Les Grand Crus Bordelais -
Alfred Danflou
1867 - Librairie Goudin & Typ. Au. Lavertujon, Bordeaux - First Edition in this format (a smaller work was published in 1866 with only 19 photographs of the 1st and 2nd growths)
A scarce and remarkable work on Bordeaux, in superior condition, two large folio volumes bound in one, containing fifty-five 19th century photographs of the great Châteaux of Bordeaux, together with their history, vintages and other contributions, text in French.
Of superb quality, the plates of the Châteaux include Lafite, Latour, Mouton, all accompanied by a history and contemporary description of the Châteaux and wine vintages. With a long and interesting commentary on the classifications of first and second Crû, strongly in favour of reclassifying to Premier Cru, Branne-Mouton (purchased and renamed Mouton-Rothschild in 1853 by Baron Rothschild but herein referred to by it’s former name), for which they would have to wait a further century until 1973, and referring to both the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, and London’s Great Exhibition in 1851. There are additional chapters on ‘La Système Féodal Appliqué Aux Vins du Médoc’ and ‘Les Grand Vins de Saint-Émilion’.
A truly important and visually imposing work on Bordeaux and a vital part of any wine book or photographic collection.
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Price HK$ 70,000
1867 - Librairie Goudin & Typ. Au. Lavertujon, Bordeaux - First Edition in this format (a smaller work was published in 1866 with only 19 photographs of the 1st and 2nd growths)
A scarce and remarkable work on Bordeaux, in superior condition, two large folio volumes bound in one, containing fifty-five 19th century photographs of the great Châteaux of Bordeaux, together with their history, vintages and other contributions, text in French.Of superb quality, the plates of the Châteaux include Lafite, Latour, Mouton, all accompanied by a history and contemporary description of the Châteaux and wine vintages. With a long and interesting commentary on the classifications of first and second Crû, strongly in favour of reclassifying to Premier Cru, Branne-Mouton (purchased and renamed Mouton-Rothschild in 1853 by Baron Rothschild but herein referred to by it’s former name), for which they would have to wait a further century until 1973, and referring to both the 1855 Exposition Universelle de Paris, and London’s Great Exhibition in 1851. There are additional chapters on ‘La Système Féodal Appliqué Aux Vins du Médoc’ and ‘Les Grand Vins de Saint-Émilion’.
A truly important and visually imposing work on Bordeaux and a vital part of any wine book or photographic collection.
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Price HK$ 70,000
The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club -
Charles Dickens, Hablot Knight Browne “Phiz”, Robert Seymour (Illustrators)
1837 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition, Mixed Issue
First edition, in contemporary binding, possibly the publisher’s deluxe binding, bound from the original parts. Illustrated with 43 engraved plates, nine by Robert Seymour, and the balance including the frontispiece and engraved title page, by Hablot Knight Browne.
‘The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club’ was the first novel by Charles Dickens, initially serialised from March 1836 to November 1837. ‘A comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election.’
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Price HK$ 19,000
1837 - Chapman and Hall, London - First Edition, Mixed Issue
First edition, in contemporary binding, possibly the publisher’s deluxe binding, bound from the original parts. Illustrated with 43 engraved plates, nine by Robert Seymour, and the balance including the frontispiece and engraved title page, by Hablot Knight Browne.‘The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club’ was the first novel by Charles Dickens, initially serialised from March 1836 to November 1837. ‘A comic masterpiece that catapulted its twenty-four-year-old author to immediate fame. Readers were captivated by the adventures of the poet Snodgrass, the sportsman Winkle and, above all, by that quintessentially English Quixote, Mr Pickwick, and his cockney Sancho Panza, Sam Weller. From the hallowed turf of Dingley Dell Cricket Club to the unholy fracas of the Eatanswill election.’
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Price HK$ 19,000
Taps at Reveille -
F. Scott Fitzgerald
1935 - Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York - First Edition, first state, in first state dust jacket
A bright, brilliant jacketed first edition of Fitzgerald’s collection of eighteen short stories, the last to be published during his lifetime.
This important collection, which Fitzgerald considered his best, includes the much anthologized story ‘Babylon Revisited’ – ‘one of the finest short stories in the English language... at once timeless and startlingly modern’ according to The Telegraph. Set in Paris during the late 1920s, ‘Babylon Revisited’ clearly chimes with Fitzgerald’s own life: the extravagant dissipation of life during the boom years, a wife lost to illness, and a fortune frittered away – painting an exquisite and intensely personal portrait of a man who has squandered his life.
‘A farewell to the Jazz Age... its setting is Paris, and its tone one of anguish for past follies’ – The New York Times
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Price HK$ 40,000
1935 - Charles Scribner’s Sons, New York - First Edition, first state, in first state dust jacket
A bright, brilliant jacketed first edition of Fitzgerald’s collection of eighteen short stories, the last to be published during his lifetime. This important collection, which Fitzgerald considered his best, includes the much anthologized story ‘Babylon Revisited’ – ‘one of the finest short stories in the English language... at once timeless and startlingly modern’ according to The Telegraph. Set in Paris during the late 1920s, ‘Babylon Revisited’ clearly chimes with Fitzgerald’s own life: the extravagant dissipation of life during the boom years, a wife lost to illness, and a fortune frittered away – painting an exquisite and intensely personal portrait of a man who has squandered his life.
