Gifts
Looking for a unique and personal gift? A rare book is a gift they will treasure for a lifetime. There are few gifts that are as lasting and appreciated as a rare book. They hold within its pages not only historical and cultural significance, but often also a personal significance to the recipient. Whether it is a beloved childhood book that turned them on to the joys of reading or a favorite title they read in high school or college, people treasure these books like a close friend.
Showing 1–60 of 507 results
-
Browse by Category
- Browse All
- Americana
- Art and Architecture
- Autograph Letters Signed
- Biography and Autobiography
- Children's Books
- Economics and Finance
- Featured Rare Books
- Fine Bindings and Sets
- First Edition
- First Edition>Signed
- Food and Wine
- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents
- Gifts
- Gifts - For Her
- Gifts - For Him
- Gifts - Graduation and Celebrations
- Gifts - Holidays
- History, Law, and Politics
- Literature
- Music
- New Arrivals
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Poetry
- Presidents and World Leaders
- Religion
- Science and Natural History
- Science Fiction and Mystery
- Signed
- Signed & Autographed Books
- Sports and Leisure
- Travel and Exploration
- Uncategorized
-
“The secret of life', he said, 'is to become very very good at somethin' that's very very 'ard to do": First Edition of Roald Dahl's The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More; Signed by Him
DAHL, Roald.
The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1977.
First edition of this collection of seven short stories by the author of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Roald Dahl 1981.” Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket, name to the half-title page. Jacket design by Susan Shields. Photograph by Sophie Baker.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 131334
-
"I once did something right. I played first-rate basketball. I really did. And after you're first-rate at something, no matter what, it kind of takes the kick out of being second-rate": First Editions of Each Novel in John Updike’s Rabbit Quartet
UPDIKE, John.
Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; Licks of Love.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960-2000.
First editions of each volume in the Rabbit quartet. Octavos, 5 volumes, original half cloth. Each volume is near fine to fine in very good to near fine dust jackets.
Price: $800.00 Item Number: 131226
-
First edition of J. Henry Lea and J. R. Hutchinson's The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln; exquisitely bound in full morocco
LEA, J. Henry and J. R. Hutchinson.
The Ancestry of Abraham Lincoln.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1909.
First edition of Lea and Hutchinson’s work dedicated to the ancestry of the beloved American president. Quarto, elaborately bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling and elaborate tooling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and full morocco doublures, silk-watered endleaves, ribbon bound in, illustrated with numerous tissue-guarded engraved plates. In fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box. A stunning binding.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 131233
-
Samuel Manning's American Pictures Drawn With Pen and Pencil; embellished with three fore-edge paintings
MANNING, Samuel.
American Pictures Drawn with Pen and Pencil. [Fore-Edge Painting].
London: The Religious Tract Society, n.d..
Finely bound example of this elaborately illustrated 19th century folio of American landscapes. Quarto, bound in full pebbled morocco richly decorated in gilt with gilt turn ins and inner dentelles, ribbon bound in, all edges gilt, illustrated with numerous engravings, many full page. Embellished with three four-edge paintings which reveal a portrait of George Washington flanked by The San Francisco City Hall and White House on the vertical edge, Niagra Falls on the top edge, and Baltimore on the tail edge. In near fine condition. An elegant presentation.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 131283
-
“Ants are everywhere and deserve our attention": FIRST EDITION OF THE ANTS; SIGNED BY EDWARD O. WILSON WITH A DRAWING OF AN ANT
WILSON, Edward O. & Bert Holldobler.
Ants.
Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press/ Harvard University Press, 1990.
First edition of this Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by Edward O. Wilson who has added a drawing of an ant on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, name to the half-title page. Jacket design by Marianne Perlak. Uncommon signed.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 131085
-
First British Edition of Long Walk To Freedom; Warmly Inscribed by Nelson Mandela and signed by Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk
MANDELA, Nelson.
Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.
London: Little, Brown and Company, 1994.
