Literature
Showing 61–120 of 4235 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- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents
- Geography
- 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
-
“I always deserve the best treatment because I never put up with any other": Rare First Edition of Jane Austen's Emma
AUSTEN, Jane.
Emma: A Novel. By the Author of “Pride and Prejudice.”
London: Printed for John Murray, 1816.
First edition of the final novel published during Austen's lifetime, one of only 2000 copies printed. Small octavo, three volumes finely bound in three quarter leather over marbled boards by Birdsall & Son with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, front pastedowns stamp-signed by Birdsall & Son, Northampton. Without half-titles. In very good condition with toning throughout, armorial bookplate to each pastedown. An exceptional example of one of the most highly coveted titles in English literature.
Price: $42,000.00 Item Number: 149280
-
Rare First Edition in Spanish of the Author’s Masterpiece Cien Anos de Soledad; Inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez in the Year of Publication
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
Cien Anos de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude].
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1967.
First edition of the author's masterpiece which is recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "Para Susi, con la amistad de Gabo 1967." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable in this condition and signed in the year of publication.
Price: $42,000.00 Item Number: 137469
-
“But, first, remember, remember, remember the signs. Say them to yourself when you wake in the morning and when you lie down at night, and when you wake in the middle of the night": Exceptionally rare complete first edition set of C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia
LEWIS, C.S. Illustrations by Pauline Baynes.
The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, Prince Caspian, The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, The Silver Chair, The Horse and His Boy, The Magician’s Nephew, The Last Battle.
London: Geoffrey Bles/The Bodley Head, 1950-1956.
Complete first edition set of C.S. Lewis's best-selling work, one of the best-selling series of all time which has sold 120 million copies in 47 languages. “Adored by children and academics alike, these books are extremely collectable, sought-after, and scarce” (Connolly, 186). Octavo, seven volumes, original publisher's cloth, each volume illustrated with plates, in-text illustrations, and maps by Pauline Baynes, including colour where called for. Comprising first editions of: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, covers with light toning to the extremities, dust jacket with some restoration and repairs, 1950; Prince Caspian, price-clipped dust jacket with repairs and restoration,…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 147528
-
Rare 16th century printings of John Wolfe's Fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's Discourses and The Prince; finely bound together in full morocco
MACHIAVELLI, Niccolò.
Discorsi Di Nicolo Machiavelli Pra La Prima Deca Di Tito Livio [bound with] Il Prencipe di Nicolo Machiavelli. [Machiavelli’s Discourses bound with The Prince].
Palermo: Apresso gli heredi d'Antoniello degli Antonielli , 1584 [London: John Wolfe].
Rare 16th century printing of John Wolfe's famed fictitious Italian editions of Machiavelli's fundamental works of political history and philosophy. Octavo, elaborately bound in full crushed morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling and central motifs to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins. In near fine condition with occasional contemporary marginal notes. Rare.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 129484
-
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves": True First Edition of Viktor Frankl's Classic Work Man's Search For Meaning; Inscribed by Him in the year of publication
FRANKL, Viktor E.
Ein Psycholog erlebt das Konzentrationslager [Man’s Search For Meaning].
Vienna: Verlag Jugend und Volk, 1946.
True first edition of Frankl's classic work, which was later titled Man's Search For Meaning. Octavo, original wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the half-title page, "Für Frau Grete Krotschak in herzlicher Freundschaft V. E. Frankl 6/9/46." Which translates, "For Ms. Grete Krotschak in cordial friendship V. E. Frankl 6/9/46." The recipient, Grete Krotschak served as the maid of honor at Frankl's wedding with Eleonore Elly Katharina Schwindt. (Frankl: Gesammelte Werke, Bd. 1, 2005, S. 159). Frankl was freed from Türkheim in April 1945, with this example signed a little over one year…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 135369
-
“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 typescript 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
-
“Because races condemned to one hundred years of solitude did not have a second opportunity on earth”: Rare First Edition in Spanish of the Author’s Masterpiece Cien Anos de Soledad; Inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
Cien Anos de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude].
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1967.
First edition of the author's masterpiece which is recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by the author on the dedication page, "Para Pablo, conversando en el parque Gabriel Garcia Marquez '95." In near fine condition with a touch of rubbing small name on the front free endpaper. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box mimicking the front panel of the book. An exceptional example.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 115638
-
"There is no other fire but this, This speck of life, this fading spark": The Screwtape Letters; signed by C.S. Lewis with an inscription of his poem The Salamander
LEWIS, C.S.
The Screwtape Letters.
London: Geoffrey Bles: The Centenary Press, 1945.
