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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
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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": First appearance in print of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven; In the Rare Original Wrappers
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Raven. [In The American Review: A Whig Journal of Politics, Literature, Art and Science. No. II February, 1845.
New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1845.
First appearance in print of The Raven, one of the most famous and recognizable poems ever written, which Poe considered his finest poem, calling it “the greatest poem that was ever written.” Octavo, original wrappers. In keeping with the policy of The American Review which required that poems be published anonymously or with a pseudonym, the poem, which appears on page 143 is credited to 'Quarles.' In very good condition. Rare in the original wrappers.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 136274
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Rare first complete edition in English of Cervantes' masterpiece The History of Don Quixote; Thomas Shelton's famed first English translation bound in full crimson crushed levant morocco by Riviere & Son
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de. Translated by Thomas Shelton.
The History of Don-Quichote. The First Parte and The Second Part of the History of the Valorous and Witty Knight-Errant, Don Quixote of the Mancha.
London: Printed for Edward Blount, 1620.
Exceedingly rare first complete edition in English of Cervantes' masterpiece comprised of a second edition of the first part and first edition of the second part. Small quarto, bound in full crimson crushed levant morocco by Riviere & Son, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, engraved headpieces, tailpieces and initials. Engraved title pages and printed title page to the second part supplied in exact facsimile from the copy in the British Museum. No…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 139832
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First Edition of Thomas Pynchon's Second Novel The Crying of Lot 49; Inscribed by Him
PYNCHON, Thomas.
The Crying of Lot 49.
Philadelphia and New York: J.B. Lippincott, 1966.
First edition of Pynchon's classic post-modern satire, which tells the wonderfully unusual story of Oedipa Maas. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Herb Yellin Good Luck Thomas Pynchon." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the extremities. Jacket design by Milton Charles. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 7204
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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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"Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, exhibit number one is what the seraphs, the misinformed, simple, noble-winged seraphs, envied. Look at this tangle of thorns": Vladimir Nabokov's masterpiece Lolita; signed by him with an original drawing of a butterfly
NABOKOV, Vladimir.
Lolita.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1955.
First edition, early impression of Nabokov's lyrical masterwork. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Vladimir Nabokov on the half-title page with an additional drawing of a butterfly. An accomplished lepidopterist, Nabokov only included butterfly drawings in books presented to those especially important to him. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Author photograph by Maclean Damcron. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 137049
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"I have seen the moment of my greatness flicker, And I have seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker, And in short, I was afraid": Rare First Edition of T.S. Eliot's Prufrock and Other Observations; One of only 500 Examples
ELIOT, T.S.
Prufrock and Other Observations.
London: The Egoist Ltd, 1917.
First edition of one of the most recognized voices in modern literature of the Nobel Prize-winning author's first book, one of only 500 examples. Octavo, original wrappers. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Rare and desirable.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 133599
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Rare Original Goldfinger Dust Jacket Design Printing Proof; signed by Dust Jacket Designer Richard Chopping and from his personal collection
CHOPPING, Richard. [Ian Fleming].
Goldfinger. [Original Richard Chopping Signed Printing Proof].
Rare original progressive color printing proof for the iconic dust jacket design of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, designed by Richard Chopping. Chopping's copy, retained for his personal collection and signed by him in the lower right corner. One page on archival printer's paper, this is a yellow and magenta ink progressive plate proof (printed using two of four plates combined to create the final full color image). The seventh novel in Fleming's bond series, Goldfinger was the second book with a dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping, the first being From Russia, With Love. Chopping would design all subsequent James Bond…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 124288
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"They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation": First Edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude; Signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez and lengthily signed by Translator Gregory Rabassa
GARCIA MARQUEZ, Gabriel.
One Hundred Years of Solitude.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970.
First American edition of the author's magnum opus. Octavo, original green cloth. Boldly signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on the dedication page and additionally lengthily signed by the translator on the title page as follows, "They were so close to each other that they preferred death to separation Gregory Rabassa. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket. Jacket design by Guy Fleming. Translated by Gregory Rabassa. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A unique example.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 136198
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"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?": Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland; inscribed by him
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1879.