First British edition of the first autobiography of one of the greatest moral leaders of the twentieth century which has went on to sell over six million copies worldwide. Octavo, original black cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Dr. Ivan May Compliments and best wishes to a public figure who cares. Nelson Mandela 6.1.95.” Additionally signed by Nobel Prize-winners Desmond Tutu and F.W. de Klerk. The recipient, Ivan May was an academician and humanitarian, who worked closely with The Nelson Mandela Foundation. He was described by the foundation as “a groundbreaking leader in the sphere of giving.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket, inscription to the half-title page. An exceptional example, most rare and desirable signed by three Nobel laureates and historically important figures of history.
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 130735
-
Finley bound Italian printing of Dante's masterpiece La Divina Commedia
ALIGHIERI, Dante. Introduction by Raffaello Fornaciari.
La Divina Commedia. [The Divine Comedy].
Milano: Ulrico Hoepli, [1911].
Finley bound Italian printing of Dante’s masterpiece. 14mo, bound in full gilt-decorated vellum with titles to the spine and front panel in black and red. In very good condition. Ownership inscription.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 130322
-
The Works of Oscar Wilde; Finely Bound
WILDE, Oscar.
The Works of Oscar Wilde.
London : Methuen , 1909-10.
The works of Oscar Wilde. Octavo, 13 volumes, bound in three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, top edge gilt. In near fine condition.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 130510
-
Winston Churchill’s Masterpiece The Second World War; Signed by Him
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
The Second World War: The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948-53.
First American editions, early printings of Winston Churchill’s masterpiece. Octavo, six volumes, original cloth, illustrated. Their Finest Hour is boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Winston S. Churchill.” Each volume is fine in near fine dust jackets. An exceptional set.
Price: $8,200.00 Item Number: 130276
-
First Edition of the 40th Anniversary Edition of To Kill A Mockingbird; Signed by Harper Lee
LEE, Harper.
To Kill A Mockingbird.
New York: HarperCollins, 1999.
First edition, first printing of the 40th Anniversary edition of the author’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Harper Lee on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Suzanne Noli. First printings are uncommon signed.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 130515
-
“Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake": Elaborately bound first edition in English of Emil Ludwig's biography of Napoleon Bonaparte; bound by Bayntun-Riviere
[NAPOLEON BONAPARTE]. EMIL LUDWIG. TRANSLATED BY EDEN AND CEDAR PAUL,.
Napoleon.
London: George Allen & Unwin, Ltd, 1927.
Elaborately bound Cosway style first edition in English of Emil Ludwig’s biography of Napoleon Bonaparte. Octavo, bound by Bayntun-Riviere in full Cosway style scarlet morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, inset ivorene hand-painted portrait of Napoleon depicting him with medals to the front panel, gilt fleuron corner-pieces withing double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, all edged gilt, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, red watered silk endpapers, illustrated with engravings. In fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 130299
-
"Be good and you will be lonesome": First Edition of Mark Twain's Following the Equator
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Following the Equator: A Journey Around the World.
Hartford: The American Publishing Company, 1897.
First edition, first issue of the author’s pointed social critique of British Imperialism with the signature mark “11” on page 161. Octavo, original blue cloth with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, pictorial onlay decorated in gilt to the front panel, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Twain, illustrated by Dan Beard, A. B. Frost, B. W. Clinedisnt, and Frederick Dielman among others. In very good condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 130251
-
“It's in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present": First Edition of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield; FINELY BOUND IN FULL CRUSHED RED MOROCCO BY BAYNTUN-RIVIERE
DICKENS, Charles.
The Personal History of David Copperfield.
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1850.
First edition of “the most perfect of all the Dickens novels” (Virginia Woolf). Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel, gilt signature on the back panel, inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Illustrated with 38 etchings by Hablot Knight Browne. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $4,500.00 Item Number: 130508
-
"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't": First Edition of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found
CARROLL, Lewis. [Dodgson.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1872.
First edition of the author’s classic work. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Baytun, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt vignettes to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, frontispiece engraving with tissue guard present. With fifty illustrations by John Tenniel. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 130522
-
“One always begins to forgive a place as soon as it’s left behind": First Edition, first issue of Charles Dickens' Little Dorrit; elaborately bound in full crushed morocco by Bayntun-Riviere
DICKENS, Charles.
