Five Rare Books for Collectors: Eric Idle’s Library

Gilbert Abbott à Beckett, The Comic History of England. London: Published at the Punch Office, 1847-48. First edition. Original twenty parts in nineteen, published from July 1946 to February 1848. Octavo: xii, 320; xii, 304 p. Twenty colored steel-engravings after designs by John Leech, plus 240 woodcuts in the text. $2,000.
 
The set collates near complete: lacking the pink slip advertising The Battle of Life and Dombey & Son at the front of Part VI. The back wrapper of Part XVIII supplied from a Part XI (with Elements of Botany on the inside and Mr. Dickens New Monthly Work on the outside). The ads on the back wrapper of Part V match those called for by Tooley (with Opinions of the Press on the inside and Rowlands Macassar Oil on the outside) rather than Abbey (with First Vol. of the Music Book on the inside and Works by G. A'Beckett on the outside).
 
Original blue printed wrappers. The usual rebacking. A very clean and bright set. Housed in a full olive morocco folding case (spine faded to brown).

George Harrison, Live in Japan: George Harrison with Eric Clapton and Band. Guildford, England: Genesis Publications Ltd, 1993. First edition. This is copy number 30 of 3500 signed by George Harrison. Accompanied by a double CD with original artwork and 19 live tracks, a laminated “After Show” pass, and Eric’s and George’s guitar picks. Quarto. Bound in black leather with gold and red tooling and gilt edged pages. Near fine. Housed in the publisher’s slipcase. $3,000.
 
Pictorial celebration of George Harrison’s “Rock Legends” tour of Japan in 1991, featuring almost 500 previously unpublished photographs. The foreword by Eric Clapton explains how George was persuaded to return to touring after a break of 17 years. The first (and longest) chapter is written by George himself and details his thoughts and feelings on taking to the road after such a long absence. It includes George’s personal recollections of the tour and memories of times on the road with The Beatles. Subsequent chapters are written by each member of Eric Clapton’s band and reveal private moments behind the scenes, during sound checks, on stage and in transit.

A.A. Roback, A Dictionaryof International Slurs (Ethnophaulisms), with a Supplementary Essay on Aspects of Ethnic Prejudice. Cambridge, Massachusetts: Sci-Art Publishers, 1944. First edition. This is number 912 of 1000 copies signed by the author. Octavo. In a later one quarter black morocco over black cloth binding, with gilt titles and five raised bands. $500.
 
Signed on the half-title “Ex Libris Eric Idle”.
 
The dictionary consists of a collection of approximately 1000 slurs in English on other nationalities; a lexicon of slurs in a number of foreign languages (over 1,000 expressions) translated literally and idiomatically, together with the original words or phrases; and an inventory of over 1,000 proverbs which relate to some 50 national groups and are provided with historical cues. A short treatise on ethnic prejudice gives the backgrounds of the various nationalities, together with the accepted group traits for each. A bibliography of linguistic, folkloristic, and general works is included.

Special “The Rutles” issue of What's Happening? from WEA Records Ltd. in London, issued in advance of the television mockumentary All You Need Is Cash (1978). Signed by Eric Idle, who co-directed the affectionate parody of The Beatles with Gary Weis and appeared as Dirk McQuickly, the Paul McCartney-styled character in the group.