Mountaineering

London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1982. Signed on the half-title page by Chris Bonington. First edition / First printing. Black cloth. Very fine in very fine dust jacket. Bottom front flap of dust jacket has sticker, with U.S. price, pasted over British price. An oval W.W. Norton sticker is pasted at the bottom of the rear jacket flap. This is the British first with stickers applied to the jacket flaps, intended for U.S. distribution.. The account of the historic first ascent of the highest peak in Western China.

New York: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1908. First Edition . Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. FIRST PRINTING of FIRST USA EDITION. Original virtically ribbed dark green cloth, white-grey decoration front cover, TEG, gilt lettering spine. Clean and bright. Solid binding. Much better condition than what is usual for this book. Two previous owner names and dates (1908 and 1976) penned to blank free front endpage, Vernon Howard (renowned mountaineering bookseller) bookplate on same page, old newspaper clipping about Cook being sentenced for fraud tipped to front pastedown, verso of front endpage has old newspaper clippings of Cook's arrival in Copenhagen pasted to it and the next blank page has the end of the same article pasted to it. The title page has owner name penned to the top (same as the 1908 owner on the FFEP), no other marks or writing on any pages, no foxing, tight binding, exceptionally bright and clean covers, overall near Fine. Book measures 236mm tall x 154mm, and has 321 pages, 71… Read More

Englewood Cliffs: Printice-Hall, 1964. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. FIRST PRINTING of First USA Edition. Anonymously inscribed and SIGNED by Sayre on the title page "With best regards, Woodrow W. Sayre." Signed first printings of this book are very uncommon. Original greyish light blue cloth with black lettering spine, white mountain decoration front cover. Original dust jacket has some surface flecking at spine ends, some light crinkle marks upper front, 1cm deep chip loss at tip of upper front flap corner, complete with original price present on flap corner. The book is in generally nice condition with clean covers, a bit of browning at spine ends, tiny tight 5mm split in cloth at front joint near top of spine (barely detectable) . Contents are clean and bright, no foxing, no previous owner marks or writing (other than Sayre's signature) on any pages, tight binding, EPs not cracked, NOT ex-library, no crease marks on any pages. The book measures 235mm tall x 150m,… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. FIRST PRINTING of First Edition. Original green cloth, blue-brown-grey-white-black decoration of mountain scene front cover, TEG, gilt lettering cover & spine. minor faint soiling front covers, solid binding, old gift inscription penned to the front free endpaper dated Xmas 1907 (which means the book was sold before the publication date on the title page), no other previous owner marks or writing on any pages, bright clean pages, COMPLETE with all plates and maps. A nice example of the book in collectible condition. The book measures 243mm tall x 161mm, and has 444 pages, 166 b/w photos & 4 watercolor plates in color, 2 folding maps, index. THE PHOTOS ARE OF THE ACTUAL ITEM BEING OFFERED.

Geneve - Paris: Editions Slatkine, 1980. Reprint . Hardcover. Fine/No Jacket Issued. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. Quality 1980 reprint of the classic 1853 edition which has reached sale prices over $20,000 at auction. This reprint is limited to 300 numbered copies. This book measures 485mm tall x 325mm, and has pages [4] + 16 + [6] + 13 + 10 leaves of color plates with blank versos. The complete English text is present along with a complete translation of the text in French. The original 1853 edition was entirely in English (no French). The book was originally published with the illustrations in sepia over greyish background and not colored. Buyers had several examples hand-colored. This is a reproduction of one of the hand-colored examples. The 1853 original was issued in wrappers. This reproduction is bound in brown cloth with gilt lettering and gilt border front cover with a smaller reproduction of the front cover of the 1853 wrappers inset on the front. This is a complete reproduction… Read More

London: Hodder And Stoughton Limited, 1940. First Edition . Cloth. Very Good/Good. FIRST EDITION. 226mm tall x 143mm, 330pp, 24 b/w plates, engravings by Whymper, 2 fldg maps, index. Biographical portrait of Whymper who made the first ascents of Chimborazo, Cayambe, Antisana, Carihuairazo, Sara Urco, Cotocachi, Sincholagua. He was perhaps best known for his first ascent of the Matterhorn and the ensuing accident on the descent that killed half the party. At the end of his climbing career he travelled to the Canadian Rockies (1901 & 1903) to explore & climb in a publicity capacity for the C.P.R. (one chapter on this in the book). Most of the book is on climbs in the Alps, and very much is directly quoted from Whymper's letters & communications. original red cloth, gilt lettering spine. uncommon DJ is present but has chipping at corners and loss at top of spine (see photo), book has fading on spine where DJ is chipped (nearly all copies of this book that don't have DJs have faded… Read More

London: Sampson Low, Marston, Searle, And Rivington, Limited, 1888. Second Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. Original red cloth with gilt lettering front and spine, gilt decoration lower front cover. EX-Library with library stamp on title page, library bookplate on front free end-page, library card pocket on rear free end-page, library sticker pulled from spine leaving white patch (see photo), no other library marks. The plates are clean, not damaged, and do not have any library markings or stamps. Generally a clean, sound example of the book. The end-pages are the original coated green paper. The original tissue guards are present and browned as usual. The binding is sound and not loose or cracked. There is some foxing on some of the early pages and near the end, otherwise the book is mostly free of foxing. The book is complete with all pages and plates (nothing missing). The book measures 289mm tall x 209mm and has 180 pages, 22 photogravure plates of guide portraits on heavy stock paper… Read More

London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1894. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. A. D. M'Cormick. FIRST PRINTING of First UK Editioin. Rebound in dark brown leather spine and cover corners, raised bands spine with gilt lettering and gilt rules, patterned EPs. Binding covers in very good condition with a few marks that are enhanced by the photo being set at a high contrast (they don't show much -- or at all -- upon in-person inspection). The interior is in near fine condition: Old owner name penned to short-title and title page dated 1928, old bookseller mark on corner of first blank page, no other marks or writing on any pages, very clean and bright pages (no foxing, no fading or tanning, no odors, tight binding). The covers have a touch of rubbing very tips corners and top of spine. The book measures 238mm tall x 165mm, and has 709 pages, 300 illustrations, folding map, index. PHOTOS ARE OF ACTUAL BOOK BEING OFFERED.

