Results 17 - 24 of 51 results

1711 to Circa 1745 - Walsh, London - Opus 5 - First English Edition, Opuses 1-4 &
A complete set of the great Arcangelo Corelli’s works, Opuses 1-6, including ‘La Folia’. Opuses 1-5 finely bound in five later tan calf volumes, Opus 6 in seven 18th century volumes. Total twelve volumes.

Arcangelo Corelli da Fusignano (1653–1713) was one of the most sought-after violin teachers in Italy and his pupils included Castrucci, Gasparini, Geminiani, Bonporti and Locatelli. ‘Despite the modest size of his output, comprising six collections of instrumental music and a handful of other authentic works, and its virtual restriction to three genres – solo sonata, trio sonata and concerto – Corelli exercised an unparalleled influence during his lifetime and for a long time afterwards. This influence, which affected form, style and instrumental technique in equal measure, was most closely felt in Italy, and in particular in Rome, where he settled in early manhood, but soon spread beyond local and national confines to become a European phenomenon. As a violinist, teacher of the violin and director of instrumental ensembles Corelli imposed standards of discipline that were unusually strict for their period and helped to lay the groundwork for further progress along the same lines during the 18th century. To Corelli belong equally the distinctions of being the first composer to derive his fame exclusively from instrumental composition, the first to owe his reputation in large part to the activity of music publishers, and the first to produce 'classic' instrumental works which were admired and studied long after their idiom became outmoded.’ – Michael Talbot, Grove (online). 
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Price HK$ 50,000



Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy s Progress - Charles Dickens ( Boz )

1838 - Richard Bentley, London - First Edition, First Issue
Please, Sir, I want some more.’

First edition in fine contemporary bindings, first issue with the 'fireside' plate’ (i.e. Rose, Maylie and Oliver) between pages 312-13, which was suppressed in the second issue. Illustrated throughout with frontispieces and twenty-one plates etched by George Cruikshank.

Dickens was severely criticised for introducing criminals and prostitutes in Oliver Twist to which he responded - ‘
I saw no reason, when I wrote this book, why the very dregs of life, so long as their speech did not offend the ear, should not serve the purpose of a moral, at least as well as its froth and cream’. 
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Price HK$ 32,000



The Christmas Books. Being; A Christmas Carol, The Chimes, The Cricket on the Hearth, The Battle of Life and The Haunted Man - Charles Dickens, Charles Brock (illustrator)

1905-1907 - J.M. Dent and Co., London - First Editions to be Illustrated by Charles Brock in Colour
An attractive set of these classic seasonal tales, splendidly illustrated and presented in festive green and cranberry red bindings, all housed in a bespoke fleece-lined cloth slipcase with ribbon pull.

Beginning with
A Christmas Carol when old, surly Ebenezer Scrooge receives a visit from the ghost of Marley, his late business partner, on Christmas eve, and he beholds a series of visions of the past, present, and future that make him decide to amend his ways…

‘After the success attained with
A Christmas Carol in 1843 Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840s, maintaining what he called "the Carol philosophy" to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed. In typical Dickens fashion he drove his message home with a mixture of humour and good cheer’. [David Purdue]. 
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Price HK$ 20,000



1949-1951 - William Heinemann, London
A finely bound twelve volume set of Dostoevsky’s novels, first translated by Constance Garnett between 1912 and 1920, and now difficult to assemble in this format. 
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Price HK$ 32,000



The Hound of the Baskervilles. Another Adventure of Sherlock Holmes - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sidney Paget (illustrator)

1902 - George Newnes, London - First Edition First Issue [misprint 'you' for 'your' p.13 line 3]
A finely bound first edition of this legendary and terrifying mystery in which Holmes and Watson must investigate the menacing devil-beast that haunts the moors around the Baskerville ancestral home. Dramatically illustrated with sixteen plates by Sidney Paget. To be read in a big leather armchair on a stormy night, whisky to hand.

Sherlock Holmes still remains the world’s best-known and best-loved fictional detective’ and
The Hound of the Baskervilles one of the most desirable and classic works of detective fiction. Arguably the great detective's most charismatic case; "Holmes is at his very best, and it is a highly dramatic idea" - Doyle, to his mother, 2nd April 1902. 
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Price HK$ 18,000



The Life of an Actor. Dedicated to Edmund Kean, Esq. The Poetical Descriptions by T. Greenwood. Embellished with Twenty-seven Characteristic Scenes, etched by Theodore Lane; Enriched also with Several Original Designs on Wood, executed by Mr. Thompson - Pierce Egan, T. Greenwood, Theodore Lane (illustrator)

1825 - Printed for C.S. Arnold, London - First Edition
A finely bound example of Pierce Egan’s wonderful and amusing novel centred around Peregrine Proteus, and his various highs and lows attempting to pursue a career on the stage. Dedicated to Edmund Kean (1789-1833) the greatest of English tragic actors, a turbulent genius noted as much for his megalomania and ungovernable behaviour as for his portrayals of villains in Shakespearean plays.

Illustrated with twenty-seven hand-coloured aquatint plates by Theodore Lane and nine woodcut engravings by John Thompson (1785-1866).
 
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Price HK$ 15,000



Complete James Bond series - Ian Lancaster Fleming

1963-1979 - Jonathan Cape, London - Early Editions
A magnificent and complete 14 volume set of the Jonathan Cape printings (the original publisher of the James Bond novels), the final title Octopussy being a first impression, as this book was never reprinted in the original format.

Each book is in publisher’s cloth, with the creative embellishments in gilt silver or gilt matching those of the first editions. All dust jacket designs match those of the first Cape Editions with the exception of
Casino Royale which was changed, after the third impression, to the wonderful ‘Vesper Lynd’ playing card style shown here, and Moonraker is in the 1965 design.

Comprising:
Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories inc. From A View To A Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun and Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories). 
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Price HK$ 25,000



The Centenary Edition of Ian Fleming's James Bond Novels - Ian Lancaster Fleming

2008 - Penguin 007, London - Centenary Edition, First Printings
A complete 14 volume collection of the Bond novels, issued to celebrate the 100th birthday of Ian Fleming (28th May 2008).

With the magnificently ‘retro’ style artwork by Michael Gillette to dust jackets.

A fine and particularly uncommon set, all first printings in first printing dust jackets, housed in a custom-made cloth slipcase with fleece lining and ribbon pulls, each dust jacket with archival cover.
 
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Price HK$ 25,000



 
Results 17 - 24 of 51 results