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London : W. H. Allen, [ca.1950]. A paperback edition of a crime classic originally published by Harrap in 1933 – translated into both French and German and one of the works included in the Odhams Press “Four Great Mystery Novels” in 1948. The action opens on a quiet street in Ealing.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [128]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; spine a little worn and chipped; upper wrapper creased, with a long repaired tear; staples slightly rusted; text a little tanned; but a serviceable copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£15

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London : Anglo-Eastern Publishing Co., [ca.1924]. A reprint of an early Willis title, first published in 1913, but here issued from Anglo-Eastern’s 1919-1931 address in Waterloo Road, with advertisements for other titles issued in the early 1920s. Classic account, both lurid and journalistic, of young women being lured into prostitution in London’s West End. With a preface by William Sinclair, Archdeacon of London and Canon of St. Paul’s.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 190,[ii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some creasing and light wear, but a good copy of a scarce title. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : Art Publicity, [1950]. First edition. “Vince Lorentz was the counterfeit racket king of the New York mobsters. And he handled the two boys whose names spread terror throughout the States – the Gessina brothers, Johnny and Mike. They were the Maltese shiv boys – the artists with the knives”. The Markham pseudonym was used by both Stephen Frances (Hank Janson) and Geoffrey Pardoe.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [iv],9-116pp. Original pictorial wrappers; an indifferent copy – chipped at head and tail; wrappers a little soiled; front wrapper trimmed at fore-edge, with two triangular cut-outs (not affecting lettering); rear wrapper missing lower corner, with some loss; text a little tanned and spotted; a serviceable copy of a scarce title. Just two copies (Oxford and Dublin) found in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : Barnardo Amalgamated Industries, [ca.1948]. First edition. “Freddie Boyne, philosopher and criminologist, was at an age when reflections about good and evil automatically become reflections about Woman”. The Barnardo imprint seems to have disappeared in the wake of a passing-off action brought against the company by Dr. Barnardo’s Homes in 1949.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (64)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – bejewelled stawberry blonde; worn and a little split at foot; some discolouration and damp-staining to wrappers, showing only on lower wrapper and internally; some associated wrinkling of text, but a good copy of an uncommon title. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : Bush Publications, 1948. First edition. “From the torrid atmosphere of Palm Beach, to the warm Atlantic seaboard, she was known as the PLAYGIRL. This strange being was the cause of many tragedies, and broken hearts”. The first novel published by the firm that went on to become Brown, Watson Ltd.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly rubbed and a little worn; lower wrapper damp-stained; staples rusted; a few leaves slightly soiled; uneven tanning of text; a reasonable copy of an uncommon title. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£50

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London & Manchester : Withy Grove Press, [1947]. First British edition. Murder mystery revolving around the horse-loving and dysfunctional Jordan family in Kentucky. The beautiful Tara Jordan fights to prove her innocence. First published as “Roll, Jordan Roll” in the USA. Cherry Tree 243.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original stapled wrappers; some minor wear and slight creasing, a few slight nicks, but a good copy.

£15

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London : Lloyd Cole, [ca. 1943]. First edition. Mysterious goings-on on Cauldron Snout – the mysterious remains of Celtic monuments, rocking stones, Druid circles, Bronze Age villages, and Roman camps are joined by a more modern and invisible mystery.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). (32)pp on pink paper. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a grim design by H. W. Perl; a little rubbed and slightly soiled; staples rusting, but a good copy of a scarce and ephemeral item. Just a single copy (University of California, Riverside) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : for The Crime Club, by W. Collins Sons & Co., [ca.1935]. First paperback edition. Seymour Merriman stops at the side of the road outside Bordeaux – his life about to change. Inspector Willis unravels one of Crofts’ most popular tales. Originally published by Collins in 1922.
Crown 8vo (23cm). 128pp. Original pictorial wrappers in a striking design; a little worn; slightly chipped and creased; text a little tanned, but a good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£25

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London : Comyns (Publishers), [1952]. First edition. “It is one dirty night, as black as the hobs of hell, and a dismal drizzle is sifting down, although the temperature is high and the air close. The streets are practically deserted, and downtown there is scarcely a sound out of doors apart from the hiss of tyres on the glistening road surfaces and the gurgling of rainwater along the streaming gutters. San Francisco on a rainy night ...”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 127,[i]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some creasing, wear and a couple of short tears; some adhesion damage to half-title; staples slightly rusted; faint Bell’ s Bookstall stamps to upper cover and half-title, but a better than average copy of a scarce and fragile item. Just three copies (Bodleian, British Library, and Trinity College, Dublin) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

Bognor & London : John Crowther (Thrillers), [1945]. Originally published as “McPhee : A Football Story” in 1923, then as “McPhee : Prince of Trainers” in 1930. The Downside directors receive a shock.
Crown 8vo (20cm). 94,[ii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; spine a little tanned; lightly rubbed; staples rusting, but otherwise a very good copy.

£20

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Bognor Regis & London : John Crowther, (1943). First paperback edition. Her first book – a collection of fifteen very stylish stories, or “attractive cameos” – Miss Swinford of Madame Violette’s old-fashioned High Class Millinery shop at the wrong end of a seaside town recollects a lost romance in Paris before the Great War; Mr Flansham, the town councillor, conceives an unrequited and improbable passion for his young assistant, etc. Originally published in hardback in 1941.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 80pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – an elegant design by Hicks; very lightly rubbed and slightly creased; a few minor marks, but a very good copy.