Little Dorrit.
London: Bradbury and Evans, 1857.
First edition, first issue of one of Dickens’ most outstanding novels Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel, gilt signature on the back panel, inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. With 40 illustrations by Hablot Knight Brown (“Phiz”), including frontispiece and vignette title page. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 130391
-
“A word in earnest is as good as a speech": First Edition of Charles Dickens' Bleak House; elaborately bound in full crushed morocco by Bayntun-Riviere
DICKENS, Charles.
Bleak House.
London: Bradbury Evans, 1853.
First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel, gilt signature on the back panel, inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Illustrated with engraved title page and 39 engraved plates by H.K. Browne. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 130398
-
FIRST EDITION OF CHARLES DICKENS’ FINAL NOVEL THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD; FINELY BOUND IN FULL CRUSHED RED MOROCCO BY BAYNTUN-RIVIERE
DICKENS, Charles.
The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
London: Chapman and Hall, 1870.
First edition of Dickens’ final novel. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun-Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt medallion portrait of Dickens on the front panel, gilt signature on the back panel, inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Dickens, 12 engraved plates. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $2,200.00 Item Number: 130544
-
“Those who don't believe in magic will never find it": Roald Dahl's BFG; Warmly Inscribed by Him
DAHL, Roald; Illustrated by Quentin Blake.
The BFG: Illustrations by Quentin Blake.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1982.
First edition, early printing of this Dahl classic, which has sold over 20 million copies. Octavo, original cloth, illustated by Quentin Blake. Boldly signed by the author on the half-title page, “with love Roald Dahl April, 1989.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, bookplate.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 130928
-
Rare First Edition of Booker T. Washington's Up From Slavery. An Autobiography; Lengthily Signed by Him
WASHINGTON, Booker T.
Up From Slavery. An Autobiography.
New York: Doubleday, Page, 1901.
First edition of Booker T. Washington’s landmark biography. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. With a autographed note signed by Washington to the front free endpaper, which reads, “We lift ourselves up in profusion as we lift others, we degrade ourselves in profusion as neglect or orphan others, Booker T. Washington Oct. 20, 1901.” In near fine condition, bookplate to the front pastedown. An exceptional example, rare and desirable as a first edition and signed.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 130649
-
"If I had a world of my own, everything would be nonsense. Nothing would be what it is, because everything would be what it isn't. And contrary wise, what is, it wouldn't be. And what it wouldn't be, it would. You see?": Finely bound Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1872.
Octavo, two volumes, uniformly bound in full red morocco, all edges gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spines, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, raised bands, original cloth bindings tipped in to rear of each volume. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is an early printing. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There is an early printing. Illustrated by John Tenniel, text illustrated. A very nice set.
Price: $4,500.00 Item Number: 130848
-
"I dwell in a lonely house I know, that vanished many summer ago": Robert Frost's A Boy's Will; signed and dated by him
FROST, Robert.
A Boy’s Will.
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1934.
Second American edition of Frost’s first published work. Octavo, original beige linen cloth, engraved title page. Signed and dated by the poet on the title page, “Robert Frost February 25 1936.” In very good condition. Small ownership name.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 130124
-
"Wishing you safe travels on your journey through the woods": First Edition of Into the Woods; Signed by all Three Contributors; With a large drawing by Talbott
SONDHEIM, Stephen; James Lapine; Illustrated by Hudson Talbott.
Into The Woods.
New York: Crown Publishers, 1989.
First edition of this classic work, basis for the Broadway musical and later film. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Signed by all three contributors on the half-title page. Presentation copy, inscribed “For John- Stephen Sondheim.” Signed below by James Lapine. Signed with the following inscription by Talbott, “Once upon a time… in a far-off kingdom there lived… Safe travels- Hudson Talbott.” Talbott has added a large drawing. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 130642
-
“Capitalism Survive?—I have tried to show that a socialist form of society will inevitably emerge from an equally inevitable decomposition of capitalist society": Rare First Edition of Capitalism Socialism and Democracy; Finely Bound
SCHUMPETER, Joseph A.
Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.
London : George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1942.
First edition of Schumpeter’s ground-breaking work. Octavo, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panel, raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition.
Price: $3,200.00 Item Number: 130542
-
"And that's the story of Nutcracker and the King of the Mice": First Edition of The Nutcracker; Inscribed by Maurice Sendak in the year of publication
SENDAK, Maurice; E.T.A. Hoffmann.
Nutcracker.
New York: Crown Publishers, 1984.
First edition of this classic work. Oblong quarto, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the half-title page, “Merry Christmas Helga Maurice Sendak Nov. 24, ’84.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Translated by Ralph Manheim.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 125761
-
"Tune in, freak out, get beaten": First Edition of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas; Signed by Hunter S. Thompson and Ralph Steadman
THOMPSON, Hunter S.; Illustrations by Ralph Steadman.
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas: A Savage Journey to the Heart of the American Dream.
New York: Random House, 1971.
First edition of Thompson’s second book. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Hunter S. Thompson on the half-title page and Ralph Steadman on the title page. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Illustrations by Ralph Steadman.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 130541
-
SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF PORGY AND BESS; SIGNED BY GEORGE AND IRA GERSHWIN, DUBOSE HEYWARD, AND ROUBEN MAMOULIAN
GEORGE GERSHWIN. LIBRETTO BY DUBOSE HEYWARD. LYRICS BY DUBOSE HEYWARD AND IRA GERSHWIN. PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY ROUBEN MAMOULIAN,.
Porgy and Bess.
New York: Random House, 1935.
Deluxe limited edition of Porgy and Bess, number 162 of only 250 copies signed by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian. Folio, original full red morocco, raised bands, top edge gilt, illustrated. In near fine in the rare original slipcase.
Price: $10,000.00 Item Number: 130673
-
“Freeing yourself was one thing, claiming ownership of that freed self was another": Morrison's Masterpiece Beloved; Signed by Her
MORRISON, Toni.
Beloved.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.
Early printing of the author’s fourth novel and considered by many her finest. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Gail Shaw Toni Morrison.” Fine in a fine dust jacket without wear. Jacket design by R.D. Scudellari.
Price: $950.00 Item Number: 130799
-
“Danger confronted properly is not something a man must fear": First Edition of Tom Clancy's The Hunt For Red October; Inscribed by Him
CLANCY, Tom.
The Hunt For Red October.
Annapolis, MD: Naval Institute Press, 1984.
First edition of the author’s classic first novel. Octavo, original red cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Harold Lines Tom Clancy. Fine in a very good dust jacket.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 130751
-
"In nature nothing exists alone": Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring; Signed by Her
CARSON, Rachel.
Silent Spring.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.
First edition, second printing of Carson’s landmark work. Octavo, original green cloth. Signed by Rachel Carson on the half-title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, name to the half-title page. Drawings by Lois and Louis Darling.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 130977
-
"We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it": First Editions of Winston Churchill’s Masterpiece The Second World War
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
The Second World War: The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
London: Cassell & Co, 1948-54.
First editions of Winston Churchill’s masterpiece. Octavo, six volumes bound in three quarters morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. In fine condition.
Price: $3,250.00 Item Number: 130833
-
“All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall”: Rare First Edition In English of Dumas' The Three Musketeers
DUMAS, Alexandre.
The Three Musketeers; or, the Feats and Fortunes of a Gascon Adventurer.
London: Bruce and Wyld, 1846.
First edition in English of Dumas’ masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles to the spine, marbled endpapers. Translated from the French by William Barrow. Barrow’s translation was the first of three English translations published in 1846 and is considered the most faithful to the original text. To conform to nineteenth century English standards other translations removed many of the explicit and implicit references to sexuality which adversely affected the readability of many scenes. In near fine condition.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 129365
-
:The King of Pop": Rare Topps collectible trading card signed by Michael Jackson
[JACKSON, Michael].
Michael Jackson Signed Collectible Trading Card.
MJJ Productions, Inc., 1984.