Early edition with sixty-second thousand stated on the title page of this classic work, boldly inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "Edith Mary Alice Berkeley from the Author, May 15/80." Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine, all edges gilt, publisher's cloth s, all edges gilt, housed in a modern scarlet morocco slipcase and chemise. 7 1/8 x 4 1/2 inches (18 x 12 cm); 192 pp., [2] pp. ads, half-title; electrotyped frontispiece, and 42 illustrations from the woodcuts by Dalziel after John Tenniel. In near fine condition. From the library of actor William E. Self, with his book…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 142979
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“Dilemma of civilized man; body mobilized, but danger obscure": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's The Man in the High Castle; Signed by Him
DICK, Philip K.
The Man in the High Castle.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1962.
First edition of Philip K. Dick's Hugo Award-winning novel. Octavo, original cloth. Bodly signed by Philip K. Dick on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by Robert Galster. Photograph by Arthur Knight. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 99635
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Rare Original Goldfinger Dust Jacket Design Printing Proof; signed by Dust Jacket Designer Richard Chopping and from his personal collection
CHOPPING, Richard. [Ian Fleming].
Goldfinger. [Original Richard Chopping Signed Printing Proof].
Rare original progressive color printing proof for the iconic dust jacket design of Ian Fleming's Goldfinger, designed by Richard Chopping. Chopping's copy, retained for his personal collection and signed by him in the lower right corner. One page on archival printer's paper, this is the magenta ink progressive plate proof (printed using one of four plates combined to create the final full color image). The seventh novel in Fleming's bond series, Goldfinger was the second book with a dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping, the first being From Russia, With Love. Chopping would design all subsequent James Bond dust jackets…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 124559
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Rare First Edition of The Education of Henry Adams; One of only 40 Examples
ADAMS, Henry.
The Education of Henry Adams.
Washington: Privately Printed, 1907.
Rare first edition, one of only 40 copies printed of this classic work. The text of Education was not made commercially available until 1918, following the author's death, when it was published by Houghton Mifflin. In 1919 it was awarded the Pulitzer Prize and the Modern Library named it as the best non-fiction book published in English since 1900. BAL 32; Reese Narratives of Personal Experience 2 ("certainly one of the great American biographies"). In near fine condition. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 140067
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"By mail I send you a small volume, some portions of which": Rare Herman Melville Autographed Letter Signed to his wife's cousin Ellen Marrett Gifford
MELVILLE, Herman.
Herman Melville Autograph Letter Signed.
1888.
Herman Melville autographed letter signed to his wife's cousin Ellen Marrett Gifford completely in his hand, which reads, "164 E. 26th St. Nov. 6th 1888 My Dear Mrs. Gifford: By mail I send you a small volume, some portions of which, I hope may prove more or less interesting to you- Lissie tells me she is about writing you, so I leave her to hell you whatever news there may be. Your friend H. Melville." In near fine condition. Housed in a custom chemise and clamshell box. Melville signed letters are rare.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 129820
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Rare First Edition of Leonard Cohen's First Book, One of 400 copies Let Us Compare Mythologies; Inscribed by Him in the year of publication
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, inscribed by the author in the month of publication on the front free endpaper, "To Gery Levy, With best wishes Leonard Cohen May 1956." Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some expert restoration to the spine. An excellent example of this rare first book, which reportedly, fewer than 400 copies of the first edition were printed (Nadel, 45). Housed…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 128744
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Rare Complete first edition set of Charles Dickens' Christmas Books; Finely bound in full morocco
DICKENS, Charles.
The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Battle of Life; Cricket on the Hearth; The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain.
London: Chapman & Hall, 1843-1848.
Rare complete first edition set of of all five of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Books including the rare first edition of A Christmas Carol. Octavo, five volumes bound in full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spines in six compartments within raised gilt bands, The Christmas Carol with central gilt vignette of the Fezziwig's Ball frontispiece, the rest with central gilt portrait of Dickens or mistletoe to the front and rear panels, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With the original publisher's gilt-decorated cloth bound in at…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 131382
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First Edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Vegetable; Inscribed by Him to Legendary Actor and co-founder of Goldwyn Pictures Edgar Selwyn and in the rare original dust jacket
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
The Vegetable: Or, From President To Postman.
