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Rarest book?


Audax

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an early edition, {1934} but not a first "The desert column" with the iconic dust wrapper well, pleased ,

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I bought a copy of 'Hell's Bells and Mademoiselles' by J Maxwell 1932 2nd ed. recently from Australia at a reasonable price ( no dustwrapper). This is what got me looking into the 'Gallant Legion' when it was reissued later on.

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Thanks Grant. An excellent series by the looks of it. I know all the titles but I've only read a couple of them. So from that limited exposure I'd say 'Jacka's Mob' was my favourite, possibly because I picked up a jacketed 1st of it recently.

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I was disappointed with 'The Silent Division' , I thought it was more like a divisional history than a memoir.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Here's one I've not encountered before - Au Front (at the front) by Gwendolyn Brodrick. Privately printed in 1920 in an edition of 110 copies. It tells of the formation & running of a mobile field canteen in France from 1915 until the end of the War by the author and her daughter. It's full of fascinating details of day-to-day events, problems of sourcing supplies and the dangers of moving around the battlefields. The author was awarded the Croix de Guerre. There are copies in the National libraries but nowhere else. Can't find any references to it so it seems to have passed beyond memory. I suspect it had been on EBay for some time as the seller was happy to accept my meagre offer!

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  • 2 weeks later...

As an occasional collector of Kipling I was particularly pleased to find this rare pamphlet recently. According to several Kipling bibliographies there are only 4 known copies of this, all of which are in libraries. That's remarkable considering that 50,000 copies were printed in 1918 for distribution to American Troops. The text is of a couple of speeches made by Kipling to some assembled NCO's & nurses so it looks as if the troops may have chucked them away as soon as they received them!

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"Au Front" been up for sale for 2 plus years I think? a scarce book nice purchase, especially at a reduced price!! managed to get an an american 1st "Testament of youth" signed by the author, as well as a nice copy of "Soldier of the Legion" with D/W

I am going to watch a book that a particular dealer has on offer i know he purchased this from elsewhere on the net and has trebled the price !! if it is still available in 6 months time i shall make him a "reasonable" offer greedy so and so !!

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For information I have been emailed by Tom Donovan advising me that his book on private memorial works is out, or near to. Cost? £70.00

Just to clarify, the book will be published on 30th November at £75 including postage. Given that only a hundred or so copies will be printed & Tom has spent years on this, it's not an unreasonable price. For me, at least, it's the most anticipated book of the year!

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I did make the suggestion that for a small extra cost updates could be sent out perhaps yearly to include " new finds"

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  • 3 weeks later...

I've always been particularly interested in the siege of Kut-Al-Amara & the subsequent horrific march into Turkey by the captured troops, so I was especially pleased when this turned up on ABE last week :-

The Sufferings of the Kut Garrison during their march into Turkey as Prisoners of War by Lt. & Quartermaster F. A. Harvey, 2nd Batt., Dorsetshire Regiment.

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Usually contemporary accounts of Kut are rather thin on details of the March but this one gives an all too graphic account. It seems to have been published as a memorial by his fellow officers as the author was killed in a later campaign in Vadapuram, Malabar during the Moplah Rebellion of 1921.

From a collectors point of view the interest lies in the fact that I can detect no other copies, either here or abroad, the one in the IWM being a photocopy. There's a bookplate stating it was in the 'Dorset Collection' so I guess it's been de-accessioned by some over zealous librarian.

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Congratultions on your newest addition. I have an interest in the Kut affair too.

Some librarians just don't have a clue what they are administrating i reckon.

Derek.

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  • 1 month later...

I have bought a copy of the Ben Assher book, 'A Nomad Under Arms', with the understanding it is an important book. I tried the first few pages and really struggled with the very 'wordy' way he writes. Who is he and what is his background? I will persevere as it wasn't the cheapest book I have ever bought!

Cheers

Grant

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IWho is he and what is his background?

Let Google be your best friend. It quickly turns up that his real name was Colin Henry Alfred Borradaile and you'll easily find some biographical info on him.