SOLD

Stone : Curzon Publishing Co., [ca.1947]. First edition. Danny King can’t see the man he has come to meet in the crowded West End cafe. In the Curzon Crime & Passion series, distributed by Murray & Nichols.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; spine rolled; staples rusted; lower wrapper lightly creased, but a very good copy of a scarce and ephemeral item. No copy traced in any major library worldwide

£20

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Stone : Curzon Publishing Co., [1948]. First edition. “A handsome young bachelor comes back to his lonely house at dusk and finds a strange and very lovely gitl crooning in his bath. A guest arrives, and the bachelor and his glamorous gatecrasher have to pose as man and wife. Then the fun becomes really lively”. In the “Passion Series”, distributed by Murray & Nichols.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly rubbed and very slightly creased; very faint fringe of discolouration to some lower edges, but a good copy of a rare and fragile survival. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : D. P. [Danceland Publications] Ltd., [1946]. First edition. In a little Hampshire village a printing works is on fire, while at the other end of the village the lights are ablaze for a fashionable twenty-first birthday party. One of half dozen or so murder mysteries from Tickner published in Danceland’s “Crime Doesn’t Pay” series 1944-1946.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a dramatic photographic design; wrappers a little split, chipped, scuffed and frayed; staples rusted through; a serviceable copy of an uncommon title. Just two copies (British Library and Trinity College, Dublin) located in major libraries.

£20

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London : Editorial Services, [1957]. First edition. Horgan is hired by Motion Picture International to buy off a scandal magazine which has a sizzling story on their million-dollar actress – then the man who runs the magazine is found dead. Number 11 of a dozen or so McCall Horgan “Glamour Mysteries” published in 1957-1958.
Crown 8vo (18cm). [3]-130pp. Original pictorial wrappers; some mild rubbing and slight wear; a few faint marks, but overall a very good, clean, and sound copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : Walter Edwards (Publishers), 1946. First British edition. Gossip columnist dead in Manhattan. Originally published in New York earlier in 1946.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 126,[ii]pp. Original stapled wrappers in an attached dust-jacket in a striking design by Sinclair; a very good, sharp and clean copy. Just three copies of this edition (British Library, National Library of Scotland, Ohio State) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : Walter Edwards (Publishers), 1946. First British edition. The novella on which the classic 1946 Henry Hathaway film noir starring Lucille Ball, Clifton Webb, William Bendix, etc., was based.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (96)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by Griff; a little rubbed; short split at foot; upper wrapper very faintly spotted; light crease and some marking to lower wrapper; a few internal spots; a good copy of an uncommon title. Contemporary dated ownership inscription of G. W. Rollings of Larkwhistle Farm, Brimpton Common, Berkshire.

£25

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Hounslow : William Foster Publishers, (1946). First edition. An early Hercule Renard tale from Audemars, born in London of Swiss parents and a dealer in watches and jewelry as well as the author of a sizeable number of novels.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (112)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; staples rusting; a few faint marks, but overall a very good copy. Just two copies (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£40

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Hounslow : William Foster (Publishers), (1948). Second edition. Fourteen short stories. Originally published in 1946, but here with fresh cover design by saucy seaside postcard artist Bob Wilkin.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; worn, chipped and creased; staples rusted; a few edge spots; a reasonable copy of a fragile item. Just two copies of this edition located in major libraries.

£10

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Hounslow : William Foster (Publishers), (1947). A reprint of the original 1946 publication. A young mother torn between two loves – for her invalid daughter and her soldier-husband posted abroad. “A revealing, heart-searching study, written in inimitable style, of the emotional stresses, the longings, patience and faithfulness imposed by enforced separation during and after the war”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (80)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by BF; some wear; spine and edges slightly smoke-blackened; staples rusted; a few marks; some internal creasing and wrinkling; a serviceable copy of an uncommon title.

£10

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London : Gannet Press, [1953]. First edition. “In Earthcapital everything seemed normal. Earthpeople, in shining, multi-coloured flexmetal clothing, walked in the straight, spacious streets flanked by towering buildings of gleaming metal ...”. Saboteurs prepare the ground for an alien invasion.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – an unsigned design by Gerald Facey; light wear and some creasing; short nick to upper wrapper and tiny chip to lower; text a little tanned and creased, but overall a good copy. No copy located in any major UK library. Harbottle & Holland A21.

SOLD

London : Gannet Press, [1953]. First edition. Magoth escapes from the Penal Asteroid of Halma – he has discovered a way to speed up evolution and intends to seize control of the Four Planets. “While biographical information is sparse, one fact remains extremely plain: Ward must rate as the all-time worst-ever SF author! ... He displays a stunning lack of astronomical knowledge that makes the book compulsive reading – in the hope that it can’t get any worse! But it does ... Possibly the worst SF novel ever published” (Harbottle & Holland A306).
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers in a design by Ray Theobald; an indifferent copy – worn and creased; acid-free tape repairs and strengthening to spine and wrappers; lower wrapper discoloured and missing one corner; text tanned; some insect holing to lower blank margins through second half of book, but a serviceable copy of a scarce and fragile item. Just six copies located in major libraries worldwide – none in the UK.

SOLD

London : Mark Goulden, [1950]. First edition. “The ‘hero’ is The Human Bat, a costumed psychotic who makes Batman appear almost normal” (Harbottle & Holland A235). The first of Home-Gall’s two Human Bat titles, the first in the “Caught in the Spider’s Web” series, and No. 1 in the Goulden Fantasy Library. The Human Bat takes on a robot spider criminal mastermind.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 127,[i]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by R. S. Davis; some mild chipping and light creasing; text a little brittle and tanned; a serviceable copy. Just three copies (Bodleian, British Library and National Library of Scotland) located in the major UK libraries.