New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1923.
First edition of what Fitzgerald called, "undoubtedly the best thing I have ever written." Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Dear Mr. Swelwynn (sic)- Here's the new version of the play. Sincerely F. Scott Fitzgerald." The recipient, prominent figure in American theatre and film in the first half of the 20th century. An actor, playwright, director and producer on Broadway, he founded a theatrical production company with his brother, Archibald Selwyn, and owned a number of Selwyn Theatres in the United States. He transferred his talents from the stage to motion pictures,…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 134567
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First edition of Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions; From the collection of young Ernest Hemingway with his ownership inscriptions to each volume
HARRIS, Frank. [Ernest Hemingway].
Oscar Wilde: His Life and Confessions.
New York: Printed and Published by the Author, 1918.
First edition of Shaw's appreciation of Wilde. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. From the library of young Ernest Hemingway with his ownership name and address to the pastedown of each volume, "Ernest Hemingway Windemere Walloon Lake Michigan" and additional ownership name to volume one, "Hemingway." Hemingway was born on July 21, 1899, in Oak Park, Illinois, an affluent suburb just west of Chicago about which resident Frank Lloyd Wright said, "So many churches for so many good people to go to." He was the second child of Clarence Edmonds Hemingway, a physician, and Grace Hall Hemingway, a musician. Each summer the…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 141864
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“The supreme question about a work of art is out of how deep a life does it spring”: First Edition of James Joyce's masterpiece Ulysses; One of 750 Numbered Copies
JOYCE, James.
Ulysses.
Paris: Shakespeare and Company, 1922.
First edition of Joyce's masterpiece, one of 750 numbered copies printed on handmade paper from a total edition of 1000 copies, this is number number 276. Thick quarto, original blue and white wrappers. In very good condition with some expert restoration to the spine. Housed in a custom half morocco chemise and clamshell box.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 142260
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"For Mother & Dad with my Love": First edition of Arthur Miller's The Crucible; inscribed by him to his parents
MILLER, Arthur.
The Crucible: A Play in Four Acts.
New York: The Viking Press, 1953.
First edition of Miller's Tony Award-winning play, a bitter satire inspired by the heightened political repression and persecution of left-wing individuals during the McCarthy era. Octavo, original half cloth over patterned boards, top edge red. Association copy, inscribed by Arthur Miller on the front free endpaper to his mother and father, "To Mother & Dad With my love Arthur." Arthur Miller was the second of three children of Augusta (Barnett) and Isidore Miller. His father was born in Radomyśl Wielki, Galicia (then part of Austria-Hungary, now Poland), and his mother was a native of New York whose parents had immigrated…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 140347
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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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“To love oneself is the beginning of a lifelong romance": Signed Limited Edition of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband
WILDE, Oscar.
An Ideal Husband.
London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899.
First signed limited edition of Wilde's classic comedic stage play. Octavo, original lavender publisher's cloth with gilt titles to the spine and gilt flourishes to the spine and front panel. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde, this is number 85. In near fine condition with a touch of toning. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A superior example.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 96121
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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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“An artist's only concern is to shoot for some kind of perfection, and on his own terms, not anyone else's”: Franny and Zooey; Inscribed by J.D. Salinger
SALINGER, J.D.
Franny and Zooey.
New York: Little, Brown, and Company, 1961.
First edition, second printing of Salinger's third book. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by Salinger in his cursive hand on the front free endpaper to a personal friend, "Oke, Stop over sometime, JDS 8/26/61." While Salinger was known for his reclusive behavior with regard to the spotlight of the international press, he did have close relations with the local townspeople around his New Hampshire home, who respected his privacy. This inscription shows the authentic nature of those relationships. Affixed to the verso of the front panel and front free endpaper are three newspaper clippings regarding Salinger's reputation as a…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 88131
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“Solitude produces originality, bold & astonishing beauty, poetry": First Edition of Der Tod in Venedig; Inscribed by Thomas Mann to close friend and confidant Ernst Bertram
MANN, Thomas.
Der Tod in Venidig [Death in Venice].
Berlin: S. Fischer, Verlag, 1913.
