Rare Books Bought & Wanted

Do you have books to Sell Books? We are always looking for first (1st) edition books in hardback, we buy single books or large collections. If you have any old, second-hand or rare books, then get in touch. We also purchase from public and private libraries, and will evaluate or purchase house clearances in the area. Although we're based in Yorkshire we'll travel far and wide to buy good books. We will gladly quote for purchasing via the post (we can provide a courier and will price this in any quote). We give open quotes and can show how the quote breaks down by book and even the profit we expect to make if you wish.

Books Urgently Sought

Douglas Adams - Hitch Hiker's Guide to the Galaxy [First Issue]
Douglas Adams - Hitch Hiker's 'Trilogy' Signed
Ray Bradbury - Children's Titles
Terry Pratchett - Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic [Colin Smythe, Signed First Edition, Fine Copy]
Stephen King Proofs
E.R. Eddison - Worm Ouroboros [In jacket, UK first]
Lord Dunsany - King of Elfland's Daughter [Limited edition in jacket]
Mervyn Peake - Titus Groan [UK first in truly fine jacket]
Olaf Stapledon - Odd John [Signed / Inscribed UK first in hardback, with or without jacket]
Dan Simmons - Hyperion [US signed]

We also provide valuations for your rare books, so if you want to know the value of your book do let us know. Do let us know if you have any collectable books or books that are just a bit different / interesting. Our email address is info@hyraxia.com. Feel free to contact us just for advice on how to sell your collection.

Notes:

We often buy books that other dealers wouldn't; we're not just interested in the big sellers.
We can help assess if your books are first editions - so don't worry about that.
We are also interested in any signed copies of the below authors.
Don't worry too much about the dates below, do contact us we might still be interested

Here is a list of rare books that are currently wanted / sought by us (generally hardback in dust jackets, condition varies with price):

