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ONLINE SHOWCASE
Explore a small selection of our antiquarian books, including scarce titles, first editions, and quality bindings. This is only a fraction of our in store collection, so come visit us in person to discover more.
We also update this page with more books (and sometimes comics!), so check back regularly to see what we have to offer!
We are a traditional bookshop and do not sell any of our books directly through the website, but if you are interested in any of these items, then please get in touch (via phone or sales@mainlybooks.co.uk) or visit us in our shop.
Mainly Comics!
Welcome to our comic collection which we have imaginatively named Mainly Comics! We sell comics from the Silver to Modern age, from Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Image, First, and many other publishers. Our collection also includes graphic novels, manga, and magazines. If you’re a fan of horror comics, then we have hundreds starting from the 1970s from Warren publishers, including Eerie, Creepy, Vampirella, and more. Horror pulps also make up our horror section, including a selecti
A Midsummer Night's Dream - Illustrated by Arthur Rackham
‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ is one of William Shakespeare’s comedy plays, but it’s also a romantic and magical story. The playbook that we are selling comes with detailed and intricate illustrations by Arthur Rackham, which pair wonderfully with the play’s dream-like narrative. Published in 1908 by William Heinemann, this book has forty colour plates by Rackham, with numerous black and white illustrations adorning the pages. You can’t go a few pages without seeing a drawing o
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe, Illustrated by Edward McKnight Kauffer
Robinson Crusoe is often credited as being one of the first novels in the English language. The edition that we have on sale was published in 1929, over 200 years after the first edition, yet this book is still very special... This edition of Robinson Crusoe is illustrated by Edward McKnight Kauffer. Included are eight full-page and hand-coloured illustrations, painted using layers of stencils in a process called pochoir, resulting in richly coloured and textured piece of a
The British Sea Anemones and Corals, by Philip Henry Gosse
This book from our Natural History collection is on a very unique subject… The British Sea Anemones and Corals endeavours to provide a precise and ordered history and description of the various corals and sea anemone found around Britain. It was written by Philip Henry Gosse, and published by Van Voorst in 1860 – Gosse’s aim was that his book could be followed along by any curious students. Inside the book are twelve chromolithographic plates (all in colour) with other small
Shakespeare's Works in 4 Volumes - Nonesuch Press
If you are looking for a stylish, vintage set of all of Shakespeare’s plays and poetry – in a modest four-volumes – then look no further! This set of Shakespeare’s works, published by Nonesuch Press in 1953, is a great to display on a shelf or dip into whenever you're in the mood. The text and order of the works inside replicate the first folio publication of Shakespeare’s plays, and included in this edition are additional notes in the margins. As these books were published i
The Works of Charles I (with 'Eikon Basilike')
The official title of this book is: ‘Reliquiae Sacrae Carolinae, or The Works of that Great Monarch and Glorious Martyr King Charles the I.’ This edition was published in 1651 in the Hague and printed by Samuell Browne. Included as part of Charles I’s works are his: speeches, declarations, papers about Church-Government, prayers, letters and correspondence, and messages for peace, just to name a few! (There is a full contents page which lists everything included.) But that’s
Lloyd's Natural History - Monkeys: A Hand-Book to the Primates, in 2 volumes
The complete Lloyd’s Natural History set is diverse in its analysis of butterflies, moths, birds and mammals – but these two select volumes look uniquely at the world of monkeys! This two-volume set, written by Henry O. Forbes, was published by Edward Lloyd, Limited, with the first book published in 1896 and the second in 1987. R. Bowdler Sharpe was the series editor for these books, and included in both volumes is a preface written by him. The official title of the set is A
British Fungi, by George Massee
This copy of British Fungi is a different edition to the other British Fungi book that we also have for sale in our shop. While this book doesn’t come with its dust jacket, it is still in good condition and has all of its original illustrations and plates. For those who are interested in the kinds of fungi that live in UK, and how to find them, this book is for you. The author, George Masse, described that the ‘primary object of this book is to enable the reader to determi
British Fungi, by George Massee (with original dust jacket - scarce!)
