F. Scott Fitzgerald's Forgotten Tale of a Lovecraftian Witch Cult. A Limited Edition.

***SOLD OUT!***

She began to cry forth again.

"We'll burn his heart in pig's fat at the Sabbat!"...

— from 'Gods of Darkness' by F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S FORGOTTEN TALE OF A LOVECRAFTIAN WITCH CULT, NOT IN ANY EDITION OF HIS COLLECTED WORKS

A STRICTLY LIMITED EDITION OF 250 COPIES

***NOW SOLD OUT***

LIKE MOST OF OUR PREVIOUS LIMITED EDITIONS, GODS OF DARKNESS SOLD OUT QUICKLY. 

Limited copies remain of At the Door of Darkness, a forgotten episode from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, deleted from the published version, and now reconstructed from the original manuscript. Details here.

In the mid-1930s F. Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, wrote a short story set in medieval France, with a lead character, 'The Count of Darkness', based on the young Ernest Hemingway. It also featured a witch cult, drawn from a research source which greatly inspired the work of H.P. Lovecraft. Fitzgerald's agent, perhaps unsurprisingly, was somewhat nonplussed, but the story was sold for (belated) publication in a magazine. Since then, 'Gods of Darkness' has been forgotten by the reading public, and quietly ignored by Fitzgerald's estate: it has never been included in any collected edition of the author's work. Indeed to my knowledge it has never been reprinted anywhere... until now.

GODS OF DARKNESS

By F. Scott Fitzgerald

Fitzgerald's forgotten story of a medieval witch cult, drawn from a source that also inspired H.P. Lovecraft.

The story has never been collected in any edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's works, and is reprinted here for the first time.

With an extended afterword by Adam Newell, detailing the background to the story, and its fascinating links to the work of H.P. Lovecraft, with relevant excerpts from Lovecraft's writings.

A strictly limited, never-to-be-reprinted edition of 250 hand-numbered copies for sale.

Each copy features a tipped-in frontispiece illustration, based on an original linocut by Sharon Newell.

A5 format, 40pp (over 10,000 words in total), printed on uncoated stock, including a cover printed on heavy Tinteretto Gesso paper. With a frontispiece printed on 300gsm silk stock, tipped in by hand.

Our previous limited editions have tended to sell out, so don't miss out on this one...

The Slave Race, featuring Philip K. Dick's first SF tale (not in his Collected Stories), sold out in a matter of days (details here).

Our two Lawrence of Arabia titles (see details here and here), were described by the T. E. Lawrence Society as "a very beautiful publication" and "a valuable piece of ephemera for your collection". 

The Ghost of the Private Theatricals, a newly discovered tale of terror by Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein (details here), was featured in the Times Literary Supplement, and also sold out quickly, with copies going to every continent except Antarctica!

Limited copies remain of At the Door of Darkness, a forgotten episode from Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness, deleted from the published version, and now reconstructed from the original manuscript. Details here.

TO ORDER GODS OF DARKNESS

There are 250 hand-numbered copies, first come, first-served. There will be no reprint.

NOW SOLD OUT (in less than a fortnight...).

More photos:

The frontispiece is taken from an original linocut by Sharon Newell.
Here it is being carved.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS: Many thanks as always to Sharon Newell for her superbly atmospheric linocut, which became the basis for the frontispiece, and to Martin Stiff for his mastery of design and layout. Special thanks are also due to Jeff Sypeck, without whom...
I'd also like to make it clear that this edition, published in the UK, was not licenced, prepared or approved by the Estate of F. Scott Fitzgerald.
Photograph of Fitzgerald by Carl Van Vechten. Photograph of Lovecraft by Lucius B. Truesdell.

Limited to 100 Copies: A Forgotten Episode from Conrad's Heart of Darkness, Now Reconstructed from the Original Manuscript

"This comedy of light at the door of darkness" — Joseph Conrad, from the text deleted from the published version of Heart of Darkness The frontispiece and title page of this limited edition. See below for more photos. NOW SOLD OUT AT THE DOOR OF DARKNESS By Joseph Conrad A forgotten episode from Heart of Darkness, cut from the published version, now reconstructed from the original manuscript A strictly limited, never-to-be-reprinted edition of 100 hand-numbered copies for sale With an original, individually hand-printed linocut frontispiece tipped in to each copy Our previous limited editions have all sold out, so don't miss out on this one... Our two Lawrence of Arabia titles (see details here and here), were described by the T. E. Lawrence Society as "a very beautiful publication" and "a valuable piece of ephemera for your collection". The Ghost of the Private Theatricals, a newly discovered tale of terror by Mary Shelley, the creator of Frankenstein (details here), was featured in the Times Literary Supplement, and also sold out quickly, with copies going to every continent except Antarctica! Heart of Darkness is Joseph Conrad's most celebrated story, both as a work of literature, and as the inspiration for Francis Ford Coppola's classic film Apocalypse Now. Originally published in 1899, the novella's dark tale of madness in the jungle was based on the author's own experience of travelling up the Congo river a decade before. Conrad’s journey began when he came ashore on 12 June 1890 at Boma, the seat of government of what was then the Congo Free State. He drew on his experiences in Boma to write an extended passage in Heart of Darkness, detailing the true beginning of Marlow's river voyage — but this episode, full of fascinating detail, was deleted from the printed version of the story, and has now become quite literally a footnote, mentioned in a few academic editions, but otherwise forgotten. This limited edition finally brings the full text of this 'deleted scene' into print, reconstructed from the original manuscript. Each copy of the edition features an original, individually hand-printed tipped-in linocut frontispiece by Sharon Newell, inspired by the baobab tree at Boma, as described by Conrad in the text deleted from the published version of Heart of Darkness. A5 format, printed on uncoated 160gsm paper, 20pp plus a cover printed on heavy Rives Shetland paper. Includes both a transcription of the deleted text from the manuscript, and the heavily edited passage as eventually published in the printed version. A detailed Introduction by Adam Newell gives the background to the text, and reveals an intriguing connection between this lost episode and Apocalypse Now... Features photos of the five relevant pages of Conrad's original manuscript, and rare historical images of Boma, identifying the locations described by Conrad.

