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The Call of the Wild -
Jack London
1903 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition, First Issue
‘Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and . . . he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire, and to plunge into the forest’
A fresh first edition of Jack London's best and most enduring work, with covers showing bright gilt, and little of the usual rubbing to the white.
Illustrated with eleven full page colour plates, including frontispiece with tissue-guard, five in-text colour illustrations, and numerous full page and in-text single tint decorations and illustrations, by Philip R. Goodwin and Charles Livingston Bull, decorations by Charles E. Hooper.
‘What projects The Call of the Wild towards immortality is London's urgent and vivid style, and his astonishing identification with the world he's describing’ - The Guardian Newspaper (2014), 100 best novels.
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Price HK$ 30,000
1903 - The Macmillan Company, New York - First Edition, First Issue
‘Deep in the forest a call was sounding, and . . . he felt compelled to turn his back upon the fire, and to plunge into the forest’A fresh first edition of Jack London's best and most enduring work, with covers showing bright gilt, and little of the usual rubbing to the white.
Illustrated with eleven full page colour plates, including frontispiece with tissue-guard, five in-text colour illustrations, and numerous full page and in-text single tint decorations and illustrations, by Philip R. Goodwin and Charles Livingston Bull, decorations by Charles E. Hooper.
‘What projects The Call of the Wild towards immortality is London's urgent and vivid style, and his astonishing identification with the world he's describing’ - The Guardian Newspaper (2014), 100 best novels.
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Price HK$ 30,000
Whisky Galore -
Compton MacKenzie
1947 - Chatto and Windus, London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition of this whisky highlight.
‘Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whisky makes it go round twice as fast’
It's 1943, and the war has brought rationing to the Hebridean Islands of Great and Little Todday. When food is in short supply, it is bad enough, but when the whisky runs out, it looks like the end of the world. Morale is at rock bottom. George Campbell needs a wee dram to give him the courage to stand up to his mother and marry Catriona. The priest, the doctor, and, of course, the landlord at the inn are all having a very thin time of it. There's no conversation, no jollity, no fun, until a ship-wreck off the coast brings a piece of extraordinary good fortune.
‘The genre of Scotch whisky fiction is not an expansive one, and would barely make a credible Mastermind specialist subject, but one title stands out above all others in terms of its profile with both aficionados and the general public. That title is Whisky Galore’ – Gavin D. Smith, Famous Whisky Drinkers, (ScotchWhisky.com).
‘Compton Mackenzie's timeless text is a triumph. Inspired by the real events of 1941, when a cargo ship ran aground in the channel between Eriskay and South Uist, Whisky Galore is the gentle, comical story of how the booty on board became appropriated by a group of Scottish islanders. ‘ - 100 Best Scottish Books of All Time, The List.
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Price HK$ 4,500
1947 - Chatto and Windus, London - First Edition
A finely bound first edition of this whisky highlight. ‘Love makes the world go round? Not at all. Whisky makes it go round twice as fast’
It's 1943, and the war has brought rationing to the Hebridean Islands of Great and Little Todday. When food is in short supply, it is bad enough, but when the whisky runs out, it looks like the end of the world. Morale is at rock bottom. George Campbell needs a wee dram to give him the courage to stand up to his mother and marry Catriona. The priest, the doctor, and, of course, the landlord at the inn are all having a very thin time of it. There's no conversation, no jollity, no fun, until a ship-wreck off the coast brings a piece of extraordinary good fortune.
‘The genre of Scotch whisky fiction is not an expansive one, and would barely make a credible Mastermind specialist subject, but one title stands out above all others in terms of its profile with both aficionados and the general public. That title is Whisky Galore’ – Gavin D. Smith, Famous Whisky Drinkers, (ScotchWhisky.com).
‘Compton Mackenzie's timeless text is a triumph. Inspired by the real events of 1941, when a cargo ship ran aground in the channel between Eriskay and South Uist, Whisky Galore is the gentle, comical story of how the booty on board became appropriated by a group of Scottish islanders. ‘ - 100 Best Scottish Books of All Time, The List.
