ASH RARE BOOKS – HUMOUR IN FIRST EDITION
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ALINGTON, C.A. (Cyril Argentine), 1872-1955 : BLESSED BLUNDERS. London : Faber & Faber, (1954). First edition : in the variant and almost certainly primary binding of orange-brown cloth, blocked and lettered in maroon. Absent-minded and dotty old autocrat, bright young godson, endless muddles, mismanagement of the village fête, charming young woman – “Everyone will agree they are in good company from beginning to end”. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27014 – or simply click on the button
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ANDERSON, Oliver, 1912-1996 : RANDOM ALL ROUND. London : Arthur Barker, (1960). First edition. The fifth and last of the Guy Random novels – “a peer caught in a mouse-trap; three dozen mixed gadabouts stuffed into the boot-cupboard ... a striptease artiste roosting in the chandelier; and a weight-lifter entombed in the grand piano”. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28404 – or simply click on the button
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ANDERSON, Oliver, 1912-1996 : RANDOM AT RANDOM. London : Arthur Barker, (1959). First edition. The fourth Guy Random novel – ranging from East Anglia to the Costa del Sol, via the gilded drawing-rooms of Belgravia and Soho’s Vulture Club. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28403 – or simply click on the button
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“ANDOM, R.” – [BARRETT, Alfred Walter, 1869- ] : IN FEAR OF A THRONE. London : Stanley Paul & Co., (1911). First edition. “He’d need a long arm who wanted to crown Troddles ... this Prisoner of Zenda story gone wrong” – from the introduction by William Reginald Hodder, who appears also to have co-written the story. £25 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27053 – or simply click on the button
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“ANSTEY, F.” – [GUTHRIE, Thomas Anstey, 1856-1934] : THE TINTED VENUS : A FARCICAL ROMANCE. Bristol : J. W. Arrowsmith, 1885. First edition : in the variant brown binding. A statue of Aphrodite brought to life by the application of an engagement ring and some make-up. Twice filmed, with Maud Cressall playing the Venus in 1921 and Ava Gardner in 1948. £50 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 23329 – or simply click on the button
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BONSEY, Lionel (Alfred Lionel), 1912-1989 : MRS. PRIVETT. London : Pilot Press, 1946. First edition. His first book – the comical Chelsea landlady makes a bow. With some stylish illustrations by Robert Jordan. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 29255 – or simply click on the button
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CAMPBELL, Patrick – [GLENAVY, Patrick Gordon Campbell, Third Baron, 1913-1980] : HOW TO BECOME A SCRATCH GOLFER. London : Anthony Blond, (1963). First edition. “A birdie of a book” from the late lamented Paddy Campbell. “May be read with enjoyment (as I have just proved) even by people who don’t know a mashie from a mashed potato” (The Sphere, 13th July 1963). £50 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45731 – or simply click on the button
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“CYNICUS” – [ANDERSON, Martin, 1854-1932] : THE SATIRES OF CYNICUS. London : Cynicus Publishing Co. / Simpkin, Marshall, Hamilton, Kent & Co., 1892. Second edition. The first and best of Anderson’s volumes of assaults on Victorian hypocrisy – mordant caricature with telling captions and verses – dedicated to the “dear deceitful world”. Originally published in a larger format in 1890. £40 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 17820 – or simply click on the button
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DE POLNAY, Peter, 1906-1984 : TRAVELLING LIGHT : A GUIDE TO FOREIGN PARTS. London : Hollis & Carter, (1959). First edition. A witty guide for the new generation of innocent and not-so-innocent tourists, delightfully illustrated by Anton. £15 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 31353 – or simply click on the button
