On the Danger Line -
Georges Simenon
1944 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First Edition in English
Contains Home Town a ‘flawless... a thrillingly human little tragedy in which all the characters, all the scenes, are vividly real’ (Sunday Times), and The Green Thermos a realistic picture of terrorist milieux in Paris.
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Price HK$ 2,000
1944 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First Edition in English
Contains Home Town a ‘flawless... a thrillingly human little tragedy in which all the characters, all the scenes, are vividly real’ (Sunday Times), and The Green Thermos a realistic picture of terrorist milieux in Paris.
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Price HK$ 2,000
The Shadow Falls -
Georges Simenon
1945 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First Edition in English
A full length novel, instead of mystery novelettes, this new Simenon realistically explores the motivating psychologies of his characters, chronicles the infinitesimal advances toward tragedy, of a respected, respectable French family. Philippe whom they scorn marries the daughter and, corrupted by ambition, brings about the downfall of the Donadieus. A promoter, he brings in money, but needs more, his activities affect all members as he manoeuvres each to his needs and wishes, his move from La Rochelle to Paris brings about the dissolution of his marriage and triple death. The evil power of selfish force in microscopic detail. (Kirkus Reviews)
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Price HK$ 1,600
1945 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First Edition in English
A full length novel, instead of mystery novelettes, this new Simenon realistically explores the motivating psychologies of his characters, chronicles the infinitesimal advances toward tragedy, of a respected, respectable French family. Philippe whom they scorn marries the daughter and, corrupted by ambition, brings about the downfall of the Donadieus. A promoter, he brings in money, but needs more, his activities affect all members as he manoeuvres each to his needs and wishes, his move from La Rochelle to Paris brings about the dissolution of his marriage and triple death. The evil power of selfish force in microscopic detail. (Kirkus Reviews)
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Price HK$ 1,600
Magnet of Doom -
Georges Simenon
1948 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First English Edition
‘A story of murder and scandal by a master of criminal psychology' beginning with the Belgian Congo of the 1890’s and the pioneering Ferchaux brothers.
The basis of the 1963 film noir by Jean-Pierre Melville starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
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Price HK$ 800
1948 - George Routledge & Sons Ltd., London - First English Edition
‘A story of murder and scandal by a master of criminal psychology' beginning with the Belgian Congo of the 1890’s and the pioneering Ferchaux brothers.The basis of the 1963 film noir by Jean-Pierre Melville starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
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Price HK$ 800
Black Rain -
Georges Simenon
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First English Edition
Contains The Survivors, a mystery set at a seaport on the North coast of France, and Black Rain, ‘dramatic in the intensity of its concentration, provocative in its implied rather than overt intent, this again proves the author's ability to blueprint character climax, psychological overtones. For the sustained monotone of a child's memories emphasises the mounting tensions in his family as a self-centered old aunt comes to live with his parents, and her visit coincides with a manhunt. The piling of little incident on little incident, the importance of each moment's happenings, increase the child's hatred for the old lady, and underline the narrowing search for the fugitive’ (Kirkus Reviews)
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Price HK$ 800
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First English Edition
Contains The Survivors, a mystery set at a seaport on the North coast of France, and Black Rain, ‘dramatic in the intensity of its concentration, provocative in its implied rather than overt intent, this again proves the author's ability to blueprint character climax, psychological overtones. For the sustained monotone of a child's memories emphasises the mounting tensions in his family as a self-centered old aunt comes to live with his parents, and her visit coincides with a manhunt. The piling of little incident on little incident, the importance of each moment's happenings, increase the child's hatred for the old lady, and underline the narrowing search for the fugitive’ (Kirkus Reviews) More details
Price HK$ 800
A Wife at Sea -
Georges Simenon
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First Edition in English
Contains A Wife at Sea (translated from Les Pitard), a story developed on board a small ship tossed on the mountainous waves of the far northern seas, and The Murderer (translated from L'Assassin), set in a small provincial town, records without mercy the gradua and inevitable disintegration of a young doctor who has murdered his wife and her lover.
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Price HK$ 1,500
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First Edition in English
Contains A Wife at Sea (translated from Les Pitard), a story developed on board a small ship tossed on the mountainous waves of the far northern seas, and The Murderer (translated from L'Assassin), set in a small provincial town, records without mercy the gradua and inevitable disintegration of a young doctor who has murdered his wife and her lover.
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Price HK$ 1,500
Chit of a Girl -
Georges Simenon
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First Edition in English
Contains Chit of a Girl, concerning two sisters who live in a fishing village on the French coast, and Justice, a tale of crime and sordidness in that happy hunting ground of vice “de luxe”, the French Riviera.
