books into filmSHORT LIST 60

Item 7

Blackwell’s Rare Books48-51 Broad Street, Oxford, OX1 3BQ, UK

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

1 Adams (Richard) Watership Down. Rex Collings, 1972, FIRST EDITION, folded colourprinted map at rear, pp. viii, 413, 8vo, original terracotta cloth stamped in gilt to upper board, backstrip lettered in gilt with slight lean to spine, gentlest of rubbing to extremities, dustjacket a trifle dustsoiled with very minor chipping to corners and a few tiny nicks, very good £2,000

An attractive copy of the author’s masterpiece – the basis for an animated film in 1978.

2 Bogdanovich (Peter) A Moment with Miss Gish. Santa Barbara: Santa Teresa Press, 1995, FIRST EDITION, 52/100 COPIES signed by the author (from an edition of 1000 copies), title-page printed in black and pink, pp. [13], foolscap 8vo, original quarter blue cloth, fine £30

The film director’s short autobiographical retelling of an encounter with Lilian Gish in 1958. A statement on the limitation page relates that the book ‘is distributed as a holiday greeting in December 1995 to the friends of Peter Bogdanovich and Pepper & Stern Rare Books, Inc.’

3 Bradbury (Ray) Fahrenheit 451. Rupert Hart-Davis, 1954, FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, frontispiece by Joe Mugnani, a few faint spots to prelims, pp. 160, crown 8vo, original red boards, backstrip lettered in silver, strips of fading to head and tail of boards with the jacket lettering faintly sunned through, edges a little toned with a few water-spots to tail, light foxing to flyleaf with a few spots to endpapers elsewhere, dustjacket with a few nicks and minor chipping, the backstrip panel gently faded, good £1,000

Inscribed by the author to the flyleaf: ‘For John Baxter, Best from Ray Bradbury, Aug. 12, 1980’ - the recipient a fellow Science Fiction author, and renowned bibliophile. An excellent association copy of Bradbury’s most famous work. François Truffaut directed the celebrated film version of 1966.

4 Brock (C. E., illustrator) AUSTEN (Jane) Pride and Prejudice. With twenty-four coloured illustrations by C. E. Brock. J.M. Dent & Co., 1907, a touch of foxing at either end, patterned endleaves a bit browned, pp. xiv, 336, 8vo, original full vellum richly gilt to Brock’s design, top edges gilt, others uncut, vey good, bookplate of Dorothy Stewart (on flyleaf) £2,000

First edition in the English Idylls series, with new illustrations (not those of 1895 repeated). The vellum binding is very scarce: it is not noted in C.M. Kelly’s ‘The Brocks.’ Austen’s novel has been filmed multiple times – first in 1940, in a version starring Laurence Olivier and with a screenplay co-written by Aldous Huxley.

5 [Brontë (Charlotte)] Jane Eyre. An Autobiography. Edited by Currer Bell. In Three Volumes. Smith, Elder, and Co., 1847, FIRST EDITION, 3 vols., half-titles present, advertisements discarded, half-title and title-page vol.iii guarded, pp.[iv], 304; [iv], 304;

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LIST 60: books into film.

[iv], 311, [1], 8vo, late twentieth-century dark green crushed morocco, by Bayntun (Riviere), unobtrusive mark on upper side vol.ii, backstrips with gilt wavy line decorated raised bands between gilt rules, lettered direct in second and fourth compartments, with date at foot; sides with single gilt fillet border at three edges, ball and dot roll on the board edges, wide turn-ins with gilt fillets at edges, border and fleuron corner pieces, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, in leaf green cloth slipcase, excellent (Parrish Victorian Lady Novelists pp.87-8: Smith 2: Wise 3) £20,000

An unusually clean copy of a book which is notoriously liable to heavy foxing and browning.Many of the large number of errors in headlines, differences in chapter headings, and textual data, in the first issue of the first edition of `Jane Eyre’ (as listed by Parrish in an appendix to his Victorian Lady Novelists at p.99 et seq., [augmented by Smith in his ‘The Brontë Sisters. A bibliographical catalogue.’ 1991, at p.24]), are present in this copy. First filmed in the silent era, and most recently in 2011, the classic 1943 version stars Orson Welles and Joan Fontaine with a screenplay (as per the above) co-written by Aldous Huxley.