Rare Topps collectible trading card signed by the “King of Pop”, Michael Jackson. The glossy trading card displays a photograph of The Jacksons on the recto and is signed by Michael Jackson on the verso. In very good condition.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 129380
-
"Attractive people doing attractive things in attractive places": First edition of Slim Aarons' A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life
AARONS, Slim.
A Wonderful Time: An Intimate Portrait of the Good Life.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974.
First edition of the photographer’s most well-known work which covered the global social circuit in a style that remains without peer to this day. Folio, original blue cloth, illustrated throughout. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Ownership name to the front free endpaper.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 129288
-
“Nothing is so indecent that it cannot be said to another person if the proper words are used to convey it": Rare First Edition in English of Boccaccio's Decameron
BOCCACCIO, Giovanni.
The Decameron.
London: Isaac Jaggard, 1620.
First edition in English of Boccaccio’s masterpiece, published by Jaggard published three years prior to his printing of the Shakespeare First Folio. Boccaccio’s masterpiece. Folio, 2 volumes, bound in full morocco by Riviere, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges gilt, errata leaf at end of volume one, B1 is a cancellans, woodcut titles each with 6 vignettes, 98 woodcut vignettes in text chiefly repeating the title vignettes, woodcut initials, head- and tail-pieces. In near fine condition. First editions are rare.
Price: $60,000.00 Item Number: 128726
-
"One thing is certain, and the rest is lies; the flower that once has blown for ever dies": Willy Pogany's illustrated RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM; finely bound by Bayntun Riviere
TRANSLATED BY EDWARD FITZGERALD. ILLUSTRATED BY WILL POGANY,.
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., n.d..
Elaborately bound example of Pogany’s finely illustrated Rubaiyat. Octavo, bound in full crushed red morocco by Banytun Riviere with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling, fleuron cornerpieces, and central gilt arabesque to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated by Willy Pogany. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. In very good condition.
Price: $1,200.00 Item Number: 129800
-
First edition of James Herriot's The Lord God Made Them All; inscribed by him
HERRIOT, James.
The Lord God Made Them All.
London: Michael Joseph, 1981.
First edition of this installment in Herriot’s true-life-saga as a veterinarian in the Yorkshire countryside. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Bill… James Herriot.” Near fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket photograph by Fay Godwin. Uncommon signed.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 129084
-
The Legacy of Egypt; finely bound in full crushed camel morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
HARRIS, J. R.
The Legacy of Egypt.
London: Oxford University Press, 1971.
Early edition of Harris’ famed work on the legacy of Ancient Egypt. Octavo, bound in full crushed camel morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling and fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with numerous plates including frontispiece, errata slip bound in. In fine condition.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 129517
-
The Legacy of Rome; finely bound in full crushed green morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
FOLIGNO, Cesare; Ernest Barker; H. Stuart Jones; G. H. Stevenson; F. de Zulueta; H. Last; et al. Edited by Cyril Bailey.
The Legacy of Rome.
London: Oxford University Press, 1968.
Finely bound example of Bailey’s comprehensive work on the legacy Ancient Rome left on the modern world. Octavo, bound in full crushed green morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with engravings and maps, frontispiece. Edited by Cyril Bailey. Introduction by the Right Hon. H. H. Asquith. In fine condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 129186
-
First edition of The Oxford Book of Poetry for Children; profusely illustrated by Brian Wildsmith and elaborately bound in full morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
BLISHEN, Edward. Illustrated by Brian Wildsmith.
Oxford Book of Poetry for Children.
London: Oxford University Press, 1963.
First edition of Blishen and Wildsmith’s acclaimed illustrated compilation of children’s poetry. Quarto, bound in full crushed red morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With illustrations by Brian Wildsmith. In fine condition.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 129349
-
First Edition of Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa
DINESEN, Isak [Karen Blixen] .
Out of Africa.
New York: Random House, 1938.
First American edition of the author’s masterpiece, a lyrical meditation of the years she lived in Kenya. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example, uncommon in this condition.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 128671
-
"I am a Christian Because of Owen Meany": First Edition of A Prayer For Owen Meany; Inscribed by John Irving
IRVING, John.
A Prayer For Owen Meany.
