettering on spine, one flawed page printed by publisher that was not cut properly and folded in, otherwise beautifully bright and unmarked, in fine condition.
Base on the Ian Fleming character, this is Gardner's fourth James Bond book. The plot, from the jacket, involves a computer wizard, a mercenary army, and SPECTRE.
Driving Force
London: Michael Joseph, 1992. 277 pp. Approximately 6 1/4 x 9 1/4". 1st English Edition. Illustrated dust jacket in fine condition; Black cloth over boards, gilt title on spine, signed by the author on the half-title page, in fine condition.
Born Richard Stanley Francis (1920 - 2010), Dick Francis was a British crime writer whose novels were mostly centered on horse racing in England (he was a former steeplechase jockey himself). This book is Dick Francis' 31st book, with jockey, Freddie Croft, trying to deal with a conspiracy involving the seedy underside of horse-racing.
London Almanack for the Year of Christ 1818
(London): (Printed for the Company of Stationers), 1818. Unpaginated. Approximately 1 1/4 x 2 1/4". Original red morocco slipcase with onlays in cream and green, gilt-tooled throughout, in fine condition; Pink outer wraps, most likely replacing a cover that usually matched the slipcase, first page called "Common Notes", all edges gilt, a good copy.
These miniature booklets have been published from the late 17th century until the Victorian era, and give monthly information for eclipses, phases of the moon, saints days, as well as lists of Royals and Lord Mayors, bank transfer days and other banking rates. In this copy, there is a folding view of the Royal Dramatic College.
Star of Ill-Omen
London: Hutchinson & Co., 1952. 320 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First edition; Inscribed by the author on title page, Illustrated dust jacket has really minor edge wear and slight rubbing, price of 12/6 net intact, nice and bright colors, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on spine, a few spots on fore edges, two pages with old newspaper imprint discoloring, otherwise a lovely copy in very good + condition.
Dennis Wheatley (1897 - 1977) was an English writer who wrote 65 novels from the 1930's through the 1960's, mostly thrillers, science fiction, and occult novels. It is said that one of his main characters, Gregory Sallust, was one of the inspiration's for the James Bond character by Ian Fleming. This book has it all: German scientists, Russian spies, beautiful women, atomic weapons, and flying saucers.
Cardography and Card Catalogue
Eugene, OR: Hypatia Press, 1987. 183 pages + Afterward and maps. 5 1/2 x 8 1/2"; LIMITED EDITION, 76 deluxe editions with 56 having hand-tinted tarot cards of the minor arcana tipped in, like this one, being the Lady of Wands. Beige leather slipcase in fine condition; Beige leather over boards with gilt design and lettering on cover and spine, illustrations throughout including beautiful copper tinted gilt endpapers, signed by Orson Scott Card (author), David Hartwell (editor) and Leslie Newcomer (artist) on limitation page, all in fine condition. Includes Catalogue of Card's works, signed by the compiler, Michael R. Collings and Card.
Orson Scott Card (1951 - ) is an American writer, public speaker, and columnist. He is known for many genres but best known for his science fiction and fantasy books, most especially Ender's Game and Speaker for the Dead, both of which won Hugo and Nebula Awards.
To The Hilt
London: Scorpion Press, 1996. 282 pp. 6 x 9 1/4"; LIMITED EDITION OF 99 COPIES, this being #92. Original clear acetate cover in fine condition; Marbled boards with green leather quarter bound, slightest hint of foxing on page edges, signed on limitation page by the author, green tint to top edge, a crisp copy in near fine condition.
Born Richard Stanley Francis (1920 - 2010), Dick Francis was a British crime writer whose novels were mostly centered on horse racing in England (he was a former steeplechase jockey himself). This book has an appreciation forward by Margaret Yorke, a well-known English crime fiction writer.
Wooden Willie
Chicago: M. A. Donohue & Company, 1927. 95 pp. 6 x 9"; Illustrated dust jacket has really minor wear, a small tear to the back cover, in near fine condition; Illustrated boards with black cloth spine, beautiful full-color illustrations throughout including some fantastic endpapers, some rubbing to bottom edges of book and a little only at the top, otherwise a lovely copy in very good + condition.
Johnny Gruelle (1880 - 1938), was an American children's book author, comics author, illustrator, and political cartoonist. He is probably best known for his Raggedy Ann and Raggedy Andy dolls and books.
Prelude to Space
[New York]: Gnome Press, Inc., 1954. 191 pp. 5 1/2 x 8"; First American edition, first printing; Illustrated dust jacket by EMSH with some slight rubbing, original price of $2.50 intact, in very good condition; Blue boards with red lettering on spine, some foxing to page edges, age toning of paper throughout, some stains to front cover, a lovely copy in very good condition.
Sir Arthur Charles Clarke (1917 - 2008) was a British science fiction writer, among other things . Best known for his screenplay for 2001: A Space Odyssey, he was a lifelong advocate of space travel.
Bones: A Nameless Detective Mystery
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1985. 5 3/4 x 8 1/4". 196 pp. Illustrated dust jacket with some creasing and wear at the edges, in very good + condition; Black cloth over boards with silver lettering on spine, in near fine condition.
Bill Pronzini, winner of the Best Novel of 1981, awarded by the Private Eye Writers of America for his novel "Hoodwink", Pronzini lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, as does his nameless detective. Bones is a mystery about a dead man's reasons for suicide and end up involving a figid wife, a ruthless lawyer, a bitter ex-wife, and a beligerant taxidermist turned landlord (according to the dust jacket flap). Full of deceit, intrigue and murder, it's an exciting mystery.
The Bookman's Wake
New York: Scribner, 1995. 6 1/4 x 9 1/2". 351 pp. First edition; Illustrated dust jacket in near-fine condition; Tan cloth over maroon boards with red lettering on spine, signed by the author on the title page with date of "4-12-95", binding a little loose in the spine, otherwise in near-fine condition.
This is the author's second book and the second time with the Cliff Janeway character. It involves a mysterious and rare Edgar Allan Poe book that someone might kill for and probably did.