6 Buchan (John) The Thirty-Nine Steps. Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1915, FIRST EDITION, usual browning to page edges with some spotting to borders, closed tear at foot of one leaf, pp. 253, [2, ads], foolscap 8vo, original blue cloth, backstrip and upper board lettered in a darker shade, the former a touch faded and rubbed at ends, spine slightly cocked, rubbing to corners with a couple lightly bumped, a few light marks, top edge lightly dustsoiled, bookplate of James Mackenzie Davidson to flyleaf with a small amount of spotting to endpapers, textblock strained between half-title and title-page, good (Blanchard A32) £450

The first Richard Hannay novel – Buchan’s thriller produced a memorable film version in 1935, directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

7 Burroughs (William) The Naked Lunch. John Calder in association with Olympia Press, 1964, FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, pp. [iv], 251, 8vo, original khaki boards, backstrip lettered in gilt, sprinkling of light spots to top edge and faint spot at head of flyleaf, dustjacket with a small spot of internal tape repair to upper joint-fold and at foot of front panel, very light sunning to backstrip panel, light creasing to extremities, very good £200

The striking dustjacket design, the eyes of its author glowing red, makes this a desirable edition of one of the most successful literary contributions of the Beat movement; the publisher’s estimation that it is ‘worthy to stand beside the work of Joyce, Kafka, Eliot and Beckett’ (dustjacket blub) is perhaps an overstatement. Burroughs’ episodic bildungsroman (read: ‘on the lam’) presented a challenge to many things, not least to adaptation – David Cronenberg succeeded in 1991, in a version that ran with the hallucinatory and fragmented narrative.

8 Dahl (Roald) Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Illustrated by Joseph Schindelman. New York: Knopf, 1964, FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE, pp. [x]. 161, 8vo, original red cloth blind-stamped to both boards, backstrip lettered in gilt, top edge dark brown, bookplate tipped in to flyleaf, dustjacket with slight fading to backstrip panel, a very short closed tear at foot of front, a publisher’s sticker at head of the rear panel and very light dustsoiling overall, near fine £4,000

Published three years before the first English edition, the first issue is identifiable by the 6 lines (rather than 5 in the second issue) of publishing information on the colophon page.The author’s paean to confectionery is a visual feast on the page, which has been filmed twice – first with Gene Wilder, as Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory, in a version written by Dahl, and then by Tim Burton.

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

9 Deighton (Len) The Complete ‘Harry Palmer’ Novels. The Ipcress File; Horse Under Water; Funeral in Berlin; Billion Dollar Brain [4 Vols.] Hodder & Stoughton and Jonathan Cape, 1962- 1966, FIRST EDITIONS, pp. 224; 255; 320; 312, crown 8vo, original boards, backstrips lettered in gilt with very slight lean to spine of first volume, designs stamped to upper boards of all but first volume and illustrated endpapers to same, small bump to bottom corner of upper board of third volume, small patches of offsetting from adhesive tape to free endpapers of second volume, first issue dustjackets with that of final volume a little rubbed and crinkled as often found and with two small holes to front flap, dustjacket to second volume price-clipped with very minor chipping to corners, very good condition overall (Milward-Oliver pp. 27-31) £1,000

The protagonist of Deighton’s first four novels is anonymous, but was named Harry Palmer in the film versions; they feature the same group of characters and form an attractive and harmonious set.

The Suzannet copy

10 Dickens (Charles) The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, & Observation of David Copperfield the Younger. Of Blunderstone Rookery. (Which He never meant to be Published on any Account). With Illustrations by H.K. Browne. Bradbury & Evans, May 1849-November 1850, FIRST EDITION IN THE ORIGINAL 20 MONTHLY PARTS (bound in 19 as issued), with the 38 plates by ‘Phiz’ bound 2 at the front of each part, frontispiece and dated vignette title-page in the final part with the other preliminary matter, advertisements as per Hatton and Cleaver (including the rare folding advertisement for Letts diaries, but without sample leaves), some plates lightly spotted or foxed, one advertisement in final part loose, one back advertisement in final Part loose, 8vo, original printed wrappers, spine of Part 1 repaired, small tear to the rear hinge of Part 19/20, tiny repairs to the fore-edges of Parts 2 and 3, preserved in a red cloth clamshell box with the Suzannet bookplate inside it and a modern bookplate above it (just covering the top of the earlier one), very good (Hatton & Cleaver pp. 253-72)