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Price HK$ 4,500
The Naked and the Dead -
Norman Mailer
1948 - Rinehart and Company, New York Toronto - First Edition
First edition of Mailer’s gritty masterpiece, penned at the age of 25 and based on his own experience of military service in the Philippines during World War Two. Scarce in such nice condition due to the notoriously delicate black dust jacket.
‘Virtually a Kinsey Report on the sexual behavior of the GI. Its style is an almost pure Army billingsgate that will offend many readers, although in no sense is it exaggerated: Mr. Mailer's soldiers are real persons, speaking the vernacular of human bitterness and agony. It gives off a skyglow that is quite faithful to the spectrum of battle, and exposes the blood, if not always the guts, of war.’ - New York Times 1948
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Price HK$ 8,500
1948 - Rinehart and Company, New York Toronto - First Edition
First edition of Mailer’s gritty masterpiece, penned at the age of 25 and based on his own experience of military service in the Philippines during World War Two. Scarce in such nice condition due to the notoriously delicate black dust jacket. ‘Virtually a Kinsey Report on the sexual behavior of the GI. Its style is an almost pure Army billingsgate that will offend many readers, although in no sense is it exaggerated: Mr. Mailer's soldiers are real persons, speaking the vernacular of human bitterness and agony. It gives off a skyglow that is quite faithful to the spectrum of battle, and exposes the blood, if not always the guts, of war.’ - New York Times 1948
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Price HK$ 8,500
Every Day is Mother's Day -
Hilary Mantel
1985 - Chatto & Windus. The Hogarth Press, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of Hilary Mantel’s first novel, in the dust jacket without any of the usual fading to the spine lettering and scarce as such. Described by the New York Times as ‘a giddy cocktail of horror and gleeful anticipation’.
‘Set in 1970s England, Hilary Mantel’s first novel is a wild amalgam of social satire and gothic motifs, and also a powerful characterization of the lingering effects of abuse.’ – Narrative.
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Price HK$ 8,000
1985 - Chatto & Windus. The Hogarth Press, London - First Edition
A fine first edition of Hilary Mantel’s first novel, in the dust jacket without any of the usual fading to the spine lettering and scarce as such. Described by the New York Times as ‘a giddy cocktail of horror and gleeful anticipation’.‘Set in 1970s England, Hilary Mantel’s first novel is a wild amalgam of social satire and gothic motifs, and also a powerful characterization of the lingering effects of abuse.’ – Narrative.
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Price HK$ 8,000
The Razor’s Edge - A Novel -
William Somerset Maugham
1944 - William Heinemann Ltd, London - First English Edition
A finely bound first edition of one of Maugham's most popular works, twice adapted for the big screen, the first of which was Oscar-winning starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney and John Payne.
‘The Razor’s Edge’ follows the life of Larry Darrell, a pilot in World War I who longs to discover some transcendent meaning for human life, and for his life in particular.
Maugham himself appears in the novel, and there is some debate as to whether Darrell is a thinly disguised portrait of Christopher Isherwood.
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Price HK$ 3,500
1944 - William Heinemann Ltd, London - First English Edition
A finely bound first edition of one of Maugham's most popular works, twice adapted for the big screen, the first of which was Oscar-winning starring Tyrone Power, Gene Tierney and John Payne.‘The Razor’s Edge’ follows the life of Larry Darrell, a pilot in World War I who longs to discover some transcendent meaning for human life, and for his life in particular.
Maugham himself appears in the novel, and there is some debate as to whether Darrell is a thinly disguised portrait of Christopher Isherwood.
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Price HK$ 3,500
Beast in View -
Margaret Millar
1955 - Random House, New York - First Edition
The psychological thriller, ‘strongly plotted accounts of eruptions from the depths of the unconscious’, by a mistress of suspense at the top of her form, winner of numerous awards and top rankings including the 1956 Edgar Allan Poe Award, and one of the Mystery Writers of America's Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time. Difficult to find in such a bright dust jacket.
