Rare books from Lucius Books

London: The Egoist Ltd. 1917. First edition of Eliot's monumentally influential first poetry collection. First edition of Eliot's monumentally influential first poetry collection. Publisher's original buff card covers printed in black. A superb fine copy, the binding square and tight with just the slightest of rubbing and toning at the extremities, the spine intact with light creasing. The contents are bright and fresh throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Housed in a bespoke cloth solander case, suede lined with recess and cloth chemise, to the inner cover of which has a tipped in card, signed by T. S. Eliot in blue ink. A stellar example of a notoriously fragile production, rare in fine original condition. The author's first book, collecting The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock; Portrait of a Lady; Preludes; Rhapsody on a Windy Night; Morning at the Window; The Boston Evening Transcript; Aunt Helen; Cousin Nancy; Mr. Apollinax; Hysteria; Conversation… Read More

London: William Heinemann. 1908. First edition with Arthur Rackham illustrations. First edition with Arthur Rackham illustrations. Signed Limited Edition. Publisher's full vellum binding with gilt titles and illustration to the upper board and spine. Top edge gilt, all other edges untrimmed. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 40 mounted colour plates, each with a captioned tissue guard, and numerous line drawings throughout the text. Housed in a bespoke cloth windowed slipcase. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with a little darkening of the spine, the gilt still sharp and bright. The contents with the bookplate of Hugh W. Dewes to the front pastedown, some light spotting to a few tissue guards and the occasional toning to the far edge of some text pages, are otherwise clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. One of the original silk ties is loosely laid in. An excellent example, beautifully illustrated and presented. Limited to 1000… Read More

London: Edward Moxon. 1842-3. Seven volume edition, reprinting the 1836-7 six-volume collected edition prepared by the poet, with the addition of the 1842 'Poems, Chiefly of Early and Late Years' as Vol VII. Seven volume edition, reprinting the 1836-7 six-volume collected edition prepared by the poet, with the addition of the 1842 'Poems, Chiefly of Early and Late Years' as Vol VII. Handsomely bound in contemporary full polished calf by Morrell, London. The boards ruled in gilt with decorative corner devices; the spines with five raised bands, compartments ruled and decorated in gilt, board edges and inner dentelles also decorated in gilt. Dark green endpapers. Top edge gilt. Vol. I with portrait frontispiece by W. H Watt. A near fine set, the bindings square, firm and bright with just a few very minor marks to the boards, the contents bright, clean, without marks, inscriptions or foxing. A very attractive set. Stephen Gill, in his magisterial biography of the poet explains how, in… Read More

London: George G. Harrap and Company.� [1923]. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Original grey paper covered boards with gilt titles and decorations to the spine and black titles to the upper board. No dustwrapper. With 48 colour illustration plates and calligraphic text both mounted on dark grey card throughout. A very good copy, the binding square and firm, the spine a little darkened and the paper cracked and frayed to a few spots on the board corners and edges. The contents, with offsetting to the endpaper and some toning and occasional chipping to the page edges (not effecting the illustration or text plates), are otherwise bright and clean throughout and without previous owners' stamps or inscriptions. William M. Timlin (1892 – 1943) was born in Northumberland but spent most of his life in South Africa. Timlin was a highly skilled writer and illustrator and also earned a living as an architect, and his aptitude in that field are clear to see in the… Read More

London: The Medici Society Limited. 1931. First trade edition (second edition overall). First trade edition (second edition overall). Publisher's original quarter green cloth over green and gold paper-covered boards with pictorial onlay and titles in red to the upper board. Illustrated with 25 colour plates depicting a wide of variety of fantastical birds. A very good copy, the binding square and firm with a little rubbing to the boards and wear to the corners. The contents with a contemporary previous owner's name in ink to the front pastedown, toning to the endpapers, a small abrasion to the paper on the half title page verso and the occasional finger mark to page margins are otherwise in very good order. The illustrations remain bold and bright. A surprisingly uncommon book, not often seen in commerce. Vincent Cartwright Vickers (1879-1939), a prominent economist, created the highly imaginative world of the Google bird and its companions whilst a director at the Bank of England (of which… Read More

