DELANO AMES FIRST EDITIONS AT
ASH RARE BOOKS
43 HURON ROAD
LONDON SW17 8RE
UNITED KINGDOM

London : Grayson & Grayson, (1936). First edition. “Nor do the characters of Jove and Juno, Apollo and Daphne, Orpheus and Eurydice, thinly veil the identity of any living person ... if they misbehave themselves, that is their own fault”.
Crown 8vo (20cm). 288pp. Original red cloth, lettered in black; very slightly sunned and darkened; very faint spine crease; mild spotting of edges, but a very good copy in the original pictorial dust-jacket – worn, torn, chipped, darkened and repaired, with some loss (about 1cm – less than half an inch) at head of spine and across part of upper panel.

£50

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London : Gerald G. Swan, (1947). First edition. “The winsome, but too aggressive blonde named Carrie really has nothing to do with the story. Not that Steve Brabazon had any objection to blondes qua blondes. But Carrie carried the principle too far”. Ames with a witty series of three interlinked stories, pre-dating his delightful Jane and Dagobert Brown murder mysteries.
Crown 8vo (20cm). (228)pp. Original blue cloth, blocked and lettered in gilt; a couple of tiny marks; slight tear to front free endpaper; the poor quality post-war paper slightly tanned, as ever, but a very good, sound and bright copy in the splendid dust-jacket – the jacket here in second state, with reduced price overlays on front flap and spine, but with just a single tiny hole and a touch of discolouration at head, a couple of minuscule nicks, and otherwise in very good, clean and fresh state.

£200

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London : Hodder & Stoughton, (1953). First edition. Death in the ring of El Inglés, the Tooting Toreador – no mystery here, it was the bull that did it. Dagobert and Jane in Barcelona, local colour, local character, local custom, local complications. “Lifted quite out of the rut by its quiet wit and humour” (Sunday Times).
Crown 8vo (20cm). 191,[i]pp. Original red boards, ruled and lettered in black; light tanning of endpapers; a couple of faint marks to edges, but otherwise a very good and sound copy in the Jarvis dust-jacket – the jacket not price-clipped, although the rear flap has been clipped; the jacket otherwise lightly worn, slightly marked and a little chipped, with a repaired tear to the rear spine fold, but a welcome and uncommon survival.

£75

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London : Hodder & Stoughton, (1956). First edition. Dagobert and Jane in the Austrian Tyrol – the seventh in this fine series of wickedly witty murder mysteries. “Above all, it has Jane: not only the most engaging wife-of-sleuth, but the gayest and perhaps funniest narrator in detective fiction” (Illustrated London News, 18th August 1956).
Crown 8vo (20cm). 190,[ii]pp. Original maroon boards, ruled, blocked and lettered in black; some spotting of edges, but otherwise a very good and sound copy in the Jarvis dust-jacket – the jacket price-clipped, with some minor wear at head and some faint spots, but otherwise also very good. Small bookseller’s label of Boans Book Salon of Perth on front pastedown.

£75

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London : Hodder & Stoughton, (1957). First edition. Dagobert embraces suburban domesticity and a regular job – and yet somehow manages to become involved in the production of a West End play put on by some decided oddballs and misfits, the most eye-catching of whom is the flame-haired Viennese siren known as Zizi. But she will not say who tried to kill her – and Jane buys a hat. “Excellent villain; very good fun. Never mind the plot” (Illustrated London News, 5th October 1957).
Crown 8vo (20cm). 192pp. Original red boards, ruled blocked and lettered in gilt; very faint spine-crease; edges spotted, but otherwise a very good, crisp and sound copy in the pictorial dust-jacket – the jacket price-clipped, with some very light wear, a touch of tanning, and a tiny inked date on rear panel, but otherwise also very good. Small bookseller’s label of Alberts Bookshop of Perth on front pastedown.

£100

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London : Hodder & Stoughton, (1959). First edition. The twelfth and last of the witty and wonderful Jane and Dagobert Brown murder mysteries – Jane is one of the Lucky Seven prize-winners in a magazine competition (her entry forged by Dagobert), but the prize of a trip to the Mediterranean to attend a royal wedding is not so lucky for one of the other prize-winners.
Crown 8vo (20cm). 221,[iii]pp. Original green boards, ruled, blocked and lettered in gilt; a few very minor marks and faint creases, but otherwise a very good copy in the dust-jacket – the jacket lightly worn and a little sunned, with some marks on the rear panel, but complete and not unattractive still.

£50

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27582 – or simply click on the button