More photos below:

Each copy comes with a hand-printed linocut by Sharon Newell - here's one with the actual lino to the right.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
As always, I have Sharon Newell to thank for her wonderful linocuts, and Martin Stiff of Amazing15 for his brilliant design and layout. Acknowledgment also to the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library at Yale University, which holds Conrad's manuscript.

Rediscovered! Philip K. Dick's first published SF story, not in his Collected Works. Limited to 250 copies.

Philip K. Dick's first published science fiction tale — not included in his Collected Short Stories

A limited edition of 250 hand-numbered copies

NOW SOLD OUT!

Each copy features a tipped-in frontispiece illustration, based on an original linocut by Sharon Newell

'The Slave Race' was Philip K. Dick's first published science fiction story. It appeared in his local newspaper in 1944, and has been largely forgotten since — it does not feature in any edition of his Collected Short Stories. Though brief, it is nevertheless an astonishing piece of work, an epic in miniature, dense with ideas and concepts to which Dick would return again and again...

This chapbook is A5 format, 12pp including a cover printed on heavy Rives Shetland paper, and interiors on uncoated paper. The frontispiece illustration is printed on a separate 300gsm silk stock postcard, and tipped in by hand.

More photos below

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many thanks to Sharon Newell for her wonderfully evocative linocut which became the basis for the frontispiece, and to Martin Stiff for his impeccable design and layout skills. A special tip of the hat to Frank T. Hollander, for his efforts in making sure that Dick's earliest published work has not been completely forgotten. This little edition stands on your shoulders, sir.

DISCLAIMER: This publication, presenting a story which is in the public domain in, and will only be sold to, the USA and other countries which follow the Rule of the Shorter Term, has not been licenced, prepared, or approved by the estate of Philip K. Dick.

A T. E. Lawrence Limited Edition (125 Copies Only): Featuring A Previously Uncollected Letter

NOW SOLD OUT!

Three letters, all written on the same day...

A strictly limited edition, featuring a previously uncollected letter by Lawrence of Arabia

"I do not write... I sweat and sweat, and it's a botch"

— T.E. Lawrence, from the uncollected letter in this edition

30th OCTOBER, 1931

A DAY IN THE LIFE

THREE LETTERS

By T. E. Lawrence

Three letters by T.E. Lawrence, all written on the same day: 30th October, 1931. Including a letter published for the first time with the permission of The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust.

With an original, hand-printed linocut frontispiece

A strictly limited, never-to-be-reprinted edition of 125 hand-numbered copies for sale

Our previous Lawrence-related limited edition, The Kaer of Ibu Wardani (see details here), was described by the T. E. Lawrence Society as "a very beautiful publication", and sold out quickly. The Society has also recently reviewed this publication in their Newsletter:

"I commend this finely produced little book to all our members, as a valuable piece of ephemera for your Lawrence collection." 

Nobody knows exactly how many letters T. E. Lawrence wrote in his lifetime. The total number, from childhood missives to his mother, right up to scribbled notes to friends in his final weeks, is undoubtedly comfortably into four figures.

We now know that he wrote three letters dated 30th October, 1931. Two of them, to his Mother and to the typographer Bruce Rogers, have been previously published (albeit in expensive, now hard-to-find books); the other, a fascinating and revealing letter to a fellow member of the RAF, has been uncollected until now. All three are presented here, giving a snapshot into one particular Friday in the 43-year-old Lawrence’s life, including — in the uncollected letter — a story involving Thomas Hardy and Siegfried Sassoon, and an unexpected connection to Spike Milligan and John Lennon...

Each copy of the edition features an original, individually hand-printed linocut by Sharon Newell, inspired by Lawrence's adventures in his beloved speedboat, the Biscuit.

A5 format, printed on uncoated 160gsm paper, 16pp plus a cover (in RAF blue) printed on heavy Rives Shetland paper.

The interior is set in Centaur, the font created by Bruce Rogers.

Featuring, as well as the full text of the three letters, a detailed Afterword by Adam Newell, giving the background to the letters and their recipients, with supporting illustrations.

More photos below:

The Fontispiece for each copy is individually hand-printed, so please note that ink coverage etc may vary!

The original linocut from which this edition's Frontispiece was printed.

Acknowledgements

Once again I have Sharon Newell and Martin Stiff to thank, for their hard work on making this limited edition a reality. Thanks also the The Seven Pillars of Wisdom Trust, for their kind cooperation.

Three ultra-rare Westerns: but does anyone care?

The three books featured below are all British editions of American Western novels. They all have cracking covers, and they are all, as far as I can ascertain, *fantastically* rare.

I can't find any other copies of any of them for sale anywhere in the world.

I don't just mean copies that still have dust jackets, but any copies, at all. In these internet days, that's still a rare happenstance. A sort of secondhand book googlewhack. And here are three at once. But will anyone care? I guess we'll find out, as I've just put them on eBay...

The listing is HERE. And no, I don't expect to get the full asking price, or anywhere near it, probably. But you can make me an offer...