£20,000One of the scarcest and most desirable of the parts issues. This is an exceptional set (reflecting its Suzannet provenance), largely unsophisticated, with the wrappers minimally soiled and of an even brightness and colour.Filmed numerous times, as with much of Dickens’ work, the 1935 Goerge Cukor version – adapted by Hugh Walpole – is the classic version.

11 Du Maurier (Daphne) Jamaica Inn. Victor Gollancz Ltd., 1936, FIRST EDITION, pp. 351, 8vo, original cloth, backstrip gilt lettered, dustjacket, slight foxing to edges, slight repairs to jacket near spine, slightly chipped and with some small tears, spine of jacket darkened and with some slight staining, a little skewed, good £4,500

The presence of the original dustjacket is uncommon. The 1939 film version was the start of the link between the author and director Alfred Hitchcock, which would continue with Rebecca and The Birds.

12 Easton Ellis (Bret) American Psycho. Picador, 1998, FIRST HARDCOVER EDITION, pp. x, 399, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in silver, corners of lower board slightly pushed, merest hint of spotting to edges, dustjacket, very good £750

Signed by the author on the title-page.

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LIST 60: books into film.

13 Fleming (Ian) The Man with the Golden Gun. Jonathan Cape, 1965, FIRST EDITION, pp. 224, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip gilt lettered, top edge a trifle dusty, dustjacket just slightly rubbed at corners, very good (Gilbert A13) £250

Signed by Lazenby

14 Fleming (Ian) On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. Jonathan Cape, 1963, FIRST EDITION, pp. 288, cr.own 8vo, original black boards, lettering on backstrip in silver and design on front cover in white, very slight lean to spine, bookseller sticker at foot of front pastedown and trace of label removed from flyleaf, dustjacket with rear panel a trifle dustsoiled, very good (Gilbert A11(1.1)) £1,200

Signed on the flyleaf by George Lazenby, adding ‘007’ to his name to record his sole appearance as Bond in the film of this novel.

15 Fleming (Ian) Thunderball. Jonathan Cape, 1961, FIRST EDITION, pp. 254, foolscap 8vo, original black boards with image of a skeletal hand blind-stamped to upper board, backstrip lettered in gilt, contemporary ownership inscription to flyleaf, dustjacket a trifle rubbed to extremtiies with a couple of tiny nicks, very good (Gilbert A9) £750

16 Fleming (Ian) You Only Live Twice. Jonathan Cape, 1964, FIRST EDITION, ‘First Published March 1964’ on title-page verso, pp. 256, foolscap 8vo, original black boards with Japanese characters stamped in gilt to upper board, backstrip lettered in silver and slightly pushed at head, dustjacket with a couple of very shallow nicks at head of backstrip panel, very good (Gilbert A12a 1.3) £350

An excellent copy of what Gilbert clarifies is the second state of the first edition, with the edition of the month to the title-page verso.

17 Forster (E.M.) A Passage to India. Edward Arnold, 1924, FIRST EDITION, pp.325, [3, ads], crown 8vo, original maroon cloth stamped in black to upper board, backstrip lettered in black and a trifle darkened at foot, very light browning to rear free endpaper, one or two tiny spots to edges, tail edge roughtrimmed, bookplate of H. Bradley Martin to pastedown with later bookplate tipped in to flyleaf, custom box, near fine (Kirkpatrick A10a) £1,200

Bradley Martin’s copy of Forster’s lauded novel. The 1984 film version was the final directorial flourish in David Lean’s illustrious career.