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I have bought a copy of the Ben Assher book, 'A Nomad Under Arms', with the understanding it is an important book. I tried the first few pages and really struggled with the very 'wordy' way he writes. Who is he and what is his background? I will persevere as it wasn't the cheapest book I have ever bought!

Cheers

Grant

Can't add much about Colin Borradaile I'm afraid, I have two copies of his book in my collection ( one signed ) and I often wondered why a 'Nomad under Arms' was

so rare compared to his other 'Nomad' books. I've not read it but having just skimmed over the first few pages I agree with you it's very heavy going, I think I will have

to have my dictionary handy and a few aspirin ready before I tackle it.

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Thanks for your inputs and thoughts about the Nomad book. Maybe a good thread to start for those of us who collect would be to tell each other which classics we have bought and not got round to reading yet! I have a first set of 'The Middle Parts Of The Fortune',that I dare not read in case I damage them, (I seem to do most of reading just before I fall asleep at night)!

Cheers

Grant

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Thanks for your inputs and thoughts about the Nomad book. Maybe a good thread to start for those of us who collect would be to tell each other which classics we have bought and not got round to reading yet! I have a first set of 'The Middle Parts Of The Fortune',that I dare not read in case I damage them, (I seem to do most of reading just before I fall asleep at night)!

Cheers

Grant

Books I haven't read yet.... where to start ! What you were saying about 'The Middle Parts of Fortune' reminds me of Abigail's Party when Laurence is showing Sue his

leather bound Gold embossed works of Shakespeare and says " Of course they're not something you can actually read " , I must empathies with you though I treat my

books very carefully.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I've just acquired an original copy of W.H Downing's book 'To the last ridge' , published by the Australasian Author's Agency in 1920. In the 2002 Grub Street paperback

reprint the author's son states that the publishers went bust shortly after publication and Mr Downing was given many copies in lieu of royalties and these were later destroyed

in a fire and there is only now one copy in the possession of the author's family.

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yes a good book scarce in it`s original form

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Looks like a fine copy. Well done. I noticed another rare one, Horton's 'When I became a Man' has just gone on ABE, signed but no jacket. Too dear though at £250.

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Looks like a fine copy. Well done. I noticed another rare one, Horton's 'When I became a Man' has just gone on ABE, signed but no jacket. Too dear though at £250.

Thanks, yes it's a nice copy. I agree the Horton is a bit pricey although, like you say, it's very rare, i found my copy about three years ago on Amazon and paid £42 for it and

it's signed.The only other copy I've seen was in a 2004 T.D catalogue , it was priced at £85 and it was also signed ( maybe it was a limited print run and he signed all the copies? )

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The T D book? I think I purchased that, the copy on ABE at present is I think a tad overpriced

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The T D book? I think I purchased that, the copy on ABE at present is I think a tad overpriced

Someone must have thought it was worth it, looks like it's been sold. Though not through ABE by the looks of it , maybe they contacted the seller and made them an offer?

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Someone must have thought it was worth it, looks like it's been sold. Though not through ABE by the looks of it , maybe they contacted the seller and made them an offer?

I'm glad it sold otherwise the next copy would have been priced in line with it. Some dealers do have very unreasonable expectations. A tatty jacketed copy of Spears 'Prelude to Victory', a not uncommon book, has just gone on ABE at £600!

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I'm glad it sold otherwise the next copy would have been priced in line with it. Some dealers do have very unreasonable expectations. A tatty jacketed copy of Spears 'Prelude to Victory', a not uncommon book, has just gone on ABE at £600!

I agree, it's also quite a limited market and I don't think many people have the spare cash nowadays although that still doesn't seem to put off some dealers asking high prices.

The problem with the books we want is they are rare , so usually are expensive and even when they are reasonably priced, as on an e-bay auction, we are not just up against

fellow collectors ( all four or so of us !) but also the dealers who want to buy the book to sell on for a large profit. I know that if I ever find a book on my wants list I will be lucky

if I see it for under £100.

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