Early printing of Lewis' classic novel of spiritual conflict, one of his most celebrated works; signed by him with his poem The Salamader in the year it was published in The Spectator. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, "C. S. Lewis" and inscribed by him on the final free endpaper with an inscription of his poem The Salamander which was published in the same year (1945) in The Spectator, "The Salamander I stared in to the fire: - blue waves of shuddering hear that rose and fell and blazing ships and binding caves Canyons…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 143837
-
“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
-
First edition of the Ian Fleming’s first book Casino Royale which introduced the world to 007; Signed by Him
FLEMING, Ian.
Casino Royale.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1953.
First edition of the first novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by the author “from Ian Fleming” on a card mounted to the front free endpaper.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 142789
-
“If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me": First Edition in English of Gaston Leroux's The Phantom of the Opera; in the rare original dust jacket
LEROUX, Gaston.
The Phantom of the Opera.
New York, Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company , 1911.
First edition with the printer's imprint "Press of Braunworth & Co. Bookbinders and Printers Brooklyn, N. Y." at bottom of copyright page. Octavo, original cloth, publishers tissue guard. Illustrated by Andre Castaigne with one single-page and four double-page inserted plates with color illustrations. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket. The dust jacket design with the Phantom on the stairwell and not the bell tower on the front panel; one of only three total examples of the book known to have retained its dust jacket. An exceptional rarity of this cornerstone work.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 99560
-
“The object of the artist is the creation of the beautiful. What the beautiful is is another question": First English Edition of James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man; Inscribed by Him
JOYCE, James.
A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.
London: The Egoist Ltd, 1916.
First English edition, second printing of Joyce’s classic stream-of-consciousness work, his first novel. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Beatrice Randegger. James Joyce. 25 Novembre 1919. Trieste." The recipient was a private student's of Joyce in Italy. In excellent condition with light rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 109550
-
“The rebirth of the soul is perpetual; only rebirth every hour could stay the hand of Satan": First Edition of Go Tell It On the Mountain; inscribed by James Baldwin to his mother
BALDWIN, James.
Go Tell It On The Mountain.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1953.
First edition of Baldwin's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by James Baldwin on the front free endpaper to his mother, "Mama from Rizzy from Jimmy - August 21st!" The recipient, Baldwin's mother Emma Berdis Jones, left Baldwin's biological father before moving to Harlem where Baldwin was born on August 2, 1924. When James was 3 years old, his mother married a Baptist preacher David Baldwin with whom she had eight children between 1927 and 1943. The family was poor, and Baldwin's stepfather, to whom he referred in essays as his father, treated him more harshly than his…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 125755
-
“I'm yours for ever--for ever and ever": First Edition of Henry James' The Portrait of a Lady; One of only 750 Copies
JAMES, Henry.
The Portrait of a Lady.
London: Macmillan and Co, 1881.
First edition, first issue, one of only 750 copies of the last and most accomplished work of fiction during James’ apprentice years. Octavo, three volumes, original cloth. In near fine condition with volume one rebacked with original spine laid down. Housed in a custom half clamshell and chemises box. Rare and desirable, especially in this condition.
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 128496
-
First edition of Crockett Johnson's Harold and the Purple Crayon; inscribed by Johnson to close friend and fellow Children's Book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak
JOHNSON, Crockett. [Maurice Sendak].
Harold and the Purple Crayon.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1955.
First edition, first issue of the first book in Crockett Johnson’s charming Harold series, first issue with "30-60" and "No. 5671A" to the front flap of the dust jacket. 12 mo, original cloth, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to fellow children's book author and illustrator Maurice Sendak, "To Maury, with fond regards, Crockett Johnson." The recipient, Maurice Sendak, is best known for his immensely popular illustrated children's book, Where the Wild Things Are, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964 and gained him international fame. Sendak, Johnson, and Johnson's wife Ruth Krauss…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 135433
-
"Once there was a little tree ... and she loved a little boy": First Edition of The Giving Tree; Signed by Shel Silverstein with a Large Drawing of the Giving Tree
SILVERSTEIN, Shel.
The Giving Tree.
New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1964.
First edition with all the first issue points to both the book and dust jacket. Octavo, original illustrated boards, illustrated. Boldly signed by Shel Silverstein, who has drawn a large picture of The Giving Tree on the half-title page. Near fine in a very good first-issue price-clipped dust jacket with the full torso picture of Shel Silverstein, with hair, covering top left half of back of the dust jacket, three reviews of Lafcadio, by Kirkus. The New York Times and Publisher’s Weekly. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Exceptionally rare and desirable with…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 147001
-
First Edition of Pynchon's First Book V.; Inscribed by Him to his Close Friend in the Month of Publication
PYNCHON, Thomas.
V.
Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1963.