18 Greene (Graham) Brighton Rock. An Entertainment. New York: Viking, 1938, FIRST EDITION, pp. [viii], 358, 8vo, original salmon pink cloth with black cloth around head, separated by two horizontal silver rules on upper board, backstrip lettered in silver with

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

slight lean to spine, top edge black, dustjacket very bright with backstrip panel sunned and a tiny chip at head of lower joint-fold, a nick at foot of rear panel and some very light dust-soiling to the same, very good (Wobbe A13b) £2,500

Published a month ahead of the UK edition, in June 1938 - this is a very well-preserved copy.Greene’s gangster tale made a celebrated screen version in 1947, with the Boulting Brothers at the helm and Richard Attenborough as Pinkie. Greene himself, in collaboration with Terence Rattigan, wrote the screenplay.

19 Hammett (Dashiell) The Maltese Falcon. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930, FIRST EDITION, falcon printed in blue on title-page, pale damp-stain in the inner margins of the first few leaves (not affecting title-page), pp. [iv], 267, [1], 8vo, original grey cloth, spine in black and blue/green, upper cover with falcon design in blue/green, lower cover with Borzoi logo in black, top edge in blue/green, pictorial dust-jacket, preserved in matching quarter yellow morocco folding box, small chip to base of spine of jacket, a few other small tears to jacket, price-clipped, minor soiling, very good (Layman A.1.1.b ) £45,000

A near fine copy of the first edition, in the rare dust-jacket, of one of the most influential detective novels. The film version was written and directed by John Huston and starred Humphrey Bogart as Sam Spade.

20 Hemingway (Ernest) A Farewell to Arms. New York: Scribner’s, 1929, FIRST EDITION, pp. [vi], 355, crown 8vo, original black cloth with gold paper label printed in black to upper board and backstrip, light rubbing to labels, fore-edge rough-trimmed, bookplate tipped in to front pastedown, dustjacket with some very light rubbing and one or two small nicks, attractive custom slipcase, very good (Hanneman 8A) £15,000

Inscribed by the author on the flyleaf, to Hemingway scholar and biographer Michael Murphy: ‘To Mike Murphy, Good luck, Ernest Hemingway’. A loosely inserted note signed by Murphy explains that this copy was signed by Hemingway in Havana in 1957. A remarkably bright copy of this modern classic. Filmed in 1932 and 1957, starring Gary Cooper and Rock Hudson respectively.

21 Highsmith (Patricia) Strangers on a Train. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1950], FIRST EDITION, pp. [viii], 304, cr.8vo., original pale blue cloth, light fading to cover edges, lettering to the backstrip and the publisher’s device on the front cover all blocked in dark blue, fore-edges roughtrimmed, one tiny chip to the very lightly frayed head of the faded backstrip panel of the dustjacket (with associated fading to the backstrip), black drop-down-back cloth box with gilt lettered black morocco labels, very good £3,500

Scarce in inscribed state and with the dustjacket in such good condition.Patricia Highsmith and Clive Hirschhorn were acquaintances. He had written requesting an inscription, ‘...No date, though’, in a TLs. of 29th October 1987, which she duly penned for him on

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LIST 60: books into film.

the title-page, ‘For Clive Hirschhorn with friendly good wishes. Patricia Highsmith 31 Oct. 1987 London’.The one-page letter dated 29th October 1987, is loosely inserted. In it he also suggests a meeting for lunch. Her penned reply is written at the bottom of the letter ‘Dear Clive, so sorry I opened this [letter] 1/2 hour after signing - and I’d put the date. This trip I’ve no time, but maybe next time. All good wishes - Pat’.The basis for Alfred Hitchcock’s film of the same name, starring Farley Granger and Robert Walker.

A signed copy

22 Hilton (James) Good-bye Mr. Chips! Hodder & Stoughton, 1934 FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, title-page and chapter decorations printed in black and blue, head- piece, tail-piece and 4 full-page illustrations by Bip Pares, one or two faint foxspots at foot of opening pages, pp. 128, crown 8vo, original blue cloth stamped in gilt to front, backstrip lettered in gilt with slight lean to spine, light dustsoiling to top edge and a few foxspots to others, endpapers with school motto printed in blue and a few faint foxspots, bookplate tipped in to flyleaf, dustjacket with light overall soiling, rubbing to extremities, light chipping to corners with a short sliver missing at head of backstrip, closed tear at head of front panel with nicks and light creasing elsewhere, very good £1,000

Signed by the author on the blank preceding half-title. Hilton’s tale of a beloved schoolteacher was filmed in 1939 and 1969, with Robert Donat and Peter O’Toole respectively in the title-role.

