Mervyn Peake
I am the leading specialist in the works of Mervyn Peake and always carry a large and varied stock of first editions of his published works in book and periodical form. We normally have books written, illustrated and /or with contributions by Peake.
STOP PRESSThe Catalogue can now be viewed on line here: CATALOGUEFOLLOW THE LINKS ON THE PAGE
MERVYN PEAKE (1911 - 1968)
THE
CENTENARY CATALOGUE
Mervyn Peake, artist,
illustrator, poet, novelist and dramatist, has been first an interest and then
a passion ever since my father gave me the Titus Groan Trilogy for my 18thbirthday. When I became a bookseller 32 years ago it seemed natural to start to
seriously collect his books, and I bought my first picture exactly 30 years
ago. Since that time I have amassed a personal collection of over 500 different
items, showing the extraordinary breadth of his career from his first published
piece in an obscure missionary magazine in 1922 at the age of 11, to the recent
publication of his Sunday Books, originally illustrated for the amusement of
his children.
The items in this catalogue are
not my personal collection; that is offered for sale in its entirety elsewhere,
but material that has been accumulated for the past ten years or so, expressly
to issue this catalogue as my own celebration of his centenary. In my own
collecting I am a completist, and make no apologies for that, trying to find
editions and issues, however minor, for all his works. Some of that
obsessiveness is apparent in a few of the entries in this catalogue and I hope
that others share my interest.
Hopefully this catalogue has
examples of all aspects of his work showing his extraordinary ability in so
many fields. In a way this has always been part of Peake’s problem to the
collector; he fails to fall neatly into any one category. The dilemma to many:
does one collect his few novels, his small output as a poet, his much larger
output as an illustrator of classic children’s books, the impossibility of
accumulating scripts of his recently re-assessed dramatic output (only
available in duplicated typescripts), or the expense of buying oils, watercolours
or exquisite pen and ink drawings. I can’t answer that. However I can offer
this selection from across his range. You choose…
To be included in the
mailing for this catalogue, or to offer items for
sale, contact me:
THE OFFICIAL MERVYN PEAKE WEBSITE can
be found at
The periodical devoted to the life and work
of Mervyn Peake (1911-1968), Peake Studies provides a unique independent forum
for criticism and debate for all those interested in Mervyn Peake's life and
work as an artist, novelist, poet, and illustrator.
Peake Studies comes out twice a year. A
quality, typeset publication,called "a very handsome journal" by Science
Fiction Studies, it averages 48 pages per issue.
Write to the editor/publisher;
G. Peter Winnington
Au Village
1453 Mauborget
Switzerland
phone and fax +41 24 436 22 32
Peake Studies now has a site on the web where among other things there is a bibliography of Peake's work:
CLICK HERE  
New Publication We have
republished, in its original form, Mervyn Peake's rare first
book Captain Slaughterboard Drops
Anchor. Originally published by Country Life in 1939, most of
the stock was destroyed in the Blitz in 1940 and consequently the original has
become of almost legendary scarcity. In twenty years we have known of fewer
than ten copies to appear on the market. With the permission
and co-operation of the Mervyn Peake Estate we have published a Limited Number
of copies for sale.
click on the image above for more pictures and details of this new
book
Mervyn Peake and the
Fantasy Tradition:
A Centenary Conference
An international
conference hosted by the Department of English and Creative Writing, in
collaboration with
The Sussex Centre
for Folklore, Fairy Tales and Fantasy
Date: 15th and 16th
July 2011
Location: Bishop Otter Campus, Chichester, West Sussex, UK
Keynote Speakers include: Joanne
Harris, Michael Moorcock,
Peter Winnington,
Colin Manlove, Sebastian Peake.
Theme
This
conference and related events next July to mark the centenary of Peake's birth
include exhibitions of his paintings and illustrations in Chichester
(Peake lived in nearby Burpham while writing the Gormenghast books, and is
buried there). July 2011 is also the publication date of Titus Awakes, Maeve
Gilmore’s conclusion of her husband’s Gormenghast sequence. The conference will
celebrate, explore and discuss the many facets of Peake's rich creativity,
including his work as fantasy novelist, children’s writer, playwright, poet,
writer of nonsense verse, artist and illustrator (both of his own books and
classics such as The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, The Hunting of the Snark,the
Alice books, Treasure Island and Grimms’ Household Tales).
For further details
contact Professor William Gray
Department of English
& Creative Writing,
University of Chichester, College Lane
Chichester, West Sussex PO19 6PE
Email: b.gray@chi.ac.uk
Click here to go to directly to the Conference Website.
MERVYN PEAKE SOCIETY
The Mervyn Peake Society is currently inactive.
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