The 1950s marked a dynamic period for literature, witnessing a diverse array of literary movements and voices. Post-war disillusionment gave rise to existentialist themes in works like Camus’s “The Stranger” and Sartre’s “Nausea.” Beat Generation writers like Kerouac and Ginsberg rebelled against societal norms with their spontaneous prose and poetry, epitomised in “On the Road” and “Howl.” Meanwhile, the emergence of influential authors like Salinger (“The Catcher in the Rye”) and Nabokov (“Lolita”) challenged conventional storytelling. Amidst Cold War anxieties, sci-fi flourished, with Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451” warning against censorship. Overall, the decade was a vibrant tapestry of innovation, dissent, and literary exploration.
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Winston S. Churchill – The Second World War – First UK Editions 1948-54 [The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy] – – With Framed Signature of Winston and Clementine Churchill
£7,500.00The Second World War 6 vols., FIRST EDITIONS, original cloth, dust-jackets (not price-clipped), London: Cassell, 1948–1954; together with an attractive framed display incorporating authentic signatures of Sir Winston Churchill and…
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Ian Fleming – Goldfinger – First UK Edition 1959
£2,250.00A first edition, first printing published by Cape in 1959. A near fine book without inscriptions. The dust wrapper is priced 15s net and is near fine with some wear…
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Donald Soper – SIGNED LETTER 1950
£30.00A fine autograph letter from Douglas Soper, The Reverend the Lord Soper to The Rev. A. Kingsley Turner, M.A. 198 Ferrymead Avenue, Greenford, Middlesex, dated August 5th 1950, typed on…
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Enid Blyton – The Ship of Adventure – First UK Edition 1950
£225.00First edition, first printing. Published by Macmillan in London, 1950. A very good copy. The dust wrapper is bright and clean to the front and rear panels, with slight wear…
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Graham Greene – The Quiet American – First UK Edition 1955
£185.00‘The Quiet American’, published by Heinemann and The Book Society in 1955. A very good book without inscriptions. In a very good unclipped wrapper. Spine a little browned and a…
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Richmal Crompton – William and the Space Animal – First Edition 1956
£50.00A first edition, first printing of William the Space Animal by Richmal Crompton, published by Newnes in 1956. An very good book in original publisher’s green cloth boards with gilt…
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Enid Blyton – Five on a Secret Trail – First Edition 1956
£135.00A first edition, first printing of Five on a Secret Trail by Enid Blyton, published by Hodder & Stoughton, London in 1956. A near fine book, internals free from inscriptions,…
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Isak Dinesen – Last Tales – First Edition 1957
£65.00A first edition, first printing of ‘Last Tales’ published by Putnam in 1957. A near fine book with spotting to the top edge. In a near fine spine browned dust…
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Mike Hawthorn – Challenge Me The Race – First Edition 1958
£45.00A first edition, first printing of ‘Challenge Me The Race’ published by William Kimber. A very good book with spotting to the page edges. In a very good unclipped wrapper.
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John Braine – Room At The Top – First UK Edition 1957 – SIGNED with BAND
£975.00London Eyre and Spottiswoode 1957
A first edition, first printing of ‘Room At The Top’ published by Eyre and Spottiswoode in 1957. A near fine book (small name to the front…
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Daphne Du Maurier – The Progress of Julius – First Edition 1952 – SIGNED, Dated and Inscribed by Du Maurier
£600.00A 1952 edition of ‘The Progress of Julius’ published by The Vanguard Press in 1952.
A near fine book, inscribed on the half-title page ‘Maureen, with fond love/Bing/January 1980’. In the…
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Patricia Highsmith – The Blunderer – First Edition 1956
£1,250.00A first edition, first printing of ‘The Blunderer’ published by The Cresset Press in 1956. A very good book without inscriptions in a very good (or better) unclipped wrapper with…
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Daphne Du Maurier – The Young George Du Maurier – First Edition 1951 – Inscribed to her literary agent Monty Baker-Munton
£600.00A first edition, first printing published by Peter Davies in 1951. A very good book with a stain to the front board and some associated wear – Bookplate to the…
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Ian Fleming – The Diamond Smugglers – First Edition 1957
£285.00A first edition, first printing of The Diamond Smugglers by Ian Fleming, published by Jonathan Cape, London in 1957, with an Introduction by ‘John Blaize’. A near fine copy without…
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Laurie Lee – Cider With Rosie – First UK Edition 1959
£250.00A first edition, first printing of Cider With Rosie by Laurie Lee, published by The Hogarth Press, London in 1959. A very good copy with a former owner’s name in…
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Ian Fleming – Goldfinger – First UK Edition 1959 – SIGNED by cast members of the film
£2,500.00A first edition, first printing of Goldfinger by Ian Fleming, published by Jonathan Cape, London in 1959. A near fine copy, signed in black ink to the title page by…
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