First edition of Pynchon's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the verso of the front free endpaper in the month of publication, "Aug. 1963. To Bob & Ginny, with affection, Tom." The recipient was his Boeing colleague and close friend Bob Hillock and his wife Ginny. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ismar David. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 80035
-
"High School introduced at young age (15 & 16) to Emily Dickinson, who is probably greatest American poet I realize now": Rare Graduate Student Questionnaire Completed and Signed by Jack Kerouac with a lengthy inscription
KEROUAC, Jack.
Jack Kerouac Autograph Questionnaire Signed.
1960.
Rare mimeographed questionnaire sent by a graduate student of City College of New York to Jack Kerouac; completed and signed twice by him with a lengthy inscription in conclusion. Two pages, partially printed the questionnaire begins with a typed letter signed by James A. Sherlock politely requesting Kerouac's response which reads in part: "Dear Mr. Kerouac, I am a graduate student of City College of New York, working upon an original research project aimed at uncovering certain educational factors in the lives of successful writers. As you undoubtedly know, there always has been considerable interest in analyzing the psychological make-up…
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 117950
-
“They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation”: Rare First Edition in Spanish of the Author’s Masterpiece Cien Anos de Soledad; Inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
Cien Anos de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude].
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1967.
First edition of the author's masterpiece which is recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by the author on the dedication page, "Para Leonard, con todo el afecto, Gabo." In near fine condition with light rubbing. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional example, rare and desirable signed.
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 114832
-
"Memory believes before knowing remembers": First Edition of Light In August; Inscribed by William Faulkner
FAULKNER, William.
Light In August.
New York: Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, 1932.
First edition, first issue, with first printing statement on copyright page, and “Jefferson” for “Mottstown” on page 340, line 1; first-issue binding, lettered in blue and orange. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Eric Dawson William Faulkner Oxford 3 October 1934." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Petersen A13a; Howard A13.1a; Massey 103. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed, with only two examples appearing at auction in the last 90 years.
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 135388
-
“When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves": First Edition of Viktor Frankl's Classic Work Man's Search For Meaning; Signed by Him
FRANKL, Viktor E.
From Death-Camp To Existentialism [Man’s Search For Meaning].
Boston: Beacon Press, 1959.
First edition in English of Frankl's classic work, which was later titled Man's Search For Meaning in 1962. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Viktor Frankl on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Translated by Ilse Lasch. Preface by Gordon Allport. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Signed first editions are exceptionally rare and desirable.
Price: $38,000.00 Item Number: 130637
-
"THE SEA IS ONLY THE EMBODIMENT OF A SUPERNATURAL AND WONDERFUL EXISTENCE": Exceedingly rare true first edition of Jules Verne's Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas
VERNE, Jules.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas.
London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, 1873.
Scarce first English edition, preceding the first American edition, of Verne’s masterpiece. Octavo, original publisher's pictorial blue cloth stamped in black and gilt by Burn & Co., with the binder's ticket on rear pastedown, all edges gilt, illustrated with 112 splendid full-page woodcut illustrations after drawings by renowned French illustrators Alphonse-Marie de Neuville and Edouard Riou, 8-pp. publisher's advertisements at rear headed "For the Season 1872-3." Originally published in France in 1869, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas has a complex publishing history in the English language. The novel was originally serialised from March 1869 to June 1870 in Pierre-Jules Hetzel's…
Price: $37,500.00 Item Number: 146922
-
FIRST EDITION OF IAN FLEMING’S GOLDFINGER; INSCRIBED BY HIM To Newspaper Editor Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley
FLEMING, Ian.
Goldfinger.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1959.
First edition of the seventh novel in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Lionel, Something more to read! From Ian." The recipient, Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley was a politician and newspaper editor. His father, the 1st Viscount Kemsley, had given Ian Fleming his first job as a journalist when he employed him as the Foreign Manager for the Kemsley newspaper group. It was this role, with its contracted three month break every winter to allow Fleming to holiday in Jamaica, that gave Fleming the…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 140248
-
"unscrew the locks from the doors! Unscrew the doors themselves from their jambs!": Rare Mimeographed Sheets of The Howl Produced for its First Reading. Preceding the First Edition and signed by Ginsberg and five others present at the Six Gallery in October of 1955
GINSBERG, Allen.
Howl, for Carl Solomon. Mimeographed for the Six Gallery Reading.
Two sheets from an exceptionally rare privately produced mimeographed printing of Howl, preceding the first edition. One of 25 copies printed on rectos only in purple ink typed by the poet Robert Creeley and printed by Marthe Rexroth at S.F State, where she was a secretary, for the famous Six Gallery reading (also known as Six Angels in the Same Performance). This event, which took place at 3110 Fillmore Street in San Francisco on October 7, 1955 was the first important public poetry exhibition heralding the West Coast literary revolution of the Beat Generation. At the reading, five talented young poets—Allen…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 40140
-
Rare Second Edition in English of the First Part of Cervantes' Don Quixote
CERVANTES, Miguel De.
