Trevor, Ralph [pseudonym of James Reginald Wilmot]
Collection of detective novels in the dust jackets, including 2 inscribed to Dennis Wheatley
£945
Auction: 05 February 2025 from 10:00 GMT
Description
London: Wright & Brown, Ltd., 1930s-40s. All apparently first editions unless otherwise stated, 8vo, original cloth, with the dust jackets, in good condition overall with a little fraying to jacket spines:
Death Burns the Candle, [1938]. Presentation copy, inscribed ‘For Dennis Wheatly [sic], with all good wishes, from Ralph Trevor, May 9 1938' on title-page, with bookplate of Dennis Wheatley to front pastedown, spotting to edges of textblock and to margins of outer leaves;
Death Comes Too Late, [1938]. Presentation copy, inscribed ‘For Dennis Wheatley Esq., with every good wish, from Ralph Trevor, Nov 14 1938’ on title-page, with bookplate of Dennis Wheatley to front pastedown, spotting to edges of textblock;
The Ace of Clubs Murder, [1939]. Presentation copy, inscribed ‘For my mother, July 1939, Ralph Trevor' on the title-page, spotting to edges of textblock;
The Phantom Raider, [1941]. Dust jacket front flap upper corner torn away;
and 4 others (each with jacket priced at 4/6 and possibly a later issue, comprising: The Deputy Avenger, [1938], jacket with loss to foot of spine and repairs verso, gift inscription dated 1943 on front free endpaper; Murder in the Fifth Column [1940] (loss to foot of jacket spine); Murder for Two Pins, [1939] (jacket front flap mentions titles from as late as 1942); Front Page Murder, [1942])
[Hubin, Crime Fiction II, volume 1, p. 807] (8)
Provenance
The Golden Age of Detective and Adventure Fiction: Selections from the Stock of Obelist Books, Glasgow.
Footnote
A selection of novels by Ralph Trevor were republished in 2018 by specialist American publisher Ramble House, their introduction to the series providing a brief overview of Trevor's career: ‘James Reginald Wilmot, was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, in 1897, and died in [the] Wirral … in 1944 … In his brief writing career (from 1935 to 1944) WIlmot wrote at least thirty-one mystery novels under the pseudonym ’Ralph Trevor' and eight romantic novels under the ‘Frances Stewart’ by-line. The author's sole publsiher appears to have been Wright & Brown, London, the stalwart firm who issued so many books in the 1930s and ‘40s for (primarily) the lending library market. W&B built up a stable of authors who could reliably turn out novels in the most popular genres of the day: mysteries, thrillers, romance, adventure, and “air mysteries” … While not terribly well-known under his most prolifically used pseudonym Ralph Trevor, [Wilmot’s] many books released under that name are yet sought after by connoisseurs in their original W&B editions'.