23 Hines (Barry) A Kestrel for a Knave. Michael Joseph, 1968, FIRST

EDITION, pp. 197, crown 8vo, original blue boards, backstrip lettered in silver, minor bump to bottom corner of lower board and trifling mark to top edge, dustjacket price-clipped with the brown to backstrip panel a touch faded, author obituary laid in at rear, near fine £1,500

Inscribed on the title-page: ‘For Ray Carter, with best wishes, Barry Hines’. The author’s second novel and best-known work, made into a memorable film by Ken Loach.

J.L. Carr’s review copy, inscribed

24 Hornby (Nick) Fever Pitch. A Fan's Life. Victor Gollancz, 1992, FIRST EDITION, sparing pencil markings to margins throughout, pp. 247, crown 8vo, original grey boards, backstrip gilt lettered and slightly pushed at head, dustjacket, near fine £1,500

The copy of J.L. Carr, marked by him for his review in The Spectator, a copy of which is laid in at the front - it was subsequently presented to notable collector (of Betjeman, among others) Ray Carter, and is inscribed to him (with ‘Best wishes’) by Nick Hornby. It has additionally been signed and dated by J.L. Carr.The original Gollancz press release is laid in and includes on its reverse a few notes by Carr in red ink pertaining to his review (as well as a further reflection on having one’s work published). A later TLs from Hornby to Ray Carter expresses his regret at not being the right person to contribute to a poetry event planned by The Arvon Foundation.A unique copy of the author’s first book.Hornby adapted the book for the screen himself in 1997.

25 Ishiguro (Kazuo) The Remains of the Day. Faber and Faber, 1989, FIRST EDITION, pp. [vi], 245, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in white with slight push at head of lower joint, dustjacket, near fine £150

A very bright example of the first state dustjacket (without mention of the Booker Prize), with none of the fading usually found.The film version was widely praised and nominated for 8 Academy Awards, but won none.

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

26 Jackson (Shirley) The Haunting of Hill House. Michael Joseph, 1960, FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, pp. 205, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in gilt with very slight lean to spine, edges toned with a few tiny spots, dustjacket a little rubbed at extremities with toning to white areas and some very light dustsoiling, very good £250

One of the defining ghost stories of the twentieth-century, and the basis for film versions in 1963 and 1999 – both under the title The Haunting.

27 Kennaway (James) Tunes of Glory. A Novel. Putnam, 1956, FIRST EDITION, pp. 200, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in gilt, a sprinkling of spots to top edge, spot to rear free endpaper carrying faintly through a few pages, dustjacket just slightly nicked at head of backstrip panel, very good £200

A novel set in a Highland regiment in the aftermath of the Second World War, with a plot that ‘centres on the rivalry between two men from different backgrounds for the command of a highland infantry battalion’. The author was a Scot who attended Trinity College, Oxford - this, his debut novel, also became the basis for a successful film starring Alec Guinness, for which the author himself wrote the screenplay.

28 Kerouac (Jack) On the Road. New York: Viking, 1957, FIRST EDITION, pp. [iv], 310, 8vo, original black cloth, backstrip and upper board lettered in white, top edge red, bookplate tipped in to flyleaf, dustjacket with a little light rubbing to extremities and three very short closed tears around head with internal tape repair, near fine £7,500

The Beat novel did not reach the screen until 2012, after many previous attempts had fallen by the wayside. Kerouac had originally envisaged Marlon Brando in the lead role.

29 Larsson (Stieg) The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo; The Girl Who Played with Fire; The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets’ Nest. Translated from the Swedish by Reg Keeland. [3 Vols.] Maclehose Press, Quercus, 2008/09, FIRST ENGLISH EDITIONS, pp. [vi], 538; [vi], 570; [vi], 602, 8vo, original red, blue or green boards, backstrips lettered in silver, dustjackets, fine £300

A posthumous phenomenon, which quickly spawned film versions in the author’s native Sweden. The Hollywood version of the first book, directed by David Fincher, appeared in 2011.