Beast in View was adapted for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the 60s and Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 80s. Writing about the book in 1984 for the New York Times, Anthony Boucher said, it was “written with such complete realization of every character that the most bitter antagonist of mystery fiction may be forced to acknowledge it as a work of art.” - Jake Hinson, Hall of Famers, Criminal Element.
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Price HK$ 4,000
1955 - Random House, New York - First Edition
The psychological thriller, ‘strongly plotted accounts of eruptions from the depths of the unconscious’, by a mistress of suspense at the top of her form, winner of numerous awards and top rankings including the 1956 Edgar Allan Poe Award, and one of the Mystery Writers of America's Top 100 Mystery Novels of All Time. Difficult to find in such a bright dust jacket.Beast in View was adapted for The Alfred Hitchcock Hour in the 60s and Alfred Hitchcock Presents in the 80s. Writing about the book in 1984 for the New York Times, Anthony Boucher said, it was “written with such complete realization of every character that the most bitter antagonist of mystery fiction may be forced to acknowledge it as a work of art.” - Jake Hinson, Hall of Famers, Criminal Element.
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Price HK$ 4,000
The King's Henchman: A Play in Three Acts -
Edna St. Vincent Millay
1927 - Harper & Brothers, New York - First Edition
A fine first edition of Millay’s three part libretto which was commissioned for Opera by the composer Deems Taylor and was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York the same year of publication.
The libretto is based on both legend and historical figures documented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle including Edgar the Peaceful, Elfrida of Devon, and Dunstan. It tells the story of a love triangle between King Eadgar, his henchman Aethelwold, and Aelfrida, daughter of the Thane of Devon.
Housed in bespoke morocco slipcase and chemise.
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Price HK$ 1,500
1927 - Harper & Brothers, New York - First Edition
A fine first edition of Millay’s three part libretto which was commissioned for Opera by the composer Deems Taylor and was performed at the Metropolitan Opera in New York the same year of publication.The libretto is based on both legend and historical figures documented in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle including Edgar the Peaceful, Elfrida of Devon, and Dunstan. It tells the story of a love triangle between King Eadgar, his henchman Aethelwold, and Aelfrida, daughter of the Thane of Devon.
Housed in bespoke morocco slipcase and chemise.
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Price HK$ 1,500
Scottish Country; Fifteen Essays by Scottish Authors -
George Scott Moncrieff (editor), Robert Adams, Rattar (photographers)
1935 - Wishart Books, London - First Edition
Fifteen essays by Scottish authors, selected to represent fifteen areas of Scotland, edited and introduced by the Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet, George Scott Moncrieff.
Emotively illustrated with sixteen double page black and white photographic plates mostly by the Scottish photographer Robert M. Adam (1885-1967), and also by Raphael Tuck,
Authors include High MacDiarmid, Eric Linklater, Neil M Gunn, Dr. Mackay Mackenzie, Bernard Fergusson, William Mackay Mackenzie, Fionn Mac Colla, Campbell Nairne, Colin Walkinshaw (pseud. James Macarthur Reid), Hector MacIver, John Robertson Allan, Moray MacLaren, Ian Macpherson, and J.H. Whyte.
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Price HK$ 2,000
1935 - Wishart Books, London - First Edition
Fifteen essays by Scottish authors, selected to represent fifteen areas of Scotland, edited and introduced by the Scottish novelist, playwright, and poet, George Scott Moncrieff.Emotively illustrated with sixteen double page black and white photographic plates mostly by the Scottish photographer Robert M. Adam (1885-1967), and also by Raphael Tuck,
Authors include High MacDiarmid, Eric Linklater, Neil M Gunn, Dr. Mackay Mackenzie, Bernard Fergusson, William Mackay Mackenzie, Fionn Mac Colla, Campbell Nairne, Colin Walkinshaw (pseud. James Macarthur Reid), Hector MacIver, John Robertson Allan, Moray MacLaren, Ian Macpherson, and J.H. Whyte.
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Price HK$ 2,000