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ELLIS, Winifred : LONDON – SO HELP ME! London : Macdonald & Co. (Publishers), (1952). First edition. An entertaining account of coming to London – and the perils and pitfalls of railway porters, private hotels, service flatlets, cab-drivers, digs, bed-sitting rooms, gas-rings, and all the hazards that may greet a young woman from the provinces (in this case Liverpool) – “Unless you intend coming in nothing but a fig leaf and a string of beads you will not expect your arrival in London to cause any sensation”. £15 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44305 – or simply click on the button
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GATHORNE-HARDY, Jonathan, 1933-2019 : ONE FOOT IN THE CLOUDS. London : Hamish Hamilton, (1961). First edition. His first book – a novel set on the rarer fringes of London literary society. “A little bit of nonsense, young nonsense at that, but excellently contained ... a young man in love and in and out of money ... filled with wonderfully useful references to the preoccupations of the young. It is fun” (The Sphere, 3rd June 1961). £25 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 32183 – or simply click on the button
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“GLYDER, John” – [ROPER, Allen George, 1888-1957] : WOMAN FRIDAY. London : Herbert Jenkins, [ca.1935]. Popular edition. “‘Damn!’ commented Peter Pettigrew. ‘It’s a woman! Looks dangerously like one anyhow’”. A life of rabid bachelordom rudely interrupted. First published in 1932. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 31141 – or simply click on the button
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“GORDON, Richard” – [OSTLERE, Gordon Stanley, 1921-2017] : THE CAPTAIN’S TABLE. London : Michael Joseph, (1954). First edition. An early title from the author of “Doctor in the House”, etc. – disappearance overboard of ship’s most glamorous passenger, etc. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 35055 – or simply click on the button
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“GORDON, Richard” – [OSTLERE, Gordon Stanley, 1921-2017] : DOCTOR AND SON. London : Michael Joseph, (1959). First edition. Simon Sparrow, Dr Grimsdyke, Sir Lancelot Spratt, etc. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 35056 – or simply click on the button
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“GORDON, Richard” – [OSTLERE, Gordon Stanley, 1921-2017] : DOCTOR IN CLOVER. London : Michael Joseph, (1960). First edition. Dr Grimsdyke gets involved with the Riviera Film Festival – and Miss Melody Madder. £15 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27813 – or simply click on the button
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HARRIS, J. Henry (Josiah Henry), 1847-1917 : A ROMANCE IN RADIUM. London : Greening & Co., 1906. First edition. A winged Immortal from the planet Muran visits Earth “for the purposes of research – historical and otherwise”. Not much radium and not much romance, as the reviewer for the “Illustrated London News” (5th May 1906) pointed out – but in visiting the House of Commons, being demonstrated at the Royal Society, attending an “at home”, and interviewing prominent people, there is plenty of scope for some delicate satire on Edwardian Society. Written in his retirement by the Cornish journalist J. Henry Harris. £100 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44865 – or simply click on the button
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HILDER, Rowland, 1905-1993 : HORSE PLAY : WRITTEN AND DRAWN BY ROWLAND HILDER. London : Golden Gallery Press, [1946]. First edition. “A necessary book on the lighter side of riding” – a whimsical and highly amusing companion. In the Binnacle Books series. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 26077 – or simply click on the button
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HUXLEY, Elspeth (Elspeth Josceline Grant), 1907-1997 : THE PRINCE BUYS THE MANOR : AN EXTRAVAGANZA. London : Chatto & Windus, 1982. First edition. Prince buys manor in Cotswolds – a comic extravaganza ensues. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 10155 – or simply click on the button
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LEAR, Edward, 1812-1888 : LAUGHABLE LYRICS : A FOURTH BOOK OF NONSENSE POEMS, SONGS, BOTANY, MUSIC &C. London : Robert John Bush, 1877. First edition. More inspired nonsense from Edward Lear – with the present volume containing the first appearance of “The Dong with the Luminous Nose”, “The Pobble Who Has No Toes”, “The Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò”, “The Akond of Swat”, etc. £500 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 42427 – or simply click on the button
