Search Results: Authors starting with R from E C Books

London: Edward Arnold & Co, 1931 A very good copy of the first collected edition of M R James Ghost Stories in the original black cloth binding with gilt titles to spine. The binding is very bright and clean. There are small scuffs on the boards visible at some angles, and light pulling to spine ends. There is a tiny paler spot on the spine. Corners with slight wear. Internally the book is in near fine clean condition. There is a pencil ownership signature to the top of the fep. Both sets of endpapers have some tiny foxing spots around the gutter. There are some faint toned areas in the bottom margin of pp 3-6.

London: Edward Arnold, 1905 A good to very good copy of the 2nd impression of this classic collection of ghost stories. In the original beige canvas binding with yapp edges and with 4 black and white plates by James McBryde. This was M R James first collection of stories which he had begun many years previously, reading them to friends. James McBryde was one of those friends and offered to illustrate the volume, but sadly died after only 4 illustrations were completed. The binding has been rebacked relaying the original spine and the endpapers have been retained with professional repair at the joints. The binding is sound and clean with some darkening to the spine. There is a signature dated 1905 to the front endpaper. Contents are clean with the occasional light mark and general toning to the text paper. There are some tiny red speckles in a small area in the top margin of p39, a few light brown spots in the top margin of pp 117-8, and the final page has a couple of marked areas. There are a few… Read More

Kirkwall: James Aderson, Orcadian Office, 1892 A good copy, inscribed by the author, in the original cloth binding. An eclectic collection of items is listed in the contents pages eg: Assaulting a Minister; Cromwell's Ironsides in Orkney; The Magistrates' Drinks Bill; A Farmer convicted of base and palpable Cheatry. The binding is clean and sound with some pulling to spine ends and light wear to corners. The endpapers have a lightly scuffed surface and there is old repair at the rear endpaper joint. Contents: half title; title with 'With the authors compts' written across the top; preface; contents; text and appendices. The text paper is lightly toned. Contents generally clean - some spotting to half title and final leaf. Old ownership sticker to verso of fep. The occasional spot or mark elsewhere - including a couple of small pinprick holes in the gutter at the top margin of pp 129-132.

London: Henry Mortlock , 1675 A very good copy in newer full leather binding with frontispiece portrait. The calf binding has a flat spine without titles and with 6 ruled gilt lines. Boards are plain. It is in near fine clean condition. Newer endpapers have been added. Signature of John Knight (made twice more) on verso of frontispiece. Contents are in very good clean condition with decorative headpieces. With frontispiece; title; contents list 4pp; list of publications 4 pp; text pp 1-396. A number of the individual pieces have their own title page and all are dated 1675. There is small loss to the side edge of p 85/6, and to the bottom corner of p181/2. Small side edge tear at p 209.

Stirling : Printed and sold by M Randall, 1817 A good copy in probably contemporary half leather binding. With folding frontispiece and further folding plate. The binding has gilt compartments and titles to spine. It is clean with wear to spine ends, edges and corners. Light wear to spine joints, which are sound. Boards are marbled with light scuffing. Internally, there is a messy signature to the front pastedown endpaper. Contents: fold out frontispiece, title, dedication, preface and contents pp xi; text pp 1-279 with folding plate. Very clean internally with light toning to paper.

At London printed in Aldergate Street at the signe of the Starre: John Harrison, George Bishop, Rafe Newberie, Henrie Denham and Thomas Woodcocke, 1587 A good copy of the 2nd edition of Holinshed's Chronicles. This edition lacks the extensive woodcuts found in the 1st edition but has beautiful initial capitals and head and tailpieces. Volumes I and II are bound together; Volume III is a single volume. All have been rebound in half calf with gilt lining and title label to spine and marbled boards. Bookplates from the Skipworth family of Newbold-Revel in Warwickshire dating from 1704 through to 1884, have been relaid on the front endpapers of both volumes. Vol I/II has worming. The animals in question have gone vertically through the text block and so little text has been lost, apart from a solitary sideways saunter in the Irish section from p 41 through to p 1 of the Irish History where there loss of some words. Vols I/II are complete apart from lacking the title page to the Description of Ireland and… Read More

London: Printed for J Walthoe, D Midwinter, A Bettesworth and C Hitch et al , 1738 A fair 2 volume set in new quarter cloth with marbled boards, with 3 plates, 2 folding. Vol II is part of the set but has a different title: A Collection of Curious Travels and Voyages. Containing Dr Leonhart Rauwolf's Journey into the Eastern Countries .... The bindings are new and in fine clean condition with title labels to spines. Endpapers have been replaced. Page edges are reddened. Contents are complete. Contents Vol I: half title; title with ink note at the top; preface 2 pp; Text pp 1-428 with 3 plates Finis; title Catalogus Stirpium; preface pp 3-8; Catalogue pp 9-120 Finis. Vol II: half title with old ink note at the top; title; contents 8pp; text pp 1-338; half title; text 341-489 Finis; half title Stirpium Orientalium; text pp 1-44. Text with decorative head and tailpieces and initial capitals. Vol I has old paper repairs mainly at the corners up to p 19 and some discolouration to the bottom corners up… Read More