New York: William Morrow and Company, 1989.
First edition of the author’s seventh novel and what many consider his finest. Octavo, original half gray cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Carole John Irving.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Honi Werner.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 129198
-
“The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question": First Edition of James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; In the rare original dust jacket
JOYCE, James.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
New York: Huebsch, 1916.
First edition of Joyce’s classic stream-of-consciousness work, his first novel, in the exceptionally rare dust jacket. Octavo, original blue cloth with titles to the spine in gilt. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with small chips and wear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare especially in this condition, without any of the usual restoration usually encountered.
Price: $72,000.00 Item Number: 129144
-
"THE FACT THAT A GREAT MANY PEOPLE BELIEVE SOMETHING IS NO GUARANTEE OF ITS TRUTH”: Rare Original Sketch of the Dust Jacket of W. Somerset Maugham's The Razor's Edge; Signed by him
MAUGHAM, W. Somerset.
The Razor’s Edge Original Dust Jacket Design Signed.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday Doran & Company, 1944.
Rare W. Somerset Maugham’s original ink sketch showing his dust jacket design concept for his greatest novel, The Razor’s Edge,
executed on a blank Western Union telegram form, which was followed by the publisher pretty much to the letter. A striking piece of literary history demonstrating that the author’s intentions for the book were honored from the text to the jacket itself, including his signature Moroccan symbol, used on nearly all his books, including reprints; and an interesting example of a major author’s notion of self-representation. In his autobiographical book, The Summing Up, Maugham wrote of the symbol: “[My father] took it into his head to build a house to live in during the summer… He ordered a great quantity of glass on which he had engraved a sign against the Evil Eye which he had found in Morocco and which the reader may see on the cover of this book.” In near fine condition. The entire piece measures 8.25 inches by 6 inches. An exceptional piece of literary history.Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 128489
-
Marjorie Morningstar; Inscribed by Herman Wouk
WOUK, Herman.
Marjorie Morningstar.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1955.
Early printing of the author’s classic work. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Herman Wouk on the title page. Near fine in a good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by John Scotford.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 130897
-
“All for one and one for all, united we stand divided we fall”: Rare First Edition In English of Dumas' The Three Musketeers
DUMAS, Alexandre.
The Three Musketeers; or, the Feats and Fortunes of a Gascon Adventurer.
London: Bruce and Wyld, 1846.
First edition in English of Dumas’ masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles to the spine, raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers. Translated from the French by William Barrow. Barrow’s translation was the first of three English translations published in 1846 and is considered the most faithful to the original text. To conform to nineteenth century English standards other translations removed many of the explicit and implicit references to sexuality which adversely affected the readability of many scenes. Period bookplate to the front pastedown, in very good condition with some loss to a few pages. Housed in a custom half leather clamshell box. First editions are of the utmost scarcity.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 88658
-
“Things are always happening to me. I’m that sort of bear": Rare First Edition of A Bear Called Paddington; Inscribed by Michael Bond
BOND, Michael; Illustrated by Peggy Fortnum .
A Bear Called Paddington.
London: Collins, 1958.
First edition of the first book in the Paddington series. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Peggy Fortnum. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To John with all good wishes Michael Bond. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket with a chip to the back panel. An exceptional example, rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 128753
-
"We shall show mercy, but we shall not ask for it": First Editions of Winston Churchill’s Masterpiece The Second World War; inscribed by Winston S. Churchill
CHURCHILL, Winston S.
The Second World War: The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge of Fate; Closing the Ring; Triumph and Tragedy.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1948-53.