SOLD

London : Mark Goulden, [1950]. First edition. The second of Home-Gall’s “Human Bat” titles and No. 2. in the Goulden Fantasy Library series. The Human Bat takes on an armed robot jewel thief.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a pictorial design by R. S. Davis showing the implacable foes; light wear to spine; some creasing; a few marks; staples rusting, but a good copy.

SOLD

Dublin : Grafton Publications, [1945]. First edition. Popular policeman is murdered in Tower City.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 48pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; slight darkening of edges; staple rusted, but otherwise a very good copy. Just three copies (British Library, National Library of Scotland, National Library of Wales) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : Gramol Publications, [ca.1930]. First edition. Athelete, aesthete and superb physical specimen of a man is told he has only months to live – enter the languorous Tamah Sing. Phoenix published a Reville novel under the same title some twenty years later, but this appears to be a completely different work.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 124,[ii],[2]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; light wear at head and some very minor creasing, but a very good copy. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : Gramol Publications, [1933]. First edition : the variant with the Gypsy Dream Book advertisement (a design by H. W. Perl) on the lower wrapper. Maurice Lancaster returns from Saigon on the inheritance of his uncle’s estate – a beautiful young Canadian woman is in residence.
Crown 8vo (18cm). [96]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by H. W. Perl; some wear; wrappers creased; lower wrapper slightly torn and chipped; staples rusted; a reasonable copy. Just two copies (British Library – the variant with the What the Stars Predict advertisement on the lower wrapper - and Ben Gurion) traced in major libraries worldwide. Pencilled ownership inscription of E. Canto on first leaf.

£40

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London : Grant Hughes, [ca.1948]. First edition. “He first noticed her in Sylvester’s Restaurant in the Strand, where he had gone for dinner. She was not young and not old – she might have been anywhere between the ages of twenty-five and thirty – and she was beautiful” – but Lance Knight (The Knight) is more interested in her companion, a criminal beyond the reach of the law, because his hobby is meting out justice to the untouchable.
Crown 8vo (18cm). (64)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by H. W. Perl; spine and edges smoke blackened; some wear at head; staples heavily rusted; a few marks, but the text largely unopened; a serviceable copy of a scarce book. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : Grant Hughes, 1947. First edition. Young French adventurer seeks passage to England and the court of Charles II – an unusual historical novel from Grant Hughes.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a typical H. W. Perl study; spine a little wrinkled and worn; a few spots; text a little tanned, but overall a good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) traced in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

Leigh-on-Sea : Barrington Gray, [1952]. First edition. Ricky is soured by his five years in prison for a crime he did not commit – but now he sees a blonde with the type of nose he went for.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – redhead pouts in blue; spine and edges partly scorched and blackened; some minor marking and wear; staples rusted, but a reasonable copy of a scarce production. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

Leigh-on-Sea : Barrington Gray, (1957). Second edition. Humble girl from the cottage is enlisted as a companion for the rich girl from the big house. Ostensibly a translation from the French, but no French edition is recorded. First published in 1954.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [112]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few tiny nicks; wrappers lightly creased; inked price on upper wrapper; a few slight marks, but overall still a very good copy. No copy of any edition located in major libraries worldwide. Exchange stamp of “Watermans Books Stores” of Brighton on rear wrapper.

£30

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Leigh-on-Sea : Barrington Gray, (1955). A reprint of the original 1952 edition. Case studies of “decoyed, soul-haunted women impressed into the service of the abominable White Slavers”.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; wrappers worn and partly split; some creasing; a few slight nicks; staples rusting; text lightly tanned and slightly creased; a reasonable copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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Leigh-on-Sea : Barrington Gray, [ca. 1953]. First edition. “Louie Toreni’s thinned eyes slowly took stock of those who shared with him the lavishly equipped room behind the Green Hat Night Club. He frowned, a furrow on his sloping forehead as he lolled back in the black leather chair that matched the blue of his crinkly hair. His wide shoulders were relaxed, the pale hands limp. But within Louis Toreni was smouldering rage.”
Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lower portion of spine and parts of edges smoke blackened; some very mild creasing and light wear; staples rusting, but a good and serviceable copy of a scarce production. No copy located in any major library worldwide. Not listed by Hubin.

SOLD

London : Grayling Press, [1951]. First edition. Diamond robbery goes wrong – man lies dead and somehow the lovely Delores is in the back of the getaway car.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 127,[i]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; spine lightly tanned; minor wear and slight creasing; lower wrapper lightly spotted; some internal spotting, mainly to prelims and edges; a good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : Robert Hale, (1954). First paperback edition. Beauty queen gets desperately involved in London’s dark world of crime. Originally published in hardback the previous year.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 160pp. Original pictorial wrappers – scary man looks at beautiful young woman. Some very slight wear and faint creasing; a few faint edge spots, but an attractive copy. No copy of this edition located in major libraries worldwide.

£15

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[Southend] : Hampton Press, [1945]. First edition. The title-story – Beryl’s having trouble getting rid of Harold – and nine further short stories from the prolific Michael Hervey – “If you’re nervy, Don’t read Hervey!”
Crown 8vo (19cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a London street scene from J. Mace; staple rusted; a few faint marks, but otherwise a very good copy of a scarce and fragile item. Just a single copy (British Library) located in the world’s major libraries.

