Scott's Last Expedition -
Robert Falcon Scott, Leonard Huxley, Sir Clements Markham
1913 - Smith, London - First Edition
‘A worthy memorial of one of the great achievements of our time.’ – Winston Churchill
An exceptionally bright and clean set of the first edition, describing Scott's final, fateful and fatal journey in quest of the South Pole. Both volumes are illustrated with numerous plates from photographs by H. G. Ponting, plates from sketches and water colours by Edward A. Wilson, some colour; photogravure frontispiece portraits of Scott & Wilson, and two large folding maps.
‘It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more – R. Scott – For God's sake look after our people’
Volume I containing the diaries of Scott, including the letters written to Wilson's mother, Bowers' mother, a string of notables including his former commander Sir George Egerton, his own mother and his wife, together with his ‘Message to the Public’. Without these diaries, which were found on Scott’s body, we would never have known Oates’ immortal line ‘I am just going outside and may be some time’.
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Price HK$ 7,500
1913 - Smith, London - First Edition
‘A worthy memorial of one of the great achievements of our time.’ – Winston ChurchillAn exceptionally bright and clean set of the first edition, describing Scott's final, fateful and fatal journey in quest of the South Pole. Both volumes are illustrated with numerous plates from photographs by H. G. Ponting, plates from sketches and water colours by Edward A. Wilson, some colour; photogravure frontispiece portraits of Scott & Wilson, and two large folding maps.
‘It seems a pity, but I do not think I can write more – R. Scott – For God's sake look after our people’
Volume I containing the diaries of Scott, including the letters written to Wilson's mother, Bowers' mother, a string of notables including his former commander Sir George Egerton, his own mother and his wife, together with his ‘Message to the Public’. Without these diaries, which were found on Scott’s body, we would never have known Oates’ immortal line ‘I am just going outside and may be some time’.
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Price HK$ 7,500
Beyond the Hundredth Meridian: John Wesley Powell and the Second Opening of the West -
Wallace Stegner, Bernard DeVoto
1954 - Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston - First Edition
A fine first edition of Wallace Stegner’s epic work, with an introduction by Bernard DeVoto.
With a large folding panoramic frontispiece painting of the Grand Canyon by William H. Holmes, and illustrated throughout from engravings, paintings, sketches, maps, and photographs.
Stegner recounts the successes and frustrations of John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of Indian tribes of the American Southwest.
‘This book goes far beyond biography, into the nature and soul of the American West. It is Stegner at his best, assaying an entire era of our history, packing his pages with insights as shrewd as his prose.’ – Ivan Doig.
‘Wallace Stegner ... has summarized the frontier story and interpreted it as only one who was a part of it could do. The result is a memorable and rewarding book.’ – Hal Borland, New York Times Book Review.
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Price HK$ 6,000
1954 - Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston - First Edition
A fine first edition of Wallace Stegner’s epic work, with an introduction by Bernard DeVoto.With a large folding panoramic frontispiece painting of the Grand Canyon by William H. Holmes, and illustrated throughout from engravings, paintings, sketches, maps, and photographs.
Stegner recounts the successes and frustrations of John Wesley Powell, the distinguished ethnologist and geologist who explored the Colorado River, the Grand Canyon, and the homeland of Indian tribes of the American Southwest.
‘This book goes far beyond biography, into the nature and soul of the American West. It is Stegner at his best, assaying an entire era of our history, packing his pages with insights as shrewd as his prose.’ – Ivan Doig.
‘Wallace Stegner ... has summarized the frontier story and interpreted it as only one who was a part of it could do. The result is a memorable and rewarding book.’ – Hal Borland, New York Times Book Review.
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Price HK$ 6,000
Spies Never Return -
J. M. Walsh
1935 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of this Colonel Ormiston spy story, rare in original dust jacket.
‘Foreign spies at are work on the East Anglian coast trying to discover the secret of a new device of great important to Britain’s air defences...’
First edition, copyright page showing date of 1935 with no further impressions noted, and publisher's adverts to rear only promoting The Man From Whitehall (1934), Spies in Pursuit (1934), and King's Messenger (1933). Dust jacket priced ‘7/6 net’ to spine and with following Walsh titles to rear flap and panel - The Secret Service Girl (1933), Spies Are Abroad (1933), The Man From Whitehall (1934), Spies in Pursuit (1934), and King's Messenger (1933).