First American editions of Winston Churchill’s masterpiece. Octavo, six volumes, original cloth, illustrated. Their Finest Hour is an association copy, inscribed by Churchill on the front free endpaper, “From Winston to Rab 1959.” The recipient, Richard Austin “Rab” Butler was a prominent British Conservative politician who served as Education Minister (1941–45, overseeing the Education Act 1944) and later Chancellor of the Exchequer (1951–55) under Churchill. The two politicians clashed repeatedly pre-war with Butler advocating German appeasement and for Halifax to be appointed Prime Minister after Chamberlain instead of Churchill, yet Butler later played a crucial role in Churchill’s administrations. He had an exceptionally long ministerial career and was one of only two British politicians (the other being John Simon, 1st Viscount Simon) to have served in three of the four Great Offices of State but never to have been Prime Minister, for which he was passed over in 1957 and 1963. He was appointed o the Order of the Companions of Honour in 1954 and was, notably, one of the ministers who demanded that Churchill set a date for his retirement in 1954. Each volume is near fine in a very good to near fine dust jacket. An excellent association.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 128233
-
“I touch your book and dream of our odyssey in the supermarket and feel absurd": First Edition of The Howl and Other Poems; Inscribed by Allen Ginsberg to fellow poet José García Villa
GINSBERG, Allen.
Howl and Other Poems.
San Francisco: City Lights, 1959.
First edition of this principal work of the Beat Generation. Small octavo, original wrappers as issued. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page to fellow poet, writer and artist José García Villa, “416 E 34 St Paterson Allen Ginsberg to Jose G Villa after years.” The recipient José García Villa was born in Manila in 1908, before moving to New Mexico to pursue his studies, and ultimately to Greenwich Village in New York City. There, he joined a community of modernist poets, including e.e. cummings, Marianne Moore, W.H. Auden, among others, and was affectionately known as “The Pope of Greenwich Village.” He wrote his poems under the pseudonym Doveglion (a composite of dove, eagle, and lion) and was admired, according to Marianne Moore, for “the reverence, the raptness, the depth of concentration in [his] bravely deep poems.” His 1933 story collection, Footnote to Youth: Tales of the Philippines and Others, was “the first work of fiction by a Filipino writer published by a major United States-based press.” Villa received “numerous honors and awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship, a Philippines Heritage Award, a Poetry Award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, a Rockefeller Foundation Fellowship, and a Shelley Memorial Award. In 1973 he was named a National Artist of the Philippines, and he also served as a cultural advisor to the Philippine government. In near fine condition. Introduction by William Carlos Williams. An exceptional association.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 128745
-
First edition of The Chas Addams Mother Goose; inscribed by him with an original drawing
ADDAMS, Charles. [Chas Addams].
The Chas Addams Mother Goose.
Windmill & Dutton, 1967.
First edition of Addams’ adaptation of Mother Goose. Quarto, original pictorial wrappers, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author opposite the title page, “For Gert Cooper all best for Mother’s Day Chas Addams 1978.” Addams has added an original large drawing of Grandma Addams. In near fine condition.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 128084
-
"The greatest enemy of knowledge is not ignorance, it is the illusion of knowledge": First Edition of The Discoverers; Inscribed by Daniel Boorstin in the year of publication
BOORSTIN, Daniel J.
The Discoverers: A History of Man’s Search To Know His World and Himself.
New York: Random House, 1983.
First edition of this “grand and exhilirating voyage, a bold attempt to circumnavigate the intellectual globe” (The Philadlephia Inquirer). Thick octavo, original black cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free end paper, “For Dona [sic] Munker from Daniel J. Boorstin Oct. 21, 1992.” The recipient, Donna Munker is a writer and biographer and author of Daughter of Persia. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 128201
-
Magnificent limited edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; with 20 remarkably intricate full color plates illustrated by Edmund Dulac
FITZGERALD, Edward. With illustrations by Edmund Dulac.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, c. 1909.
Limited edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald and with illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Quarto, original publisher’s gold-stamped vellum with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, title page on Japanese vellum, with 20 intricate full color plates tipped in to decorated Japanese vellum mounts with lettered tissue guards. This edition is limited to two hundred copies, for the United States of America, of which this is number 188. In near fine condition.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 127331
-
First edition of Mark Twain's Innocents Abroad
TWAIN, Mark .
The Innocents Abroad, Or The New Pilgrims’ Progress.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1869.
