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Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
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"This is precisely what I expected Hong-Kong would be like": First edition of Rudyard Kipling's 'They' and the Brushwood Boy
KIPLING, Rudyard.
‘They’ and the Brushwood Boy.
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1925.
First edition of this collection of two Kipling stories. Octavo, original cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, with illustrations in color by F. H. Townsend. In very good condition.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 121873
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"For secret doubt and open slight the mercy, lord, be for the right!": Scarce First separate edition of Rudyard Kipling's "After" A False Start
KIPLING, Rudyard.
“After” A False Start.
At the Sign of the George, 1924.
First Separate edition of Kipling's "After", the first draft of the poem that would later become The Recessional, being a facsimile of a hand-written note retrieved from Kipling's wastebasket which was later donated to the Harvard College Library. One page, folded. In fine condition. Scarce.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 123514
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"My small feet could walk the sun up and down across the stony hill-crests where we worked": First edition of Rudyard Kipling's "Teem"- A Treasure-Hunter; in the scarce original dust jacket
KIPLING, Rudyard.
“Teem”- A Treasure-Hunter.
New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, 1938.
First edition of Kipling's beloved dog story. Octavo, original cloth. Frontispiece illustration by Marguerite Kirmse. Near fine in the scarce original dust jacket.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 121883
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Rare original large format acrylic painting signed by Vietnam War Veteran and Golden Globe Award winning screenwriter Ron Kovic
KOVIC, Ron.
“The Joy of Color!” Ron Kovic Original Painting.
2013.
Rare original large format acrylic painting signed by Vietnam War Veteran and Golden Globe Award-winning screenwriter Ron Kovic. On thick Aquarell watercolor paper, the painting is signed three times by the artist on the verso, "Ron Kovic Oct 2013", "'The Joy of Color' by Ron Kovic" and with a signed self-caricature. American anti-war activist, writer, and United States Marine Corps sergeant Ronald Lawrence Kovic was wounded and paralyzed in the Vietnam War. His 1976 memoir Born on the Fourth of July was made into the Academy Award–winning 1989 film directed by Oliver Stone. Kovic received the Golden Globe Award for…
Price: $1,800.00 Item Number: 135265
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"Please may I come in? I am Boots. I am son of Kildonan Brougue - Champion Reserve - V.H.C. - very fine dog": First Edition of Rudyard Kipling's Thy Servant A Dog
KIPLING, Rudyard.
“Thy Servant A Dog” Told by Boots.
Garden City: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc., 1930.
First edition of Kipling's beloved children's classic, as told by Boots the dog. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Marguerite Kirmse, frontispiece. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket.
Price: $100.00 Item Number: 121841
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"PLEASE MAY I COME IN? I AM BOOTS. I AM SON OF KILDONAN BROUGUE - CHAMPION RESERVE - V.H.C. - VERY FINE DOG": FIRST EDITION OF RUDYARD KIPLING'S THY SERVANT A DOG
KIPLING, Rudyard.
“Thy Servant A Dog” Told by Boots.
New York: Doubleday, Doran & Company, Inc, 1930.
First edition of Kipling’s beloved children’s classic, as told by Boots the dog. Octavo, rebound in new boards with gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, illustrated by Marguerite Kirmse, frontispiece. Near fine in a custom slipcase.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 123470
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Rare Signed limited edition of E. E. Cummings' untitled work
CUMMINGS, E. E.
[No Title]. [An Imaginary Dialogue Between Almost Any Publisher and a Certain Author A.D. 1930].
New York: Covici Friede Publishers, 1930.
First edition and signed limited edition of Cumming's cleverly titled untitled work. Quarto, original cloth stamped in silver, illustrated with 8 full-page drawings by the author. One of 491 copies signed by the author on the colophon, this is number 144. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Small bookplate designed by Rockwell Kent. One of the more elusive Cummings titles.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 136284
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First Edition of Richard Wright's 12 Million Black Voices; Signed by Him
WRIGHT, Richard.
12 Million Black Voices: A Folk History of the Negro in the United States.
New York: The Viking Press, 1941.
First edition of this powerful work by the author of The Native Son, featuring photographs by Walker Evans and Dorothea Lange and Ben Shahn. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed Richard Wright on the front free endpaper. Very good in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition. Photo-direction by Edwin Rosskam. Uncommon signed.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 119447
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First Edition of Gore Vidal's 1876: A Novel; Inscribed by Him to His Sister
VIDAL, Gore.
1876: A Novel.
New York : Random House, 1976.
