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John Carr of York

Though John Carr of York was one of the leading architects of the Georgian period, his huge and varied achievement is still there to be enjoyed. Every day thousands of people cross his bridges, work in his hospitals, offices and farms, visit his country houses, worship in his churches, or live in his houses without making any connection between the architect and themselves. This sixty four page pictorial survey of nearly fifty buildings will help to redress the balance, and at the same time will bring attention to the splendid craftsmanship that has ensured their survival into the twenty first century. The photographs are accompanied by a brief and helpful text. Particular emphasis has been given to those buildings to which the public has some degree of access.

Please send a cheque made payable to Rickaro Books of 17 High St, Horbury WF4 5AB (Tel 01924 278811). The book will also be available from selected houses by John Carr, as well via bookshops and online. The price is £7.00 per book. P&P for up to 2 books is £3.00 UK only. Total price including P&P for one book is £10. (£17.00 incl. P&P for 2 books).

Rickaro at UK BookWorld

If you wish to take a look at our secondhand/antiquarian stock why not link to http://ukbookworld.com/members/rickaro . This site is easy to use and you can order as well.

Daft Yorkshire Fairy Tales book launch

Our thanks to Paul Crilley, crillpix.com, for his photographs of the event.

Ian McMillan

Ian McMillan at Rickaro, 20/11/12

Book Launch

Ian and cartoonist Tony Husband.

Book Launch

Richard Knowles opens the Buck's Fizz to celebrate the Book Launch.

Daft Yorkshire Fairy Tales launch Author Ian McMillan and cartoonist Tony Husband were signing copies of their latest book Daft Yorkshire Fairy Tales at Rickaro Books on Tuesday 20th November.

'I've taken some classic fairytales and given them a Yorkshire twist.' said Ian, talking to the Wakefield Express, 'I'm hoping it'll be great for Christmas.

'This bookshop is one of the best I've seen, and it's great to be going somewhere people really care about books.'

Unusual and Fine Volumes at Rickaro Books

Just a taste of the unusual books that you may find in Horbury

Goodbye To All That, Robert Graves. Jonathan Cape, 1929.

title page Goodbye to All That spine A superb copy of the elusive true First Edition, First Issue. This edition with the infamous Sassoon poem on pp.341-343, removed from all later impressions and editions. The story of the suppression of this issue is well documented and most copies were apparently destroyed, it is generally believed that few survived. The book printed a poem Sassoon had written to Graves in rhyming letter form and Sassoon was mortified by this inclusion demanding the recall of the edition and the excision of the offending pages in the second impression, this was done and it these later editions that are most frequently found. It is regarded that these honest and touching lines are some of the best Sassoon ever wrote.

This fine clean copy has been superbly rebound in maroon leather with gilt decoration and a laid on image to front board by The Cottage Bindery, Bath. It has to be seen to be appreciated fully. 448pp. It was in November of 1929 that Sassoon had written to a friend, "I deeply resent his printing my verse letter to him & shall threaten Cape with legal action (for breach of copyright) unless he undertakes to cut it out".

This copy can be viewed at our shop by appointment.

James Joyce The Cats of Copenhagen

Joyce and cat A further most unusual and elusive volume that we have in stock is the ITHYS PRESS edition of James Joyce’s Story for Children, The Cats of Copenhagen in a rare, special edition of 200 copies, of which 170 are Numbered copies. It is one of these that we have for you to see.

Exquisite, surprising, and with a keen, almost anarchic subtext, THE CATS OF COPENHAGEN is a slightly younger twin sister to The Cat and the Devil, the only other known example of James Joyce writing a story for young children. Both works, penned within a few weeks of each other, are in letters posted to his only grandchild, Stephen James Joyce. At the time of writing, Joyce was taking a much-needed break in Denmark and four-year-old Stephen was staying at the Villa des Roses in Menthon-St-Bernard.

This Ithys Press first edition is set from the text of the original manuscript letter dated 5 September 1936. The letter is among the many items donated to the Zurich James Joyce Foundation by Hans E. Jahnke, son of Giorgio Joyce’s second wife, Asta. Nearly lost and forgotten, it is a joy to see this delightful story in print at last.

Joyce’s internationalist spirit and eccentric humour inspire the design. Michael Caine has printed this large-format letterpress edition with virtuoso skill, setting the text in a wondrously expressive array of original, early twentieth-century hand-cut Italian and French founts to capture the imagination of readers young and old. Casey Sorrow brings to life Joyce’s curious ‘Københavnere’ with ingeniously playful pen-and-ink drawings, specially commissioned, and printed by typographique cliché.

The Numbered issue, printed on Fedrigoni Freelife Vellum, is in double-elephant sextos and hand-bound in one-quarter cloth over marbled boards. The publishers state:

"The book was conceived not as a commercial venture but as a carefully crafted tribute to a rather different Joyce, the family man and grandfather who was a fine storyteller, much like his own father John Stanislaus," wrote Herbert. So you can judge for yourself when you see the volume.

There are many such examples of interesting ownership amongst our stock and is an indication of one of the many values that a book possesses. A book held by a loved one, a book held and signed by the author or perhaps a book containing notes in the hand of a scholar who has added to the sum of knowledge contained in the work. All of these things make a printed volume special and personalised. We have books many centuries old, using them is like holding history and memory in the palm of your hand. An ancient leather binding redolent of the past. An animal skin tanned centuries ago after grazing in the ancient fields, paper made from rags, pulp and water, the type all set by hand and printed laboriously page by page on a wooden or cast iron press, be it an Albion or Columbian. The pages then folded and collated, sewn in gatherings and bound in that animal hide. Cared for and used by centuries of hands now gone and literally handed down to us to further use. Such is an ancient book steeped in its past lives and bearing the scars and evidence of long usage, a signature here a note there, even perhaps a tear stain of a former owner.

Tilly Tilly

Tilly has now settled into the bookshop routine well. She has thrived in her new home and as her condition has improved she has grown a nice curly coat and now looks fully the part as a Welsh Collie should. We can see that she feels that she has fallen on her paws and appears to be enjoying her new life. At Rickaro Books she can often be found sleeping under the desk, so if she makes an occasional bark at a customer she certainly means no harm and soon makes customers and their visiting dogs welcome. Sox of course still leaves a gap, but Tilly has added a different character to our business.

Wakefield Words

Wakefield Words What would it be like if we could step back in time and see Wakefield as it was? What would we have heard people saying? What kind of food did they eat?

Luckily for us, Wakefield solicitor William Stott Banks (1820-1872) took the trouble to record some of the words and phrases that he'd heard around town.

Richard Bell's new illustrated book Wakefield Words is based on Banks' Provincial Words in Use at Wakefield, Yorkshire, 1865.

Price: £3.99