For those who are interested in the kinds of fungi that live in the UK, and how to find them, this book is for you. The author, George Masse, described that the ‘primary object of this book is to enable the reader to determine the names of our indigenous mushrooms, toadstools, etc.’ – and with fantastic depth and detailed plates, that is exactly what this book does. British Fungi was published in the early 20 th century by George Routledge and Sons, Limited. This edition co
The Works of Jane Austen in 5 Volumes - Georgian Edition
Any set of Jane Austen’s work is a delight to have; this set in particular is a wonderful collection of all of Austen’s novels (that were published during and after her lifetime), as well some of her unfinished works. This set was published in 1927 by Eveleigh Nash & Grayson Limited, and is their ‘Georgian Edition’. Each volume has an introduction by John Bailey, giving a brief insight into each of Austen’s works. The five volumes in this set include all of Austen’s novels (
Sleeping Beauty and Other Fairy Tales, Illustrated by Edmund Dulac
Delve into the world of Edmund Dulac’s magical and dream-like illustrations in this fairy tale book... Published by Hodder and Stoughton (c.1910), this book contains four classic fairy tales: Sleeping Beauty, Blue Beard, Cinderella and Beauty and the Beast. These stories have been translated from the Old French and retold by Arthur Quiller-Couch. However, the stand-out feature of this book is the thirty, full-page colour illustrations by Edmund Dulac that accompany these pere
Flowering Plants of Great Britain, by Anne Pratt - in 3 volumes
Anne Pratt’s Flowering Plants of Great Britain is the primary work when looking for detailed, intelligible descriptions of thousands of flowers from across England, Scotland and Wales, accompanied by colourful and intricate illustrations. The set of Pratt’s work that we are selling comes in three volumes, all filled with hundreds of full-page, colour plates of elaborate drawings of flowers from Great Britain. The books are filled with succinct yet accurate descriptions of th
Shakespeare's Works in Vellum - 12 Volumes
Shakespeare’s stories and works have been told and published in thousands of different ways over the years, but this particular set is very special. This twelve-volume set of Shakespeare’s works was published in 1882 by Keagan Paul, Trench & Co. and is bound in vellum. The white vellum binding (which is untanned leather), with the red and black titling, means this quality and luxurious set will stand-out proudly on any shelf. Included in these twelve volumes are all of Shakes
Morte D'Arthur by Alfred Lord Tennyson, Illustrated by Alberto Sangorski
With its beige, unembellished dust jacket, this illustrated edition of Alfred Lord Tennyson’s Morte D’Arthur is very unassuming from the outside. However, the inside bursts with colour and gold of Alberto Sangorski’s fabulous illustrations, brining to life this version of the classic British myth. This illustrated edition of the poem Morte D’Arthur by Tennyson was published in 1912 by Chatto and Windus. The page design was produced by the Graphic Engraving Company, to (as t
The Tempest, by William Shakespeare - Illustrated by Paul Woodroffe
The Tempest was one of the later plays written by William Shakespeare: the play is thought to have been written in 1610 or 1611, but wasn’t published until 1623, after Shakespeare’s death. The book that we have on sale is an illustrated version of The Tempest , published in 1908 by Chapman and Hall. Included are seventeen full-page, colour illustrations by Paul Woodroffe and multiple other black and white drawings amongst the text. There is also accompanying music by Joseph
You Only Live Twice, by Ian Fleming - First Edition Bond Book
Behind the beloved Bond film series, that spans around sixty years and includes over twenty-five films, is a book series of equal intrigue and drama. Ian Fleming wrote fourteen books in the James Bond series, with You Only Live Twice being the twelfth instalment. The film adaptation of You Only Live Twice was released in 1967, three years after the book’s publication, and Bond was played by the iconic Sean Connery. It was the fifth Bond film in the series. Our copy of the b
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – Signed First Edition
By 2000, the year that Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was published, J.K. Rowling’s series about the boy-wizard Harry Potter was already a major global success. Children and adults alike were eagerly expecting each new instalment, clamouring to buy any first edition they could get their hands on. Luckily, we have also acquired a first edition hardback of The Goblet of Fire , published in 2000 by Bloomsbury, Rowling’s UK publisher. Not only that, but this is a signed fir
Children of Dune, by Frank Herbert - First Edition, 2nd Impression
Children of Dune is the third book in the Dune series, after Dune (which the 2021 and 2024 film adaptations are based on) and Dune Messiah . It is described as ‘combin[ing] the threads of ecology and adventure developed in Dune with the theme of political intrigue from Dune Messiah .’ It is an exciting conclusion for any sci-fi and Dune fan. Children of Dune was published in 1976, seven years after Dune Messiah , and the edition that we are selling in our shop is a firs
Dune Messiah, by Frank Herbert - First Edition, 2nd Impression
Following on from the phenomenal science-fiction landmark that was Dune , Frank Herbert released the second book in the series, Dune Messiah , four years later, in 1969. The copy of Dune Messiah that we are selling in the shop is a first edition, 2 nd impression published in 1969 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in America. Dune Messiah originally appeared in a shorter version in Galaxy Magazine from July to September of the same year, before it was released as a novel. Our edition i
Sidelights on Relativity, by Albert Einstein - First Edition
Sidelights on Relativity is a fascinating follow-up work to Einstein’s previous (and iconic) book on the Theory of Relativity. The writings in this book are from lectures that Einstein gave in 1920 and 1921, and have been translated by G.B. Jeffery and W. Perrett. The first lecture on ‘Ether and the Theory of Relativity’ was delivered on 5 th May 1920 at the University of Leyden. The second lecture was on ‘Geometry and Experience’, but the text that is in this book is an ex
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