£50

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Llandudno : Kaner Publishing Co., [1947]. First edition. The dystopian twenty-eighth century and the peoples of earth hypnotised into servitude, the Ebon Sphere of Surrey, etc.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 80pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some very minor wear and a tiny chip on lower wrapper, but a very good copy. Just two copies (British Library and Liverpool) located in the major UK libraries.

£40

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Llandudno : Kaner Publishing Co., [1946]. First edition. “I am quite certain,” the beautiful lady said, “that my husband did not commit suicide, no matter what the police say” – a case for the saturnine Meredith Jordan. For more on Hyman Kaner, see my Bookhunter on Safari blog-post for 7th July 2016.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 64pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design probably by H. W. Perl; parts of spine and rear wrapper smoke-blackened; staples a little rusted, but otherwise a good copy. Just three copies (Bodleian, British Library, and National Library of Wales) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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Stone : Clifford Lewis & Co., [1949]. First edition. “He just couldn’t understand why women chased him. But any woman could have told him”. In the “Passion Series” distributed by Murray & Nichols Ltd.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; minor wear; staples lightly rusted, but overall a very good copy. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

£25

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London : Literary Press, [ca.1938]. First paperback edition. The story of Iris Paradine by “the man who understands women”, originally published by Collins in 1934. “A witty and very imaginative story of a modern and discriminating young woman who enters journalism ... her freedom lands her in awkward situations with her lovers” (Aberdeen Press, 14th February 1934).
Crown 8vo (18cm). 160pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some minor wear; wrappers a little nicked and creased; a few internal spots, but a good copy of a fragile pre-war publication. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : Literary Press, [ca.1936]. First paperback edition. Macdonald with a London mystery under his Martin Porlock pseudonym. Originally published by Collins in 1932, and soon translated into German and Spanish. “This week I urge on your attention Martin Porlock’s Mystery in Kensington Gore ... Mr. Porlock is simply surging to the front wave of mystery concocters. Speed, surprises and fine sleuthing for your money – he hands you them all!” (Daily Herald, 10th March 1932).
Crown 8vo (18cm). [ii],251,[i],[2]pp – including integral endpapers. Original pictorial wrappers (with flaps); some light rubbing, splitting and wear, but a very good copy of an ephemeral pre-war production. Gift inscription dated Christmas 1940 on title-page. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£25

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Glasgow : M. C. Publications, [ca.1948]. First edition. The double life of Broadway producer – and the fate of footlight-struck Sally Marshall.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little scuffed and soiled; small scorch-mark at head; American price over-stamped on upper wrapper; staples rusted; text a little marked and tanned; an indifferent copy. Just two copies located in major libraries worldwide, only one (National Library of Scotland) in the United Kingdom.

£15

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 34891 – or simply click on the button

Glasgow : M. C. Publications, [1950]. First edition. “Blondes always get under my skin. Blondes destroy my caution and abolish my grey matter. I don’t fall for them I just flop. And then the dame stamps on me, of course”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few minimal signs of age and use, but a very good, clean and crisp copy indeed. Just three copies (Bowling Green State, National Library of Scotland and Trinity College, Dublin, located in major libraries worldwide.

£50

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Glasgow : McKenzie Vincent & Co., [ca.1950]. First edition. Murder on the outskirts of St Albans – Scotland Yard is called in.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 96pp. Plan. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few slight creases; staples much rusted with attendant discolouration; small sticker removed from rear wrapper; a good copy of an uncommon production. Just a single copy (National Library of Scotland) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : James Macmillan, [1948]. First edition. A tale of murder and counterfeit at an English country house, which works well enough as a comedy of manners between tough crime reporter Mike Manstone, Inspector Clarke of the Yard (“Hack” and “Sleuth” to each other), and Manstone’s long-suffering girlfriend Jane. As a murder mystery it ranks nowhere. The cover artist was evidently not paid well enough to read the book (or perhaps paid more to ignore it) – the woman with the gun should be wearing a “concealing hood” and “a great shapeless garment” at the time.
Post 8vo (20cm). 96pp. Original stapled stiff card wrappers; acid-free tape repair and strengthening to spine beneath the dust-jacket; staples rusted and discoloured; a few spots, but a good copy in the attached dust-jacket – busty brunette, smoking gun, etc. – the jacket a little rubbed, worn, and discoloured by staples on lower wrapper. Just two copies (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : James Macmillan, [ca.1948]. First edition. Nine stories in various settings, London, Russia, India, Constantinople, etc.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 80pp. Original stapled stiff card wrappers; staples rusting; a few spots, but a very good copy in the attached dust-jacket, with a design from the title story – the jacket lightly rubbed and slightly nicked, but also very good. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£50

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London : Gordon Martin Publishing Co., [1946]. First edition. Five stories, some evidently drawing on Gordon’s wartime experiences in Germany, his time at Yale, and in England as a Rhodes Scholar.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (126),[ii]pp. Original stapled card wrappers; staples rusted, but a very good copy in the dust-jacket – a striking design in red and black by Griff. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£15

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London : Martin & Reid, [1946]. First edition. Gangsters with identical frozen faces who bring their own mist with them appear in London to the consternation of Special Branch.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 62 [i.e. 60]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little fingered and slightly creased, but a good copy of a fragile item. Just two copies (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : Martin & Reid, [1946]. First edition. There’s a puzzle about a racing driver who never wins a race.
Crown 8vo (18cm). (31),[i]pp. Original pictorial stapled self-wrappers; staples a little rusted, but a very good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : L. Miller & Son, [ca.1950]. First edition. Rugged and tweedy Michael Dane, barrister turned private investigator, arrives in a quaint old Surrey town for a holiday.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few nicks, creases and faint marks; a few leaves slightly creased, but overall a very good copy. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£25

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London : L. Miller & Son, [ca.1950]. First edition. Set in New York in wartime: vital blueprints go missing – Daisy Hamilton blames herself for being careless with the keys.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 48pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly rubbed and a little creased; staple rusting; leaves in latter part damaged and frayed at foot, without affecting text; an indifferent copy of an apparently unrecorded title – no copy located in any major library worldwide.