The First Part of the Life and Achievements of the Renowned Don Quixote de la Mancha.
London: By William Stansby For Ed: Blounte, 1620.
Rare second edition of the first part of Don Quixote in English. Octavo, bound in contemporary calf, engraved title page, woodcut headpieces and decorative initials. In very good condition with some wear to the binding, portion of upper spine. Translated by Thomas Shelton. Exceptionally rare and desirable.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 74055
-
First edition of Guillaume Apollinaire's Poems (1898-1913); inscribed by him and Pablo Picasso
APOLLINAIRE, Guillaume. [Pablo Picasso].
Alcools: Poems (1898-1913). Avec un Portrait de L’Auteur par Pablo Picasso.
Paris: Mercure de France, 1913.
First edition of Apollinaire's first collection of poems, signed by him and Pablo Picasso. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, patterned endpapers, frontispiece portrait of the poet by Pablo Picasso. Association copy, inscribed by both Apollinaire and Pablo Picasso on front free endpaper, "A A P.N. Roinard son admirateur Guillaume Apollinaire" and "et pour Robert Valançay Picasso Paris Janvier 1940 et I." Apollinaire has also made five corrections to the text in ink on pages 71, 77, 92, 110 and 189. The recipient of Apollinaire's inscription, Paul-Napoléon Roinard, was a French…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 128083
-
“Life's single lesson: that there is more accident to it than a man can ever admit to in a lifetime and stay sane": First Edition of Thomas Pynchon's First Book V.; Inscribed by Him
PYNCHON, Thomas.
V.
Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1963.
First edition of Pynchon's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Herb Yellin- I've been reading this over. It's not such a terrific book, is it? Thomas Pynchon." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some of the usual rubbing to the extremities. Jacket design by Ismar David. Books signed and inscribed by Pynchon are notoriously rare. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 7203
-
"it is a corrupting thing to live one's real life in secret. One should live with the stream of life, not against it": First edition of Burmese Days; signed by George Orwell
ORWELL, George.
Burmese Days: A Novel by George Orwell.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1934.
First American edition, preceding the English edition by one year of Orwell’s first novel. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. Signed by the author opposite the title page, "George Orwell." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 143599
-
“He who was living is now dead We who were living are now dying With a little patience": First Edition of T.S. Eliot's The Waste Land; Inscribed by Him
ELIOT, T.S.
The Waste Land.
New York: Boni & Liveright, 1922.
First edition, second printing of one of the most influential works of the 20th century. Octavo, original black flexible cloth, lettered in gilt. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "T.S. Eliot inscribed for John Walker 25.v.27." One of one thousand copies, this is number 213. Contains the "mount in" misprint on page 41, line 339 lacking the "a" from "mountain." Stated as the second edition on the limitation leaf, but is in fact the second printing from the standing type (Gallup A6b). In very good condition with light toning. Housed in a custom folding chemise and…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 148107
-
Rare large format photograph of American cultural icon James Dean; inscribed by him to his photographer Sanford H. Roth
DEAN, James. [Sanford H. Roth].
James Dean Signed Photograph.
Rare large format Sanford H. Roth photograph of cultural icon James dean playing table tennis. Inscribed beneath his image, "To Mr. Roth best wishes James Dean." The recipient, renowned American photographer Sanford H. Roth, was a close friend of Dean's and photographed him frequently. Dean visited Roth's home in California frequently and treated him and his wife Beulah almost as adoptive parents. Poignantly, Roth was in Dean's Ford station wagon driving behind Dean's new Porsche Spyder on the way to the Salinas Road Races on September 30, 1955, when Dean was killed in a late afternoon traffic accident. Roth took…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 124398
-
“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
-
First edition, association copy of Das Neue Ghetto; inscribed by Theodor Herzl to fellow Zionist Heinrich Elchanan York-Steiner
HERZL, Theodor.
Das Neue Ghetto: Schauspiel in 4 Acten. [The New Ghetto: A Play in 4 Acts].
Wein: Verlag Der "Welt", 1897.
First edition of Herzl's popular politically-charged drama, written several years before Der Judenstaat and praised by Max Nordau and Sigmund Freud. Octavo, original printed wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication opposite the title page, "Herrn Heinrich Steiner zur freundlichen Erinnerung Th. Herzl." The recipient, Hungarian author and publisher Heinrich Elchanan York-Steiner was a prominent Zionist. He participated in all phases of early Zionist activity and was instrumental in convening the First Zionist Congress as well as conceptualizing and organizing the publication of Die Welt, the newspaper that became the official organ of the World…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 143510
-
“HILARIOUS, CHILLING, SEXY, PROFOUND, MANIACAL, BEAUTIFUL AND OUTRAGEOUS” (THOMAS PYNCHON): FIRST EDITION OF RICHARD FARINA’S FIRST NOVEL; inscribed by him to close friend Richard Gillespie only days prior to Farina's tragic death
FARINA, Richard.
Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me.
New York: Random House, 1966.
First edition of the author and songwriter’s first novel, warmly praised by his friend Thomas Pynchon; the only novel published in Fariña’s lifetime, as he tragically died in a motorcycle accident two days after its publication. Octavo, original half green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "G - Recognize any of these events. We had fun. Dick." The likely recipient, Richard Gillespie, was a close personal friend and colleague of both Richard Fariña and Thomas Pynchon at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York. The three shared the same residence and Gillespie and Pynchon attended a…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 141590
-
"It Is Very Queer That The Unhappiness Of The World Is So Often Brought On By Small Men": First Edition of All Quiet On The Western Front; Inscribed by Erich Maria Remarque
REMARQUE, Erich Maria.
All Quiet On The Western Front.
London: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1929.
First edition in English of this landmark novel of the 20th century. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "With the compliments and thanks to Geor Henry Gribb! Erich Maria Remarque." With a type letter from the author dated in 28th February, 1929 from Remarque attached to the front pastedown. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. With the original publisher's list and catalogues card laid in. Translated by A.W. Wheen. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Exceptionally rare and desirable signed…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 119450
-
"Faulkner was breathtaking in the accuracy of his observations": Rare advance reading copy of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird; signed by three actors from the 1962 film and with a two page autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand of harper lee declining the invitation to participate in a documentary film about her novel
LEE, Harper.
To Kill a Mockingbird.
Barnstable, MA: Crane’s Duplicating Service, for J.B. Lippincott Company,, 1960.
Rare advance reading copy of the first edition of Harper Lee's classic Pulitzer Prize-winning novel signed by three actors from the 1962 film and with a two page autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand of Harper Lee declining the invitation to participate in a documentary film about her novel. Octavo, original wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by three actors from the film on the pastedown and front free endpaper, "Bonnie Great Weekend My Best Wishes Phillip Alford 'Jem'", "To Bonnie Sincere regards Brock Peters 'Tom Robinson'", and "Bonnie, Thank you so much for all your help this week. Please…
Price: $32,500.00 Item Number: 133817
-
"However closely we live together, at whatever time of day or night we sound the deepest thoughts in one another, we know nothing": Rare First Edition of the John Le Carre’s First Book; Signed by Him
LE CARRE, John.
Call For The Dead.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1961.
First edition of the author's first book, which introduced the world to the recurring protagonist, George Smiley. Octavo, original red cloth. Signed by the author on the title page in a contemporary hand, "John le Carre David Cornwell." Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. An exceptional example, most rare and desirable using his real name and his pen name.
Price: $32,500.00 Item Number: 94755
-
"AH, DISTINCTLY I REMEMBER IT WAS IN THE BLEAK DECEMBER; AND EACH SEPARATE DYING EMBER WROUGHT ITS GHOST UPON THE FLOOR": First Editions of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven and Tales; in the rare original publisher's cloth
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Raven and Other Poems. [Bound With] Tales.
New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845.
Rare first editions of Poe's two great collections of stories and poems, bound together in the original publisher's cloth. Octavo, original publisher's dark green cloth elaborately stamped in blind with gilt titles to the spine, publisher's advertisements at rear of each volume which are most often lacking with both volumes bound together. Wiley and Putnam issued both titles separately in paper wrappers, but bound the two together for additional appeal to readers. The Raven is bound first in this copy (the order varies); that work is arguably the widest read and best-known in the American canon. Tales includes "The "The…
Price: $32,000.00 Item Number: 139816
-
Mark Twain's Roughing It; Inscribed by him to Mrs. P. T. Barnum
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Roughing It.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1874.
Early printing of Twain’s first semi-autobiographical work of travel literature, essentially a prequel to The Innocents Abroad. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles to the spine, fully illustrated by eminent artists with wood engravings throughout. Association copy, inscribed by Mark Twain on the fly-leaf, "For Mrs. P. T. Barnum with kindest wishes of Samuel L. Clemens Oct. 1875." The recipient, Nancy Fish, was the second wife of American showman P. T. Barnum. Twain and Barnum were, by various accounts, friends, mutual admirers and rivals. After visiting Barnum’s American Business Museum in New York City as a teenager,…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 133025
-
"With all my heart, the flower beyond": Rare First Edition of the Author’s Masterpiece Cien Anos de Soledad; Inscribed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez to close friend Juana Munoz
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
Cien Anos de Soledad [One Hundred Years of Solitude].