First edition of this classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the "Valerie love Gore." The recipient, Valerie Gore was the author’s sister. Vidal’s father remarried in 1939 and had two children with his second wife; Valerie was born in 1946. The two remained close throughout the years. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 126331
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First Edition of Gore Vidal's 1876: A Novel; Inscribed by Him to His Sister
VIDAL, Gore.
1876: A Novel.
New York : Random House, 1976.
First edition of this classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the "Kit love Gore." The recipient, Katherine “Kit” Vidal was Eugene Vidal’s second wife; he married her in 1939 when she was a 20 year old model with the Powers Agency, only six years older than Gore. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. A nice association.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 131323
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Rare 1950s-1970s Paperback Collection including Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Rudyard Kipling's Kim, Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, John Steinbeck's Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, and many others
BRONTE, Emily; Agatha Christie; Ernest Hemingway; Jack Kerouac; Rudyard Kipling; John Steinbeck et al.
1950s-1970s Paperback Collection.
New York: Avon, Bantam, Dell, et al, c. 1940-1960.
Large collection of first edition and early printings including a variety of classic literature and pulp fiction. Small octavos, 60 volumes, the collection includes Emily Bronte's Wuthering Heights, Rudyard Kipling's Kim, John Milton's Paradise Lost, Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None, Dashiell Hammett's The Maltese Falcon, Carson McCullers' The Heart is a Lonely Hunter, John Steinbeck's Ernest Hemingway's The Sun Also Rises, Jack Kerouac's The Subterraneans and many others. In very good to fine condition.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 121681
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“I'M A VERY ORDINARY HUMAN BEING; I JUST HAPPEN TO LIKE READING BOOKS”: FIRST EDITION OF 1Q84; SIGNED BY THREE TIMES BY ILLUSTRATOR CHIP KIDD
MURAKAMI, Haruki.
1Q84.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2011.
First edition of this work by the award-winning author. Octavo, original illustrated boards. Signed three times by legendary jacket designer Chip Kidd, once on the front jacket panel, once on the title page and again on the rear jacket panel. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design and illustration by Chip Kidd.
Price: $450.00 Item Number: 122589
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"The truth, as always, will be far stranger": First Edition of 2001: A Space Odyssey; Signed by Arthur C. Clarke
CLARKE, Arthur C. and Stanley Kubrick.
2001: A Space Odyssey.
New York: New American Library, 1968.
First edition of the novel of the landmark “proverbial good science fiction movie” he and Stanley Kubrick created. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Arthur C. Clarke on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 135603
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First Edition of Arthur C. Clarke's 2010: Odyssey Two
CLARKE, Arthur C.
2010: Odyssey Two.
New York: Ballentine Books, 1982.
First edition of the second volume in Clarke's acclaimed Odyssey series. Octavo, original half cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Gary Friedman. Cover painting by Michael Whelan.
Price: $30.00 Item Number: 145180
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First Edition of 3 by Irving; Inscribed by John Irving To Editor David Kent
IRVING, John.
3 By Irving: Setting Free the Bears; The Water-Method Man; The 158-Pound Marriage.
New York: Random House, 1980.
First edition of this compilation of the author's first three novels. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page to his editor David Kent, "For David Kent John Irving with my admiration and affection." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Jack Ribik. Introduction by Terrence Des Pres.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 37055
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First Edition of Jose Saramago's A Bagagem Do Viajante: Cronicas; Inscribed by Him
SARAMAGO, Jose.
A Bagagem Do Viajante: Cronicas.
Lisboa: Ed. Futura, 1973.
First edition of this early collection of essays by the future Nobel Prize- winning author. Octavo, original wrappers, as issued. Inscribed and dated by Jose Saramago.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 1334
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“We all remember what we need to remember”: First Edition of A Book of Common Prayer; Inscribed by Joan Didion
DIDION, Joan.
A Book of Common Prayer.
New York: Simon & Schuster, 1977.
First edition of Didion's classic fourth book. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For Kenneth Stein Joan Didion 11 July '94." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Janet Halverson. An exceptional example, uncommon signed.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 144198
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First Edition of Matt Haig's A Boy Called Christmas; Signed by Him
HAIG, Matt.
A Boy Called Christmas.
London: Canongate, 2015.
First edition of this modern Christmas classic. Octavo, original boards, illustrated. Boldly signed by Matt Haig on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Rafaela Romaya. Illustrations by Chris Mould.
Price: $300.00 Item Number: 125921
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"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
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First Edition of Graham Greene's A Burnt-Out Case; Inscribed by Him to Friend Anthony Hobson
GREENE, Graham.
A Burnt-Out Case.
London: Heinemann, 1961.