£20

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London : L. Miller & Co. (Hackney), [ca.1957]. First British edition. “Out of the slums of a great city comes this blistering novel of fury and fear, desire and treachery”. First published by Lion Books in New York in 1953 as “Cry, Flesh” under the author’s real name of David Karp. In the Banner Books series.
Crown 8vo (18cm). (160)pp. Original stapled wrappers – a design by Wilding; light wear and some creasing; three tiny chips; edges a little spotted, but a good copy. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£30

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London : Mitre Press, [1945]. First edition. Nine of Hervey’s very short stories – flashes and glimpses of a world now lost. Printed throughout on a curious khaki-coloured wartime paper shortages stock.
Foolscap 4to (18cm). (32)pp. Original pictorial self-wrappers; spine and edges darkened by smoke; staples a little rusted, but otherwise a very good copy. Just three copies (Bodleian, British Library and University of Western Australia) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : Modern Publishing Co., [ca.1935]. First edition. Her secret service fiancé has disappeared and her typing bureau on St. Martin’s Lane is struggling – but “There is no doubt about it, Philippa Dare certainly had pluck. Many a girl would have caved in long ago, and developed into a weepy-waily sort of female who went about with a mournful expression and a mouth that drooped at the corners – a nuisance to herself and all her friends”. A crime thriller not listed by Hubin.
Crown 8vo (18cm). [iv],(11)-166pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by George Peace Micklewright (1893-1951); light wear; lower wrapper wrinkled and partially discoloured; text lightly tanned, but a good copy. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

£40

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London : Claud Morris Books, [1947]. First edition. The wealthy Mrs King is murdered before she can rewrite her will – featuring Erma King, the young and beautiful heiress; the long-lost Glen King, now reappeared; Nolan King – the half mad stepson; Lola Dracut, the companion (and Glen’s childhood sweetheart); Tommy Sears, the dentist, and Douglas Robie, the chemist – both suitors of Erma; a hot-tempered cook; the family doctor, lawyer, etc.
Crown 4to (25cm). 48pp. Illustrations. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; wrappers slightly spotted, nicked and chipped; staples rusting; text a little brittle and tanned, but a good copy of a scarce and fragile production. Just a single copy (Bodleian) located in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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London : F. M. Mowl, [1934]. First British edition. A South Sea Island adventure – mystery island, fear and legend. Originally published in New York in 1925.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [ii],(126)pp. Original pictorial wrappers; lightly worn and a little marked; text a little tanned; occasional creases, but a good copy. Ownership inscription of H. A. Read on title-page. Just a single copy (British Library) of this edition located in the major libraries worldwide.

£25

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Glasgow : Muir-Watson, [ca.1950]. First edition. Poppy Delmore has the looks and likes luxury – but her Hollywood screen-test revealed her to be completely unphotogenic. Now a secretary in San Francisco, she is invited to supper by her married boss. “With every sinew in his rock-like prose”, Nat Karta “hammers home the story of a world where greed is the staple diet and lust the flavouring”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a few very minor marks, nicks and creases; mild rusting to staples; text lightly tanned in places, but still a very good copy of a scarce and fragile title. Just a single copy (Lilly Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

Glasgow : Muir-Watson, [1952?]. First edition. The second in the Dana Dallas series – “This episode in his career took place before he became a private eye. Which goes to show that the first fight any guy has in this life is the one with himself”. This Nat Karta is known to have been written by Norman Lazenby (with thanks to Tom Lesser for information on that point).
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – an all-action scene – man, hat, gloves, gun; smiling redhead in lilac on the floor clutching a note; suspicious looking type in a red shirt in denial; a little marked; some wear and creasing; staples a little rusted; some spotting, mainly of edges, but a good copy of a book of this type. Book Centre stamp on upper cover; stamps and inked price of the Popular Book Centre, Shepherds Bush Road, on half -title. Contemporary (1953) ownership inscription of R. Love. Just a single copy (National Library of Scotland) located in major libraries worldwide.

£50

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Glasgow : J. Watson, [1943]. First edition. Two stories from James Watson – “One of Our Aircraft is Missing” and “Twins”, and two from John Watson – “Workmates” and “Hogmanay”. I take the latter to be the John Watson who founded the Muir-Watson publishing house in Glasgow after wartime service in the R.A.F. – here with a first attempt at publishing.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 16pp. Original stapled wrappers; a few marks; staples rusted through; but a good copy of a scarce title. Just a single copy (British Library) traced in major libraries worldwide.

£25

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Glasgow : Muir-Watson, [1951]. First edition. Small-town beauty Topaz Gellhart surrenders herself to an itinerant artist and now knows she must experience little old New York. Meanwhile, Jek Arminos, New York gang boss, drives pretty Sally Armour to suicide.
Crown 8vo (18cm). (128)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some light marks, some creasing, and a little wear, but a better than usual copy of a Muir-Watson publication. Just two copies (Bodleian & National Library of Scotland) found in major libraries worldwide.

