£4,000
FIRST EDITION, large 8vo, pp. 100, [2]. Twenty-four colour lithograph illustrations included in pagination. Original colour-printed boards, glassine dustjacket with card flaps. Head of spine a bit worn, fragile dustjacket with some chipping to top edge and some loss to bottom of front panel.
One of the most iconic illustrated books of the 20th century, depicting a glowing collection of shop premises from an era already passing into history, High Street was produced in an edition of around 2,000 copies and was never reprinted in this form, since the lithograph stones for the illustrations (and probably at least some unsold copies) were destroyed when the Curwen Press premises were hit during the Blitz. A high-quality facsimile was finally produced in the 2010s. This copy retains its incredibly fragile and consequently even rarer dustjacket, made of glassine with glued-on flaps, the front one printed with the jacket copy.
