28 COBBETT, William. Rural Rides in the Counties of Surrey, Kent, Sussex, Hampshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Worcestershire, Somersetshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Essex, Suffolk, Norfolk, and Hertfordshire. London: William Cobbett, 1830 “an enduring classic” First edition of this masterpiece of political journalism, deservedly the best known of Cobbett’s works, handsomely bound. The distressed state of English farming in the face of economic fluctuation and industrialization was Cobbett’s greatest concern in the 1820s. Rural Rides was based on a series of tours across Britain made on horseback, originally published as a series of letters in the Political Register , the weekly periodical Cobbett established in 1802 and conducted until his death in 1835. “The vividness and force of his writing, whether in describing the countryside or his encounters with those who worked in it, have made his work an enduring classic. In his accounts of the poverty caused by widespread enclosure he struck the first blow in the long struggle for improving the condition
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of labourers on the land, and the opinions he expresses in many ways anticipate the doctrine of the Young England group as led by Disraeli” ( PMM ). Octavo (186 × 109 mm). Recent red morocco, green morocco label, gilt in compartments with floral device, front cover lettered in gilt within a compartmentalised frame containing a repeated device of a field mouse amid ears of corn, gilt and blind turn-ins, floral patterned endpapers, edges uncut. Housed in custom red cloth solander box, green morocco label. Terminal advertisements repaired and defective, else collates complete, with supplementary leaves pp. 45*–124*. Slight browning to contents. A very good copy. ¶ Goldsmiths’ 26974; Kress C.2480; Pearl [166]; Printing and the Mind of Man 294. £1,250 [158460] 29 CORNWELL, Bernard. The Last Kingdom series, with the supplementary volume. London: HarperCollins, 2004–20 the complete set, with the rare supplement, all signed First editions, each signed by the author on the title page; together with the scarce supplement Warrior’s Story , also signed, in which Cornwell outlines his inspiration for the series. Waterstones originally distributed the supplement for free alongside purchases of the newly released Sword Song in 2007. Complete sets are not often encountered in commerce.
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The Flame Bearer is signed and dated by the author within three weeks of publication on 6 October 2016: “Bernard Cornwell 22/10/2016”. The BBC released a televised adaptation of Last Kingdom in 2015; Netflix took over the production from the third season, and released the fifth and final season in March 2022. 14 works, octavo. Original blue boards, spines lettered in gilt, silver, or bronze, sides of War Lord stamped with gilt centrepiece encircled by the titles of each work in the series, colour endpapers (many featuring illustrations). With dust jackets. Warrior’s Story issued in wrappers. Map in each volume. Couple of bumps and spots of rubbing, contents clean. A near-fine set in like dust jackets, not price-clipped, presenting sharply and brightly. £2,500 [157114] 30 CROWLEY, Aleister. The Diary of a Drug Fiend. London: W. Collins Sons & Co. Ltd, 1922 “it is all a phantasmagoria of ecstasies”
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CHRISTMAS 2022
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