First edition of this Greene novel set in a leproserie on the upper reaches of a tributary of the Congo River in Africa. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Anthony Hobson from Graham Greene." The recipient Anthony Hobson, auctioneer and book collector, was a director at Sotheby’s and friend of Greene's. He successfully organized the sale of the Greene's manuscripts at Sotheby’s in 1964. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Dust jacket design by Lacey Everett.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 102563
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“The more bare a life is, the more we fear change"; First Edition of Graham Greene's A Burnt-Out Case
GREENE, Graham .
A Burnt-Out Case.
London: Heinemann, 1961.
First edition of this Greene novel set in a leproserie on the upper reaches of a tributary of the Congo River in Africa. Octavo, original cloth. Small name to the front free endpaper, near fine in a fine dust jacket. Dust jacket design by Lacey Everett. An exceptional example.
Price: $450.00 Item Number: 104522
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“The more bare a life is, the more we fear change"; First Edition of Graham Greene's A Burnt-Out Case
GREENE, Graham .
A Burnt-Out Case.
London: Heinemann, 1961.
First edition of this Greene novel set in a leproserie on the upper reaches of a tributary of the Congo River in Africa. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Dust jacket design by Lacey Everett.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 115799
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Exceedingly rare first edition of Rudyard Kipling's A Call to the Nation
KIPLING, Rudyard.
A Call to the Nation.
London: The Daily Express, 1908.
First edition of Kipling's speech delivered at Lord Derby's Recruiting Campaign for the West Lancashire Territorial Battalions. Quarto, original wrappers. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise case. Exceedingly rare. From the library of Raymond J. Schweizer with his bookplate to the pastedown. Rare with no recorded examples at auction in the last 60 years.
Price: $3,500.00 Item Number: 121049
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First Edition of A Century of Arts and Letters; Signed by All Eleven Contributors
AUCHINCLOSS, Louis; Beeson.
A Century of Arts and Letters.
New York: Columbia University Press, 1997.
First edition of this work celebrating the history of the American Academy of Arts & Letters on its centenary. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers. Boldly signed on the the title page by all eleven contributors. Preface and edited by John Updike. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 145842
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First Edition, first issue of Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses
STEVENSON, Robert Louis .
A Child’s Garden of Verses.
London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Stevenson's classic work. Small octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, top edges gilt. With publisher's logo in gilt at top left of front cover, presumed publisher's blind stamp on title page, gilt apostrophe on spine with curved tail, gilt "of" on spine in smaller type, without advertisements. In near fine condition, owners name to the front free endpaper. Housed in a contemporary custom clamshell box. An exceptional example.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 123972
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First Edition of Oliver Stone's A Child's Night Dream; signed by him
STONE, Oliver.
A Child’s Night Dream.
New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.
First edition of Stone's first novel, a fictionalized account of his harrowing experiences in Vietnam. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Joe, Oliver Stone." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Steve Sonder. Jacket illustration by Sergio Premoli.
Price: $35.00 Item Number: 115105
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First Edition of C.S. Lewis' A Christian Behaviour: A Further Series of Broadcast Talks
LEWIS, C.S.
A Christian Behaviour: A Further Series of Broadcast Talks.
London: Geoffrey Bles, 1943.
First edition of the of the second book of Lewis’ BBC radio talks which would later appear in Mere Christianity. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good dust jacket.
Price: $300.00 Item Number: 132613
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"It's Christmas! Sweet Christmas! The Happy day of Home": First edition of Joan Walsh Anglund's A Christmas Book; warmly inscribed by her
ANGLUND, Joan Walsh.
A Christmas Book.
New York: Random House, 1983.
First edition of the revered children's book author's charming children's tale. Quarto, original illustrated boards, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by the author. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, "Sarah, Merry Christmas 1983 - Joan Walsh Anglund." In fine condition.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 123670
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First Edition of Madeleine L'Engle's A Circle of Quiet; Inscribed by Her
L'ENGLE, Madeleine.
A Circle of Quiet.
New York: Farrar Straus Giroux, 1972.
First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Irene- joy in your own Circle- Madeleine L'Engle." Near fine in a very good dust jacket, owner inscription to the front free endpaper. Jacket design by Charles Skaggs. First editions are uncommon signed.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 138849
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First edition of A Collection of Poems, Mostly Original, by Several Hands; finely bound in full calf
GOLDSMITH, Oliver; Edmund Burke; Sir H. Walpole; et al.
A Collection of Poems, Mostly Original, by Several Hands.
Dublin: Printed for the Editor by M. Graisberry, 1789.