New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1914. First Edition . Hardcover. Very Good. FIRST PRINTING of FIRST EDITION in first state decorated binding. Original navy cloth, gilt-white-grey decoration on front cover, gilt lettering cover & spine, TEG. Overall nice condition: spine gilt dull but present, shallow 2mm deep x 2cm chip (hardly noticeable) in cloth at top of spine, otherwise nice condition with bright, clean, tight binding, no foxing, no previous owner marks or writing on any pages, folding maps in fine condition. Book measures 24cm tall x 16cm, and has 439 pages, 3 folding maps, 1 folding diagram, 219 b/w photos, 12 appendices, index

Tokyo: Hakusuisha Publishing, 1984. 2nd Edition . Hardcover. As New/As New. 1984 second edition. New condition in publisher's original box and plastic dust jacket. No marks, no writing, no foxing, clean, never used. Purchased directly from the publisher and held in climate controlled storage for years. Original dark green cloth with gilt lettering spine. The publisher's printed slipcase box has the original wrap-around band with blurbs in Japanese printed on it. The book measures 264mm tall x 190mm and has 759 pages.

London: Akfred W. Bennett, 1866. 1st Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Good/No Jacket. Ernest Edwards. FIRST EDITION 1866. Original blue pebbled cloth, AEG, gilt lettering front cover & spine, gilt decoration of box camera and ice-axe on front cover, gilt title frame front, gilt rules spine ends, debossed triple borders front & rear covers. Diffuse grubbiness covers, rubbed spine ends and corners, no owner writing or marks on any pages, solid binding, paper cracked inside hinges but hinges strong and not broken (mess is solid and tight), some foxing in places but considerably less than what is frequently found for this book. The book measures 275mm tall x 215mm, and has 243 pages, 28 b/w photos, map. This is probably the earliest mountaineering book to use photographs as illustrations. Account of the author's excursion to Bernese Oberland with the purpose of photographing the mountains and the climbing. The group was comprised of 5 men and 4 women, plus the famous guide Christian Almer,… Read More

Westminster London: Archibald Constable and Co, 1900. First Edition 1st Printing. Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. vittorio sella. FIRST PRINTING of First UK Edition. Rebound in green cloth to resemble the original binding with original front cover title patch cleanly mounted in original position on front cover and original spine patches similarly mounted. Overall nice condition. Tight binding with no loose pages (the text block has been sewn into page gatherings = the stitching shows at the start/end of each gathering --> see photo). Gift inscription on front pastedown. No other former owner writing or marks in book. Based on the inscription, this book was given to Smoke Blanchard prior to his 1964 expedition to Mt St Elias, possibly by Vin Hoeman, beloved climber & mountaineering historian who perished in an avalanche on the 1969 Dhaulagiri expedition along with 6 others, though the "Love Always" seems a bit melodramatic. Smoke Blanchard's St Elias expedition was a 4-man… Read More

NY: Villard Books, 1998. First edition. Hard cover in original printed clear acetate dust jacket. Published NY: Villard Books, 1998. Square 8vo., 9 1/4" x 9 1/4", xxii+407pp., illustrated with b/w photos and drawings. Cream cloth with blue titles and cover design, color pictorial endpapers. "Now, in Into Thin Air: The Illustrated Edition, readers are given a new dimension of insight into this harrowing story with the addition of more than 250 photographs that show the people, the places, and the history, illustrating not only the ill-fated 1996 climb, but the pursuit of Everest itself. The book includes the complete text of Into Thin Air, with a new Postscript by the author, and is lavishly illustrated with stunning black-and-white photographs, the majority of which were taken during the 1996 expedition by the climbers themselves." Fine in near fine dust jacket with slight crinkle at the crown. . 1st. Hard. Fine/Near Fine. 8vo.

London: Burberrys Limited, 1930. Important work on men's fashion. Presentation inscription by Burberry director, A. Ralph Burberry. "For Safety on Land, in the Air, or Afloat, There's nothing to equal THE BURBERRY COAT" Scarce book promoting the firm's association with pioneers, explorers and the sportsmen who wore Burberry apparel in all manner of climates and landscapes to accomplish great feats. Covers Artic and Antarctic expeditions, fishing, flying, motoring, mountaineering, travel, naval and military - with a focus on the classic gabardine Burberry trench coat. A well-put together volume amassing an abundance of first person testimonies. Also includes an appendix on Macintosh's method of rendering fabrics waterproof (Glasgow, 1823). Octavo, bound in original cloth made from Burberry gabadine with paper label, 248 pages, a fine copy.

Haggard, H. Rider. SHE. Longmans Green & Co., London. No copyright date. States New Impression, 1921 on the title page. Dedicated to fellow author Andrew Lang. USED. VG/ No DJ Included. Mallard Green boards with bright gilt titling on front board and spine. 310 pages plus adverts. 5 X 7 5/8. Summary: "A dying colleague gives Mr. Horace Holly at Cambridge University a locked box, the contents of which lead Mr. Holly to travel to Eastern Africa where he hopes to solve an ancient mystery, only to be captured by the savage Amhagger people who are ruled by a fearsome white queen, who is worshipped as "She-Who-Must-Be-Obeyed".