Opera Sesta -
Arcangelo Corelli da Fusignano
1711 to Circa 1745 - Walsh, London - Opus 5 - First English Edition, Opuses 1-4 & 6 early English ediitons
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
1711 to Circa 1745 - Walsh, London - Opus 5 - First English Edition, Opuses 1-4 & 6 early English ediitons
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
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$ 22,000
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$ 22,000
The Life and Adventures of Martin Chuzzlewit -
Charles DIckens, Hablot Knight Browne “Phiz” (illustrator)
1844 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition
A handsomely bound first edition of Dickens’ satirical comedy of hypocrisy, selfishness, and greed, the picaresque story of young Martin Chuzzlewit who, together with the scheming architect Pecksniff, journeys to America to seek his fortune.
With 39 engraved plates and engraved title page vignette by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz").
‘Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he’s well drest’.
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Price HK$ 12,000
1844 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition
A handsomely bound first edition of Dickens’ satirical comedy of hypocrisy, selfishness, and greed, the picaresque story of young Martin Chuzzlewit who, together with the scheming architect Pecksniff, journeys to America to seek his fortune.With 39 engraved plates and engraved title page vignette by Hablot Knight Browne ("Phiz").
‘Any man may be in good spirits and good temper when he’s well drest’.
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Price HK$ 12,000
Our Mutual Friend -
Charles DIckens, Marcus Stone (illustrator)
1865 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition
Handsomely bound first edition of Charles Dickens’s last complete novel and a glorious satire spanning all levels of Victorian society. Illustrated with forty engraved plates by Marcus Stone.
‘Our Mutual Friend centres on an inheritance – Old Harmon’s profitable dust heaps – and its legatees, young John Harmon, presumed drowned when a body is pulled out of the River Thames, and kindly dustman Mr Boffin, to whom the fortune defaults. With brilliant satire, Dickens portrays a dark, macabre London, inhabited by such disparate characters as Gaffer Hexam, scavenging the river for corpses; enchanting, mercenary Bella Wilfer; the social-climbing Veneerings; and the unscrupulous street-trader Silas Wegg. The novel is richly symbolic in its vision of death and renewal in a city dominated by the fetid Thames, and the corrupting power of money’.
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Price HK$ 10,000
1865 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition
Handsomely bound first edition of Charles Dickens’s last complete novel and a glorious satire spanning all levels of Victorian society. Illustrated with forty engraved plates by Marcus Stone.‘Our Mutual Friend centres on an inheritance – Old Harmon’s profitable dust heaps – and its legatees, young John Harmon, presumed drowned when a body is pulled out of the River Thames, and kindly dustman Mr Boffin, to whom the fortune defaults. With brilliant satire, Dickens portrays a dark, macabre London, inhabited by such disparate characters as Gaffer Hexam, scavenging the river for corpses; enchanting, mercenary Bella Wilfer; the social-climbing Veneerings; and the unscrupulous street-trader Silas Wegg. The novel is richly symbolic in its vision of death and renewal in a city dominated by the fetid Thames, and the corrupting power of money’.
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Price HK$ 10,000
The Adventures and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
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Price HK$ 45,000
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem. Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
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Price HK$ 45,000
Justine, Balthazar, Mountolive, Clea; Being the Alexandria Quartet. -
Lawrence Durrell
1957 - Faber and Faber, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions, housed in a bespoke slipcase.
'One of the most important works of our time.' - New York Times Book Review.
The Alexandria Quartet is is considered to be Lawrence Durrell's crowning literary achievement and his most admired work, at heart a sensuous and brilliant evocation of wartime Egypt, with the first three works presenting three diverging perspectives on the same set of events while the fourth acts as a coda.
In this world of corrupt glamour, L. G. Darley attempts to reconcile himself to the end of his affair with the dark, passionate Justine Hosnani - setting alight a beguiling exploration of sexual and political intrigue that Durrell himself described as 'an investigation of modern love'.
'A formidable, glittering achievement.' - Times Literary Supplement.
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Price HK$ 16,000
1957 - Faber and Faber, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions, housed in a bespoke slipcase.'One of the most important works of our time.' - New York Times Book Review.
The Alexandria Quartet is is considered to be Lawrence Durrell's crowning literary achievement and his most admired work, at heart a sensuous and brilliant evocation of wartime Egypt, with the first three works presenting three diverging perspectives on the same set of events while the fourth acts as a coda.
In this world of corrupt glamour, L. G. Darley attempts to reconcile himself to the end of his affair with the dark, passionate Justine Hosnani - setting alight a beguiling exploration of sexual and political intrigue that Durrell himself described as 'an investigation of modern love'.
'A formidable, glittering achievement.' - Times Literary Supplement.
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Price HK$ 16,000
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
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
Flying Colours. Including A Ship Of The Line -
C. S. Forester
1938 - Michael Joseph Ltd. in conjunction with The Book Society Ltd., London - First Edition
One finely bound volume containing two classic Hornblower novels, in which Captain Horatio Hornblower commands his first ship of the line, HMS Sutherland. A Ship Of The Line and Flying Colours, are the second and third books in the Horatio Hornblower series. This is the first publication of Flying Colours which was released shortly afterwards as a stand alone title, making this the true first edition.
A Ship of the Line - May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems ‘the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List’. Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train ‘poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers’, and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms for both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships.
Flying Colours - Forced to surrender the Sutherland after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, are to be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating the laws of war, and most probably executed as part of Napoleon's attempt to rally the war-weary empire behind him. Even if Hornblower escapes this fate and somehow finds his way back to England, he will face court-martial for his surrender of a British ship. As fears for his life and his reputation compete in his mind with worries about his pregnant wife and his possibly widowed lover, the indomitable captain impatiently awaits the chance to make his next move.
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Price HK$ 5,000
1938 - Michael Joseph Ltd. in conjunction with The Book Society Ltd., London - First Edition
One finely bound volume containing two classic Hornblower novels, in which Captain Horatio Hornblower commands his first ship of the line, HMS Sutherland. A Ship Of The Line and Flying Colours, are the second and third books in the Horatio Hornblower series. This is the first publication of Flying Colours which was released shortly afterwards as a stand alone title, making this the true first edition.A Ship of the Line - May 1810, seventeen years deep into the Napoleonic Wars. Captain Horatio Hornblower is newly in command of his first ship of the line, the seventy-four-gun HMS Sutherland, which he deems ‘the ugliest and least desirable two-decker in the Navy List’. Moreover, she is 250 men short of a full crew, so Hornblower must enlist and train ‘poachers, bigamists, sheepstealers’, and other landlubbers. By the time the Sutherland reaches the blockaded Catalonian coast of Spain, the crew is capable of staging five astonishing solo raids against the French. But the grisly prospect of defeat and capture looms for both captain and crew as the Sutherland single-handedly takes on four French ships.
Flying Colours - Forced to surrender the Sutherland after a long and bloody battle, Captain Horatio Hornblower now bides his time as a prisoner in a French fortress. Within days he and his first lieutenant, Bush, who was crippled in the last fight, are to be taken to Paris to be tried on trumped-up charges of violating the laws of war, and most probably executed as part of Napoleon's attempt to rally the war-weary empire behind him. Even if Hornblower escapes this fate and somehow finds his way back to England, he will face court-martial for his surrender of a British ship. As fears for his life and his reputation compete in his mind with worries about his pregnant wife and his possibly widowed lover, the indomitable captain impatiently awaits the chance to make his next move.
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Price HK$ 5,000