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Charlie Chan Carries On -
Earl Derr Biggers
Circa 1931 - Grosset & Dunlap, New York - Photoplay edition
The fifth novel in the series, this photoplay edition was issued for the movie starring Warner Oland in 1931, however only a trailer is known to have survived. Marvelous dust jacket, and illustrated with photographic plates from the film.
So popular was Charlie Chan that a total of 44 ‘Charlie Chan’ movies were made from 1931 to 1949 (actually, there were three others from 1925 to 1929, each with a different actor who played Chan). Over the length of this series, six different actors, none of whom were really Chinese, starred as Charlie Chan.
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Price HK$ 2,200
Circa 1931 - Grosset & Dunlap, New York - Photoplay edition
The fifth novel in the series, this photoplay edition was issued for the movie starring Warner Oland in 1931, however only a trailer is known to have survived. Marvelous dust jacket, and illustrated with photographic plates from the film. So popular was Charlie Chan that a total of 44 ‘Charlie Chan’ movies were made from 1931 to 1949 (actually, there were three others from 1925 to 1929, each with a different actor who played Chan). Over the length of this series, six different actors, none of whom were really Chinese, starred as Charlie Chan.
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Price HK$ 2,200
The Ninth Configuration -
William Peter Blatty
1978 - Harper & Row, New York - First Edition Thus
Signed and inscribed by the author of The Exorcist.
‘In a decaying Gothic mansion hidden in a forest near the coast of the Pacific Northwest are twenty-seven men confined for the treatment of inexplicable mental disturbances.....’
This novel is a reworking of the author's previously published novel Twinkle, Twinkle Killer Kane whose basic concept Blatty states ‘was surely the best I have ever created,’ however the work ‘was no more than notes for a novel’. ‘But the idea mattered to me so once again I have written a novel based on it. This time I know it is the best that I can do’.
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Price HK$ 900
1978 - Harper & Row, New York - First Edition Thus
Signed and inscribed by the author of The Exorcist.‘In a decaying Gothic mansion hidden in a forest near the coast of the Pacific Northwest are twenty-seven men confined for the treatment of inexplicable mental disturbances.....’
This novel is a reworking of the author's previously published novel Twinkle, Twinkle Killer Kane whose basic concept Blatty states ‘was surely the best I have ever created,’ however the work ‘was no more than notes for a novel’. ‘But the idea mattered to me so once again I have written a novel based on it. This time I know it is the best that I can do’.
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Price HK$ 900
The Thirty-Nine Steps -
John Buchan
1915 - William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London - First Edition
Penned in the early months of the first world war, while Buchan was writing for the War Propaganda Bureau and as a correspondent for The Times in France. Described as ‘the perfect thriller’, The Thirty-Nine Steps introduced the world to spy-catcher Richard Hannay, who was based on a friend of Buchan’s from his days serving in South Africa - Edmund Ironside.
One of the first ‘dime’ novels, it enthralled men and women in both trenches and households alike, and famously brought to the big screen in 1935 by Alfred Hitchcock, and is considered one of the legendary director's greatest pictures.
A superior example of the first edition with little of the usual toning caused by the cheap paper stock. Housed in custom clamshell case, navy morocco leather over matching cloth, spine lettered in gilt, felt lined.
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Price HK$ 15,000
1915 - William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh and London - First Edition
Penned in the early months of the first world war, while Buchan was writing for the War Propaganda Bureau and as a correspondent for The Times in France. Described as ‘the perfect thriller’, The Thirty-Nine Steps introduced the world to spy-catcher Richard Hannay, who was based on a friend of Buchan’s from his days serving in South Africa - Edmund Ironside.One of the first ‘dime’ novels, it enthralled men and women in both trenches and households alike, and famously brought to the big screen in 1935 by Alfred Hitchcock, and is considered one of the legendary director's greatest pictures.
A superior example of the first edition with little of the usual toning caused by the cheap paper stock. Housed in custom clamshell case, navy morocco leather over matching cloth, spine lettered in gilt, felt lined.
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Price HK$ 15,000
High Sierra -
W. R. Burnett
1940 - Alfred A Knopf, New York. London - First Edition in First State Dust Jacket
‘In the darkness, in a vivid flash, he saw old Barmy’s thin wise face. Dead and buried now, poor guy! What was it he’d said about being buried? Yeah. Barmy said when they planted him he’d be wearing ‘the turning globe’ for an overcoat. Now, who’d think of a thing like that but him? It made you see the little earth lost in space, turning slowly through the night.’
‘In High Sierra, Burnett, one of the most influential of the ‘Hard-Boiled’ crime writers, changed the typical characterisation of the gangster story from the aggressive, ambitious figure characterisation of the 1930’s to the ageing Roy Earle, a gangster well past his prime. A sense of fatalism pervades the story, and Burnett and John Huston scripted a film version for Warner Bros, which was released in 1941 with Humphrey Bogart as Earle.’ – Encyclopedia of Film Noir.
Housed in custom cloth slipcase.
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Price HK$ 8,000
1940 - Alfred A Knopf, New York. London - First Edition in First State Dust Jacket
‘In the darkness, in a vivid flash, he saw old Barmy’s thin wise face. Dead and buried now, poor guy! What was it he’d said about being buried? Yeah. Barmy said when they planted him he’d be wearing ‘the turning globe’ for an overcoat. Now, who’d think of a thing like that but him? It made you see the little earth lost in space, turning slowly through the night.’‘In High Sierra, Burnett, one of the most influential of the ‘Hard-Boiled’ crime writers, changed the typical characterisation of the gangster story from the aggressive, ambitious figure characterisation of the 1930’s to the ageing Roy Earle, a gangster well past his prime. A sense of fatalism pervades the story, and Burnett and John Huston scripted a film version for Warner Bros, which was released in 1941 with Humphrey Bogart as Earle.’ – Encyclopedia of Film Noir.