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Price HK$ 1,000
1949 - Routledge & Kegan Paul Limited, London - First Edition in English
Contains Chit of a Girl, concerning two sisters who live in a fishing village on the French coast, and Justice, a tale of crime and sordidness in that happy hunting ground of vice “de luxe”, the French Riviera.
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Price HK$ 1,000
Sketches of Chinese Life & Character -
William R. Snow
1860 - Dickinson Bros., 114
A rare large folio of 17 hand-coloured lithographic plates by M. & N. Hanhart from sketches by William R. Snow. Some plates heightened with gum-arabic. Originally sold in three parts, probably loose for ease of framing, and housed in wrappers. It may be assumed that the plate of ‘The Game of Shuttlecock’ was used for that purpose as it is not included here. The three sets of original wrappers have been bound in, and the plate titles are as follows:
Part I.
Going to a Picnic, Mode of Travelling A Long Journey in China.
Rival Caravans, The Desert of To Day.
A Clean Shave.
A Slap on the Back, More Pleasant Than it Looks.
How This Little Pig Went to Market.
Ye Civil Force.
Part II.
Costermongers - Victoria Street, Hong Kong (named as ‘Canton’ in the Plate List).
Chinese funeral - Mode of Carrying the Coffin.
Musicians and Flag Bearers in Advance of a Funeral.
Sketch from the Wall on the Morning after the Grand Attack.
Dinner Hour of a Chinese Family on Board a Chop on the Canton River.
Part III.
On the Wall, Canton.
A Group of Coolies at a Portable Soup Kitchen.
Military Train Coolies Going Home.
Sketch of a Mandarin, Grand Stand Canton.
Astonishment of Ye Natives at Red Hair.
A Group of Coolies on the Road at Dinner.
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Price HK$ 180,000
1860 - Dickinson Bros., 114
A rare large folio of 17 hand-coloured lithographic plates by M. & N. Hanhart from sketches by William R. Snow. Some plates heightened with gum-arabic. Originally sold in three parts, probably loose for ease of framing, and housed in wrappers. It may be assumed that the plate of ‘The Game of Shuttlecock’ was used for that purpose as it is not included here. The three sets of original wrappers have been bound in, and the plate titles are as follows:Part I.
Going to a Picnic, Mode of Travelling A Long Journey in China.
Rival Caravans, The Desert of To Day.
A Clean Shave.
A Slap on the Back, More Pleasant Than it Looks.
How This Little Pig Went to Market.
Ye Civil Force.
Part II.
Costermongers - Victoria Street, Hong Kong (named as ‘Canton’ in the Plate List).
Chinese funeral - Mode of Carrying the Coffin.
Musicians and Flag Bearers in Advance of a Funeral.
Sketch from the Wall on the Morning after the Grand Attack.
Dinner Hour of a Chinese Family on Board a Chop on the Canton River.
Part III.
On the Wall, Canton.
A Group of Coolies at a Portable Soup Kitchen.
Military Train Coolies Going Home.
Sketch of a Mandarin, Grand Stand Canton.
Astonishment of Ye Natives at Red Hair.
A Group of Coolies on the Road at Dinner.
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Price HK$ 180,000
Angle of Repose - Inscribed -
Wallace Stegner
1971 - Doubleday & Company, Garden City - First Edition
Inscribed and signed by Stegner on the half title: "For Sally Pindar, who never got out of that contemporary novel course unscathed. Wally."
First edition of Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, of which he later stated ‘It’s perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story, that’s my story’, and James D. Houston of the Los Angeles Times Book Review said is now ‘recognized as a masterpiece’.
‘The book tells the story of a retired history professor in California who is editing the papers of his grandmother, a writer and illustrator of the nineteenth century. The professor has taken on the project to forget his own marital and health problems, and as he imagines the lives of his grandparents, he reflects on, and comes to an understanding of, his own life’
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Price HK$ 18,000
1971 - Doubleday & Company, Garden City - First Edition
Inscribed and signed by Stegner on the half title: "For Sally Pindar, who never got out of that contemporary novel course unscathed. Wally." First edition of Stegner’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel, of which he later stated ‘It’s perfectly clear that if every writer is born to write one story, that’s my story’, and James D. Houston of the Los Angeles Times Book Review said is now ‘recognized as a masterpiece’.
‘The book tells the story of a retired history professor in California who is editing the papers of his grandmother, a writer and illustrator of the nineteenth century. The professor has taken on the project to forget his own marital and health problems, and as he imagines the lives of his grandparents, he reflects on, and comes to an understanding of, his own life’
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Price HK$ 18,000