‘A farewell to the Jazz Age... its setting is Paris, and its tone one of anguish for past follies’ – The New York Times
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Price HK$ 40,000
Jock of the Bushveld -
Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, Ernest Caldwell (illustrator)
1907 - Longmans, London - First Edition, Second Impression
A finely bound copy of this legendary tale, illustrated by the British wildlife artist Ernest Caldwell with colour frontispiece, 22 full page monochrome plates and charming vignettes to all the pages.
Sir (James) Percy Fitzpatrick`s travels with his dog Jock, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, during the 1880s, when he worked as a storeman, prospector`s assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport-rider in the Bushveld region of the Transvaal (then the South African Republic). Fitzpatrick (1862-1931) later recounted these adventures as bedtime stories to his four children. Rudyard Kipling, a good friend of Fitzpatrick, also took part in these story-telling evenings and eventually persuaded him to collect the tales in book form.
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Price HK$ 5,000
1907 - Longmans, London - First Edition, Second Impression
A finely bound copy of this legendary tale, illustrated by the British wildlife artist Ernest Caldwell with colour frontispiece, 22 full page monochrome plates and charming vignettes to all the pages.Sir (James) Percy Fitzpatrick`s travels with his dog Jock, a Staffordshire Bull Terrier, during the 1880s, when he worked as a storeman, prospector`s assistant, journalist and ox-wagon transport-rider in the Bushveld region of the Transvaal (then the South African Republic). Fitzpatrick (1862-1931) later recounted these adventures as bedtime stories to his four children. Rudyard Kipling, a good friend of Fitzpatrick, also took part in these story-telling evenings and eventually persuaded him to collect the tales in book form.
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Price HK$ 5,000
Dr. No -
Ian Lancaster Fleming
1958 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition, First impression, second state with dancing ‘Honeychile’ silhouette to front board, in first edition, first impression dust jacket.
A fine first edition in fine sharp bright dust jacket, the book in the preferred second state showing the ‘Honey Chile’ silhouette which was lacking from the first state. Appropriately housed in a bespoke black cloth clamshell case, lined in scarlet red felt, the spine with gilt stamped lettering and thematic gilt stamped articulated hand of Dr. No.
Dr No, a sinister recluse with mechanical pincers for hands and a sadistic fascination with pain, holds James Bond firmly in his steely grasp. Bond and Honey Rider, his beautiful and vulnerable girl Friday, have been captured trespassing on Dr No’s secluded Caribbean island. Intent on protecting his clandestine operations from the British secret service, Dr No sees an opportunity to dispose of an enemy and further his diabolical research.
The film that introduced the world to Sean Connery. Many of the now familiar elements appeared in this first entry of the series: M, Moneypenny, Felix Leiter, Q Major Boothroyd, SPECTRE, the Walther PPK, a Casino and a Vodka Martini!
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Price HK$ 28,000
1958 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition, First impression, second state with dancing ‘Honeychile’ silhouette to front board, in first edition, first impression dust jacket.
A fine first edition in fine sharp bright dust jacket, the book in the preferred second state showing the ‘Honey Chile’ silhouette which was lacking from the first state. Appropriately housed in a bespoke black cloth clamshell case, lined in scarlet red felt, the spine with gilt stamped lettering and thematic gilt stamped articulated hand of Dr. No.Dr No, a sinister recluse with mechanical pincers for hands and a sadistic fascination with pain, holds James Bond firmly in his steely grasp. Bond and Honey Rider, his beautiful and vulnerable girl Friday, have been captured trespassing on Dr No’s secluded Caribbean island. Intent on protecting his clandestine operations from the British secret service, Dr No sees an opportunity to dispose of an enemy and further his diabolical research.
The film that introduced the world to Sean Connery. Many of the now familiar elements appeared in this first entry of the series: M, Moneypenny, Felix Leiter, Q Major Boothroyd, SPECTRE, the Walther PPK, a Casino and a Vodka Martini!
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Price HK$ 28,000
Goldfinger -
Ian Lancaster Fleming
1959 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition, First Issue, Second State (see ‘Reference’ for more detail), in First Edition, First Impression, First Issue dust jacket.
First edition, sartorially sharp in a bespoke black cloth clamshell case, lined in scarlet felt, the spine with gilt stamped lettering and Skull logo.
Auric Goldfinger, the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced, is an evil genius who likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed only in gold paint. After smuggling tons of gold out of Britain into secret vaults in Switzerland, this powerful villain is planning the biggest and most daring heist in history-robbing all the gold in Fort Knox. With two of the most memorable villains ever created, a human weapon named Oddjob, and a luscious female crime boss named Pussy Galore.