London: Printed by TN for George Marriott, 1676 A good copy of the second impression, corrected, 'with many Additions, and several new plates' in largely contemporary full leather binding. John Rea was an early to mid 17th century nursery gardener who is seen as a pioneer in methods of fruit growing and garden design. He lived at Norton's Ends, Kinlet, where he acquired and cultivated a large variety of garden plants, fruits and shrubs, including a major collection of tulips. This work was intended to provide an extensive catalogue of his plants together with the benefit of his horticultural knowledge and experience. The binding has the original full calf boards which are clean and with some scuffing and repair to build up the corners. The spine is newer and has raised bands with red title label and a date in gilt at the base. The spine has some scuffing. The free endpapers have been replaced. Contents: The Mind of the Front; engraved title; rubricated title; dedications 10pp; To the Reader 4pp; To… Read More

London [Antwerp]: Gerard Dewes, 1578 A fair to good copy of the first English translation of Dodoens 'Cruydeboeck' (book of plants) which was published in 1554, and which was a major reference work in its time. This copy is bound in full calf with probably contemporary boards and a later spine. The spine has 5 raised bands and gilt title. There is general scuffing to the boards and wear with leather loss at the corners. The leather around the bottom corner at the front is rippled. The spine is sound and clean with some wear at the top. Endpapers look to be newer with repair at the joint. Most copies of this edition tend to be incomplete to varying degrees and with repair. This is no exception and is lacking pp 775-779 and the first 3 pages of the index. At two points, leaves from a later smaller copy have been inserted and some pages are very fragile with some loss.
In detail: title in woodcut border with a woodcut of Henry Lyte's coat of arms to the verso. This leaf has both outer corners missing… Read More

Kirkwall: W R Mackintosh, the Kirkwall Press, 1957 A near fine copy of Robert Rendall's third volume of verse in a very good wrapper, with his signed inscription at the front endpaper. The inscription is particularly nice because it is in the form of a small poem to his two cousins, John and Jean, to whom he gave the book. The book has a bright clean binding with slight fading to the bottom edges. Contents are very clean with just some faint foxing spots to preliminaries. The jacket has a browned spine with slight loss at the spine ends. There are small edge tears with no loss. It is in a removable protective wrap.

Edinburgh, Kirkwall, Stromness: A and C Black; W Reid and R T Anderson; John Rae; William Peace, 1862 A collection of 3 extremely rare early guides to Orkney and Shetland in a single volume, bound in newer quarter leather with marbled boards. Each guide has its own title page and folding map and illustrations. The binding has gilt-lined raised bands to the spine and gilt titles. It is in fine clean condition. New endpapers. Contents: Guide to the Orkney Islands by Rev. Charles Clouston - 1st edition, with folding map; title dated 1862; preface 2pp; introduction 2 pp; text pp 3-67 with 2 plates; appendix pp 69-74; index 2 pp and 2 small tipped in leaves of errata. The appendix is particularly interesting because Clouston added it after James Farrer excavated Maes Howe and it includes detailed information about the runic inscriptions. Condition is very good with a small repaired tear to the map attachment. Bottom margin is quite close trimmed. Half title - Orkney Hand-Book; frontispiece; title - undated… Read More

Edinburgh: Laing and Forbes, 1839 Scarce Orkney religious work in the original cloth binding with paper title label to spine. The binding is worn, with blotching and fading to the cloth. The paper label is missing the bottom corner. Spine ends and corners are worn. The contents are complete and in very good clean condition with the occasional light spot.

LONDON: George Bell & Sons, 1870 A nice set of the second edition of Morris's History of British Birds. In 6 volumes with original decorative cloth bindings and 365 hand coloured plates as called for. The bindings are all clean with bright gilt pictures of birds to each front board and gilt titles and decoration to spine. There is some wear: volume I has some cloth splitting at the hinges and splitting at the rear endpaper with rubbing to corners; volumes II, III and IV have very slight pulling to top and bottom of spine and a little rubbing at corners; volume V has very small splits at the top and bottom of the spine; and volume VI has a 1 inch tear at the top of the spine (with no loss) and scuffing at the corners. Internally all have the original endpapers; the first section including the frontispiece is becoming loose on volumes I, II, and III; volume IV is sound but the stitching is looser than on the others. There is a little spotting to some plates and text pages but in general the… Read More

Glasgow, Edinburgh and London : Blackie & Son, 1870 A very good copy of the 'Revised Edition with Supplement' that includes the additional hand coloured plates. With black and white frontispiece portrait; hand coloured vignette title page; 22 hand coloured and 23 black and white full page plates. Numerous wood engravings in the text. The binding is clean and sound. The spine has gilt decorated raised bands with blind stamped compartments and title label. Boards are cobbled cloth. There is light scuffing to spine joints and ends and some wear to corners - particularly at the top - with some leather surface loss. Boards are clean with some surface scuffing and a couple of slightly darker areas on the front board. Page edges marbled. Internally, the contents are very clean and the hand coloured plates by Fitch are very nicely coloured. There is some spotting to preliminaries and to text page edges - particularly the top edge and top margin. Text paper is toned. The black and white plates tend to have… Read More