Buenos Aires: Editorial Sudamericana, 1967.
First edition of the author's masterpiece which is recognized as one of the most significant works in the Spanish literary canon. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by the author on the dedication page with a large drawing of a flower, "Para Juana, con todo el corazon, la flor mas alla, Gabo." [For Juana, with all my heart, the flower beyond]. The recipient, Juana Munoz, was a close friend of Marquez and wife of Sergio Munoz. They met in 1964 in Mexico City in the home of author Carlos Fuentes, who often hosted a literary open house…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 132338
-
“The task of the modern educator is not to cut down jungles but to irrigate deserts": Rare first edition, presentation copy of The Abolition of Man; inscribed by C.S. Lewis
LEWIS, C.S.
The Abolition of Man or Reflections on Education with Special Reference to the Teaching of English in the Upper Forms of Schools.
London: Oxford University Press, 1943.
First edition of Lewis's powerful essay, original delivered as three speeches in Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1943 in which he "defends the objectivity of values such as goodness and beauty over against the modern view that these qualities are in the mind of the beholder." Octavo, original publisher's printed wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "K. Young with compliments and greeting from C.S.L." With a portion of the original transmittal envelope in Lewis hand tipped in to the title page, addressed by Lewis, "From C.S. Lewis, Magdalen College, Oxford" and with a penciled notation in another hand…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 149260
-
First Edition of Jack Kerouac's Satori in Paris; Inscribed by Him to His Brother-in-law Tony Sampras
KEROUAC, Jack.
Satori In Paris.
New York: Grove Press, 1966.
First edition of Kerouac's penultimate novel. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "Tony's copy- signed by his brother man Jacky Kerouac." The recipient, Tony Sampras was the youngest brother of Kerouac's wife, Stella. Tony and Kerouac were close, Kerouac called Tony two days before his death and the On the Road scroll was left to him by Stella in her will. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Kuhlman Associates. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed, especially with such an association.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 128912
-
THE FIRST ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF ULYSSES: SIGNED BY JAMES JOYCE AND HENRI MATISSE
JOYCE, James and Henri Matisse.
Ulysses.
New York : Limited Editions Club, 1935.
First illustrated edition of Joyce’s landmark Ulysses, one of only 250 examples signed by James Joyce in pen and Henri Matisse in pencil, with 26 illustrations by him, one of the 20th-century’s most desirable illustrated books, combining the work of two great modern artists. Large quarto, original gilt-stamped pictorial brown cloth, original slipcase. In fine condition with the rare original slipcase which is in good condition and original glassine jacket. With an introduction by Stuart Gilbert. An exceptional example, most rare in this condition and in the seldom seen glassine jacket.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 140072
-
First Edition Of the author's Masterpiece Blood Meridian; Inscribed by Cormac McCarthy to Longtime Friends
MCCARTHY, Cormac.
Blood Meridian, or The Evening Redness in the West.
New York: Random House, 1985.
First edition of the author's fifth novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original half red cloth. Association copy, warmly inscribed on the front free endpaper, "For John & Lanelle With much love Cormac." The recipients were close friends of McCarthy during his time spent in Knoxsville, Tennessee. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Richard Adelson. Jacket painting by Salvador Dali. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 144532
-
“Of all creatures that breathe and move upon the earth, nothing is bred that is weaker than man”: exceptionally rare sixteenth century printing of Homer's Odyssey in Latin
HOMER. TRANSLATED BY RAPHAELLO MAFFEI,.
Odissea Per Raphaelem Volaterranum in Latinum Conversa (The Odyssey of Homer translated by Raphael of Volterra in Latin).
Rome: Per Lacoubum Mazochium, 1510.
One of the earliest Latin translations of Homer's epic poem, translated from the Greek by Roman Hellenic scholar Raphaello Maffei (Raphael of Volterra). Quarto, bound in contemporary vellum, rebacked, woodcut titles and printer's device to the title page and at end of text. From the library of Robert R. Dearden, Jr. of Philadelphia with his bookplate to the front panel. American bibliophile and author Robert R. Dearden was known for his extensive rare bible collection with a focus on early editions of American Bibles. He authored the book The Guiding Light on the Great Highway (1929), elaborately illustrated with photographs…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 88060
-
Rare First Edition of Leonard Cohen's First Book, One of 400 copies Let Us Compare Mythologies; Warmly Inscribed by Him
COHEN, Leonard.
Let Us Compare Mythologies.
Montreal: McGill Poetry Series by Contact Press, 1956.