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Price HK$ 34,000
1959 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition, First Issue, Second State (see ‘Reference’ for more detail), in First Edition, First Impression, First Issue dust jacket.
First edition, sartorially sharp in a bespoke black cloth clamshell case, lined in scarlet felt, the spine with gilt stamped lettering and Skull logo.Auric Goldfinger, the most phenomenal criminal Bond has ever faced, is an evil genius who likes his cash in gold bars and his women dressed only in gold paint. After smuggling tons of gold out of Britain into secret vaults in Switzerland, this powerful villain is planning the biggest and most daring heist in history-robbing all the gold in Fort Knox. With two of the most memorable villains ever created, a human weapon named Oddjob, and a luscious female crime boss named Pussy Galore.
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Price HK$ 34,000
Thrilling Cities - Signed -
Ian Lancaster Fleming
1963 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of this wonderful account of fourteen cities, starting with Hong Kong, Fleming’s favourite city, where he stayed with his friend Hugh Barton, Chairman of Jardine Matheson.
Signed by Ian Fleming to the title page, together with a sheet of Sevenhampton Place headed notepaper tucked in (the Fleming home in Wiltshire).
One of Fleming's personal copies kept at home and gifted by Anne Flemming to her secretary Mona Tait.
Descriptions of the more exciting side to each city, with an emphasis on good food, company of character and beautiful Ladies. It is a shame that these descriptions cannot be used by the Tourism board of Hong Kong today.
Housed in a bespoke black morocco leather and gilt titled clamshell case.
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Price HK$ 95,000
1963 - Jonathan Cape, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of this wonderful account of fourteen cities, starting with Hong Kong, Fleming’s favourite city, where he stayed with his friend Hugh Barton, Chairman of Jardine Matheson.Signed by Ian Fleming to the title page, together with a sheet of Sevenhampton Place headed notepaper tucked in (the Fleming home in Wiltshire).
One of Fleming's personal copies kept at home and gifted by Anne Flemming to her secretary Mona Tait.
Descriptions of the more exciting side to each city, with an emphasis on good food, company of character and beautiful Ladies. It is a shame that these descriptions cannot be used by the Tourism board of Hong Kong today.
Housed in a bespoke black morocco leather and gilt titled clamshell case.
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Price HK$ 95,000
Anatomy, Descriptive and Surgical -
Henry Gray F.R.S., Henry Vandyke Carter M.D. (illustrator)
1859 - Blanchard and Lea, Philadelphia - First American Edition
A superb copy, in the original publisher’s sheep binding and endpapers, the original black spine label, binding without restoration or rebind, text and illustrations clean, no attempts to colour the illustrations, no handwriting. Rare as such.
Gray’s Anatomy, the book that brought the beauty of the human form to the masses, has remained a landmark text in medical study since its first appearance in print. The first edition, published in England in 1858, was found to have a good many errors, most of which were corrected in this, the first American edition. The corrections, improvements and new index are outlined in the publisher’s note at the beginning of the work.
Illustrated with 363 wood-engraved illustrations by Gray’s colleague and assistant, Henry Vandyke Carter.
‘The success of the book was not due to an absence of rivals. There were already several texts on anatomy... Gray's Anatomy, however, eclipsed all others, partly for its meticulous detail, partly for its emphasis on surgical anatomy, but most of all perhaps for the excellence of the illustrations, based on drawings by H. V. Carter [1831-97], who assisted Gray with the dissections, and engraved by Messrs Butterworth and Heath with remarkable skill. The design of the book, and the skill with which the illustrations were interpolated in the text, could hardly have been improved. For a man in his early thirties it was a remarkable achievement’ [ODNB].
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Price HK$ 110,000
1859 - Blanchard and Lea, Philadelphia - First American Edition
A superb copy, in the original publisher’s sheep binding and endpapers, the original black spine label, binding without restoration or rebind, text and illustrations clean, no attempts to colour the illustrations, no handwriting. Rare as such.Gray’s Anatomy, the book that brought the beauty of the human form to the masses, has remained a landmark text in medical study since its first appearance in print. The first edition, published in England in 1858, was found to have a good many errors, most of which were corrected in this, the first American edition. The corrections, improvements and new index are outlined in the publisher’s note at the beginning of the work.
Illustrated with 363 wood-engraved illustrations by Gray’s colleague and assistant, Henry Vandyke Carter.
‘The success of the book was not due to an absence of rivals. There were already several texts on anatomy... Gray's Anatomy, however, eclipsed all others, partly for its meticulous detail, partly for its emphasis on surgical anatomy, but most of all perhaps for the excellence of the illustrations, based on drawings by H. V. Carter [1831-97], who assisted Gray with the dissections, and engraved by Messrs Butterworth and Heath with remarkable skill. The design of the book, and the skill with which the illustrations were interpolated in the text, could hardly have been improved. For a man in his early thirties it was a remarkable achievement’ [ODNB].
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Price HK$ 110,000