New Arrivals
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.
Jose and the Burro
San Diego, CA: Ash Ranch Press, 1987. 54 pp. Approximately 1 1/8 x 1 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 126 copies, this being #27. Green leather with stamped decorations and the author's initials on both covers, letterpress, illustrated, color ink and illustration on the title page, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Ash Ranch Press #4)
Printed to commemorate the 99th birthday of Harry Oliver (1888-1973). This is a short but inspirational story about an old man and his burro, printed in a lovely binding.
The Tramp Printer
San Diego, CA: Ash Ranch Press, 1987. 36 pp. Approximately 1 1/8 x 1 1/4". LIMITED EDITION of 126 copies, this being #21. Dark blue leather with stamped green ink and blue foil decorations on both covers, letterpress, illustrated by Don Hildreth, printed in blue ink up through the title page, in fine condition. (Bradbury, Ash Ranch Press #3)
A prince of the road, the king of vagabonds, the tramp printer -- all these titles for a man who dropped in occasionally at a print shop and helped out and then hit the road again. A fond memory story in a beautiful little binding.
Small Rain Upon the Tender Herb
London: Religious Tract Society, [1860]. 1 x 1 1/4". [128 pp.]. Maroon morocco with gilt rulings to covers and spine, text block pulling away from binding but complete, all edges gilt, later edition, inked name and date on front free endpaper, in very good condition. (Welsh 6440, Bondy 126-7)
Printed originally ca. 1830, this sweet little religious book contains short Bible extracts for every day of the year, including February 29th. A very popular publication which was reprinted for about 60 years, yet surprisingly are a little scarce in good condition. This one printed by Spottiswoode & Co.
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.
10-lb Penalty
London: Michael Joseph, 1997. 6 x 9 1/2". 272 pp. First edition; Pictorial dust jacket in fine condition; Black cloth over boards with gilt stamped lettering on spine, signed by the author on the title page, in fine condition.
In Dick Francis' 36th novel, Benedit Juliard is an amateur jockey whose father has political ambitions which end up embroiling them both in lies and treachery. 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).
The Treasure Cave: A Book of New Prose and Verse
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928. 7 3/4 x 10". Red cloth over boards with black stamped lettering and design, bookstore stamp on inside free endpaper, various illustrators with Daphne Jerrold being the most prominant, both black and white illustrations and tipped-in color illustrations, no dust jacket, corners bumped and a little worn, otherwise in very good condition.
A collection of stories and poems from the time, mostly romantic in nature. The Treasure Cave contains a nice mix of male and female authors, with Rafael Sabatini being perhaps the most well-known.