First edition of Cohen's first book, which explores philosophy, sexuality, death, a world of violent contrasts that would define his future literary and musical careers. Octavo, original cloth. With five full-page line illustrations by Freda Guttman. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For my friend Jo, Leonard January 1957.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An excellent example of this rare first book, which reportedly, fewer than 400 copies of the first edition were printed (Nadel, 45).
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 107435
-
"In this brief life of ours, it is sad to do almost anything for the last time": Large Signed Portrait Photograph Signed by Charles Dickens
DICKENS, Charles.
Charles Dickens Signed Portrait Photograph.
1868.
Large oval portrait photograph measures 20 inches by 16 inches. Matted in a contemporary frame which measures 25.5 inches by 29.5 inches. Signed "Charles Dickens (with a large flourish) Boston Sixth March 1868." In 1867, Charles Dickens began his second American reading tour at Boston's Tremont Temple, where an enthusiastic audience delighted in some of his most notable works, members of the audience included legendary literary stars such as Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Although Dickens was in declining health, he embarked on an ambitious travel schedule across the United States. Dickens returned to Boston once more before concluding…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 74030
-
"It would be a dull world if we all thought alike": First Edition of A Handful of Dust in the Rare Dust Jacket; Signed by Evelyn Waugh
WAUGH, Evelyn.
A Handful Of Dust.
London: Chapman and Hall, 1934.
First edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. A near fine copy in the rare dust jacket which shows some wear and tear. Signed by Evelyn Waugh. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare especially in the original dust jacket and signed.
Price: $28,500.00 Item Number: 2814
-
"SHE WANTS LIFE TO BE EASY AND FULL OF PLEASANT REMINISCES": FIRST EDITION OF ZELDA FITZGERALD'S SAVE ME THE WALTZ; IN THE RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKET AND WITH AN ORIGINAL PAINTING SIGNED BY HER WITH HER INITIALS
FITZGERALD, Zelda.
Save Me The Waltz.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932.
First edition of Zelda Fitzgerald’s only novel, a semi-autobiographical account of her life and marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Octavo, original cloth. Laid in is a card with an original gouache painting of a flower painted by Fitzgerald and signed by her with her initials, "Z S.F." Zelda began painting while on holiday in Rome and Capri with Scott in 1924, where they received the proofs of The Great Gatsby. In 1932, while being treated at the Phipps Clinic at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore, she had a burst of creativity which produced Save Me the Waltz as well as…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 137264
-
"It's the best book we've had... There was nothing before. There has been nothing since": FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF MARK TWAIN'S ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN; IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s masterpiece, a justifiable contender for the title of "the Great American Novel" and arguably "the most praised and most condemned 19th-century American work of fiction" (Legacies of Genius, 47). Octavo, original publisher’s gilt and black stamped pictorial green cloth, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Contains all of the agreed upon first issue points for the clothbound book: page 9 with “Decided” remaining uncorrected (to “Decides”); page 13, illustration captioned “Him and another Man” listed as on page 88; page 57, 11th line from bottom reads “with the was,” instead of “with…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 149190
-
First Editions of Each Novel By William Faulkner; Finely Bound by The Harcourt Bindery
FAULKNER, William.
The Complete Novels of William Faulkner. [Soldier’s Pay, Mosquitos, Sartoris, The Sound and the Fury, As I Lay Dying, Sanctuary, Light in August, Pylon, Absalom, Absalom!, The Unvanquished, The Wild Palms, The Hamlet, Go Down Moses, Intruder in the Dust, Requiem For a Nun, A Fable, The Town, The Mansion, The Reivers].
New York: Various Publishers, 1926-1962.
First editions of each novel by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, 19 volumes, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt stamped signature to the front panel, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional set, rare and desirable.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 142531
-
“He felt all at once like an ineffectual moth, fluttering at the windowpane of reality, dimly seeing it from outside": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's Ubik; Signed by Him
DICK, Philip K.
Ubik.
Garden City: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1969.
First edition of one of Philip K. Dick's most acclaimed novels. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Philip K. Dick on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing. Jacket design by Peter Rauch. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 98978
-
First Edition of William Faukner's Soldiers' Pay; In the Original Dust jacket
FAULKNER, William.
Soldiers’ Pay.
New York: Boni & Liveright, 1926.
First edition of Faulkner's first book in the rare first state dust jacket with An American Tragedy as the first of five titles listed on the rear jacket panel. Octavo, original cloth. Bookplate, near fine in an exceptional dust jacket with light toning and wear. From the library of Virginia bibliophile and historian Christopher Clark Geest with his bookplate. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Scarce in this condition.
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 89328
-
First edition of Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird; with an autograph note signed by her
LEE, Harper.
To Kill A Mockingbird.
Philadelphia & New York: J. B. Lippincott Company, 1960.
