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Our American Adventure - with - Our Second American Adventure -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1923 - George H. Doran Company, New York - First American Editions
Two volumes. The accounts of Doyle's two American tours, the second only a year after the first due to popular demand, investigating and speaking on matters of Spiritualism.
Illustrated with black and white photographs.
‘We live in the time of dawn, and year by year the overwhelming importance of this psychic question is forcing itself upon the public attention’
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Price HK$ 2,500
1923 - George H. Doran Company, New York - First American Editions
Two volumes. The accounts of Doyle's two American tours, the second only a year after the first due to popular demand, investigating and speaking on matters of Spiritualism.Illustrated with black and white photographs.
‘We live in the time of dawn, and year by year the overwhelming importance of this psychic question is forcing itself upon the public attention’
More details
Price HK$ 2,500
‘The Speckled Band : An Adventure of Sherlock Holmes’ - The original Royal Adelphi Theatre program. -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1910 - Adelphi Theatre, London
‘Special Cable to The New York Times. London, June 4. -- Sherlock Holmes came to life ton-night on the stage of the Adelphi Theatre in an adaptation of Conan Doyle’s story called “The Speckled Band.” It will be remembered that the mysterious title refers to a snake trained by its master to do murders. The reptile made three appearances to-night, finally killing its master in a scene so horrible that even Holmes had little chance. Lyn Harding, as a half-mad Anglo Indian villain, with the horrid pet, held the stage in a fashion evidently delightful to the gallery. Doyle responded to frantic calls with a bow.’
Here we present a rare original programme from that show which only ran for two months, with H. A. Saintsbury playing Sherlock Holmes and a very large rock boa which rather stole the show playing the part of the serpent. The play was transferred to the Globe on August 8th of 1910. In near fine condition and enclosed in separate magnificent colour art-nouveau covers.
‘[Doyle] took a six-month lease on the Adelphi Theatre so that The House of Temperley [based on his novel ‘Rodney Stone’] might be produced. The death of the King and a serious slump in audience attendance, coupled with the subject which was not thought suitable for women, meant that the run was short.
'When I saw the course that things were taking I shut myself up and devoted my whole mind to making a sensational Sherlock Holmes drama. I wrote it in a week and called it ‘The Speckled Band’ after the short story of that name. I do not think that I exaggerate if I say that within a fortnight of the one play shutting down I had a company working upon the rehearsals of a second one, which had been written in the interval' (Memories and Adventures, p. 101).
The new play was a great success.’ – Green and Gibson, A Bibliography of A Conan Doyle.
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Price HK$ 6,000
1910 - Adelphi Theatre, London
‘Special Cable to The New York Times. London, June 4. -- Sherlock Holmes came to life ton-night on the stage of the Adelphi Theatre in an adaptation of Conan Doyle’s story called “The Speckled Band.” It will be remembered that the mysterious title refers to a snake trained by its master to do murders. The reptile made three appearances to-night, finally killing its master in a scene so horrible that even Holmes had little chance. Lyn Harding, as a half-mad Anglo Indian villain, with the horrid pet, held the stage in a fashion evidently delightful to the gallery. Doyle responded to frantic calls with a bow.’Here we present a rare original programme from that show which only ran for two months, with H. A. Saintsbury playing Sherlock Holmes and a very large rock boa which rather stole the show playing the part of the serpent. The play was transferred to the Globe on August 8th of 1910. In near fine condition and enclosed in separate magnificent colour art-nouveau covers.
‘[Doyle] took a six-month lease on the Adelphi Theatre so that The House of Temperley [based on his novel ‘Rodney Stone’] might be produced. The death of the King and a serious slump in audience attendance, coupled with the subject which was not thought suitable for women, meant that the run was short.
'When I saw the course that things were taking I shut myself up and devoted my whole mind to making a sensational Sherlock Holmes drama. I wrote it in a week and called it ‘The Speckled Band’ after the short story of that name. I do not think that I exaggerate if I say that within a fortnight of the one play shutting down I had a company working upon the rehearsals of a second one, which had been written in the interval' (Memories and Adventures, p. 101).
The new play was a great success.’ – Green and Gibson, A Bibliography of A Conan Doyle.
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Price HK$ 6,000
The Speckled Band, An Adventure of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1929 - Samuel French, London - First Edition, Fourth Impression. (‘French’s Acting Edition, No.2558.’)
Scarce early edition of Doyle’s gothic-themed Sherlock Holmes locked room mystery.. With five full page schematics for the stage plot, followed by the properties plot and the electric and lime plot at the rear of the book.
‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ had first appeared in Strand Magazine in February 1892, and was later collected as the eighth story in ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. After Doyle’s successful stage adaptation of 1910, with the celebrated actor H.A. Saintsbury as Holmes and Claude King as Dr. Watson, it was committed to print by Samuel French in 1912. The play toured, and was also performed in America, with Saintsury returning in the London revival of 1921.
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Price HK$ 2,000
1929 - Samuel French, London - First Edition, Fourth Impression. (‘French’s Acting Edition, No.2558.’)
