AUD 
CAD 
EUR 
HKD 
PLN 
SGD 
CHF 
USD 
+44 01225 448831
Back
A number of important first editions have been listed this week at Rooke Books, amongst them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', complete with his humorous misspelling of the name 'Violet' for 'Violent' on the final page, the first Arthur Rackham illustrated Alice in Wonderland, and the true first edition of Charles Dickens' 'Bleak House' in twenty serial volumes. But we've had all manner of less recognisable works that have brought us plentiful excitement as well, and for our tenth Through the Rooke-ing Glass, we're looking at our best line-up yet! Without further ado...
We were rather excited to come across a very scarce immaculately preserved dust wrapper, and most surprised upon opening the work to discover that it was printed in 1900, making it older than most likely every living person on the planet. Our piece of history encases a collection of Canadian short stories titled 'The Lane That Had No Turning' penned by Sir Gilbert Parker, and it has been miraculously preserved, with only some sunning to the spine and a very minor tear to the base of the front cover to show for some one hundred and twenty one years of wear! Dust wrappers, or dust jackets, came into common use from the second half of the nineteenth century, although they were originally intended to be used to transport books and later be disposed of, making intact dust wrapper pre-1900 extremely hard to come by. The oldest in existence was found in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and was announced by the university in 2003; it dated to 1830, making it nearly two hundred years old. Most dust wrappers still in existence tend to date later than about 1880. This wrapper is now the second earliest in our library; we have another predating 'The Lane That Had No Turning' by eight years, from 1892, covering a collection of poetry by Austin Dobson which has been illustrated by Hugh Thomson. Feel free to have a look at this pristine nineteenth century dust wrapper here.
We've added an 1819 edition of 'An Analysis of the Game Chess' to our library. Penned by François-André Danican Philidor, who came from a long line of French oboists and musicians, this work was first published in 1749, with the second edition published in 1777 and the third in 1790; by 1871, it had seen over seventy editions, and been translated into five languages. It was considered the standard chess guide for at least a century, containing analyses on nine game openings and focusing particularly on using pawns to create a strong defence. Philidor lent his name to an opening, a number of endgame positions, as well as a smothered mate. Our edition is the first edition of Kenny's English translation of the work, and is illustrated with a frontispiece of the renowned player who wrote it, as well as numerous demonstrative diagrams. A fascinating work, which has passed from hobbyist to hobbyist for over two hundred years.
How to Pay for the War
Through the Rooke-ing Glass No. 10
A number of important first editions have been listed this week at Rooke Books, amongst them Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes', complete with his humorous misspelling of the name 'Violet' for 'Violent' on the final page, the first Arthur Rackham illustrated Alice in Wonderland, and the true first edition of Charles Dickens' 'Bleak House' in twenty serial volumes. But we've had all manner of less recognisable works that have brought us plentiful excitement as well, and for our tenth Through the Rooke-ing Glass, we're looking at our best line-up yet! Without further ado...
An Early Dust Wrapper
We were rather excited to come across a very scarce immaculately preserved dust wrapper, and most surprised upon opening the work to discover that it was printed in 1900, making it older than most likely every living person on the planet. Our piece of history encases a collection of Canadian short stories titled 'The Lane That Had No Turning' penned by Sir Gilbert Parker, and it has been miraculously preserved, with only some sunning to the spine and a very minor tear to the base of the front cover to show for some one hundred and twenty one years of wear! Dust wrappers, or dust jackets, came into common use from the second half of the nineteenth century, although they were originally intended to be used to transport books and later be disposed of, making intact dust wrapper pre-1900 extremely hard to come by. The oldest in existence was found in the Bodleian Library, Oxford, and was announced by the university in 2003; it dated to 1830, making it nearly two hundred years old. Most dust wrappers still in existence tend to date later than about 1880. This wrapper is now the second earliest in our library; we have another predating 'The Lane That Had No Turning' by eight years, from 1892, covering a collection of poetry by Austin Dobson which has been illustrated by Hugh Thomson. Feel free to have a look at this pristine nineteenth century dust wrapper here.
Half-Timbered Houses
A stunning personal photograph album, containing xx photographs taken circa 1900 of half-timbered houses, including many in Eye and Stratford, the birthplace of William Shakespeare included. This is a truly unique piece, providing a reminder of both the timelessness and the endurance of such buildings and photographs, which have hardly changed in over a century. The album, which belonged to a John Alexander Moor, is complete with handwritten cards which provide a context to the photographs and their location. A special find, which would prove a real treasure to an enthusiast of British architecture, timbered houses in particular.
Rooke Versus Rook
We've added an 1819 edition of 'An Analysis of the Game Chess' to our library. Penned by François-André Danican Philidor, who came from a long line of French oboists and musicians, this work was first published in 1749, with the second edition published in 1777 and the third in 1790; by 1871, it had seen over seventy editions, and been translated into five languages. It was considered the standard chess guide for at least a century, containing analyses on nine game openings and focusing particularly on using pawns to create a strong defence. Philidor lent his name to an opening, a number of endgame positions, as well as a smothered mate. Our edition is the first edition of Kenny's English translation of the work, and is illustrated with a frontispiece of the renowned player who wrote it, as well as numerous demonstrative diagrams. A fascinating work, which has passed from hobbyist to hobbyist for over two hundred years.
How to Pay for the War
We've listed a piece of economic history this week in 'How to Pay for the War'. Published in 1940 by the important economist John Maynard Keynes, this work offers financial advice and solutions to tackle the problems posed by Britain having a population half the size of Germany, which meant reduced resources to fight and feed with. This work was written before the United States and the Soviet Union had joined the battle. Keynes was a member of the Bloomsbury group, and was transcendent in the development of macroeconomics, and this work is the perfect example of his Keynesian way of thinking, whilst also serving as a fascinating piece of wartime history.
Finally, to mention a rather special 1855 copy of Charles Kingsley's 'Westward Ho!', a historical novel about Elizabethan privateering which features characters such as Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake. An interesting work in itself, having lent its name to the only town in the UK to contain an exclamation mark, our copy is that bit more special: the fore-edge is decorated with a delicate painting depicting a ship at sea, only visible when the text block is spread at a certain angle. In a lovely full blue calf binding by J. and E. Bumpus, it is a beautiful copy without its unique and unusual fore-edge painting.
Our header this week comes from a 1946 copy of 'Britain Between West and East', a scarce post-war magazine covering social issues, politics, economics and art.
A Scarce and Decorative Fore-edge Painting
Finally, to mention a rather special 1855 copy of Charles Kingsley's 'Westward Ho!', a historical novel about Elizabethan privateering which features characters such as Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Drake. An interesting work in itself, having lent its name to the only town in the UK to contain an exclamation mark, our copy is that bit more special: the fore-edge is decorated with a delicate painting depicting a ship at sea, only visible when the text block is spread at a certain angle. In a lovely full blue calf binding by J. and E. Bumpus, it is a beautiful copy without its unique and unusual fore-edge painting.Our header this week comes from a 1946 copy of 'Britain Between West and East', a scarce post-war magazine covering social issues, politics, economics and art.