30 Lawrence (T.E.) Seven Pillars of Wisdom, a Triumph. Jonathan Cape, 1935, FIRST

TRADE EDITION, first impression (with incorrect listing of illustration, pp.304-305), photogravure frontispiece, 53 plates and illustrations, 4 folding maps, pp. 672, stout 4to, near-contemporary navy half morocco by Riviere, spine with gilt raised bands and decorated compartments, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, corners a touch bumped, marbled endpapers slightly bowed and faintly dampstained, fore-edge with occasional spots, very slight crack at lower edge of upper hinge, unclipped dustjacket, slightly soiled with tattered edges, armorial bookplate of Richard Watson, very good (O’Brien A042)

£1,000The basis for David Lean’s film Lawrence of Arabia, starring Peter O’Toole.

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LIST 60: books into film.

31 Lee (Harper) To Kill a Mockingbird. Philadelphia & New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1960, FIRST EDITION, pp. 296, 8vo, original quarter pale green cloth, backstrip lettered and decorated in brown, mid brown boards, endpapers lightl foxed, first issue dustjacket with blurb by Truman Capote on upper flap in green, and with Jonathan Daniels review on lower flap, creasing to dustjacket at folds, backstrip panel head and tail and tail of front panel, but overall in much better condition than normally found, excellent £7,500

An example of a book and film pairing being held in equal esteem; Lee’s debut, and for a long time only, book won her the Pulitzer Prize, whilst the film garnered three Academy Awards.

The source-book for Get Carter

32 Lewis (Ted) Jack's Return Home. Michael Joseph, 1970, FIRST EDITION, pp. 224, crown 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in silver with slight lean to spine, minor bump to bottom corners, dustjacket a little chipped and creased at corners with rubbing to extremties, the odd nick and a short closed tear at head of upper joint-fold, very good £500

The basis of the 1971 film ‘Get Carter’, starring Michael Caine (and subsequent, lesser attempts).

33 McCarthy (Cormac) No Country for Old Men. Trice, New Orleans. 2005, 155/325 COPIES signed by the author, cr.8vo., original qtr. maroon morocco, backstrip gilt lettered, marbled boards, gilt blocked cloth slipcase, shrinkwrapped, fine £800

A limited edition, signed by the author – the film version won four Academy Awards including Best Picture.

34 McEwan (Ian) Atonement. Jonathan Cape, 2001, FIRST EDITION, pp. [viii], 372, [1], 8vo, original black boards, backstrip lettered in silver, dustjacket (without mention of the Booker Prize), fine £180

Signed by the author to the title-page beneath his printed name.

35 Marchant (Sir James, Editor) The Cinema in Education. Being the Report of the Psychological Investigation Conducted by Special Sub-Committees Appointed by the Cinema Commission of Enquiry Established by the National Council of Public Morals. George Allen & Unwin, 1925, FIRST EDITION, tables and graphs, some foxing to a handful of pages, pp. 159, 8vo, original maroon cloth, blind-stamped rules to upper board with blind-stamped publisher device at foot of same, backstrip lettered in gilt, a few spots to edges, browning to free endpapers, shelfmark at head of front pastedown with incredibly faint erased message to flyleaf, dustjacket browned with some chipping, good £200

Significant as the first such scientific study into the educational possibilities of this newly developed medium - the report is very positive as to the possibilities of the use of cinema within an educational context. Scarce on the market, and even more uncommon with the dustjacket present.

36 Messel (Rudolph) This Film Business. Ernest Benn, 1928, FIRST EDITION, faint foxing to prelims and terminal pages, pp. 295, 8vo, original red cloth, backstrip lettered in gilt, tiny white spot to top of upper board, a few spots to edges and rear endpapers, dustjacket price-clipped with light dust-soiling and some faintly visible pencil erasure, good £100

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

The author of what is advertised on the dustjacket as ‘the first comprehensive and serious study of the Film in our language’ had aspired to produce such a volume since his undergraduate days at Oxford, where he was a contemporary and friend of Evelyn Waugh. Like Waugh, who described him in ‘A Little Learning’ as ‘cadaverous, wayward, generous’, Messel was a member of the notorious Hypocrites Club; his cousin was the stage-designer Oliver Messel.

