Rare books from BooksCurious

Jonathan Swift - Gulliver's Travels - 2 volumes, octavo (190 x 115mm). Third issue - Teerink B. Engraved frontispiece portrait of the author in the second state, 6 engraved plates (occasional extremely faint and insignificant spotting and browning). Contemporary speckled calf (extremities fractionally rubbed with a little wear to head of spine of vol. II, upper joints to both vols just starting to crack, otherwise a very good copy). In bespoke solander box. Teerink 291. Provenance: Robert Bristow (either 1688-1737, MP for Winchelsea, 1708-1737, or his son, also Robert, 1712-1776, also MP for Winchelsea 1738-1741; 18th-century engraved armorial bookplates) – Frank Graham (of Newcastle on Tyne; 20th-century bookplate).
Gulliver is one of the most famous English books of all time, and also the greatest work of literature associated with Australia. It is a key work in the imaginary voyage tradition, particularly for its use of a series of realistic framing devices which include maps, an editorial… Read More

KAZUO ISHIGURO – A PALE VIEW OF HILLS UK: Faber 1982First Edition. Signed by the author to title page. Ishiguro's first novel had a small print run and most copies went to libraries which means most available copies have remnants of stickers and library stamps in them. This copy is in near fine condition with no internal ageing or marks and just a touch of fading to the dustjacket.

Signed limited edition deluxe box set of McCarthy's final works. This UK issue is numbered 87 of 250 and signed by the author in both books. Much harder to find than the USA signed set.

First Edition. VG with a clean and firm page block. Previous owner's address on ffep but otherwise unmarked. DJ is unclipped but worn at edges with a few tears and dings around the spine. Mylar protected.

First American Edition. Presentation copy inscribed to Beckett's British publisher John Calder "John Friendship Sam December 1959". Calder and Beckett were great friends, and Calder was the primary publisher of Beckett's prose in the UK following the triumph of Waiting for Godot in 1955. An important item for any Beckett collection.

A beautiful copy of Cormac McCarthy's Southern classic. Near Fine with a tiny amount of soiling to page block edge but internally clean and tight - no foxing and no inscriptions or markings. Dustjacket is unclipped with very minor shelfwear. A truly collectible copy.

A Fine copy of the UK 1st edition with Cormac McCarthy's signature on the half-title. He signed quite a few copies of the USA 1st but signed UK 1sts are very hard to find. The dustjacket is unclipped with just some traces of shelfwear.

A fine/fine copy of the signed limited edition of Cormac McCarthy's play. This is number 256/350 signed to a tipped in limitation page.

A special limited edition published by BE Trice in a fine binding with a cloth covered slipcase. The book is signed by Cormac McCarthy on the limitation page and is numbered 297/300.
A magnificent edition.

Signed by Cormac McCarthy.
Every collector of the works of Cormac McCarthy knows the story - Cormac said he would not sign any copies of his Pulitzer prize winner The Road except for some that he had saved for his son, John. However, he did sign a very small number of bookplates which were supplied by the author's UK agent at the time of publication for distribution to major book stores.
This is the only legitimate signed version of The Road other than the few copies held by John McCarthy which have never been offered for sale. An extremely rare and sought-after item that will only gain in value over the years.

The book is an excellent copy in a fine dustjacket. Signed to a bookplate pasted on the title page. Mylar protected and cased in a quarter Morocco, custom-made, clamshell presentation box. A magnificent way to store what will be the prize item in your Cormac McCarthy collection.

Signed by Cormac McCarthy via the authorized, official Picador bookplate on the title-page. Bookplate measures… Read More

A special limited edition of the hugely successful thriller - signed by Cormac McCarthy to the limitation page and numbered 75/325.
This copy comes sealed in the original publisher's shrinkwrap and is immaculate.

The typescript galley proof of Cormac McCarthy's novel. Includes a promotional letter from Sonny Mehta bound in with a clear acetate front cover. A very collectible item for McCarthy fans and hard to find.
A VG+/NF copy with some minor splitting as the base of spine (see photos).

Signed Limited Edition
In 2009 Nocturnes, the first ever solo collection of short stories by Kazuo Ishiguro, was published to great acclaim. His publisher treated the UK book trade to not just a proof copy but a hardcover, limited edition proof, signed by the author. A very special production that was limited to just 100 copies. This copy is numbered 29 of 100 and is in immaculate condition - there's just the trace of a blemish to the upper front cover - a true rarity. It comes as issued by Faber without a dustjacket. This is a must have for the "Ish" collectors !

Cormac McCarthy's 1st Novel, 1st Edition, 1st Impression - Review Copy !
The Orchard Keeper - Cormac McCarthy's debut novel from 1965 is set in Tennessee and won the William Faulkner Foundation Award. Sixty years later it's hard to find a first class copy as less than 4000 were printed and many of those went to libraries or suffered a hard life.
This copy is exceptional and considering its age I rate is as Fine. The boards are clean and sharp with one very small blemish to the front and a tiny amount of wear to the bottom corner. There are no bumps or scrapes to the covers and internally there's almost no trace of wear - just the slightest hint of toning to the endpapers.
The dustjacket has a split on the fold of the front flap but that is normal for this book. The binders scored the flap too deeply resulting in almost all copies showing a split over time. There's no chipping of the edges and just one small closed tear on the leading edge of the front flap. The only reason I've downgraded the… Read More

CORMAC McCARTHY - The Passenger / Stella Maris - UK Ltd Edition Proof Box Set ! In 2022 when Cormac McCarthy's UK publisher came to publicise his forthcoming books The Passenger and Stella Maris they really made a great production effort. They came up with a pair of limited edition hardback books encased in a specially designed plastic slipcase. This great set of publisher's proofs is now a real collectors item as only 230 sets were produced and almost all were retained by people in the book trade with only a few making their way into the market. This set is numbered 154/230 by hand to the title page of Stella Maris. The books are in very good condition showing just a touch of wear to the covers. The Passenger shows some wear to the spine. See photos for more detail. This set is a "must have" for Cormac McCarthy collectors.