£75

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London : Nova Publications, (1953). [Second edition]. John Wyndham’s second foray into science fiction, first published as “Planet Plane” in 1936 and here in a revised text, published under his John Beynon pseudonym as the first in the Nova Science Fiction Novels series.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by Gordon Hutchings. Light wear and some mild creasing; pencilled price to upper wrapper, but a very good copy. No copy of this edition traced in any major UK library.

£25

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London : Nova Publications, (1953). [Second edition]. John Wyndham’s second foray into science fiction, first published as “Planet Plane” in 1936 and here in a revised text, published under his John Beynon pseudonym as the first in the Nova Science Fiction Novels series.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by Gordon Hutchings; light wear and some mild creasing; a few slight marks, but otherwise a very good copy. No copy of this edition traced in any major UK library.

£25

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London : Pedigree Books, [ca.1958]. First British paperback edition. Tracy’s take on the legendary Edward Teach (1680?-1718), better known as Blackbeard – pirate, corsair, rapist and murderer. Originally published in New York in 1955, with a British hardback edition in 1956, and here under Edwin Self’s Pedigree imprint.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 190,[ii]pp. Original pictorial wrappers; some splitting and wear, with old tape repair to upper joint; a few marks and slight creases, but overall a reasonable copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£20

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London & Letchworth : P. M. (Productions), [1947]. First paperback edition. The dull life of a humdrum bachelor of Gray’s Inn revealed as nothing of the sort by his secret diary – a “fascinating study of a man in love with Love”. First published by Hutchinson in 1930 and here in the Pyramid Books series.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [ii],94pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – brunette, redhead and blonde – by Jan; wrappers a little nicked, chipped and creased; staples rusting; a few internal creases, but a good copy of a scarce and fragile item. Ownership inscription of Helen Rust. No copy of this edition traced in any major library worldwide.

£20

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London : Pocket Books (GB), (1951). Second British edition. “Powerful clash between two women for the men they love, a brilliant picture of New York’s glamorous penthouse society”. Originally published in the USA in 1940 and subsequently by Robert Hale in the UK.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). [vi],(248),[ii]pp. Original pictorial wrappers – a design by Reginald Heade; all edges red; lightly used and slightly rubbed; crease to lower wrapper; mild tanning of text, but overall a very good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£40

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London : Pocket Books (G.B.), (1950). First paperback edition. The witty and dangerous Miss Leo Thane reluctantly drives to the Cotswolds for the weekend. The first of her novels, first published by Michael Joseph in 1938.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). [xii],142,[vi]pp. Original pictorial wrappers – a stylish design by Glyn Jones; all edges red; light wear and mild rubbing; a couple of tiny chips, but overall still a very good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) of this edition located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : Pocket Editions, [1944]. First edition. Jewel theft in a rather superior boarding-house near Hyde Park, run by a woman who never removes her hat, and Lady Tebbs, with her mysterious bottle of smelling-salts.
Foolscap 8vo (15cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; pncil mark on upper wrappers; staples very lightly rusted, but a very good copy. Just two copies (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : Pocket Editions, [1945]. First edition. The second of the three Hoyland mystery titles by Philip Claxton Williams, otherwise poet and writer of verse drama. Two stories, “Under Fire” and “The Brickfields Mystery”, the former set in the London blitz. Printed under the exigencies of paper rationing on a pink paper originally intended for some quite different use.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – skull in a hat, anxious brunette; a touch of rust to staples; a couple of small marks, but a very good copy.

SOLD

London : Popular Fiction (London), [ca.1955]. First edition. Gail Martin visits her married sister in beautiful Barcaster – is her fiancé back in London just a little bit too “steady”? No 304 in Popular Fiction’s series of “Real Life Stories”, which appears to have commenced in 1946.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 48pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly worn and slightly nicked and creased; staples lightly rusted; a good copy. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

£20

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London : Popular Fiction (London), [ca.1946]. First edition under this precise title, but presumably related to similar works under similar titles popular in both England and the United States since the middle of the nineteenth century, and in particular “The Gypsy’s Dream Book” published by London pulp publisher F. M. Mowl in 1933. Dream themes explained in a dictionary of topics from “abroad” to “youth” – “to dream that you are doing accounts is not a lucky dream”, “it is more fortunate to dream of hens than other chickens”, etc. Published from Popular Fiction’s 1942-1949 address at 47 Deacon Street.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 64pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a brooding seer from H. W. Perl (1897-1952); spine a little chipped and frayed; edges darkened; lower wrapper dusty; staples rusted, but a reasonable copy of a fragile production. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£25

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London : Popular Fiction (London), [ca.1954]. First edition. Lotus-eating Jill Tresmand left penniless after the suicide of a crooked trustee. No. 279 in Popular Fiction’s series of “Real Life Stories”, which appears to have commenced in 1946.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 48pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly worn and tanned; very slightly creased; staples lightly rusted; a good copy. No copy traced in any major library worldwide.