37 Portis (Charles) True Grit. A Novel. New York: Simon and Schuster, [1968,] FIRST EDITION, pp. 215, crown 8vo, original grey cloth, backstrip lettered in gilt and red with decorations in latter, top edge ochre with fore-edge roughtrimmed, dustjacket price-clipped with minimal rubbing to extremities, very good £285

A revenge-Western, told from a female perspective and now a classic of the genre – its standing enshrined by the unusual distinction of having been the basis for two entirely worthwhile film versions, first in 1969 and then in 2010.

38 Sacks (Oliver) Awakenings. Duckworth, 1973, FIRST EDITION, with a photographic frontispiece and end-piece, one page just snagged in the fore-margin, pp. xiii, 255, 8vo, original cloth and dust jacket, boards very slightly warped, very good £600

A signed copy of Sacks’s second book, adapted for the stage by Harold Pinter and later for the screen.

39 Sewell (Anna) Black Beauty: His Grooms and Companions. The Autobiography of a Horse. Translated from the original Equine. Jarrold and Sons, [1877], FIRST EDITION, wood-engraved frontispiece, 8pp. publisher's advertisements at end, some foxing, textblock almost broken between gatherings G and H, pp. viii, 247, [1], [8, ads], 8vo, original brick-red cloth with design and lettering in gilt and black on upper cover and spine (variant of Carter's ‘B’ binding with the horse’s head facing right and printed in black), hinges split, extremities worn, preserved in a brick red morocco backed folding (a fairly good match for the binding), sound (Carter, More Binding Variants, pp. 37-38 )

£6,500A copy of the first edition in an unrestored and extremely rare binding. Carter describes three bindings. Binding A and B he suggests are ‘undoubted primaries, while C may be a simultaneous style or may be a later one.’ The third binding is ‘comparatively common’ but ‘A and B are so rare that deductions are inevitably conjectural.’ It is now generally accepted that the A binding was used for presentation copies and that the B binding was used for the regular published edition. It is the rarest of the three bindings: Carter only saw one (noting titling in gilt, rather than black as here).First filmed in the silent era, and a number of times since.

40 (Shakespeare.) FILM MEMORIBILIA. [Cover title:] The Max Reinhardt Production [of] 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. A Pictorial Souvenir of the Film. Picturegoer [in association with Warner Bros.], [1935,] SOLE EDITION, illustrated with film stills in purple tone, short closed tear at foot of pages throughout with large chip at foot of last page, pp. [16, including covers], 4to, original stapled pictorial wrappers, staples rusted with the lower one separated from cover, a little nicked and creased to edges with a few spots around staples on rear cover, fair £100

A scarce survival, this copy with a later presentation inscription on the inside cover from the female lead, whose screen debut this was: ‘To John Baxter, with very best wishes from Olivia de Havilland and Hermia, Paris, October 14, 2004’.

41 Sillitoe (Alan) Saturday Night and Sunday Morning. W.H. Allen, 1958, FIRST EDITION, light creases to top corners of a few leaves and a couple of spots to fore-margin of closing pages, pp. 216, crown 8vo, original red boards, backstrip lettered in gilt, some corner

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LIST 60: books into film.

bumping, faint partial browning to flyleaf with small ‘Times Library’ stamp at foot of rear pastedown, dustjacket with Mona Moore design, a touch of browning to borders of rear panel with a few faint spots at foot of same, top corner of rear flap torn off, good £700

The author’s first novel, and one of the key texts of the Angry Young Men movement; this copy inscribed by Sillitoe on the flyleaf to an author and bibliophile: ‘John Baxter, best wishes, Alan Sillitoe, 8/2/79’. Sillitoe also wrote the screenplay for the film version starring Albert Finney.

42 Söderberg (Hjalmar) Doktor Glas. Stockholm: Albert Bonniers, 1905, FIRST EDITION, a couple of light pencil marks, pp. [1v], 253, [2], foolscap 8vo, contemporary half calf with marbled boards, the backstrip lettered in gilt with three raised bands, extremities a little rubbed, marbling to edges with that to fore-and tail edges a little faint, patterned endpapers, good £900

A scarce first edition of the Swedish author’s most important work, written in the form of a diary recording the eponymous physician’s descent into despair - and within the larger themes of sex and death, dealing with abortion, euthanasia, adultery and suicide (all apt to cause the sort of scandal that the book provoked). The nature of the journal form allows for a subtle handling of the narrator’s ennui and the book’s complex moral issues, and the novel is both very much of its time in terms of the literary and philosophical influences on the narrative’s presentation as well as predicting several of the tropes and preoccupations that would become staples of modernist practice.The first English edition appeared in 1963 with an introduction by William Sansom - the most recent edition replaced this with one by Margaret Atwood. The basis for a 1968 Danish film.