First edition, third state of the author’s second book with “The History of the Bible advertisement on page 654. BAL 3316. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, with two hundred and thirty-four illustrations. From the library of Tiffany Thayer with his bookplate to the pastedown. American actor Tiffany Ellsworth Thayer wrote several novels, including the bestseller Thirteen Women. In a profile in Twentieth Century Authors, Thayer was described as “an atheist, an anarchist – in philosophy a Pyrrhonean – and regrets the legitimacy of his birth.” In 1931, he founded the Fortean Society with Booth Tarkington, Ben Hecht, Alexander Woollcott and many of New York’s literati such as Dorothy Parker. In very good condition.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 127837
-
First edition, First Issue of Lawrence Durrell's The Black Book: An Agon
DURRELL, Lawrence.
Black Book: An Agnon.
Paris: The Obelisk Press, 1938.
First edition, first issue of the first volume in the Villa Seurat Series. Octavo, original wrappers. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $1,850.00 Item Number: 127562
-
FIRST EDITION OF W. SOMERSET MAUGHAM'S A WRITER'S NOTEBOOK.; INSCRIBED BY HIM TO AMERICAN JOURNALIST BILL SAFIRE
MAUGHAM, W. Somerset. [William Safire].
A Writer’s Notebook.
Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1949.
First trade edition of Maugham’s semi-autobiographical confessional. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “by W. Somerset Maugham For Bill Safire in recollection of a pleasant chat.” The recipient, William Safire, was an important American author, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign in the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. Following Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a presidential speechwriter for both Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. He was a frequent guest on Meet The Press, describing himself as the voice of “libertarian conservatives” and authored several political columns, most notably his weekly column “On Language” which appeared in The New York Times Magazine from 1979 until the month of his death in 2009. He authored two books on grammar and linguistics: The New Language of Politics (1968) and what Zimmer called Safire’s “magnum opus,” Safire’s Political Dictionary. Safire later served as a member of the Pulitzer Prize Board from 1995 to 2004 and in 2006 was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush. With Safire’s bookplate to the pastedown and his gilt initials to the front panel. In near fine condition.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 127338
-
“No one in the world gets what they want and that is beautiful": First Edition of Ready Player One; Signed by Steven Spielberg
CLINE, Ernest [Steven Spielberg].
Ready Player One.
New York: Crown Publishers, 2011.
First edition of Cline’s first novel, basis for the 2018 film directed by Steven Spielberg. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Steven Spielberg on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Christopher Brand.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 127622
-
Etching of Albert Einstein by Hermann Struck; Signed by Both Struck and Einstein
EINSTEIN, Albert; Hermann Struck.
Albert Einstein Signed Etching.
1923.
Lithograph portrait of “the father of modern physics”, Albert Einstein by well-known artist Hermann Struck. Signed by Einstein, “Albert Einstein 1923” and Struck, “Herman Struck 138/150”. In fine condition. Matted and framed, the entire piece measures 19.75 inches by 15.5 inches. An exceptional piece.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 127204
-
"In nature nothing exists alone": First Edition of Rachel Carson’s Silent Spring; Signed by Her
CARSON, Rachel.
Silent Spring.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1962.
First edition of Carson’s landmark work. Octavo, original green cloth. Signed by Rachel Carson on the half-title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light rubbing to the extremities. Drawings by Lois and Louis Darling. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $4,200.00 Item Number: 127498
-
"This as far as I know is what happens to them": First Edition of John Steinbeck's Pulitzer Prize-Winning Novel The Grapes of Wrath
STEINBECK, John.
The Grapes of Wrath.
New York: The Viking Press, 1939.
First edition, with “First Published in April 1939” on copyright page and first edition notice on the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo, original beige cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with expert restoration to the extremities. Jacket design by Elmer Hader. A nice example.
Price: $3,500.00 Item Number: 127488
-
“I have the impression that if he didn't complicate his life so needlessly, he would die of boredom": First Edition in English of Boris Pasternak's Masterpiece Doctor Zhivago
PASTERNAK, Boris.
Doctor Zhivago.
London: Collins & Harvill, 1958.
First edition in English of the work which garnered Pasternak the Nobel Prize in literature. Octavo, original red cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by John Woodcock. Translated by Max Hayward and Manya Harari. An exceptional example of this literary highspot.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 127969