£20

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London : Popular Fiction (London), [ca.1948]. First edition. The beautiful Jean Silver nurses a broken heart as she returns to the uncertainties of post-war England after four years with the Waafs. In Popular Fiction’s series of “Real Life Stories”, which appears to have commenced in 1946.
Foolscap 8vo (17cm). 48pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; spine and edges smoke-darkened; corner chip to wrappers; triangle of lower corner discolouration to text; an indifferent copy of a scarce title. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£10

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London : A. A. Quin (Publishers), [ca.1952]. First edition. “In the high street of the quaint old town of Lewes, fifty miles or so from London, stands a grim and formidable building. It is one of H. M. Prisons – Lewes Jail” – an underling awaits the release of the “Prince” of the London underworld on an August morning in 1947.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some wear, creasing and chipping; small piece missing from lower wrapper, with slight loss of advertisement text; staples rusted; but a reasonable copy of a scarce book from the highly obscure “Quin Cover the World Publications”. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

SOLD

London : A. A. Quin (Publishers), [ca.1952]. First edition. It’s 1912 and young Jim Starling is summoned to see the dictatorial boss of the London department store he works in. He is engaged to the boss’s secretary.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 128pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some wear, chipping, splitting and creasing, but a serviceable copy of a scarce book from the highly obscure “Quin Cover the World Publications”. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£40

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London : Regency Press, [1946]. First edition. Mousy Sally Sinclair, shorthand typist in the City with a flatlet in Chelsea, dreams of romance – and then she meets a film star.
Crown 8vo (19cm). [ii](33),[i]pp – wrappers included in pagination. Original stapled pictorial wrappers; a touch of rusting to staples; some mild wrinkling to text, but a very good copy. Only a single copy (Bodleian) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

London : John Spencer & Co., [ca.1953]. First edition. Wartime secret service operator down on his luck meets a mystery blonde, some ruthless types interested in atomic secrets, the unlucky gangster Lucky Fara, etc. Earl Ellison was a house-name used by at least half a dozen writers, including Sydney J. Bounds, Norman Lazenby, and Lisle Willis.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 125,[iii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a redhead in black by “Kris”; some minor creasing and a few slight marks; staples rusted, but otherwise a very good copy. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£100

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London : John Spencer & Co., [ca.1952]. First edition. “Her body is her meal ticket ... and she never goes hungry”! “Rick Madison” was a house-name used by both Sydney James Bounds (1920-2006) and Lisle Willis (1919-1988).
Crown 8vo (19cm). 127,[i]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a distinctive design by John Pollack (1918-1985); some chipping, wear, and creasing; some internal spotting; a serviceable copy of an uncommon title. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£50

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London : John Spencer & Co., [1951]. The third of the eleven published issues of this rather good Science Fiction quarterly, edited by Michael Nahum and Sol Assael. Five short stories – “Expedition Eternity” by David Campbell (Leonard G. Fish); “Forgotten World” by John Ellis; “Hell Planet”, again by Fish; “The Encompassed Globe” by James Stanfield; and “Reaction” by Thomas Rochdale.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 125,[iii]pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by Ron Turner; a little worn and slightly creased; lower cover a touch dusty; title-page slightly scuffed, with the loss of a few letters; text a littl tanned, but a good copy of an uncommon item. Just one copy (Liverpool) located in major UK libraries.

£20

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London : Streamline Publications [ca.1958]. Second edition. Country market gardener Bob Hexham is building his own house for the woman he loves – but she could become a famous singer. First published by Wright & Brown in 1955.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 64pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; split at head; vertical crease; a few nicks and creases, but a reasonable copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£15

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London : Streamline Publications, [ca.1955]. Second edition : a variant with a cover price of 1/- and an advertisement for eleven romance stories on the lower wrapper. “Through the curse of a tortured slave, a terrible fate threatened every male Craig”, but there is nothing supernatural about the bullet which killed Roger Craig. Inspector Brummel has been looking for a clue for years. First published by Wright & Brown in 1953.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 112pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; very slightly frayed; staples rusted; a little worn and creased; a few minor marks and small flaws, but otherwise a very good copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£15

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London : Streamline Publications, [ca.1955]. Second edition : a variant with a cover price of 9d and an advertisement for Apal on the lower wrapper. “Through the curse of a tortured slave, a terrible fate threatened every male Craig”, but there is nothing supernatural about the bullet which killed Roger Craig. Inspector Brummel has been looking for a clue for years. First published by Wright & Brown in 1953.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 112pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little chipped, creased and frayed; staples rusted; some internal spotting, but a serviceable copy. No copy of this edition located in any major library worldwide.

£15

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London : Gerald G. Swan, 1947. A content-packed issue of this post-war Swan magazine – romantic fiction, poetry, marital and household advice, cooking hints, something for fathers (how to make clothes pegs), pages for teenagers (stories by Abel Union (“we think mother will enjoy it too”) and Meredith Huntley, together with advice on spots), and much else besides. Contributors include Margaret Murray, Mildred Pugh, Iris Weigh, Elizabeth England, etc.
Demy 8vo (22cm). 64pp. Printed in two colours throughout. Numerous illustrations. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; some wear; staples rusted and wrappers detached; edges slightly smoke-blackened, but a serviceable copy of a scarce and fragile survival.