First edition of this rare collection of early English literature. Octavo, bound in full calf, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon bound in, illustrated with engraved vignettes, lists of subscribers. In near fine condition. An attractive binding.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 137226
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“The music is not in the notes, but in the silence between”: Rare First Editions of the Full Orchestral Scores of the Symphonies of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven; Including the first appearance of of the full scores of Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro and Symphony no. 40
BEETHOVEN, Ludwig van; Joseph Haydn and Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart .
A Compleat Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven’s Symphonies, in Score, Most Respectfully Dedicated, by Permission, to H.R.H The Prince of Wales.
London: Lavenu, Cianchettini & Sperati, 1808-1810.
First editions of the first printings of the full orchestral scores of the complete symphonies of Beethoven, Mozart, and Hadyn. Quarto, two volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards wit gilt titles and tooling to the spine, including A Complete Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven's Symphonies (Cianchettini and Sperati) and A Complete Collection of Mozart and Beethoven's Symphonies. A Compleat Collection of Haydn, Mozart and Beethoven's Symphonies contains the first appearance of the full scores of Mozart's Overture to the Marriage of Figaro, Mozart's Symphony no. 40, and no. 41. (Fuld, The Book of World-Famous Music, 564-567). A Complete Collection…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 95829
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Scarce First edition of John Marbecke's A Concordace; One of the finest and most complete copies obtainable
MARBECKE, John.
A Concordace, that is to saie, a work wherein by the ordre of the letters of the A.B.C. ye maie redely finde any worde conteigned in the whole Bible, so often as it is there expressed or mentioned.
London: Richardus Grafton, 1550.
Rare first edition of the first concordance in English to the Bible. Quarto, bound in full polished calf with raised bands and gilt titles to the spine, trimmed and mounted engraved title page. In near fine condition with some leaves supplied and mounted and restoration to the margins. One of the finest and most complete copies obtainable as this work is invariably found in defective condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. From the library of Anglo-Irish George Stokes with his bookplate to the pastedown and a presentation note signed by his daughter.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 122671
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“You could tell by the way he talked, though, that he had gone to school a long time. That was probably what was wrong with him": John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces; Signed by Walker Percy
TOOLE, John Kennedy; Foreword by Walker Percy.
A Confederacy of Dunces.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980.
First edition, early printing of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Walker Percy on the title page. Fine in near fine dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Ed Lindlof. Foreword by Walker Percy. An exceptional example, uncommon signed.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 144201
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First Edition of John Kennedy Toole's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel A Confederacy of Dunces; Signed by Walker Percy
TOOLE, John Kennedy; Foreword by Walker Percy.
A Confederacy of Dunces.
Baton Rouge: Louisiana State University Press, 1980.
First edition of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Walker Percy on the title page, who wrote the foreword and upon his insistence had it published. Fine in near fine first issue dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket illustration by Ed Lindlof. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A very nice example, uncommon signed.
Price: $8,200.00 Item Number: 144310
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"When I first heard about Big Sur I didn't know that it was a member of the Confederate States of America": First Edition of A Confederate General from Big Sur; Signed by Richard Brautigan
BRAUTIGAN, Richard.
A Confederate General from Big Sur.
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1964.
First edition of Brautigan's first published novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Richard Brautigan on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Larry Rivers. Jacket photograph by Erik Weber. A very nice example.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 110462
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First Edition of A Confederate General from Big Sur; Signed by Richard Brautigan
BRAUTIGAN, Richard.
A Confederate General from Big Sur.
New York: Grove Press, Inc., 1964.
First edition of Brautigan's first published novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed and dated by the author on the title page, Richard Brautigan January 22, 1964." Review slips of examples we've seen note the publication date as January 22, 1965, so we believe Brautigan must have written the incorrect year as many of us do in the new year. Laid in are two photographs of Brautigan credited to Bancroft Library. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Larry Rivers. Jacket photograph by Erik Weber. A very nice example.
Price: $2,250.00 Item Number: 125842
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First Edition of Nathanael West's A Cool Million
WEST, Nathanael .
A Cool Million.
New York: Covici-Friede, 1934.
Rare review copy, of the first edition of the author's classic third novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by William Cotton. Rare in this condition.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 140435
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First edition of Oscar Wilde's A Critic in Pall Mall: Beings Extracts From Reviews and Miscellanies
WILDE, Oscar. Selected by E. V. Lucas.
A Critic in Pall Mall: Beings Extracts From Reviews and Miscellanies.
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1919.
First edition of this selection of Wilde's literary criticism. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. In near fine condition. Ownership inscription.
Price: $125.00 Item Number: 139580