A. Merritt - The Face in the Abyss
A.A. Milne - Any first editions
A.E. Van Vogt - Pre 1950s first editions
Agatha Christie - Any Pre-1940 first editions
Alain Fournier - Early editions
Alan Garner - The Weirdstone of Brisingamen
Alan Sillitoe - Any Pre-1960 first editions in dust jackets.
Albert Camus - Any first editions
Aldous Huxley - Any Pre-1940 first editions in dust jackets.
Aleister Crowley - Any first editions
Alfred Bester - Some first editions
Alfred Tennyson - Early first editions
Algernon Blackwood - Any pre-1940 first editions
Ambrose Bierce - Any early first editions
Andrew Lang - Rainbow fairy books and others, first editions only
Andre Laurie - The Conquest of the Moon
Ann Radcliffe - Any first editions
Anna Sewell - Black Beauty - Jarrold, 1877
Anne Rice - Any Pre-1990 first editions
Anthony Berkeley - Any first editions
Anthony Burgess - Any Pre-1980 first editions
Anthony Gilbert - Pre-1940 first editions in dustjackets
Anthony Powell - Any Pre-1970 Titles
Arthur C. Clarke - Any Pre-1970 firsts or any signed editions.
Arthurian Legends / King Arthur - Various editions
Arthur Conan Doyle - Any first editions
Arthur Koestler - Darkness at Noon - Cape, 1940 (Jacket or no Jacket)
Arthur Machen - various first editions
Arthur Miller - Focus, The Misfits, The Crucible or Death of a Salesman first editions
Arthur Rackham - Any first editions
Aubrey Beardsley - Any first editions
Ayn Rand - Any UK or US first editions
Baroness Orczy - Various first editions
Barry Hines - A Kestrel for a Knave - Michael Joseph 1968
Bernard Cornwell - Any Pre-1990 first editions in Dust Jackets
Bram Stoker - Any first editions, or early editions in jackets.
Bret Easton Ellis - American Psycho (Hardback edition)
Brian Aldiss - Pre-1960 first editions in Jackets
Bronte Sisters - First editions, early illustrated editions and collected works
Bruce Chatwin - Any first editions in jackets
Carlo Collodi - Pinocchio, various editions
Carroll John Daly - Any US first editions
C. Daly King - First editions in dustjackets
Cecil Aldin - first editions in Decent Condition
Charles Darwin - Various editions
Charles Dickens - First editions
Charles Perrault - Various first editions
Charles Williams - Pre-1960 first editions
C.H.B. Kitchin - Any Pre-1950 first editions in jackets
China Mieville - Any first editions, especially signed copies or limited editions
Christina Rossetti - Any first editions and limited editions
Christopher Bush - Pre-war first editions in jackets
Christopher Isherwood - Any Pre-1950 first editions in dust jackets
Christopher Priest - The Prestige (Touchstone, 1995)
Clifford Simak - Any first editions
Colin Dexter - Any first editions in jackets published before 1990.
Cormac McCarthy - Any first editions
C.P. Snow - Any pre-1950 first editions
C.S. Forester - Any first editions
C.S. Lewis - Any first editions
Daniel Defoe - Various Robinson Crusoe editions and other first editions
Daphne Du Maurier - Any first editions up to 1945 (in jackets)
Dashiell Hammett - Novels in first editions in jackets
David Eddings - UK Century first editions
David Gemmell - Most early first editions and signed editions
David Lindsay - Any first editions
David Lodge - Pre-1980 first editions
David Mitchell - Any first editions
David Peace - Any first editions especially paperbacks
Detmold Brothers, Maurice and Edward - Any of their first editions
D.H. Lawrence - Any first editions
Dick Francis - Early first editions
Dion Fortune - First edition novels in dustjackets
Dodie Smith - The Hundred and One Dalmatians (Heinemann, 1956) and I Capture the Castle (Heinemann, 1949)
Dorothy L. Sayers - Pre-war titles in dustjackets
Douglas Adams - Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, Life, The Universe and Everything - UK Hardback first editions
Dylan Thomas - Any first editions
E.C. Bentley - Any first editions
E.B. White - Any first editions in wrappers
Edgar Allan Poe - Any early editions, especially illustrated editions
Edgar Rice Burroughs - Any first editions, particularly in jackets
Edgar Wallace - Any first editions in jackets especially King Kong
Edith Nesbit - Any first editions
Edmund Blunden - Some early first editions
Edmund Dulac - Any first editions illustrated by Dulac
Edward Ardizzone - books illustrated by Ardizzone
Edward Bulwer-Lytton - Pre-1850 triple-deckers
Edward E. Smith - Lensman Series
Edward Fitzgerald - Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, various editions
Edward Gorey - Any Illustrated books
Edward Lear - Early editions, and illustrated editions
Edwin Balmer - Any Stokes first editions
Edwin Torres - Carlito's Way and After Hours
Elinor Brent-Dyer - First editions in jackets
Elizabeth Barrett Browning - Most first editions
Elizabeth Gaskell - First editions
Ellery Queen - Any hardback first editions in jackets