Scarce early edition of Doyle’s gothic-themed Sherlock Holmes locked room mystery.. With five full page schematics for the stage plot, followed by the properties plot and the electric and lime plot at the rear of the book.‘The Adventure of the Speckled Band’ had first appeared in Strand Magazine in February 1892, and was later collected as the eighth story in ‘The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes’. After Doyle’s successful stage adaptation of 1910, with the celebrated actor H.A. Saintsbury as Holmes and Claude King as Dr. Watson, it was committed to print by Samuel French in 1912. The play toured, and was also performed in America, with Saintsury returning in the London revival of 1921.
More details
Price HK$ 2,000
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A smart bright and thus scarce first edition, first issue of Doyle’s first and classic short story collection, twelve in total including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success.
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Price HK$ 45,000
1892 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A smart bright and thus scarce first edition, first issue of Doyle’s first and classic short story collection, twelve in total including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band. These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
When the publisher Newnes accepted a Doyle piece for the very first issue in 1891, he did so with the hope that it would provide him access, through Doyle's agent, to another writer in the agent's stable - Rudyard Kipling - but then beginning in the very first year, "Sherlock Holmes" took off and The Strand was a phenomenal success.
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Price HK$ 45,000
The Adventures and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem.
Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
More details
Price HK$ 45,000
1892 - George Newnes, London - First Editions
A finely bound set of first editions of the first two short story collections, up to the Reichenbach Falls episode of The Final Problem. Magnificently illustrated throughout from wood engravings by Sidney Paget.
The Adventures containing twelve stories including A Scandal in Bohemia, introducing Irene Adler and The Speckled Band.
The Memoirs containing eleven stories including The Final Problem, and “Silver Blaze”.
These legendary Sherlock Holmes stories all initially appeared in The Strand Magazine, the year before.
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Price HK$ 45,000
The Return of Sherlock Holmes -
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Sidney Paget (illustrator)
1905 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition, in which the murder of the Honourable Ronald Adair brings ‘The Great Detective’ back to life after the infamous events at the Richenbach Falls, commencing a search for the second most dangerous man in London.
Dramatically illustrated with sixteen plates by Sidney Paget.
The ‘Return’ is a collection of thirteen stories, among them some of the most interesting in the whole series - 'The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton' is a good example (which Doyle first called 'The Adventure of the Worst Man in London').
Four of the stories ('The Empty House', 'The Dancing Men', 'The Priory School' and 'The Second Stain'), were listed by Doyle in 1927 as being among his favourite Holmes episodes.
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Price HK$ 16,000
1905 - George Newnes Ltd., London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition, in which the murder of the Honourable Ronald Adair brings ‘The Great Detective’ back to life after the infamous events at the Richenbach Falls, commencing a search for the second most dangerous man in London.Dramatically illustrated with sixteen plates by Sidney Paget.
The ‘Return’ is a collection of thirteen stories, among them some of the most interesting in the whole series - 'The Adventure of Charles Augustus Milverton' is a good example (which Doyle first called 'The Adventure of the Worst Man in London').
Four of the stories ('The Empty House', 'The Dancing Men', 'The Priory School' and 'The Second Stain'), were listed by Doyle in 1927 as being among his favourite Holmes episodes.
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Price HK$ 16,000
Rebecca -
Daphne Du Maurier
1938 - Victor Gollancz Limited, London - First Edition
‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’
First edition – with the fragile dust jacket in near fine, unrestored, and thus scarce condition – of this iconic gothic mystery.
Considered du Maurier’s finest work, the novel is narrated by the second Mrs de Winters, the naive second wife of wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter, owner of the renowned estate, Manderley. As the story unfolds, the second Mrs de Winter increasingly finds herself haunted by her glamorous predecessor, Rebecca, and tormented by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, subsequently leading her to uncover an unexpected tragedy...
Hauntingly adapted for the 1940 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
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Price HK$ 55,000
1938 - Victor Gollancz Limited, London - First Edition
‘Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again.’First edition – with the fragile dust jacket in near fine, unrestored, and thus scarce condition – of this iconic gothic mystery.
Considered du Maurier’s finest work, the novel is narrated by the second Mrs de Winters, the naive second wife of wealthy widower, Maxim de Winter, owner of the renowned estate, Manderley. As the story unfolds, the second Mrs de Winter increasingly finds herself haunted by her glamorous predecessor, Rebecca, and tormented by the sinister housekeeper, Mrs Danvers, subsequently leading her to uncover an unexpected tragedy...
Hauntingly adapted for the 1940 film directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
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Price HK$ 55,000
Jamaica Inn -
Daphne Du Maurier
1936 - Victor Gollancz Ltd, London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition of Du Maurier's first commercially successful novel, a famous gothic masterpiece.
Jamaica Inn stands alone, stark and forbidding, on bleak Bodmin Moor, its very walls tainted with corruption. Its name was evil, and no man knew what horrors its dark shutters hid.
Turned into film and directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939.
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Price HK$ 10,000
1936 - Victor Gollancz Ltd, London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition of Du Maurier's first commercially successful novel, a famous gothic masterpiece.Jamaica Inn stands alone, stark and forbidding, on bleak Bodmin Moor, its very walls tainted with corruption. Its name was evil, and no man knew what horrors its dark shutters hid.
Turned into film and directed by Alfred Hitchcock in 1939.
More details
Price HK$ 10,000