London: Thomas Rodd. 1823. First edition. First edition. Large 8vo. Handsomely bound by Charles Lewis in contemporary full green morocco. Boards ruled in gilt, the spine with five raised bands, compartments elaborately decorated in gilt, date in gilt to the foot of the spine, and red morocco label with titles in gilt. All edges gilt. Olive-green endpapers. Printed on thicker paper than usually encountered, possibly a large paper copy. Old pencil note to the front free endpaper "Bound by C. Lewis". A very good copy, the binding square, firm and bright with a little rubbing to the extremities. The contents with a nineteenth-century bookseller's ticket to the front pastedown, a small pen annotation to two page margins, underlining to three lines on one page, and some light scattered foxing to preliminary pages and page edges are otherwise in very good order. A most attractive copy. A beautifully bound copy of the first English translation of Porphyry's 'On Abstinence from Animal… Read More

London: Harper Collins. 1995. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Signed deluxe issue. Publisher's original full blue morocco with five raised bands, and titles in gilt to the spine. All edges gilt. Blue silk ribbon page marker. Housed in the original blue cloth slipcase. Illustrated with black and white photographs. A fine copy, the binding square and tight, the contents clean throughout and free from previous owner's marks. The slipcase is also in fine condition. This deluxe issue was published simultaneously with the trade issue in an edition of 500 copies, this being hand numbered 430 and signed by Margaret Thatcher in blue ink on the title page. Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.

London: Jonathan Cape. 1957. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Publisher's original black cloth with titles and rose design in silver and red to the upper board and spine, in the Richard Chopping illustrated dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth fresh. The contents are clean throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. The closed text block edge with just a couple of isolated foxing spots. Complete with the very good rubbed and nicked dustwrapper that has a couple of tiny chips at the fold corners but is otherwise unusually clean and bright. Not price-clipped (13s 6d net to the front flap). The fifth book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. The first printing of the first edition was issued with a print-run of just 14,087 copies. [Gilbert A5a (1.1)] Further details and images for any of the items listed are available on request. Lucius Books welcomes direct contact with our customers.

Bloomington and London: Indiana University Press. 1977-1981. First US editions, first printings, except for Vol. First US editions, first printings, except for Vol. III, which is the second printing (with corrections) of 1981. Five Volumes. All with illustrations in colour and black and white. A near fine set, the bindings square and firm, the contents clean throughout. There is some pushing to spine tips and a handful of mildly bumped corners. Vols. III and IV show some light spotting to upper edges (and some barely visible to the fore-edge of Vol. III). The dustwrappers, without the fading common to these volumes, show some light rubbing to edges, tips, corners and surfaces (most noticeably to Vol. III, which also has a one inch closed tear, neatly sealed from the rear, to the lower edge of the front panel). All the wrappers are unclipped, with three volumes (II, III, V) bearing small price stickers from Shakespeare & Co. in Paris. Altogether, a very presentable uniform set. Published between… Read More

London: Bloomsbury. 1997. First edition, first impression of the first Harry Potter book. First edition, first impression of the first Harry Potter book. Finely bound by the Chelsea Bindery in red morocco spine and front cover, purple morocco rear cover, spine lettered and decorated in gilt, raised bands, panel to front cover after the original cover design in coloured onlays with title and author's facsimile signature in gilt; rear cover gilt ruled with figure of Dumbledore in various coloured onlays with gilt and silver stars; ivory moiré silk doublures and endpapers; edges silver with hologram stars. Housed in a bespoke red cloth, felt lined, flat-backed solander case with titles in gilt to the spine. A superb example, the binding square and tight. The contents, with a few foxing spots to the edge of the early and last pages are otherwise fine throughout and without inscriptions or stamps. With all the requisite first printing points: Bloomsbury imprint, 10-down-to-1 number line,… Read More