First trade edition of one of the greatest novellas of the twentieth century. Octavo, original publisher's quarter vellum over marbled boards. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "An Ernst Bertram in herzlicher Wertschatzung Thomas Mann" (To Ernst Bertram in heartfelt appreciation Thomas Mann). One of the best possible association copies, as Bertram was Mann's closest friend from the late 1900s through the 1930s, when their politics separated them. Bertram was deeply influential on Mann's thinking and literary direction during the time when he was somewhat artistically lost and suffered his own writer's block. It was…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 98970
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"one of the most important Scottish novels of the 20th century" The Quairs Trilogy; Each Inscribed by Him to George Malcolm Thomson
GIBBON, Lewis Grassic [James Leslie Mitchell].
A Scots Quair Trilogy. Including: Sunset Song, Cloud Howe, and Grey Granite.
London: Jarrolds Publishers, 1932-1934.
First editions of each volume of Gibbon's classic trilogy describing the life of Chris Guthrie, a woman from the north-east of Scotland during the early 20th century, each volume inscribed by him to George Malcolm Thomson. Octavo, original cloth, 3 volumes. Sunset Song is inscribed on the title page, "For G. Malcolm Thomson, L. Grassic Gibbon." Cloud Howe is the dedication copy, inscribed on the title page, "For the 'dedicatee' with kind regards. L. Grassic Gibbon." Grey Granite is inscribed on the title page, "For George Malcolm Thomson with good wishes L. Grassic Gibbon." Each are in very good condition.…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 124744
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“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…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 88658
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"You only live twice: Once when you're born And once when you look death in the face": First Edition of You Only Live Twice; Inscribed by Ian Fleming
FLEMING, Ian.
You Only Live Twice.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1965.
First edition, first state with "First published 1964" on the copyright page of the last James Bond novel published in Fleming's lifetime and the eleventh in the series. Octavo, original black cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For James You have my best wishes from Ian Fleming." A small stain to the front panel, an excellent example in the original dust jacket with a few small chips. Jacket design by Richard Chopping. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Uncommon signed and inscribed as Fleming passed away in the year of publication.
Price: $24,000.00 Item Number: 19060
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“And all the lives we ever lived and all the lives to be are full of trees and changing leaves": First Edition of Virginia Woolf's To the Lighthouse; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
WOOLF, Virginia.
To the Lighthouse.
London: Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, 1927.
First edition of one of Woolf’s most popular and acclaimed major novels, in the extremely rare original dust jacket designed by Vanessa Bell, Woolf’s sister. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with light rubbing and wear to the crown of the spine. Jacket design by Vanessa Bell. From the library of Elizabeth Paepcke, with her signature in pencil to the front free endpaper. Paepcke, along with her husband Walter were philanthropists best noted for founding the Aspen Institute and the Aspen Skiing Company in the early 1950s, both of which helped transform the town of…
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 116345
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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 John le Carre on the title page. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket with light expert restoration. With a signed letter from le Carre's secretary stating that he will sign this first edition. A sharp example, uncommon signed.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 142398
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THE FIRST JEWISH TRANSLATION OF THE PENTATEUCH INTO ENGLISH
LEESER, Isaac.
The Law of God.
Philadelphia: C. Sherman, 5605, 1845-46.
First edition of the “first English translation of the Pentateuch in America,” the 1845 Hebrew-English Bible by one of the most prominent and influential figures in American Jewish history. Octavo, 5 volumes. Translated by Isaac Leeser. Bound in contemporary polished calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, rebacked. Lightly rubbed, moderate wear. A very nice example of a scarce and important work.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 49020
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"BUT HE NEVER KNEW THAT REALLY IT WAS HIS OWN BUNNY, COME BACK TO LOOK AT THE CHILD WHO HAD FIRST HELPED HIM TO BE REAL": FIRST EDITION OF MARGERY WILLIAMS' BELOVED CHILDREN'S CLASSIC THE VELVETEEN RABBIT
BIANCO, Margery Williams.
The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real.
London: Heinemann, 1922.