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LEAR, Edward, 1812-1888 : LAUGHABLE LYRICS : A FOURTH BOOK OF NONSENSE POEMS, SONGS, BOTANY, MUSIC &C. London : Robert John Bush, 1877. First edition. More inspired nonsense from Edward Lear – with the present collection containing the first appearance of “The Dong with the Luminous Nose”, “The Pobble Who Has No Toes”, “The Yonghy-Bonghy-Bò”, “The Pelican Chorus”, “The Akond of Swat”, etc. £500 Currently on display at Bryars & Bryars in central London, please enquire about availability – books@ashrare.com |
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LLOYD, Stanley : JAM SAUCE : A HUMOROUS NOVEL. London : Stanley Paul, [1947]. First edition. Three young men, beautiful young woman found bound and gagged, missing jewel, crazy crooks, maharajah, opera-loving policeman, etc. His first novel. £15 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 29317 – or simply click on the button
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LUCEY, R.M. (Roger Martin), 1871-1954 : A PROBLEM A DAY. London : Faber & Faber, (1937). First edition. “The amusement to be obtained from a simple yet ingenious puzzle, and the pride of quickly solving it, sets up a well-being far more important in keeping the doctor away than any number of apples”. A brain-teaser (with some nice seasonal touches) for every day of the year (not forgetting leap-years) – with solutions at the end – and hints on how to tackle similar problems. £75 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45799 – or simply click on the button
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MILLIGAN, Spike (Terence Alan), 1918-2002 : A BOOK OF BITS OR A BIT OF A BOOK. London : Dennis Dobson, (1965). First edition. Square bits, simple verse for simpletons, twit bits, so-so stories and dense jungle for dense people. £25 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 38987 – or simply click on the button
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MILLIGAN, Spike (Terence Alan), 1918-2002 : ADOLF HITLER : MY PART IN HIS DOWNFALL. London : Michael Joseph, (1971). First edition. “A man called Chamberlain who did Prime Minister impressions spoke on the wireless; he said, ‘As from eleven o’clock we are at war with Germany’. (I loved the WE) ...”. Autobiography, truth, and humour from Milligan, who performed (rather than read) parts of the book at the Bedford Square Book Bang to tumultuous applause that summer. £25 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44956 – or simply click on the button
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MITFORD, Nancy, 1904-1973 : THE WATER BEETLE : ILLUSTRATED BY OSBERT LANCASTER. London : Hamish Hamilton, (1962). First edition. A collection of fourteen sparkling essays, including Nanny in the young Mitfords’ nursery; her thoughts on chic (English, French and American); on reading for pleasure; a hilarious visit to non-U Russia; an essay on Ireland, with a subversive lapse into bad language, and much else besides. Later published in France as “Snobismes et Voyages”. £50 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 46091 – or simply click on the button
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[MOORE, Augustus (Augustus Martin), 1856-1910] : THE DOMESTIC BLUNDERS OF WOMEN : BY A MERE MAN. London : C. Arthur Pearson, 1899. First edition. The tongue-in-cheek thesis is that nothing about the home could not be better managed by men, from purchasing household requisites to the rearing of children. The second half of the book is made up of a selection of letters – from earnest agreement to howls of outrage – received by the author after parts of the book had appeared in magazines. The author was the truculent Irish journalist, playwright, bohemian, and man-about-town, Augustus Moore, brother of the novelist George Moore. £100 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 45351 – or simply click on the button
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MORTON, J.B. (John Bingham), 1893-1979 : THE DANCING CABMAN AND OTHER VERSES. London : Frederick Muller, (1938). First edition. The collected edition of Morton’s ‘Beachcomber’ verses – including some previously unpublished. With illustrations and decorations by Nicolas Bentley. Includes “Horrible Araminta”, “Lovely Big Cow”, “The Danger of Queer Hats”, “Epitaph for a Foolish Lady”, “Song for a Hunted Financier” – and the Zoological Verses: “I think the hippopotamus, Is really almost one of us; Even the way he eats his grub, Reminds me of the Savage Club ...”. £50 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 27840 – or simply click on the button