Ellis Peters - Any pre-1990 first editions in jackets
Elsie J. Oxenham - Any first editions in dust jackets
E.M. Forster - Any first editions with or without jackets
E. Nesbit - Pre-WWI first editions
Enid Blyton - Any first editions with jackets
Eric Ambler - Any Pre-1950 first editions
Eric Gill - Various books illustrated by Gill, particularly Golden Cockerel Press
Erle Stanley Gardner - Pre-1940 first editions
Ernest Bramah - Any first editions
Ernest Hemingway - Any first editions
Ernest Nister Publications
Erskine Childers - The Riddle of the Sands (UK first edition)
Evelyn Waugh - Any first editions
Ezra Pound - Any pre-1930 first editions
Fanny Burney - Evelina and Cecila first and illustrated editions
Fergus Hume - Various first editions
Folio Society - Some limited editions, numbered editions
Frank Herbert - Dune - UK or US first editions
Frank L. Baum - First editions in decent condition
Franz Kafka - Any first editions
Frederick Pohl - Any first editions
Freeman Wills Crofts - Pre-1950 first editions
F. Scott Fitzgerald - Various first editions
Gabriel Garcia Marquez - Any first editions
Gaston Leroux - First editions of The Phantom of the Opera (English and French)
G.D.H. & M. Cole - First editions in jacket
Geoffrey Household - Rogue Male, Chatto and Windus in Jacket
George Bernard Shaw - Pre-1900 first editions
George Eliot - Any first edition novels
George MacDonald - Any first editions
George MacDonald Fraser - Any first editions
George Orwell - Any first editions
George R. R. Martin - Any first editions - especially UK Game of Thrones
Georges Simenon - Any Pre-1960 first editions
G.K. Chesterton - Any first editions, with or without jackets
Gladys Mitchell - Pre-war first editions in dustjackets
Goethe - Various editions of Faust
Graham Greene - Any first editions with jackets or pre-1950 without jackets
Grant Allen - first editions, UK or US
Grimm Brothers, Jacob and Wilhelm - various first editions, illustrated editions
Hans Andersen - Any first editions
Harper Lee - To Kill a Mockingbird (US and UK first editions)
Harriet Beecher Stowe - Uncle Tom's Cabin, various editions
Harry Clarke - His first illustrated editions
Haruki Murakami - Any first editions
Henry Fielding - Novels, first and later editions
Henry James - Various first and early editions
Henry Miller - Most first editions
Herman Melville - Any first editions, UK or US
Hermann Hesse - Most first editions
H.G. Wells - first editions published before 1910
H.P. Lovecraft - Any hardback first editions
Horace Walpole - Early first editions, particularly the Castle of Otranto
Hugo Gernsback - Ralph 123C 41+
Iain Banks and Iain M Banks - Pre-1990 first editions
Ian Fleming - Any first editions, some without jackets. Especially James Bond books.
Ian McEwan - Any first editions published before 1990
Ian Rankin - Any first editions from the 20th Century!
Ida Rentoul Outhwaite - Any first editions
Iris Murdoch - Pre-1960 first editions
Irvine Welsh - Trainspotting published in 1993
Isaac Asimov - Any first editions published in hardback before 1980
Isaac Newton - Various first and early editions
Italo Calvino - And hardback first editions in jackets
Jack Kerouac - Any hardback first editions in jackets
James Blish - A Case of Conscience - UK first edition
James Boswell - The Life of Samuel Johnson early editions and early pamphlets and first editions
James Ellroy - UK or US first editions published up to and including 1990
James Fenimore Cooper - Various first editions
James Gillray - Any first editions
James Herbert - Any pre-1980 NEL editions
James Joyce - Any first editions, and later editions of Ulysses
James M. Cain - The Postman Always Rings Twice
Jane Austen - First editions, collected works and early editions
J.D. Salinger - Any first editions
Jean de La Fontaine - Various editions of his Fables
J. Sheridan Le Fanu - Various first and early editions
J.G. Ballard - Any first editions considered
J.M. Barrie - Any first editions
Joe Abercrombie - Any UK first editions
Joe Haldeman - The Forever War - UK or US first editions
John Banville - first editions prior to 1985
John Braine - Room at the Top (UK first)
John Brunner - Any first editions considered
John Buchan - Early first editions
John Christopher - The Death of Grass - UK first edition
John Dickson Carr - Early first editions
John Fowles - Pre-1970 first editions
John Keats - Any first editions
John Le Carre - Pre-1970 first editions
John McGahern - Any first editions
John Rhode - Pre-war first editions
John Steinbeck - Any first editions
John Stuart Mill - Any first editions
John W. Campbell - Who Goes There? - Shasta
John Wyndham - Any first editions
Jonathan Swift - Various editions of Gulliver's Travels
Jorge Borges - Any first editions
Jose Saramago - Any first editions in dust jackets
Joseph Conrad - Any first editions