First edition of one of the most important American novels of the 20th century which had an initial first printing of 5,000 copies and went on to earn Harper Lee the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for fiction. Octavo, original half cloth. With an autograph postcard signed by and entirely in the hand of Harper Lee laid in. Addressed to Stewart Richardson, Executive Editor of Doubleday & Company, the postcard reads in full, "Monroeville, Ala. September 5, 1970 Dear Sandy: No, I didn't receive galleys on James Purdy's - but I'd like to. They're probably sitting in New York somewhere. I'll be…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 139543
-
A fine set of the works of Theodoretus; Each Beautifully Painted on the front and back of each panel
Opera Omnia. Ed. Jac. Sirmond (Volumes 1-4), and J. Garnier (Volume 5).
Paris: Sebastian and Gabriel Cramoisy, 1682-84.
A fine set of the works of Theodoretus, Bishop of Cyrus, beautifully painted on each panel. Quarto, five volumes, bound in full 17th-century vellum, both covers on each volume fully painted with a scene from the life of Christ, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, brown and black morocco lettering pieces. The first four volumes were edited by J. Sirmond and were published in 1642. The fifth volume, not published until 1684, was completed by Sirmond's fellow Jesuit Garnier and contains an auctarium, comprising fragments of commentaries and sermons and some additional letters, together with Garnier's five learned but…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 140490
-
"As art it is perfection" (Dostoevsky); Rare First Russian Edition Of Tolstoy’s Masterpiece Anna Karenina
TOLSTOY, Leo. [Count Lyof N Tolstoi].
Anna Karenina.
Moscow: T. Ris, 1878.
First edition in Russian of Tolstoy's masterpiece. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in three quarters calf, gilt titles, raised bands. Housed in a custom box. In near fine condition. First editions in Russian are rare.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 126365
-
First Edition of Ayn Rand's The Fountainhead
RAND, Ayn.
The Fountainhead.
Indianapolis and New York: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1943.
First edition of Rands’s breakthrough work and her first major literary success. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good first-issue first issue dust jacket with light restoration to the extremities, contemporary inscription to the front free endpaper. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A very sharp example.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 142040
-
“Hate is a lack of imagination": First Edition of Graham Greene's The Power and the Glory; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
GREENE, Graham.
The Power and the Glory.
London: William Heinemann, 1940.
First edition of Greene's masterpiece. Octavo, original yellow cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with light shelfwear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 130369
-
Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing; including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis
LEWIS, C.S. [Anthony Colin Spearing].
C.S. Lewis and Anthony Spearing Autograph Correspondence Collection.
Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis. Folio, the collection includes the original composition of Spearing's 1957 English Tripos essay: "The Translation of English Verse (An Essay with some Specimen Translations)" which he sent to Lewis for edits and contains Lewis' marginal notes; two pages of critical notes entirely in Lewis' hand on his Magdalene College Cambridge letterhead containing 28 numbered notes and suggestions for edits to the Spearing's composition; an autograph letter signed and entirely in the hand…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 134067
-
First Edition of The Scots Musical Museum; Inscribed by the national poet of Scotland Robert Burns
JOHNSON, James [Editor]; Robert Burns [Contributor].
The Scots Musical Museum, Humbly Dedicated to the Catch Club. Instituted at Edinr. June 1771.
Edinburgh: James Johnson, 1787 and 1790.
First edition, first issue of this influential collection of traditional folk music of Scotland. Octavo, two volumes comprised of volumes one and three out of six, bound in full contemporary calf with gilt ruling to the spines, vignettes to the title pages, engraved throughout with musical stanzas. Presentation copy, inscribed by Robert Burns on the title page of volume one, "To Mr. Whyter from Robt. Burns" and on the verso of the title page of volume three, "Remember me! Ro. B." Robert Burns contributed some 200 songs, new or adapted to the successive volumes of The Scots Musical Museum. In good…
Price: $26,000.00 Item Number: 147856
-
First editions of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women, Little Women Part Second, and Little Men; each in the original publisher's emerald green cloth
ALCOTT, Louisa May.
Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy. [with] Little Women or Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy Part Second. [with] Little Men: Life at Plumfield with Jo’s Boys.
Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1868-1871.
First editions of Louisa May Alcott's "outstanding achievement of 19th-century American literature” together with its sequels. Octavo, three volumes, original publisher's emerald green gilt decorated cloth, each volume illustrated with tissue-guarded frontispiece and three plates; those in the first part of Little Women were created by the author’s sister, May. First issue of Little Women with all points including Little Women priced at $1.25 in terminal advertisements, one of 2,000 copies printed with 250 sets of sheets shipped to England for issue by Sampson, Low; Part Second is first edition, early-state, with notice about Part First on page [iv] and with “Handy…
Price: $26,000.00 Item Number: 149518