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Thorn Books was established in 1987. Our name comes both from the Thorn of Glastonbury with its Arthurian connotations, and the Old English alphabet letter, the thorn: Þ. We were admitted to the Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America in 1991. Our focus is on fine books in all fields, but with a special attention to material related to King Arthur and Early Britain (including England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales).

Featured Items

Frontispiece. Modern quarter vellum, marbled paper boards, printed paper spine label. One of 50 Large Paper Copies signed by Dobson. Frontispiece. A fine copy.

Four Frenchwomen (Signed)
Dobson, Austin
London: Chatto & Windus, 1890. Frontispiece. Modern quarter vellum, marbled paper boards, printed paper spine label. One of 50 Large Paper Copies signed by Dobson... more
Price: $250.00

Bound with: Prospectus and Specimen, London, 1818. Two parts in one. Stated second edition of Cantos I & II; first edition of Cantos III & IV. [ii], 61pp. Ads. Later calf spine, red lettering label, gilt; original marbled paper boards. cCrners and edges lightly worn, surface lightly rubbed, else a very good cp[y. The first work comprises Cantos I & II, the the latter, Cantos III & IV, with a separate title page. Both half-titles presewnt. Familiar figures, but largely an original work in Byronic verse. With the armorial bookplate and signature of Henry Babington Smith, the bookplate over an older one which we cannot decipher. Lowndes, p. 840.

Prospectus and Specimen of an Intended National Work...Relating to King Arthur and His Round Table
(Frere, John Hookham) writing as William and Robert Whistlecraft
London: John Murray, 1818. Bound with: Prospectus and Specimen, London, 1818. Two parts in one. Stated second edition of Cantos I & II; first.. more
Price: $450.00

Frontispiece, engraved title and 38 full page plates by H. K. Browne ('Phiz'). 12-line errata slip tipped to list of plates. Contemporary half polished calf, marbled paper boards, endpapers and edges. Spine ornately gilt in an intricate design of leaves, flowers and ornaments, enclosing a red leather lettering piece, gilt. Engraved tp and frontispiece show faint foxing, but all other plates crisp and bright, including the 'dark' plate at p. 547. A fine copy in nice binding.

Dombey and Son
Dickens, Charles
London: Bradbury & Evans, 1848. Frontispiece, engraved title and 38 full page plates by H. K. Browne ('Phiz'). 12-line errata slip tipped to list of.. more
Price: $500.00

Fiftieth Thousand and thus the second edition. Publisher's green cloth blocked in black and gilt, with the title on both spine and upper board, and the publisher's imprint and a floral device in gilt, a floral border in gilt on a black ground, and a floral device in black on the upper boards. Chocolate brown coated endpapers. Badly bound by the publisher--some inner signatures stand proud. Light wear to the spine tips and edges, some light rubbing, inner hinge split but firm, else a very good copy. With the reset chess diagram, replacing the Kings missing from the board since the 25th thousand. Very unusual in green cloth instead of the more typical red cloth. See Williams, Madan & Green , No. 84a.

Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. With Fifty Illustrations by John Tenniel.
Carroll, Lewis
London & New York: Macmillan and Co., 1881. Fiftieth Thousand and thus the second edition. Publisher's green cloth blocked in black and gilt, with the title on both.. more
Price: $400.00

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