Rarest book?

[Dust Jacket Collector]

We collect slightly differently, and I guess you are more experienced than me, having collected longer, when was you first dj GW book?

!

Crozier's 'Brass Hat in No-Man's Land' from the long defunct Theatre bookshop in Brighton way back in 1974ish for 30p. (interestingly I made a far better purchase from the same shop at around the same time - a copy of the Holmes book 'A Study in Scarlet' which had a pen and Ink drawing of Holmes by the original artist on an inside page. 30p as well but sold at Sotheby's 20 years later for £400).

[barkalotloudly]

my latest purchase arrived today a privately book of letters plus an original letter from the front "Kenneth Dix Marshall letters and Memoranda" 38th battalion A I F killed 12/10/17 I have also ordered all his service records {43 pages} from the Australian war records for a very reasonable sum

[MartH]

Crozier's 'Brass Hat in No-Man's Land' from the long defunct Theatre bookshop in Brighton way back in 1974ish for 30p. (interestingly I made a far better purchase from the same shop at around the same time - a copy of the Holmes book 'A Study in Scarlet' which had a pen and Ink drawing of Holmes by the original artist on an inside page. 30p as well but sold at Sotheby's 20 years later for £400).

Naval Operations full set 1984ish from Frank Smith in Newcastle 120 I think, came with a dj Oscar Parkes British Battleships.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Those were the days. When did you last walk into a second-hand bookshop & find something truly rare. I used to plan my holidays to take in as many such shops as possible, nowadays I don't bother.

[MartH]

Oh and the London book week in the 80's!

[MJohnson]

I don,t know if this rare but found a copy of Letters from Flanders by Tubby Clayton .some time ago

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I don,t know if this rare but found a copy of Letters from Flanders by Tubby Clayton .some time ago

I'm afraid not. Sold in fairly large numbers over several editions & still easy to find.

[Black Maria]

I have the Luard book. I received it today and intended to post something on it to the effect it had been listed as scarce with interesting ephemera and noticed your post just now. I have literally just unpacked it. I will transcribe the letter at some point in the next few days and post.

I had been looking for a decent first ed. of the book and although pricey, I thought it was too good to pass up.

Nice buy, one to treasure, pricey but priceless at the same time.

[Auchonvillers]

Hello To All,

Not a rare book but one of the more difficult to find in a mint condition.My other half,bless her managed to source and purchase a copy of the book Army Service Corps 1902-1918 by Michael Young as a present for me.

Mark.

[barkalotloudly]

When first starting collecting I was an avid book fair attendee nothing was too far!! but now I never bother, I just cannot justify a whole day traveling with the attached costs, paying to get in ? whats that all about its not the money just the principle being charged to buy something? and finally all the best books/bargains have been sorted well before the public is allowed in!! note the piles of books under everybody`s table!!the net allows me to search and buy from across the world with relative ease {the four collectable books I sourced ealier this week was particularly satisfying, yes there is postage but the benefits far outweigh the negatives, I would be surprised that apart from some specialist fairs and very major events the general fair will cease to exist within the next 10 years? thoughts anybody?

I have listed some books that that enjoy varying degrees of rarity but I think are certainly worth looking out for some maybe be available at present others I have only seen once I and I managed to get my grubby little hands on it

Letters from Gallipoli "P M C" 1916

Letters Victor H Simon from France 1914-1917

Cecil Hopkinson memoir and Letters 1918

Frank West A Record of the Great War 1914-1916

Letters from Flanders Butterworth [new Zealand rifle brigade]

Soldiers Diary of the Great War 1914-1917 Prideux

Twenty months with the British Army {American doctor} Croop

Finding Themselves Stimson {American nurse}

Fighting the Hun From Trenches and Saddle 1918 {Canadian Dragoons}

Mainly for Mother 1920? {Canadian machine gun officer}

A war diary 1916-1918 anon {Worcestershire regiment}

and...Six to a loaf 1914-1918 Great war diary, 1/5th Liverpool regiment, Jule Woods {1990`s?} very interesting book over 500 pages the original diary would appear to be held by the Northern Ireland record office

very best regards

[seaforths]

Nice buy, one to treasure, pricey but priceless at the same time.

Absolutely agree. I have just finished reading the book and have not regretted purchasing it. It is one of those books that I will reread time and again. There are some books that I enjoy rereading because I notice something different each time. The letter is a little contentious and I wish to do some further research over the next few weeks before I transcribe it. That in itself will involve tracking down another couple of books also written by nurses (named in the letter) at the front. I have to take my son on a visit to his intended uni the first week in April and as luck would have it, the trip will enable me to visit her local archive for more information which I am quite excited about.

Interesting how a book has the ability to take you on a journey vicariously as well as in real life!

[Dust Jacket Collector]

seaforths - You'll need to buy Luard's earlier book now 'Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front' which covers the first half of the War. The original is scarcer than 'Unknown Warriors' & was published anonymously but I think there may have been a recent reprint.