SOLD

London : Gerald G. Swan, [1945]. First edition. Twenty-four short crime stories – by Ian Begbie; Leslie Berkly; Don Black (2); Douglas Blair; Leslie Bussey (2); G. M. Byrne (2); Michael Dare; Hal Drummond (Blondes Ain’t So Dumb); John Eagle; Dora Garnett; Ronald Horton; Maurice G. Hugi; Dallas Kirby; Peter Larcombe; Norman Lazenby (Red Scarf Murder); Clifford Lewis (Man Hunt); G. H. Lister (Murder at Noon); O.J.Q.; Rex Ransley; Shelley Smith (Death of an Artist), and Leopold Spero.
Demy 8vo (22cm). (128)pp. Illustrations. Original cloth-backed thin pictorial boards; some slight rubbing and wear; some minor internal damage to gutter at front and rear, but a good copy of an uncommon production. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

SOLD

Birmingham : Thomas Publications, [ca.1945]. First edition. An exploding landmine on the road from Blackpool interrupts the progress of three ex-servicemen turned private detectives. A Boys’ S.O.S. Library title.
Pott 4to (18cm). (40)pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; faint and shallow fringe of discolouration to outer edges throughout; staples rusted, but a reasonable copy of a scarce and fragile item. Just two copies located in major libraries worldwide – neither in the UK.

£20

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London : Raphael Tuck & Sons, [ca.1944]. First edition. “Irene Dallas shivered as she slipped into her black velvet gown ...” – Eleanor Burford (later Hibbert) wrote a number of romances under her own name, but is more familiar as Jean Plaidy, Victoria Holt, or Philippa Carr – her three best-known pseudonyms – and a runaway best-seller under each of them. The present title, from the outset of her career, appeared in the “Tuck’s Better Little Books” series, which “had its origin in the early days of the war, and was intended to provide a suitable diversion during air-raid alerts. Handy little books like these could be easily carried in the pocket, and handed on from one reader to another in the shelters. At the same time, by their small size, the books made the most of the very limited quantities of paper then available”. Survival rates of these ephemeral publications are poor – not a single copy of the present title has been located in major libraries worldwide, and nor does it appear in any online listing of the author’s works.
Pott 16mo (10cm). 32pp. Full-page illustrations. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a young woman bearing a marked resemblance to the author herself; wrappers lightly rubbed and a little creased; staples rusted, but a good copy of a scarce and fragile production.

£250

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London : George Turton Publishers, (1959). First edition. A Foreign Legion novel written by Frances (Hank Janson) for Reg Carter’s new imprint – and possibly the last novel he wrote for Carter.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 144pp. Original pictorial wrappers; a little worn and creased, with a short split to upper spine fold; text and edges a little spotted and tanned; a good copy. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£40

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London : George Turton Publishers, (1959). First edition. A Foreign Legion novel written by Frances (Hank Janson) for Reg Carter’s new imprint – and possibly the last novel he wrote for Carter.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 144pp. Original pictorial wrappers; some wear and splitting; a few marks and small creases, but a good copy of an uncommon title. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£40

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London : George Turton (Publishers), [1959]. First edition. Journalist Hank gets beaten up investigating a spate of industrial strikes and disputes – then a union boss’s secretary comes to see him – “There can be something very revealing about the way a dame puts herself into a chair”. Printed in Paris.
Crown 8vo (18cm). (160)pp. Original pictorial wrappers; a few minor signs of use, but a very good copy. Just two copies (Bibliothèque Nationale and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : United Anglo-American Book Co., [ca.1948]. First British edition. Brilliant but clumsy and absent-minded doctor divines from some Rorschach tests that someone is about to be killed and that another guest of nurse Judy Ford will be the murderer. An interesting debut murder mystery from the American film producer and maker of Agatha Christie movies in the UK. Originally published by Knopf in New York in 1946.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 176pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers, presumably by John Pollack; a little wear and some minor creasing; short split at foot; a few internal spots and some mild tanning, but a very good copy of a scarce production. No copy of this edition found in any major library worldwide.

£50

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London : U.T.B., [1944]. First edition. “‘Ha! Poachers again, b’gad!’ The Earl of Lindale paused suddenly in his springy stride and stood staring keenly at the riot of greenery just ahead ...”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little worn at spine; staples rusted and wrappers now detached, but otherwise a good copy of a rare and fragile item. Just a single copy (Bodleian) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : U.T.B., [ca.1945]. First edition. “Since resigning from a brilliant career in the Bengal Cavalry, Captain Bainbridge had settled down in the Malay Peninsula, where he had purchased an estate some twenty-five miles up country from Singapore”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; lightly marked and slightly creased; staples a touch rusted; a few slight spots, but a very good copy. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£40

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London : Utopian Publications, [ca.1945]. First paperback edition. First published by Nicholson & Watson in 1937.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 96pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by Rob; some creasing; lower wrapper lightly discoloured, with a short nick; some internal spotting and browning, but overall a very good copy. No copy of this edition traced in any major library worldwide.

£25

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London : World Film Publications, 1946. First edition. A “Book of the Film” adaptation by E. Fisher of an original story with dialogue by Joyce Cary, adapted via the Herbert Victor and Thorold Dickinson screenplay. Illustrated with stills and studio portraits (Phyllis Calvert, Eric Portman and some seldom seen black actors).
Crown 8vo (19cm). (78)pp. Plates. Portraits. Original pictorial stapled wrappers; a little rubbed and slight creased; text a little browned throughout, more heavily and unevenly on opening leaves, but a good copy of a fragile production.

£20

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London : Dennis Yates, [1956]. First British edition. “Every embrace of love had the shadow of death over it”. Originally published as a Gold Medal book in the USA in 1951 – with same artwork (by Barye Phillips).
Crown 8vo (19cm). 160pp. Original pictorial wrappers; just lightly rubbed, but a very good copy. No copy of this edition traced in any major library worldwide.

£20

To purchase, call us or e-mail us at books@ashrare.com quoting stock number 33520 – or simply click on the button