First edition, English issue (published simultaneously with the American issue) of this beloved children’s classic, “one of the first modern picture books, a perfect combination of story and pictures” (Mahony, 234), with seven beautiful color illustrations by William Nicholson. Quarto, original paper-covered pictorial boards and cloth spine, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with seven color illustrations (three double-page) by William Nicholson. In very good condition. Uncommon.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 138402
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"The passion spreads in wide tongues, choked and slow, meeting the gulf, hosanna silently below": First edition of Hart Crane's landmark modernist epic the bridge; inscribed by him to close friend Bob Thompson
CRANE, Hart.
The Bridge: A Poem.
New York: Horace Liveright, 1930.
First American edition of Crane's landmark modernist epic. Octavo, original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, illustrated with three photographs by Walter Evans. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper one month after publication, "For Bob Thompson, from his friend always- Hart Crane, Brooklyn, April 30." The recipient, Robert Thompson, was a close friend of Crane's. During the early part of 1930, Thompson and Crane spent what John Unterecker described as "wild evenings" in New York. Thompson was "a good drinking companion whom Hart in the summer would recommend to Caresse…
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 123618
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“THE PROBLEM WITH THE WORLD IS THAT EVERYONE IS A FEW DRINKS BEHIND”: FIRST EDITION OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST AND MOST INFLUENTIAL DETECTIVE NOVELS EVER WRITTEN; DASHIELL HAMMETT'S THE MALTESE FALCON
HAMMETT, Dashiell.
The Maltese Falcon.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1930.
First edition, first printing of one of the earliest and most influential detective stories of all time. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good second state dust jacket with professional restoration. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 139591
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“AMONG THE BEST EVER WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN”: FIRST EDITIONS OF A.A. MILNE’S FOUR POOH BOOKS, IN ORIGINAL DUST JACKETS; IN EXCEPTIONAL CONDITION
MILNE, A.A.; Illustrated by Ernest Shepard.
The Four Pooh Books: When We Were Very Young; Winnie-The-Pooh; Now We Are Six; The House At Pooh Corner.
London: Methuen & Co., Ltd, 1924-1928.
First editions of each work in Milne's wonderful Pooh quartet. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt. Each are fine in near fine to fine dust jackets. Illustrated by Ernest Shepard. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box with Winnie the Pooh inlay to the front panel. An exceptional set, most rare and desirable in this condition.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 139773
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“It’s a Snark! was the sound that first came to their ears, And seemed almost too good to be true": Lewis Carroll's The Hunting of the Snark; in the scarce original dust jacket, of which only a few are known to exist
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
The Hunting of the Snark: An Agony in Eight Fits.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1876.
First edition of Carroll's whimsical nonsense poem. Octavo, original publisher's decorated cloth, all edges gilt, with nine illustrations by Henry Holiday. Near fine in the scarce original dust jacket. The jacket is complete with the top third of the front panel bent behind, hence the different shade of color. Copies of the first edition of Hunting of the Snark in the dust jacket of the utmost scarcity, with no more than a handful of copies known.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 130492
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First Edition of All Quiet On The Western Front; Signed by Eric Maria Remarque
REMARQUE, Erich Maria.
All Quiet On The Western Front.
Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1929.
First American edition of this landmark novel of the 20th century. Octavo, original beige cloth. Signed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "1st June Eric Maria Remarque." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Wenck. Translated by A.W. Wheen. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. Signed and inscribed first editions are rare.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 136034
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First Editions of Each of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Works; Finely Bound by The Harcourt Bindery
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
The Works of F. Scott Fitzgerald. This Side of Paradise, Flappers and Philosophers, Tales of the Jazz Age, The Beautiful and Damned, The Vegetable, The Great Gatsby, All the Sad Young Men, Taps at Reveille, Tender is the Night, The Last Tycoon.
New York: Charles Scribners, 1920-1935.
First edition, first printings of each of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s works. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound by full green morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, twin rule to turn ins, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. F. Scott Fitzgerald signature on the front panel of each volume. In fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 139788
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“Only androids show up with false memory systems; it's been found ineffective in humans": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?
DICK, Philip K.
Do Androids Dream Of Electric Sheep?
New York: Doubleday and Company, 1968.
First edition of this cornerstone in science fiction. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear to the spine tips. Jacket design by Harry Sehring. An exceptional example, scarce in this condition.
