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Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
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First edition, first issue of Mark Twain's King Leopold's Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
King Leopold’s Soliloquy: A Defense of His Congo Rule.
1905: The P. R. Warren Co, Boston, Massachusetts.
First edition, first issue of Twain's work of political satire harshly condemning King Leopold's rule over the Congo Free State. Small octavo, original wrappers as issued. In very good condition. Housed in a custom cloth and chemise case with a second edition third printing of the pamphlet which contains the publisher's later advisory, "The publishers desire to state that Mr. Clemens declines to accept any pecuniary return from this booklet, as it is his wish that all proceeds of sales above the cost of publication shall be used in furthering the effort for relief of the people of the Congo State.…
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 95339
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The Works of Charles Dickens; complete in Twenty Volumes
DICKENS, Charles.
The Works of Charles Dickens Complete Editon in Twenty Volumes with Illustrations by Cruikshank, ‘Phiz,’ &c.
London: Chapman & Hall, Limited; and Humphrey Milford, n.d.
Finely bound set of the complete works of Charles Dickens. Small octavo, twenty volumes, bound in three quarters morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, profusely illustrated by Cruikshank, Cattermole, and 'Phiz." In near fine condition.
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 144912
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First Edition of Rudyard Kipling's Songs For Youth From Collected Verse
KIPLING, Rudyard.
Songs For Youth From Collected Verse.
London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, [1924].
First edition this selection of Kipling's songs for children. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by Leo Bates. In near fine condition. Bookplate to the pastedown.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 121607
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“THREE THINGS CANNOT LONG BE HIDDEN: THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE TRUTH": The Philosophy of Confucius; finely bound in full morocco by Maurin
CONFUCIUS. TRANSLATED BY JAMES LEGGE. ,.
The Philosophy of Confucius.
Mount Vernon and New York: The Peter Pauper Press, n.d..
First Peter Pauper edition of Legge's translation of the Analects of Confucius. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco by Maurin with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrations by Jeanyee Wong. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 130503
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Scarce complete First edition, first issue of Charles Dickens' A Tale of Two Cities; in the original monthly parts; with three variant issues of part 1
DICKENS, Charles.
A Tale of Two Cities.
London: Chapman and Hall, June-December 1859.
First edition, first issue of one of Dickens’ most enduring works, with p.213 in part 7/8 mispaginated "113", and signature mark 'b' present on List of Plates at end, etched frontispiece, additional title and 14 plates by "Phiz" (Hablot K. Browne). Octavo, original blue-green wrappers. Complete with all the advertisements called for by Hatton & Cleaver, and the two rare slips in parts 1 and 5. Includes three variant issues of part 1, one with Morison's 'premises' advert, the second with Morison's 'lion' advert, and the third with the rare French version of the Morison's 'lion' advert. In near fine…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 131460
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Rare Samuel Arlent-Edwards Signed Mezzotint Portrait of Izaak Walton
ARLENT-EDWARDS, Samuel .
Samuel Arlent-Edwards Signed Izaak Walton Mezzotint Portrait.
c. 1898.
Rare mezzotint print of Samuel Arlent-Edwards' portrait of Izaak Walton, inscribed by the artist. Folio, color mezzotint. Inscribed by Samuel Arlent-Edwards in the lower right corner, "Engraved and printed in color at one printing without retouching Samuel Arlent-Edwards." In very good condition. The print measures 14.75 inches by 12 inches. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare.
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 132607
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Finley bound limited edition of J. Carpenter's French translation of The Rubáiyát
Roubayyat de Hafiz et d’Omar Khayyam. [The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám].
Paris: Francis LeBegue, [1921].
Finely bound example of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Octavo, bound in full levant morocco with gilt titles to the spine, gilt Art Deco style decorations to the front and rear panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, decorated borders and initials. One of 300 copies. Text in French. Translated by J. Carpenter after L. Cramner Byng for Haifiz and after the poetic English version of Edward Fitzgerald for Omar Khayyám. Original wrappers bound in. Housed in a custom slipcase.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 127096
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“He dont have to move very far to go nuts in the first place and so he dont have so far to come back": Rare original carbon typescrip of Faulkner's Pylon
FAULKNER, William.
Pylon.
Oxford, Mississippi: N/P, c. 1934.
Rare original carbon typescript of the novel Pylon, with title in ink in the author's hand on the first page, a few leaves repaginated in the author's hand, 344 pages, each of the six chapters held together with a paper clip, [Oxford, Mississippi, ca. December 1934]. Newly discovered by the family and one of only two known typescripts of Pylon, it is the only one left entirely as Faulkner wrote it and is the only one in private hands. William Faulkner's retained unedited carbon typescript of his 1935 aviation novel, Pylon. This copy corresponds to the typescript setting copy in the…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 140100
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Rare George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed.
June 1944.
Rare autographed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne detailing his usual weekly routines between his home and the offices of Tribune, in order to make lunch arrangements to meet her and her husband, also promising her a book ("...I'll try & find a copy of 'Burmese Days for you. These Penguins are sold out as soon as published nowadays, but I believe I have a few copies somewhere... signed E. Blair"), one page, 10a Mortimer Crescent, London NW6, 23 June 1944. Amy Charlesworth, with whom Orwell had corresponded in 1937, had now married her second husband…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142004
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First editions Ransom Riggs' The Miss Peregrine Series; Each Signed by him
RIGGS, Ransom.