London, Calcutta and Sydney: George G Harrap & Co Ltd A very good to near fine copy in original decorative full leather binding with 12 colour plates, 10 greyscale plates and numerous full page and in text illustrations. Undated but circa 1915. The binding has an elaborate design to the front board and spine. It is very clean. There is a slight warp to the top of the boards, slight darkening to the spine and slight wear at the top front spine joint. Top page edges gilt; remainder untrimmed. Internally the original lightly-marbled endpapers are present with a decorative bookplate to the front pastedown. The contents are in lovely clean condition with the very occasional slight mark. The stitching is slightly loose in a couple of places but the book is sound.

London and New York: William Heinemann and Doubleday, Page & Co, 1928 A fair copy in the original grey decorative cloth binding with designs and 34 tipped-in colour plates by Arthur Rackham. The binding has been rebacked - relaying the original spine and endpapers, so it is nice and tight. There is some bumping to the front top corner and the back board corners. The binding is very clean with some fading and browning to the spine. The original decorative endpapers are free of inscriptions - there is a little grubbiness - the back free endpaper has had a sheet of music pasted to the reverse - the music contains the motifs to Siegfried, the ring and other relevant sections. There is an ink inscription to a preliminary 'To Elizabeth for her "seventeenth" birthday - from Daddy and Mummie with our best love 19 Aug'. There is some spotting to preliminaries and the text pages have a brown tint especially to edges. This book is classed as 'fair' and priced cheaply because there… Read More

Oxford: Henry Cripps, 1627 An extremely rare and interesting account of European states as they were in 1627. In new full leather binding with raised bands and gilt titles to spine. It is missing some preliminaries including probably the main title page. The title page remaining has had a paper repair and has been much written on over the centuries. There is a clear signature from 1859 but all others have been crossed out. The preface is a dedication from the author to the Bishop of Lincoln. The text is then divided into the 14 books each paginated separately. Books I to III cover England and Wales; Book IIII covers Scotland; V - VII Spain; VIII - X France; XI - XIIII (part) - Germany; and the remainder of XIIII covers Switzerland, Netherland, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Poland, Hungary, Croatia and and Dalmatia. Each book has a woodcut header and a woodcut decoration to the intial letter. There is also woodcut decoration to the ends of sections. The contents are generally clean and bright, although… Read More

London : George Bell and Sons, 1875 A good set of the 5 volume second edition in the original decorative cloth binding. With 252 hand coloured plates of birds and eggs. The bindings have slight fading to spines, bumping and wear to corners and are slightly shaken (most noticeable in vols III-V), but all are sound. The contents are generally in very good clean condition. There is occasional spotting - most pronounced in Vol IV. Vol I: 150 pp plus publisher's catalogue; 53 plates; small faded area to fep, small chip to spine, text and plates very clean. Vol II: 171pp plus publisher's catalogue; 53 plates; some text pages unopened, text and plates very clean. Vol III: 176pp plus publisher's catalogue; 50 plates; some text pages unopened, a little brown spotting. Vol IV: 180pp plus publisher's catalogue; 51 plates; some spotting - noticeable on around 8 plates. Vol V: 175pp inlcuding list of European Birds and index, with publisher's catalogue; 45 plates; a little light spotting but… Read More

Edinburgh: Thomas G Stevenson, 1845 A very good copy of the scarce facsimile of Robert Sibbald's publication of Robert Monteith's manuscript, originally titled 'The Description of the Isles of Orknay and Zetland' and published in 1711. In the preliminary Notice, it states that the facsimile was produced because of public interest in the islands following the publication of 'The Pirate'. This copy is in a plain red cloth binding with the remains of a paper label to the spine. The binding is clean with bumped corners. There is the bookplate of Thomas Wyatt Bagshawe to the front pastedown endpaper. Contents: half title; rubricated title with note to verso indicating that only 145 copies were made; notice 2pp; folding map; original title of 1711; text pp 3-82 with folding map of Shetland; finis; 3pp publisher's adverts. The paper quality is high as is the quality of reproduction. Contents are in near fine clean condition with just a small tear to the initial map attachment.

London : Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, & Brown, and Taylor & Hessey, 1822 A scarce copy of the 1st edition of this work in 2 volumes in the original publisher's boards. The title page states that the work was 'by a young lady. Also by her father' - the young lady in question was Mary Roberts (related to the Mary Roberts of natural history fame). It was sold by subscription. This copy has a small ink signature of Mary Alderson to both volumes - who is possibly related to one of the subscribers - Revd. J Alderson. The publisher's binding is in very poor condition - it was not intended to last - and the contents are untrimmed - awaiting proper binding. Vol I: frontispiece (detached and with foxing); title page; description of frontispiece (note first few leaves beginning to detach); dedication to Mrs Hannah More; Note on the Aged Female Society; subscribers; preface; half tiltle; Sketch of Mary's Life (note there is a mark affecting pp 7/8); Dissertation; Observations on the… Read More