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Price HK$ 3,500
1935 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of this Colonel Ormiston spy story, rare in original dust jacket.‘Foreign spies at are work on the East Anglian coast trying to discover the secret of a new device of great important to Britain’s air defences...’
First edition, copyright page showing date of 1935 with no further impressions noted, and publisher's adverts to rear only promoting The Man From Whitehall (1934), Spies in Pursuit (1934), and King's Messenger (1933). Dust jacket priced ‘7/6 net’ to spine and with following Walsh titles to rear flap and panel - The Secret Service Girl (1933), Spies Are Abroad (1933), The Man From Whitehall (1934), Spies in Pursuit (1934), and King's Messenger (1933).
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Price HK$ 3,500
Dial 999 -
J. M. Walsh
1938 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of the third Oliver Keene spy story, rare in original dust jacket.
First edition, copyright page showing date of 1938 with no further impressions noted, and publisher's adverts to rear only promoting Island of Spies (1936), Black Dragon (1938), and Spies in Spain (1938).
Dial 999 - are these words the vital clue for Oliver Keene?
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Price HK$ 3,000
1938 - Collins, London - First Edition
First edition of the third Oliver Keene spy story, rare in original dust jacket.First edition, copyright page showing date of 1938 with no further impressions noted, and publisher's adverts to rear only promoting Island of Spies (1936), Black Dragon (1938), and Spies in Spain (1938).
Dial 999 - are these words the vital clue for Oliver Keene?
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Price HK$ 3,000
The Secret Service Girl -
J. M. Walsh
1933 - Collins, London - First Edition
Rare first edition in the fabulous first edition dust jacket with the silver spine and red lettering of Collins’ ‘Mystery Novel’ series (this style dust jacket was only used by Collins from 1933 to 1934, at which point the lettering was changed to black and the distinctive ‘M’ was dropped). A Colonel Ormiston Secret Service mystery.
‘An urgent call from the Department precipitated those clever Secret Service agents, Colonel Ormiston and his wife Rosalie, into rather a lively patch of trouble at Gibraltar. Rosalie gets on the track of a gang who are suspected of gun-running across the Straits of Morocco. Before too long the startling discovery is made of a daring plot to blow up the famous Rock itself...’
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Price HK$ 3,000
1933 - Collins, London - First Edition
Rare first edition in the fabulous first edition dust jacket with the silver spine and red lettering of Collins’ ‘Mystery Novel’ series (this style dust jacket was only used by Collins from 1933 to 1934, at which point the lettering was changed to black and the distinctive ‘M’ was dropped). A Colonel Ormiston Secret Service mystery.‘An urgent call from the Department precipitated those clever Secret Service agents, Colonel Ormiston and his wife Rosalie, into rather a lively patch of trouble at Gibraltar. Rosalie gets on the track of a gang who are suspected of gun-running across the Straits of Morocco. Before too long the startling discovery is made of a daring plot to blow up the famous Rock itself...’
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Price HK$ 3,000
King’s Messenger -
J. M. Walsh
1933 - Collins, London - First Edition
Rare first edition in the evocative first edition dust jacket with the silver spine and red lettering of Collins’ ‘Mystery Novel’ series (this style dust jacket was only used by Collines from 1933 to 1934, at which point the lettering was changed to black and the distinctive ‘M’ was dropped).
‘On a train between Alexandria and Cairo, a female passenger hears a commotion in the compartment next to her and goes to investigate. She discovers fleeing the room an Arab who, after an attempt to silence her, flees leaving a murdered man in the room. He also, in his haste, dropped a small packet and it is that item which will send Ormiston and Kent on a wild adventure.’
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Price HK$ 3,000
1933 - Collins, London - First Edition
Rare first edition in the evocative first edition dust jacket with the silver spine and red lettering of Collins’ ‘Mystery Novel’ series (this style dust jacket was only used by Collines from 1933 to 1934, at which point the lettering was changed to black and the distinctive ‘M’ was dropped).‘On a train between Alexandria and Cairo, a female passenger hears a commotion in the compartment next to her and goes to investigate. She discovers fleeing the room an Arab who, after an attempt to silence her, flees leaving a murdered man in the room. He also, in his haste, dropped a small packet and it is that item which will send Ormiston and Kent on a wild adventure.’