Price: $22,500.00 Item Number: 140198
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"No one should be entirely judged by their past": Signed Limited Edition of Oscar Wilde's An Ideal Husband
WILDE, Oscar.
An Ideal Husband.
London: Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899.
First edition, signed limited edition. Octavo, original lavender publisher's cloth. One of 100 large paper copies signed by Oscar Wilde. In very good condition with some light rubbing and darkening to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 16085
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First Edition of Ayn Rand's Atlas Shrugged; Inscribed by Her
RAND, Ayn.
Atlas Shrugged.
New York: Random House, 1957.
First edition of one of the most influential novels of the twentieth century. Large octavo, original green cloth, frontispiece stamped in gilt, spine stamped in black and gilt. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Lillian Davison- with my best wishes- Cordially, Ayn Rand December 19, 1960." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelf wear. Jacket design by George Salter. Housed in a custom full morocco clamshell box with inlay to the front panel. A superior example.
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 138060
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First Edition of Damon Runyon's Guys and Dolls; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
RUNYON, Damon.
Guys and Dolls.
New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1931.
First edition of this classic work, basis for the film starring Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. Octavo, original cloth. A pre-publication example, with the date of August 20, 1931 stamped to the front free endpaper, very good in a very good dust jacket with some chips and wear. Introduction by Heywood Broun. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. First editions in the original dust jacket are scarce.
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 98358
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First Edition of "this Cornerstone of American Political Journalism" Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72; Signed by Hunter S. Thompson, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart and Illustrator Ralph Steadman
THOMPSON, Hunter S.; Illustrations by Ralph Steadman [Jimmy Carter.
Fear and Loathing: On the Campaign Trail ’72.
San Francisco: Arrow Books, 1973.
First edition of the author's third book and hallmark of campaign journalism. Octavo, original black boards. Boldly signed by Hunter Thompson on the half-title page and subjects, George McGovern, Jimmy Carter, Gary Hart and illustrator, Ralph Steadman. Fine in a near fine first issue price-clipped dust jacket with the white boarder around the photograph of Thompson and McGovern on the rear panel. The book is notable for its introduction not only to the candidates of 1972 but also its early glimpses of future political leaders. Gary Hart of Colorado, who served as McGovern's campaign manager and would later run for…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 99428
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"The ship rushed on, nearer and nearer Earth": First Edition of Philip K. Dick's Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch; Signed by Him
DICK, Philip K.
Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday and Company, Inc, 1965.
First edition of Dick's classic novel, which was nominated for the Nebula Award for Best Novel in 1965. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Philip K. Dick. Fine in near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Tom Chibbaro. Exceptionally rare signed.
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 101458
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de .
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece. Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full 19th century green morocco with central motif and cornerpieces stamped in blind to the panels, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, elaborate double-ruled gilt borders, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a perfect flow of harmonious type, inks, illustration,…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 97654
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece "which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English" (Bloom). Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full contemporary Spanish tree calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red and black morocco spine labels, elaborate double gilt-ruled borders, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 96554
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“I know who I am and who I may be, if I choose": Deluxe illustrated Ibarra Edition of Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de .
El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha: Nueva Edicion, Corregida Por La Real Academia Española.
Madrid: Don Joaquin Ibarra, 1780.
The deluxe illustrated Ibarra edition of Cervantes' masterpiece "which is to Spanish literature what Shakespeare is to English" (Bloom). Quartos, 4 volumes. Bound in full contemporary Spanish tree calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, red morocco spine labels, gilt ruled borders, marbled endpapers, all edges green, engraved frontispiece to each volume and 31 engraved plates throughout, 2-page folding engraved map of Don Quixote's travels to the rear of volume 1. Spanish printer Joaquín Ibarra made several important technical developments in press printing, book-making, typography and paper-making. In his printed work, Ibarra sought to achieve a perfect flow of…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 96763
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“AMONG THE BEST EVER WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN”: FIRST EDITIONS OF A.A. MILNE’S FOUR POOH BOOKS, IN ORIGINAL DUST JACKETS; The Winnie the Pooh Signed by Milne
MILNE, A.A.; Illustrated by Ernest Shepard.
The Four Pooh Books: When We Were Very Young; Winnie-The-Pooh; Now We Are Six; The House At Pooh Corner.
