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306.Wells, H.G. the King Who Was a King. the Book of a Film. Ernest Benn. 1929.
£68
8vo., original green cloth with dust wrapper. Wrapper with a closed tear on spine and a few chips otherwise a very good copy.
First edition, in a later issue binding. Wells’ first attempt to write a full- length film scenario; the film was never produced.
307.WelsH, irvine. trainspotting. Secker and Warburg. 1993. £398
8vo., original paperback wrappers. text margins a little browned otherwise a very good copy.
First edition, paperback issue, inscribed by Welsh “alistair all the best irvine Welsh”.
the DeFinitiVe eDition oFWhatelY’s ‘BolD, ironic attacK on huMe’s essaY on Miracles’
308. [WHately, richard.] historic Doubts relative to napoleon Buonaparte. London: Savill and Edwards for John W. Parker and Son, ‘1859’ [?but 1860, vide infra].
£150
8vo (208 x 137mm). contemporary dark-green pebble-grained cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, chocolate-brown endpapers; pp. 79, [1 (blank)]; extremities very lightly rubbed, very slight cracking on upper hinge, some light marginal browning and light marking, otherwise a very good copy.
thirteenth edition and definitive final text. an important and enjoyable philosophical work by Whately (1787-1863), a graduate of oriel college, oxford, who remained in the city after his studies, working as a private tutor (oDnB describes him as ‘a dedicated, if unconventional, teacher’). Whately became one of the leading figures in the noetic school of anglican apologetics based at oxford, until his appointment as Protestant archbishop of Dublin in 1831. Historic Doubts Relative to Napoleon Buonaparte (1819), was Whately’s first substantial work, and is judged by the oDnB to be ‘a characteristic production with regard to both intellectual purpose and author. it was a bold, ironic attack on hume’s essay on miracles, in which he sought to weigh the evidence for the existence and exploits of napoleon in order to demonstrate that proof of the existence of the exceptional can only ever amount to a probability, relying as it does on testimony and not experience. But, he argued, if it were accepted that napoleon existed, in the absence of any prejudice against religion, there was equally no reason to doubt that christ had performed the miracles recorded in the Bible. it was intended as a bouleversement of the rationalist sceptic position, using hume’s method against himself. it was a popular success, demonstrating a capacity for satire (it included a history of napoleon in parody of the Bible) which in later life he sought to curb’. the work’s success led to numerous reprints and new editions throughout the author’s life, and this (although not marked as such), is the thirteenth edition and the last to appear in the author’s lifetime. Postscripts accrued to the work through the various editions, and this has the full complement of those to the third, seventh, ninth, eleventh, and twelfth editions, together with a final one dated 1860 (a year after the title-page’s date).
309
309. WHite, Gilbert. the natural history of selborne. Ipswich: Printed by W.S. Cowell Ltd for the members of The Limited Editions Club. 1972.
£200
4to. original green patterned paper-covered boards backed with tan leather, gilt lettering to spine, top edges green, glassine wrapper, with matching board slipcase; pp. 276, 16 colour lithographs and 16 text illustrations by John nash; slipcase a little bumped to extremities, book fine.
no. 743 of limited edition of 1500, signed by John nash. With introduction by the earlo of cranbrook. the text for this very attractive edition is taken from the first edition of 1789.
310.WHite, John. the Birth and rebirth of Pictorial space. Faber and Faber, 1957.
£45
royal 8vo. grey cloth, pictorial dust jacket; pp. 288, illustrated with 64 b/w plates and 9 text figures; a fine copy in a near fine dust jacket.
First edition.
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