Housed in custom cloth slipcase.
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Price HK$ 8,000
In Cold Blood -
Truman Capote
1965 - Random House, New York - First Edition
‘The publication of In Cold Blood in 1966 launched Truman Capote firmly into the top rank of American writers, it was - and is - widely heralded as a masterpiece - not only a masterpiece of writing, but as a brilliant insight into the criminal mind.’ - J.J. Maloney.
The first edition of what is considered by many as Capote’s masterpiece, and one of the most important and influential book of creative non-fiction ever written by an American writer in his time.
‘The best documentary account of an American crime ever written.… The book chills the blood and exercises the intelligence… harrowing.’ –The New York Review of Books.
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Price HK$ 5,400
1965 - Random House, New York - First Edition
‘The publication of In Cold Blood in 1966 launched Truman Capote firmly into the top rank of American writers, it was - and is - widely heralded as a masterpiece - not only a masterpiece of writing, but as a brilliant insight into the criminal mind.’ - J.J. Maloney.The first edition of what is considered by many as Capote’s masterpiece, and one of the most important and influential book of creative non-fiction ever written by an American writer in his time.
‘The best documentary account of an American crime ever written.… The book chills the blood and exercises the intelligence… harrowing.’ –The New York Review of Books.
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Price HK$ 5,400
The Big Sleep -
Raymond Chandler
1939 - Alfred A. Knopf, New York - First Edition
‘What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on the top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell.’
Chandler's scarce first book and the introduction to the world of the famed private eye, Philip Marlowe. The basis for the 1946 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and a source for some of the most classic quotes.
‘It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in’.
A lovely bright copy, and absolutely no sign of restoration, rare and honest as you can expect this ‘dust jacket’ to be in a world where its going out of style (apologies). Housed in a custom clamshell cloth case.
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Price HK$ 70,000
1939 - Alfred A. Knopf, New York - First Edition
‘What did it matter where you lay once you were dead? In a dirty sump or in a marble tower on the top of a high hill? You were dead, you were sleeping the big sleep, you were not bothered by things like that. Oil and water were the same as wind and air to you. You just slept the big sleep, not caring about the nastiness of how you died or where you fell.’Chandler's scarce first book and the introduction to the world of the famed private eye, Philip Marlowe. The basis for the 1946 film starring Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall, and a source for some of the most classic quotes.
‘It seemed like a nice neighborhood to have bad habits in’.
A lovely bright copy, and absolutely no sign of restoration, rare and honest as you can expect this ‘dust jacket’ to be in a world where its going out of style (apologies). Housed in a custom clamshell cloth case.
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Price HK$ 70,000
The Riddle of the Sands -
Erskine Childers
1904 - Smith, London - Fifth Impression [First published in 1903]
A nice copy of this sailing and espionage classic, scarce in any early edition. Written when Childers, an accomplished yachtsman, was thirty years old. Childers, who served in the Royal Navy during World War I, wrote this as a wake-up call to the British government to attend to its North Sea defences, Winston Churchill later gave the book the credit for persuading public opinion to fund vital measures against the German naval threat.
Educated at Trinity College Cambridge, Robert Erskine Childers DSC [1870-1922] was shot by an Irish Free State firing squad in 1922 for smuggling guns, after having fought in the Boer War, and serving as a Major in Naval intelligence during the First World War. His son later become the fourth President of Ireland.
Illustrated with two maps [one folding] and two charts.
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Price HK$ 4,500
1904 - Smith, London - Fifth Impression [First published in 1903]
A nice copy of this sailing and espionage classic, scarce in any early edition. Written when Childers, an accomplished yachtsman, was thirty years old. Childers, who served in the Royal Navy during World War I, wrote this as a wake-up call to the British government to attend to its North Sea defences, Winston Churchill later gave the book the credit for persuading public opinion to fund vital measures against the German naval threat.Educated at Trinity College Cambridge, Robert Erskine Childers DSC [1870-1922] was shot by an Irish Free State firing squad in 1922 for smuggling guns, after having fought in the Boer War, and serving as a Major in Naval intelligence during the First World War. His son later become the fourth President of Ireland.
Illustrated with two maps [one folding] and two charts.
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Price HK$ 4,500
Lord Edgware Dies -
Agatha Christie
1933 - Published for The Crime Club Ltd. by W. Collins Sons & Co Ltd, London - First Edition
A sumptuously bound first edition of this Poirot mystery, which The Times declared ‘A Triumph’ in 1933.
‘Each one of us is a dark mystery, a maze of conflicting passions and desires and attitudes?... One makes one's judgements - but nine times out of ten one is wrong’ - Hercule Poirot.
‘Supper at the Savoy! Hercule Poirot, the famous little detective, was enjoying a pleasant little supper party there as the guest of Lady Edgware, formerly Jane Wilkinson, a beautiful young American actress. During the conversation Lady Edgware speaks of the desirability of getting rid of her husband...’
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Price HK$ 12,800
1933 - Published for The Crime Club Ltd. by W. Collins Sons & Co Ltd, London - First Edition
A sumptuously bound first edition of this Poirot mystery, which The Times declared ‘A Triumph’ in 1933.‘Each one of us is a dark mystery, a maze of conflicting passions and desires and attitudes?... One makes one's judgements - but nine times out of ten one is wrong’ - Hercule Poirot.
‘Supper at the Savoy! Hercule Poirot, the famous little detective, was enjoying a pleasant little supper party there as the guest of Lady Edgware, formerly Jane Wilkinson, a beautiful young American actress. During the conversation Lady Edgware speaks of the desirability of getting rid of her husband...’
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Price HK$ 12,800