London: Methuen & Co., Ltd, 1924-1928.
First editions of each work in Milne's wonderful Pooh quartet. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, top edge gilt. Winnie the Pooh is signed by A.A. Milne on the title page. When We Were Very Young if a first edition, second issue as usual with page ix numbered. Each are fine in very good dust jackets with some loss and wear to the extremities and light toning. Illustrated by Ernest Shepard. An exceptional set, most rare and desirable with Winnie the Pooh signed by Milne.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 95227
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“And roots, if they are to bear fruits, must be kept well in the soil of the land": First Edition of Pearl Buck's The Good Earth; Inscribed by Her
BUCK, Pearl S.
The Good Earth.
New York: John Day, 1931.
First edition, first issue with "flees" for "fleas" on page 100, line 17 of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original brown cloth, illustrated endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed and dated by Pearl Buck on the half-title page. Buck also underlined the error "flees" on page 100, and marked it with an arrow on the left margin. It is interesting to note that Buck knew the first issue points and makes note of it. Near fine in the original dust jacket with some tape repairs to the verso. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 80122
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“It does not do to dwell on dreams and forget to live": First Edition of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone; Signed by J.K. Rowling and twice by Illustrator Mary Grandpre
ROWLING, J.K.; Illustrated by Mary Grandpre.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
New York: Scholastic Press, 1998.
First American edition, first printing of the first book in the Harry Potter series. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated by Mary Grandpre. Boldly signed by J.K. Rowling on the second title page. Additionally signed twice by illustrator Mary Grandpre, on the title page and on the rear dust jacket flap. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional signed example.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 139502
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First Edition of Lady and the Tramp; Boldly Signed by Walt Disney, Bill Justice Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, and Woolie Reitherman
DISNEY, Walt; Ward Greene [Bill Justice].
Lady and the Tramp: The Story of Two Dogs.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953.
First edition of Lady and the Tramp, boldly signed by Walt Disney, Bill Justice and four of Disney's nine old men: Frank Thomas, Ollie Johnston, Eric Larson, and Woolie Reitherman. Octavo, original cloth, with charming illustrations by Joe G. Rinaldi. Signed by Walt Disney on the title page in crayon and on the front free endpaper by Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas in crayon, Woolie Reitherman in pencil, and Eric Larson and Bill Justice in pen. Foreword by Walt Disney. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A unique example.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 140785
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"Love, Jerry Salinger": Scarce autograph note signed and entirely in the hand of J.D. Salinger; signed by him two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day
SALINGER, J.D.
J.D. Salinger Autograph Letter Signed.
1944.
Scarce autograph note signed by J.D. Salinger on April 4, 1944, two months and two days before he saw combat at Utah Beach on D-Day. One page from an oblong octavo autograph album bound in full leather, the note is dated 4/4/44 and reads, "Dear Molly - I just don't have anything bright to say. But I'd like to send you some of my work, and I'd like to take you to a nice place in London where we might get pretty drunk and mellow. Maybe later in The War or after. I'd like that. You remind me of very…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 117208
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The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad; first editions of each volume finely bound in full morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe
CONRAD, Joseph.
The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad. [Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, The Nigger of “Narcissus”, Tales of Unrest, Lord Jim, The Inheritors, Youth: and Two Other Stories, Romance, Typhoon and Other Stories, Nostromo, The Mirror of the Sea, The Secret Agent, A Set of Six, Under Western Eyes, Some Reminiscences, ‘Twist Land & Sea Tales, Chance, Victory, Within the Tides, The Shadow Line, The Arrow of Gold, On Day More, The Rescue].
London: Various Publishers, 1895-1920.
Rare finely bound first edition collection of the writings of Joseph Conrad including a first issue of Almayer's Folly. Octavo, 23 volumes bound in full crushed crimson levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt banes, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbons bound in. Each volume is a first edition with the original cloth covers and spines bound in at the rear of each volume (with the exception of Almayer's Folly and Tales of Unrest). In near fine condition. A stunning set. Rare…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 118074
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"IT IS NOT DOWN ON ANY MAP; TRUE PLACES NEVER ARE": FIRST EDITION OF HERMAN MELVILLE'S MOBY DICK; in the rare red variant cloth
MELVILLE, Herman.
Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1851.
First edition, first issue binding of Melville’s masterpiece. Octavo, original red variant cloth (BAL’s A grain), covers stamped in blind with Harper’s circular device at the center of the front panel within a heavy blind ruled frame, plain white endpapers. Issued in a single volume, in black, green, blue, red, purple, slate or brown cloth, gilt. The first state of the binding has a circular device at center of covers that is absent from the second state binding. Much has been made of whether the earliest copies bound should have orange-coated end papers, but in fact there is no priority…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 142813
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“IT MATTERS NOT WHAT SOMEONE IS BORN, BUT WHAT THEY GROW TO BE": FIRST EDITION OF HARRY POTTER AND THE GOBLET OF FIRE; INSCRIBED BY J.K. ROWLING TO BRYONY EVENS
ROWLING, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Goblet Of Fire.
London: Bloomsbury, 2000.
First edition of the fourth book in Rowling's acclaimed Harry Potter series. Octavo, original illustrated boards. Association copy, inscribed by Rowling on the half-title page, "to Bryony, who really did discover Harry Potter J.K. Rowling." The recipient, Bryony Evens was one of the first people to read the beginning chapters of the first book in the series, Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone, the first to recognize the work’s inherent value, and perhaps the most instrumental figure in getting the book published. Working at the time at Christopher Little Literary Agency, Evens was the first point of contact in receiving…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 115749
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"Pain is truth; all else is subject to doubt": Waiting For the Barbarians; Inscribed by Nobel Prize-Winning Author J.M. Coetzee to his Wife
COETZEE, J.M.
Waiting for the Barbarians.
Johannesburg : Ravan Press, 1981.
First South African edition of this modern classic. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his first wife on the title page, "Philippa love from John." Philippa Jubber and John Maxwell Coetzee were married in 1963. They had two children, Nicolas (1966–1989) and Gisela (b. 1968). In 1965 Coetzee entered the graduate school of the University of Texas at Austin, and in 1968 graduated with a PhD in English, linguistics, and Germanic languages. His doctoral dissertation was on the early fiction of Samuel Beckett. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some toning to the spine.…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 133608
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Exceptional rare Aldine Press of Homer's The Odyssey
HOMER,.
The Odyssey.
Venice: Aldine Press, 1524.
Rare third Aldine edition of Homer's The Odyssey. Small octavo, original vellum with the title to the spine in manuscript, with woodcut Aldine device to title and final colophon leaf. In excellent condition with some minor toning to the leaves. Exceptionally rare, with only two having appeared at auction in the last 80 years. This is one of the earliest obtainable examples of Homer's landmark work.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 91267
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First Edition of All Quiet On The Western Front; Inscribed by Eric Maria Remarque
REMARQUE, Erich Maria.
All Quiet On The Western Front.
Boston: Little, Brown & Company, 1929.
First American edition of this landmark novel of the 20th century. Octavo, original beige cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, To Mary Constance Ryder with my best wishes- New York July 1945 Eric Maria Remarque." Near fine in a very good dust jacket with a few small chips and light wear. Jacket design by Paul Wenck. Translated by A.W. Wheen. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Signed and inscribed first editions are rare.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 121588
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"The light music of whisky falling into glasses made an agreeable interlude": First Edition of James Joyce's The Dubliners
JOYCE, James.
Dubliners.
London: Grant Richards, 1914.
Rare first edition of Joyce’s first prose work, his great collection of short stories, one of approximately 746 copies bound in the publisher's maroon cloth.. Octavo, original red cloth. In very good condition, with the spine gilt fresh, bookplate to the front pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise clamshell box. An exceptional example.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 143802
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“All that hitchhikin All that railroadin All that comin back to America”: FIRST EDITION OF JACK KEROUAC’S Lonesome Traveler; Signed by Him
KEROUAC, Jack; Drawings by Larry Rivers.
Lonesome Traveler.
New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company, 1960.
First edition of this collection of short stories. Octavo, original half cloth, drawings by Larry Rivers. Boldly signed by Jack Kerouac on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed, this is the first example we have seen.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 114572