Joseph Heller - Catch 22 (Cape, 1962)
J.P. Sartre - Any first editions
J.R.R. Tolkien - Any first editions, especially the History of Middle Earth series, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings and early scholarly items.
Jules Verne - Any first editions
Julian Barnes - first editions published before 1985
Kate Greenaway - Books and Almanacks in first edition and nice condition
Kay Neilsen - Any of his first editions
Kazuo Ishiguro - Any first editions
Kelmscott Press - Any books
Ken Kesey - One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Kenneth Grahame - Any first editions
Kim Stanley Robinson - Any first editions
Kingsley Amis - Early first editions
Kurt Vonnegut - Any first editions published before 1970
Larry Niven - Ringworld - Gollancz first edition
Lawrence Durrell - Any Pre-1970 firsts
Len Deighton - Any Pre-1970 firsts
Leslie Charteris - Pre-1940's first editions
Lewis Carroll - Any books published before 1920
L. Frank Baum - Any books published before 1920
Lindsey Davis - Any first editions published by Hutchinson or Sidgwick
Liza Cody - Dupe or Bad Company first editions
Lord Byron - First editions
Lord Dunsany - Various first editions
Lord Rochester - Any first editions
Louisa M. Alcott - Little Women
Louis De Bernieres - Any first editions from the 1990's
Louis Wain - Early titles in fine condition
Lucy M. Boston - Any Children of Green Knowe novels (US or UK firsts)
Ludwig Wittgenstein - Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus - First edition in English or German with or without jacket
Malcolm Lowry - Ultramarine or Under the Volcano US or UK first editions
Margery Allingham - Early first editions in jackets
Marcel Proust - Remembrance of Things Past - various editions, English and French
Mario Puzo - Pre-1970s first editions (UK or US)
Markus Zusak - The Book Thief - Signed first editions
Martin Amis - Early first editions
Mary Fitt - Pre-1940 first editions in jackets
Mary Norton - Bedknobs books and Borrowers books
Mary Shelley - Any first editions and some early editions
Matthew Gregory Lewis - Various editions of The Monk
Mervyn Peake - Any UK Eyre Gormenghast Novels
Mickey Spillane - Any Pre-1960 first editions
Milan Kundera - The Joke - UK or US first editions
M.P. Shiel - Any first editions considered
M.R. James - Any first editions considered
Muriel Spark - Most Pre-1970 first editions
Nathaniel Hawthorne - Various first editions
Neal Stephenson - Most first editions in Fine Condition
Nevil Shute - Any first editions Pre-1950 (including A Town Like Alice)
Ngaio Marsh - Pre-war first editions
Nick Hornby - Fever Pitch UK first edition
Nikolai Gogol - Enquire
Norman Lewis - Any first editions up to 1950
Norman Mailer - The Naked and the Dead - US or UK firsts
Olaf Stapledon - Any pre-1950 first editions
Orson Scott Card - Ender's Game - UK or US first edition
Oscar Wilde - Any first editions
Ouida - Any first editions
Paolo Bacigalupi - The Wind-Up Girl - Nightshade 2009
Pat Barker - Any first editions up to Ghost Road (1995)
Patricia Highsmith - Any UK or US first editions published before 1960
Patrick Hamilton - Most first editions
Patrick O'Brian - Any first editions pre-1990
Paul Bowles - Two Poems, Sheltering Sky (US or UK)
Paulo Coelho - Enquire
P.D. James - Pre-1970 first editions in jackets
Percy Bysshe Shelley - Any first editions, and some early printings
Peter F. Hamilton - Any first editions
P.G. Wodehouse - Early first editions in jackets
Philip K. Dick - Any Hardback first editions (will consider paperbacks, especially job lots)
Philip Larkin - Early first editions
Philip Macdonald - Pre-1960 first editions in dustjacket
Philip Pullman - Any UK first editions published before 2000
Pierre Boileau - Early UK translations
Pierre Boulle - Monkey Planet - Secker 1964
R. Austin Freeman - Any first editions, most in jackets
Ralph Ellison - Invisible Man US or UK first edition
Ray Bradbury - Any Hardback first editions Pre-1970 or signed editions
Raymond Chandler - Any first editions pre-1970 including some in paperback
Raymond Feist - Early first editions, especially Magician
Reginald Hill - Any Collins Crime Club first editions up to 1980
Richard Adams - Watership Down UK first edition
Richard Bachman - Any paperback first editions
Richard Doyle - First editions illustrated by Doyle
Richard Matheson - Most pre-1980 first editions including paperbacks
Richard Morgan - Any first editions
Roald Dahl - Most pre-1980 first editions published in the US or the UK
Robert Aickman - Any fiction first editions
Robert Bloch - Psycho UK or US first edition
Robert Burns - First and some early editions
Robert E. Howard - Any first editions in jacket
Robert Graves - Any first editions before 1940, or signed/limited editions
Robert Harris - Fatherland (Hutchinson UK)