43 Steinbeck (John) Of Mice and Men. New York: Covici Friede, 1937, FIRST EDITION, first issue with dot between the numbers on p. 88, a little surface removal to gutter of half-title, pp. 186, foolscap 8vo, original beige cloth, stamped in orange and black to upper board and backstrip, edges of cloth just a little darkened, dustjacket very lightly toned with a touch of chipping at corners, the lightest of rubbing to extremities and a couple of very small nicks, light dustsoiling to rear panel, near fine (Goldstone & Payne A7a) £3,000

The top edge of this copy is not stained blue, as Goldstone and Payne call for, but the other first issue points on pp. 9 & 88 are present.

44 Tolkien (J.R.R.) The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. The Fellowship of the Ring; The Two Towers; The Return of the King [3 Vols.] George Allen and Unwin, 1954- 1955, FIRST EDITIONS, third volume with signature mark present and lines of type sagging on p.49 (designated as first state by Hammond in his bibliography, but later revised by him to second state), folding-maps drawn by Christopher Tolkien at rear of each volume, very short closed tear to title-page of third volume, pp. 424; 352; 416, 8vo, original red cloth, backstrips lettered in gilt and slightly softened at ends with a small amount of very gentle rubbing to tips, slight lean to spine of second volume, very minor knock to top corner of

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BLACKWELL’S RARE BOOKS

lower board on second volume, top edges red with slight partial fading to that of second volume, faint partial browning to free endpapers of first volume, dustjackets with backstrip panels a little sunned with some very shallow chipping at ends, similar chipping to corners of first two volumes with a short split at head of front flap-fold of first volume, very short closed tear to rear panel of same, a very good set £14,000

45 Vercors [i.e., Bruller (Jean)]. Borderline. Translated by Rita

Barisse. Macmillan, 1954, FIRST ENGLISH EDITION, pp. [vi], 231, crown 8vo, original red cloth, backstrip lettered in gilt, dustjacket very bright with just a couple of tiny nicks at head of backstrip panel and lightest of rubbing to extremities, near fine

£125 ‘Borderline’ was first published in French as ‘Les Animaux dénaturés’, then in America as ‘You Shall Know Them’. A Hollywood adaptation, ‘Skullduggery’, was released in 1970.This copy is inscribed by the author on the half-title: ‘à Gladys Bendit avec le souvenir affectueux de Vercors’, and additionally inscribed below by the translator - ‘and fondest love from Rita’. Australian-born Bendit, née Williams, and between 1907 and 1943 known by her married name of Skelton, wrote in a variety of genres (including science fiction) under the name of John Presland.

46 White (E.B.) Stuart Little. Pictures by Garth Williams. New York: Harper, 1945, FIRST EDITION, frontispiece drawing and further illustrations throughout text, pp. [viii], 129, crown 8vo, original pale green cloth stamped in green and orange to upper board, backstrip lettered and decorated in green and orange with a touch of fading, illustrated endpapers, dustjacket remarkably bright overall with backstrip panel lightly toned, a couple of small nicks and the lightest of chipping at foot of backstrip, near fine £2,000

A spectacular copy of this charming story.

47 Wyndham (John) The Day of the Triffids. New York: Doubleday, 1951, FIRST EDITION, pp. 222, 8vo, original blue-grey cloth, backstrip lettered in green, some very minor corner bumping, a few spots to edges and faint partial browning to free endpapers, dustjacket designed by Whitney Bender with a little rubbing to extremities, very good

£800A nice copy of the true first edition of this landmark Science Fiction work, with differences to the design and to the text of the British edition from the same year - this the copy of Science Fiction author and bibliophile John Baxter, though without mark of ownership.

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