London: Sphere Books. 2013. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original dark blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A fine copy, the binding square and firm, the contents clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Complete with the very near fine original first state dustwrapper that has a tiny closed tear to the lower rear flap fold. Not price-clipped (£16.99 to the front flap). Signed by the author as Robert Galbraith in black ink on the title page. One of only 250 copies of the first edition that were signed by the author before news of the pseudonym was leaked, all of which were retailed by Goldsboro Books in London. This example was originally purchased by us, and sold in October 2013; now reacquired and offered for the second time. The first Cormoran Strike novel; adapted for the popular BBC television series starring Tom Burke and Holliday Grainger.� Further details… Read More

London: Victor Gollancz. 1984, 1986, 1988.. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Three volumes, each signed by the author. Publisher's original cloth (mid-blue, dark-blue and black respectively) with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. Each volume is in fine condition, the binding square and tight, the contents clean throughout and without previous owner's inscriptions or stamps. Each complete with their fine original dustwrapper that remains without fading, loss or tears. None of the dustwrappers are price-clipped (£8.95, £9.95, £10.95 to the lower front flap). Neuromancer and Count Zero are signed in blue ink underneath the author's printed name on the title page, Mona Lisa Overdrive is signed and dated June 9, 1988. Neuromancer was the first novel to win all three major science fiction awards (The Hugo, The Nebula and The Philip K. Dick award). A superb set of William Gibson's seminal work in the cyberpunk genre. Further details… Read More

London: Collins, The Crime Club. 1970. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Signed by the author. Publisher's original red cloth with gilt titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. A lovely fine copy, the binding square and firm, the cloth fresh and without fading. The contents are clean throughout and without previous owner's marks. Complete with the very clean original dustwrapper that remains without loss or tears but with the red lettering on the spine faded to oblivion and partially faded to the upper panel. Not price-clipped (£1.25 net / 25s net to the lower front flap). Signed by Agatha Christie in blue ink on the front end paper. The last of Agatha Christie's spy novels, the publication marking her 80th birthday and (by counting up both UK and US short-story collections to reach the desired total), also advertised as her 80th book. Signed copies are scarce. (Hubin; Wagstaff & Poole; Curran, John: The Hooded Gunman). Further details and images for… Read More

London: Collins, The Crime Club. 1943. First UK edition, first printing. First UK edition, first printing. Publisher's original orange cloth with black titles to the spine, in dustwrapper. An excellent near fine copy, the binding square and firm with the usual softening at the spine tips and a little rubbing at the extremities. Complete with the lightly rubbed and nicked dustwrapper which has a little spotting to the rear panel and a short closed tear to the bottom edge of the front panel. Correctly priced 7s 6d net to the front flap. An exceptional example. The author considered 'The Moving Finger', in which Miss Marple makes an appearance, one of her best novels. The book takes its name from verse 51 of Edward FitzGerald's translation of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, a poem which Agatha Christie greatly admired. The first UK edition was published by Collins in June 1943, preceded by the American (Dodd, Mead and Co.) edition of July 1942. (Hubin; Wagstaff &… Read More

London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1913. First edition, first printing. First edition, first printing. Two volumes. Large 8vo. Autograph letter signed by Captain Scott tipped-in. Publisher's original navy blue cloth with titles in gilt to the upper boards and spines. Top edges gilt, the others untrimmed. Title pages printed in red and black. Illustrated with a photogravure frontispiece to each volume, 6 other photogravure plates after original sketches by Dr E. A. Wilson, 18 coloured plates (16 from drawings by Wilson), 260 full-page and smaller illustrations, including numerous plates from photographs taken by Herbert G. Ponting and other members of the expedition, 11 folding panoramas, and 8 folding maps. 3 page manuscript letter in ink from Captain Scott to Mrs. [Marian] Noble on embossed headed notepaper for 56, Oakley Street, Chelsea Embankment, dated 9.1.08, tipped-in on the front free endpaper of volume two. Printed portrait photograph of Scott captioned 'Unpublished Photograph by Wilson… Read More