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Price HK$ 3,000
The Complete Angler -
Izaak Walton, Charles Cotton, Edward Jesse (editor)
1861 - Henry G. Bohn, London - The Second Jesse Edition
A finely bound copy of one of the most profusely illustrated editions, the second to be edited by Edward Jesse. According to Oliver, ‘this edition has been criticized as having been somewhat too fully annotated and illustrated, but the illustrations, in our opinion, add as much to the charm of the book, as the notes do to its interest’.
‘Indeed, my good scholar, we may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries,
" Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did ";
and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.’
The most enduring distinction of the Complete Angler is the one cast off by its subtitle The Contemplative Man's Recreation with its graceful evocations of a life free from hurly-burly in the company of friends intent on physical and moral sustenance. The range of perspectives that Walton brings to bear on his rural descriptions embrace literature, poetry, music and anecdote.
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Price HK$ 9,500
1861 - Henry G. Bohn, London - The Second Jesse Edition
A finely bound copy of one of the most profusely illustrated editions, the second to be edited by Edward Jesse. According to Oliver, ‘this edition has been criticized as having been somewhat too fully annotated and illustrated, but the illustrations, in our opinion, add as much to the charm of the book, as the notes do to its interest’.‘Indeed, my good scholar, we may say of angling, as Dr. Boteler said of strawberries,
" Doubtless God could have made a better berry, but doubtless God never did ";
and so, if I might be judge, God never did make a more calm, quiet, innocent recreation than angling.’
The most enduring distinction of the Complete Angler is the one cast off by its subtitle The Contemplative Man's Recreation with its graceful evocations of a life free from hurly-burly in the company of friends intent on physical and moral sustenance. The range of perspectives that Walton brings to bear on his rural descriptions embrace literature, poetry, music and anecdote.
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Price HK$ 9,500
Imperial Cricket -
P. F. Warner (editor)
1912 - The London & Counties Press Association Ltd, London - Subscriber’s Edition number 461 of 900
‘Hail CRICKET! Glorious, manly, British Game!
First of all Sports! be alike in Fame!’ – James Love, 1744.
And Huzzah! to that. Presenting a magnificent and obviously imperial work, which covers the growth and development of Cricket throughout the Empire from Hong Kong and the Far East, Ceylon, India, British Malaya and Bermuda to South Africa, West Africa, India, Australia, Fiji, Egypt and the Sudan. Not only the history of Cricket in each area but with anecdotes and illustrations. In addition there are chapters on The History of Cricket; Cricket and the Royal Family, Oxford and Cambridge Cricket; I Zingari; and Free Foresters.
A nice example of this large work (32x26x6cm), heavily illustrated with six full page photogravure plates, three full page colour plates and 93 black and white images.
Contributors include FS Ashley-Cooper, ACM Croome, Andrew Lang, Cecil Headlam and SP Foenander. With an extensive index compiled by Ashley-Cooper.
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Price HK$ 5,500
1912 - The London & Counties Press Association Ltd, London - Subscriber’s Edition number 461 of 900
‘Hail CRICKET! Glorious, manly, British Game!First of all Sports! be alike in Fame!’ – James Love, 1744.
And Huzzah! to that. Presenting a magnificent and obviously imperial work, which covers the growth and development of Cricket throughout the Empire from Hong Kong and the Far East, Ceylon, India, British Malaya and Bermuda to South Africa, West Africa, India, Australia, Fiji, Egypt and the Sudan. Not only the history of Cricket in each area but with anecdotes and illustrations. In addition there are chapters on The History of Cricket; Cricket and the Royal Family, Oxford and Cambridge Cricket; I Zingari; and Free Foresters.
A nice example of this large work (32x26x6cm), heavily illustrated with six full page photogravure plates, three full page colour plates and 93 black and white images.
Contributors include FS Ashley-Cooper, ACM Croome, Andrew Lang, Cecil Headlam and SP Foenander. With an extensive index compiled by Ashley-Cooper.
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Price HK$ 5,500