N. WESLEY FIRTH – BRITISH PULP FICTION AT
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London : Bear Hudson, 1945. First edition. Each time a certain point in the concert was reached, someone died. Red Benton and his whisky-loving accomplice Happy Harringay investigate. Bear Hudson No. 530.
Demy 8vo (22cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a three colour design by H. W. Perl (1897-1952); some light wear and creasing; staples rusted; some internal creases and a few marks, but a good copy. Just a single copy (British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£20

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London : Mitre Press, [1944]. First edition. “What the dickens is it, you chaps?” – it’s Eustace Green turning up for his first day at Harcourt College in tight velvet and a frilly silk collar. Firth very much in Frank Richards mode.
Crown 8vo (19cm). (16pp). Original two-colour pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by H. W. Perl; staples rusted, with resultant damage; a few spots, but otherwise a good copy. Just two copies (Bodleian and British Library) located in major libraries worldwide.

£40

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London : Bear, Hudson, [1946]. First edition. “High in the Transylvanian Alps, close by a small village called Safnia, stands the mighty grey-walled castle of the Grafshens ...” – the ever-versatile Firth presents Jerry Liddon, “English, bronzed, clear-eyed and fair-haired” and his new half-Rumanian bride, “tip-tilted nose and dark, glossy hair”, married in Bucharest and Safnia-bound. What could possibly go wrong? This archetypal Bear, Hudson publication also includes Frank Griffin’s “All Set for Murder”.
Crown 8vo (19cm). 80pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – an evocative design by H. W. Perl; a little worn, creased and chipped; lower wrapper a little spotted; text lightly tanned, but a good copy of a scarce title. Only a single copy (British Library) located in the major UK libraries.

SOLD

London : Hamilton & Co. (Stafford), [1948?]. First edition. A charming tale which opens in Petticoat Lane on a Sunday morning and the prettiest girl in the market is serving jellied eels. Firth here using the name of his daughter, Sheila Ann Firth (1945-2018), as one of his many pseudonyms. Also includes an additional story – “Her Next-Door Rival”, by Eve Calvert.
Crown 8vo (18cm). 32pp. Original pictorial stapled wrappers – a design by “Brab” – Oliver Gilmore Brabbins (1912-1973); a little marked and worn; staples rusted and paper damaged; a reasonable copy of a scarce item. No copy located in any major library worldwide.

£20

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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