Robert Heinlein - Any hardback first editions UK or US published up to and including 1980
Robert Louis Stevenson - Early first editions, particularly Treasure Island, Dr Jekyll and Kidnapped
Robin Hobb - Any hardback UK first editions considered
Robert Jordan - Wheel of Time first editions
Robert Louis Stevenson - Any first editions
Roger Zelazny - Any pre-1975 first editions
Ross Macdonald - Pre-1960 first editions
Rudyard Kipling - Any first editions, later publications must have jackets
Salman Rushdie - Midnight's Children, Satanic Verses or Grimus first editions
Samuel Beckett - First editions in dust jackets
Samuel Johnson - Various editions of his dictionary of the English Language
Samuel Pepys - Various editions of his diary
Samuel Taylor Coleridge - Various editions
Saul Bellow - Pre-1970 first editions
Sax Rohmer - Any first editions, especially interested in copies with complete dustjackets.
Seamus Heaney - Signed copies or any first editions before 1980
Sebastian Faulks - A Trick of the Light, The Girl at the Lion d'Or or Birdsong first UK editions
Siegfried Sassoon - Anything before 1930
Stanislaw Lem - Solaris first editions
Stella Gibbons - first editions published before 1940
Stephen King - Any pre-1980 first editions, UK or US, proof copies, signed copies and limited editions.
Sylvia Plath - Early first editions
T.E. Lawrence - Various first editions, including Seven Pillars of Wisdom
Ted Hughes - Most first editions considered, especially signed copies.
Terry Brooks - Early Novels
Terry Pratchett - Any first editions Pre-2000, any limited editions and any signed first editions.
T.H. White - Any early first editions in dustjackets.
The Yellow Book - Any copies considered, especially full sets.
The Arabian Nights - Various editions
Thea Von Harbou - Any hardback editions considered
Theodore Sturgeon - Gollancz first editions
Thomas Bewick - First editions
Thomas Hardy - Any first editions or later editions of early works
Thomas Mann - Various first editions in dustjackets
Thomas Pynchon - UK or US first editions of V, The Crying of Lot 49 or Gravity's Rainbow
Tim O'Brien - UK or US first editions of If I Die in a Combat Zone or Northern Lights
Tobias Smollett - First editions
Truman Capote - US first editions up to 1960, any signed copies.
T.S. Eliot - Most first editions, please enquire.
Umberto Eco - Most first editions
Upton Sinclair - Early first editions
Ursula K. Le Guin - Hardbacks pre-1980, UK or US
Vernon Lee - Various first editions
Victor Hugo - Various first editions in French and English
Virginia Woolf - Any first editions Pre-1960 preferably in Jackets.
Vladimir Nabokov - Any UK first editions considered
V.S. Naipaul - first editions up to In a Free State (1971)
Walt Disney - Various books in fine condition
Walt Whitman - Early editions
Walter Miller - Any hardback first editions
Warwick Goble - Various first editions illustrated by Goble
Washington Irving - Various first editions and illustrated editions
W. B. Yeats - Early first editions and fine press
W. E. Johns - Any first editions in Dust Jackets, without dust jackets considered for early novels
W.H. Auden - Early first editions and any limited editions
W. Heath Robinson - Any limited editions
W.M. Thackeray - Various first editions
Wilfred Owen - Poems (with or without jacket)
Wilkie Collins - Various first editions
Willa Cather - Early first editions
William Beckford - Vathek early editions in French and English
William Blake - Fine press editions including Trianon Press
William Faulkner - Any first editions
William Gibson - UK first editions
William Golding - first editions pre-1960
William Harrison Ainsworth - early first editions
William Hazlitt - First editions
William Hope Hodgson - Any first editions
William M. Timlin - The Ship that Sailed to Mars
William Morris - Any first editions and some later editions
William S. Burroughs - Any first editions published before 1960, or signed editions
William Trevor - first editions published before 1970 considered.
Winston S. Churchill - Most first editions considered, signed books especially required.
W. Somerset Maugham - Any first editions in dustjackets
Wyndham Lewis - Most first editions before 1950
Yann Martel - Life of Pi UK or Canadian first editions with full numberline

Please note we rarely buy paperbacks (apart from Science Fiction / Fantasy), reprint editions, large coffee table books, Reader's Digest, Mills and Boon etc as they're generally not worth much. We are interested in antiquarian rare books or first editions too, but advise that people just contact us as it's a little trickier for us to specify exactly what we're looking for. York, Bradford, Leeds, Hull, Scarborough, Sheffield, Lincoln, Doncaster, Liverpool and Manchester are a short commute for us, and we'll gladly travel the distance to take a look.