[paulgranger]

There is a reprint of Luard's earlier book due, I think, in July

[Dust Jacket Collector]

I would be surprised that apart from some specialist fairs and very major events the general fair will cease to exist within the next 10 years? thoughts anybody?

I must say I do miss the bookfairs. Even though you were almost always disappointed there was still a great expectancy each time you went. Down this way we used to have lots of fairs - Chichester, Brighton, Eastbourne, Haywards Heath - all now gone. The fact that the PBFA scrapped nearly all their London Fairs shows how poorly they've been doing lately. I love the net but I do miss the personal contact. I still do all the June fairs & Deepcut. I'd be bereft if they went. I agree the little piles of sold books used to make me hopping mad. Apart from chaining the dealers to their own stands, it's unavoidable - they should just hide them away.

I like your list of rarities. I don't immediately recognise them (Blackmaria will probably tell me I have them all already!). The Stimson is available but I tend to avoid buying any more American memoirs - there are just so many.

[seaforths]

seaforths - You'll need to buy Luard's earlier book now 'Diary of a Nursing Sister on the Western Front' which covers the first half of the War. The original is scarcer than 'Unknown Warriors' & was published anonymously but I think there may have been a recent reprint.

Thank you - yes, I shudder to think what price a first ed. would command in a dj.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Thank you - yes, I shudder to think what price a first ed. would command in a dj.

Indeed. I've never seen it in its jacket so had to settle for a bare one. My copy is inscribed by the author to 'E.P.L.' so if any of your further research turns up anyone with those initials I'd be keen to know who they are.

[Black Maria]

I like your list of rarities. I don't immediately recognise them (Blackmaria will probably tell me I have them all already!). The Stimson is available but I tend to avoid buying any more American memoirs - there are just so many.

You have them all already , the only one I have is the Prideux which I would say is probably one of my rarest books , I have only seen one other copy (x-lib) in a T.D catalogue many years ago.

[seaforths]

Indeed. I've never seen it in its jacket so had to settle for a bare one. My copy is inscribed by the author to 'E.P.L.' so if any of your further research turns up anyone with those initials I'd be keen to know who they are.

In order to try and narrow down what I hope to see at the archive on my flying visit, I trawled through 500+ articles last night held by the archive on the Luard family, I believe E.P.L. to be her father. Examples taken from the archive holdings:

'Appointment of E. Percy Luard as rector of Birch, having been curate-in-charge for 15 years [1919].'

and

'Letters from Edwin Percy LUARD from Birch Rectory to Katherine Evelyn LUARD, on active service. '

Other examples also show that he (like his daughter) seems to have been known by and used his middle name (Percy). Indeed in the book (Unknown Warriors), she refers to P. There are other listings from P to her that states 'father'. Should I find anything to the contrary on this one, I will let you know. At the moment evidence points to the book being inscribed from her to her father.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

Seaforths - brilliant. She just signs 'from the author' which seems a bit formal to her father but I'm sure its him. Thanks so much.

[seaforths]

I suppose the inscription in your book is in keeping with the anonymity she tried to retain regarding that particular book. Should it be seen by others later, it would still appear, on the face of it, anonymous. However in the archive (and on my wish list) there are letters from family members encouraging her to publish the book and from family members asking her not to edit the content too much. I am assuming much of the content if not all of it, will be in the form of handwritten letters so I will be able to send you a sample of handwriting to compare it with on my return.

[MartH]

More please, this topic is very getting interesting and I am learning lots. Over the weekend I will post ALS in a presentation copy of the Grand Fleet, which resulted in Volume 3 of Naval Ops. having the disclaimer.

[barkalotloudly]

At last......" Wilfred Saxby Barnham" his diary 1914-1915, been looking out for this one for years !! some very interesting photographs a lovely portion of trench map and a diagram of "machine gun farm" he served in "The Buffs" killed October 1915

[Dust Jacket Collector]

At last......" Wilfred Saxby Barnham" his diary 1914-1915, been looking out for this one for years !! some very interesting photographs a lovely portion of trench map and a diagram of "machine gun farm" he served in "The Buffs" killed October 1915

That's a fine buy. Privately printed in 1918, don't think I've ever seen one.

I've just bought a copy of Frederick Sleath's 'Sniper Jackson' from 1919. Fiction but almost certainly based on his personal experience. A rare example of a contemporary novel about sniping. I saw a copy in it's jacket many years ago but nothing much since.

[Audax]

Does anyone have a copy of 'Tips for Padres' by Rev Everard Digby (1915)? The only copy known to me is the British Library.

[Dust Jacket Collector]

An adjacent topic has brought to mind another rarity - F.A.Voigt's 'Combed Out'. My copy is the 1929 issue from Cape in their Travellers Library series - a relatively common book. It seems to have been originally issued in 1920 by Swarthmore Press as by F.A.V. If I've ever seen a copy then I've long forgotten. As a classic disillusioned account I'd assumed it was just one of the many from the late 20's but it was clearly one of the earliest. I fear it's going to take me a long time to find this one!