J O N K E R S R A R E B O O K S
IN EXCEPTIONALLY SCARCE DUSTWRAPPER GREENE, Graham BRIGHTON ROCK Heinemann, 1938 [39065] First edition. Original red cloth with gilt titles to spine, in ex- ceptionally rare pink dustwrapper. A near fine copy with a little foxing to the fore edge in a very good dustwrapper, which shows some loss to the head of the spine, about half an inch at its deep- est and slightly larger associated loss to the upper corner of the front panel, just clipping the B of the title. A small triangular chip to the base of the spine, but otherwise crisp with notable bright colouring. $80,000 The novel that established Greene’s reputation as a major force in Mod - ern Literature. It carries all of Greene’s classic themes - sex, seediness, guilt, betrayal and death - in a stark and uncompromising style. First editions of this title without dustwrapper are not uncommon, yet in its dustwrapper it is a book that is most often missing from major literary collections. “Ardent Greene collectors despair of ever seeing it, let alone acquiring it” - Joseph Connolly. WITH WRAPAROUND BAND GREENE, Graham THE HEART OF THE MATTER Heinemann, 1948 [46485] First edition. Original blue cloth with silver titles, in red dust - wrapper lettered in white, complete with original wraparound band. A fine copy in a fine dustwrapper, which is crisp and bright with just trivial wear to the corners and base of the spine but exceptionally has an unfaded spine. A superb copy. $2,250 One of the harder of Greene’s novels to find in fine condition due to its fragile post war paper stock and fugitive red colouring. A FINE COPY HAMMETT, Dashiell RED HARVEST New York: Knopf, 1929 [41791] First edition. Original red cloth decorated in yellow and black in rare first issue pictorial dustwrapper, with the plot summary to the rear panel. A fine copy in a fine dustwrapper, which is crisp and vibrant with just the most trivial wear to the head of the spine and a couple of short closed tears. An exceptional copy. $135,000
who would also set several of Graves’ poems from The Treasure Box to music. Gurney was an English poet and composer from Gloucester who’s stud- ies at the Royal College of Music were cut short by the outbreak of war. During the war he was twice wounded in action, secondly with gas that led to the worsening of his manic depression, for which he was institu- tionalised in 1922. Graves met Gurney in the Gloucestershire regiment, and they fought alongside each other in the trenches during battles in- cluding the Somme. In civilian life, they mixed in the same literary circles and exchanged a sporadic correspondence, until Gurney’s death from tuberculoses in 1937. These letters included discussions of their personal struggles adjusting to life after the war and the development and publi - cation of their creative endeavours. ‘Sorry that the reviewers think Graves cannot write; for he is a poet and I am not.’ 23 May 1918, Gurney, Collected Letters, p. 428. The Treasure Box is Graves’ third work, privately printed in an edition of 200 copies, none of which were for sale.
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