Biggles Flies South

The first printing of 1938, in the original dustwrapper

Author

Publisher

Printing Details

First edition, first printing. Hardback in dustwrapper. Bound in the original tan cloth with printed titling and design to spine and upper board, pages top edge dyed. Dustwrapper priced at 3/6. 19 × 12.5cm, 255pp. With a colour frontispiece by Howard Leigh, and a sketch-map and six black and white illustrations by Jack Nicolle.

"In the year 525 BC, the army of Cambyses, son of Cyrus the Great, Founder of the Persian empire, was overwhelmed and utterly lost in the African desert. No trace of that army was ever found, although rumours have persisted that descendants of the survivors are still to be found amid those sandy wastes. Travellers, also, have brought tales of a Lost Oasis, and this has been associated with the ill-fated army of Cambyses. These vague rumours and traditions out of the past take concrete form when Major James Bigglesworth and his friends, Algy Lacey and Ginger Hebblethewaite, accompanied by a young Egyptian archaeologist, set out to find the Lost Oasis. They meet with some truly remarkable adventures and make some extraordinary discoveries that go a long way towards settling what has been called the Age-old Riddle of the Sands."

Condition

The book: The book is in good solid condition. There is some tanning to the cloth board which correspond to the loss from the dustwrapper. There is a light water stain to the pages top edge which has caused the topstain to bleed a little to the fore-edge. The inner binding is secure. There is light scattered foxing to the prelims, title page and margins, and the book is free from inscription. The book is in strong readable condition. The original dustwrapper is rare in any condition, this one has loss to the bottom of the spine and at the bottom of the front panel, with a smaller amount of loss to the head of the spine and rear panel, with chipping to the rear joint and a further small hole to the spine. Scuff marks to spine, rear panel with some grubby marks. The wrapper has not been price-clipped (3/6) and is now within a protective sleeve. All illustrations are present. A rare copy.

Further images are available on request.