The Miss Peregrine Series Including: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City, Library of Souls, Tales of the Peculiar, Map of Days, The Conference of the Birds.
New York : Random House, various dates.
First editions of the first six volumes in the author's acclaimed series. Octavo, original boards, illustrated. Each are signed by Ransom Riggs on the half-title and title pages. Fine in fine dust jackets.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 128727
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"Members of the general public, such as myself, have a right to form and express their own opinions on the relationship between science and society": Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell regarding his views on science, scientists, and society
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
January 9, 1946.
Rare typed letter signed by the acclaimed author of Nineteen-Eighty Four, George Orwell; part of a long correspondence with scientist Edward R. Ward regarding his views on science. One page, typescript, the letter reads: '9th January 1946 Dear Mr. Ward, Your letter has been passed on to be by "Tribune". I am sorry that in their correspondence columns I should have answered what was really an abridgement of your original letter; but I had not seen the latter, and I did not know that what was printed was a shortened version. I cannot enter into what might become a prolonged…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 133445
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First edition of Ray Bradbury's The October Country; signed by him
BRADBURY, Ray.
The October Country.
New York: Ballantine Books, [1955].
First edition of Bradbury's classic collection of nineteen macabre short stories. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Joe Mugnaini. In Currey's "B" binding in its first state, with the Ballantine Books monogram at spine foot printed upside down. One of three bindings, no priority determined. Currey p.57. Signed by the author on the title page, "Ray Bradbury 1/22/81." Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Joe Mugnaini. Author photograph by Morris Dollens.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 142805
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The Arbury edition of the works of George Eliot
ELIOT, George.
The Works of George Eliot.
Boston: Dana Estes & Company, n.d..
The Arbury edition of the works of George Eliot. Octavo, 24 volumes bound in three quarter half russet crushed morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, hand-colored tissue-guarded frontispiece and photogravure plate printed on cream velin to each volume. One of one thousand numbered copies, this is number 277. In very good condition.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 144866
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Calligraphic manuscript on vellum with a color miniature of the painting of Jesus by Leonardo Da Vinci
Calligraphic Manuscript on Vellum with a Color Miniature of the Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
c.1900.
Rare illuminated manuscript regarding Da Vinci’s master drawing The Head of Christ (c. 1495), the basis for Da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus in The Last Supper. Da Vinci himself considered the drawing so important, he reworked it several times over the course of his life. The text is headed "Art" at the center in liquid gold, flanked by "Revealing the Emotions and the Soul - The Head of Christ by Leonardo Da Vinci". The body of the text flanking the painting describes the image and its meaning. Framed. The entire piece measures 8.75 inches by 10.75 inches.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 119865
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James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan Trilogy; inscribed by him to American journalist William Safire
FARRELL, James T. [William Safire].
Studs Lonigan. A Trilogy Containing Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment Day.
New York: The Modern Library, [1938].
First edition, early printing of Farrell's well-regarded trilogy. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Jan 9/ 1950 For Bill Safire with best wishes Jim Farrell." 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…
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 127643
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The Salon edition of Gustave Flaubert's A Simple Heart
FLAUBERT, Gustave.
A Simple Heart.
Paris: Societe des Beaux Arts, n.d. [ca. 1895].
The limited Salon edition of Flaubert's classic novella. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling with red morocco onlays to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, with tissue-guarded illustrations by Emile Adan. Limited to five hundred and fifty numbered copies, this is number 152. Preface by A. de Claye. In near fine condition with rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 139337
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
October 1944.
Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne Typed letter signed ("Geo. Orwell"), to Mrs Amy Byrne excusing his delayed reply ("...I have been away again, and also somewhat distraught with the move into here..."), writing with relief that he has brought his young son down from Newcastle ("..It is no joke travelling with a child now..."), with other personal news and hoping that they will be able to visit the Byrnes at their home in Liverpool, 1 page, 4to, 27b Canonbury Square, Islington, London, 23 October 1944. "...I'd like to show you the baby (his name…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142498
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"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor": The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka].
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1884].
The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Octavo, 8 volumes bound in full morocco by P.B. Sanford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in 6 compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece to each volume by R. Swain Gifford, Frederick Church and others, etched engraved vignettes to the title pages. One of 315 numbered copies signed and dated by the publisher on the limitation leaf of each volume, this is number 290. In fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 118042
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The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; with 12 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. 1920.
Magnificent edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald and with illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Quarto, bound in three quarters morocco, gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, title page on Japanese vellum, with 12 full color plates tipped with tissue guards. In fine condition. A nice presentation.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 126161
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"I begin to see that a man's got to be in his own Heaven to be happy": Mark Twain's Extract From Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven; from the library of American journalist William Safire
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Extract From Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven.
New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d..
Early printing of the last work published by Twain during his lifetime. Octavo, original cloth with titles in white and vignette in black, frontispiece in blue and white, no publication date to the title page. From the library American journalist William Safire with his bookplate to the pastedown. William Safire was an important American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and Spiro Agnew. He authored several political columns in addition to his weekly column “On Language”…
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 127530