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ROBERTS, Denys Kilham, 1903-1976 – editor : STRAW IN THE HAIR : AN ANTHOLOGY OF NONSENSICAL AND SURREALIST VERSE. London : John Lane, The Bodley Head, (1938). First edition : the first issue, printed on slightly thicker stock and in the primary binding of yellow cloth. An engaging anthology – E. C. Bentley, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and many more – compiled and edited by Denys Kilham Roberts. Illustrated with some arresting images by Victor Reinganum. £40 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 10054 – or simply click on the button
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ROBERTS, Denys Kilham, 1903-1976 – editor : STRAW IN THE HAIR : AN ANTHOLOGY OF NONSENSICAL AND SURREALIST VERSE. London : John Lane, The Bodley Head, (1938). First edition : the second issue, printed on thinner stock and in the secondary binding of grey cloth. An engaging anthology – E. C. Bentley, Lewis Carroll, Edward Lear, Ogden Nash, and many more – compiled and edited by Denys Kilham Roberts. Illustrated with some arresting images by Victor Reinganum. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28723 – or simply click on the button
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SEARLE, Ronald (Ronald William Fordham), 1920-2011 : THE ADDICT : A TERRIBLE TALE. London : Dennis Dobson, (1971). First edition. A delightful little squib — “Dr Searle, face to face as always with the sicknesses of twentieth-century society, has now confronted the terrible problem of addiction. In this book he concisely and graphically crystallizes the horror and degradation of those who are slaves to narcotics ... Take a trip with Searle. NB The Addict’s moment of truth has been tactfully concealed from casual gaze by sealing the last two pages”. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 44957 – or simply click on the button
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SHARPE, Tom (Thomas Ridley), 1928-2013 : WILT ON HIGH. London : Martin Secker & Warburg, (1984). First edition : in the primary dust-jacket (designed by Red Ranch). Wilt resurfaces teaching at the Fenland Tech – complications ensue, with drug-dealing, Inspector Flint, accusations of voyeurism, and the local US airbase. £15 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 10018 – or simply click on the button
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THURBER, James (James Grover), 1894-1961 : CREDOS AND CURIOS. London : Hamish Hamilton, (1962). First edition : precedes the American edition. A posthumously published collection of twenty-one pieces, including “Menaces in May”, “The Lady from the Land”, “The Manic in the Moon”, etc., with a preface by Helen Thurber. £25 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 28644 – or simply click on the button
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WILLIAMS, Nigel (Henry Nigel), 1948- : THEY CAME FROM SW19. London : Faber & Faber, (1992). First edition. The second volume of the Wimbledon trilogy – “a touching and hilarious story of growing up in the suburbs”. £20 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 10234 – or simply click on the button
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ZANGWILL, Israel, 1864-1926 : THE OLD MAIDS’ CLUB. London : William Heinemann, 1892. First edition. “The Old Maids’ Club was founded by Lillie Dulcimer in her sweet seventeenth year. She had always been precocious, and could analyse her own sensations before she could spell. In fact, she divided her time between making sensations and analysing them ...”. Twenty entertaining tales from the annals of the club, including the very funny “Algebra of Love”, “The Man in the Ironed Mask”, “The Old Young Woman and the New”, “The Mysterious Advertiser”, “The Beautiful Ghoul”, etc. – “Two books for the holiday season, to be read lounging in a hammock, or under the shadow of a cliff, are Mr. Zangwill’s ‘Old Maids’ Club’, and Mr. Grossmith’s ‘Diary of a Nobody’. The former is very droll in places ...” (Cheltenham Looker-On, 20th August 1892). “Worth all the inanities of Jerome K. Jerome and all the thin fun of Barry Pain bundled together” (Glasgow Evening Post, 30th June 1892). £50 To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 43554 – or simply click on the button
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