New Arrivals
Showing 1–60 of 220 results
-
Browse by Category
- Browse All
- Americana
- Art and Architecture
- Autograph Letters Signed
- Biography and Autobiography
- Children's Books
- Economics and Finance
- Featured Rare Books
- Fine Bindings and Sets
- First Edition
- First Edition>Signed
- Food and Wine
- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents
- Gifts
- Gifts - For Her
- Gifts - For Him
- Gifts - Graduation and Celebrations
- Gifts - Holidays
- History, Law, and Politics
- Literature
- Music
- New Arrivals
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Poetry
- Presidents and World Leaders
- Religion
- Science and Natural History
- Science Fiction and Mystery
- Signed
- Signed & Autographed Books
- Sports and Leisure
- Travel and Exploration
- Uncategorized
-
Exceedingly rare first edition, first issue presentation copy of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit; inscribed by Tolkien to the Livesleys who ran the summer guest cottage in the village of Sidmouth which inspired 'The Shire' and where Tolkien did much of his writing
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
The Hobbit.
London: George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1937.
First edition, first issue of Tolkien's classic tale, "among the very highest achievements of children’s authors during the 20th century” (Carpenter & Pritchard, 530), one of only a handful of presentation copies reserved for Tolkien to give to family members, colleagues and close friends. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, frontispiece and 9 full-page uncolored illustrations after drawings by Tolkien. Presentation copy, inscribed by Tolkien on the flyleaf, "Mr. & Mrs. Livesley & Edgar with best wishes from J.R.R. Tolkien." The recipients, the Livesleys and their son Edgar, ran the Kennaway House, a Regency town house in the village of Sidmouth,…
Price: $475,000.00 Item Number: 135801
-
“Man selects only for his own good: Nature only for that of the being which she tends": First Edition of Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species
DARWIN, Charles.
On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life.
London: John Murray, 1859.
First edition of "certainly the most important biological book ever written" (Freeman), one of 1250 copies. Octavo, bound in original cloth, half-title, one folding lithographed diagram, without advertisements. In fine condition with a touch of shelfwear. Housed in a custom clamshell box. An exceptional example of this landmark work, one of the nicest extant.
Price: $400,000.00 Item Number: 116380
-
“A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment": Rare First Edition of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
AUSTEN, Jane.
Pride and Prejudice.
London: Printed for T. Egerton, 1813.
First editions of all three volumes of Jane Austen's second novel and most popular. Octavo, three volumes, bound in contemporary three quarter calf, gilt titles to the spine. An exceptional example of this landmark work in English literature, most rare and desirable bound in contemporary calf.
Price: $175,000.00 Item Number: 133221
-
“YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE: ONCE WHEN YOU ARE BORN AND ONCE WHEN YOU LOOK DEATH IN THE FACE”: COMPLETE SET OF IAN FLEMING'S JAMES BOND NOVELS; IN THE RARE ORIGINAL DUST JACKETS
FLEMING, Ian.
Complete Set of 14 First Edition James Bond Novels: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds are Forever, From Russia with Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories including A View to a Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who loved Me, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1953-66.
First editions of each volume in Ian Fleming's James Bond series. Octavo, 14 volumes, original cloth. Each volume is fine in near fine to fine first-issue dust jackets. Each volume is housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional collection of first editions, most rare in this condition.
Price: $125,000.00 Item Number: 132739
-
Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs; containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower
WASHINGTON, George; John Adams; Thomas Jefferson; James Madison; James Monroe; John Quincy Adams; Andrew Jackson; Martin Van Buren; William Henry Harrison; John Tyler; James Polk; Zachary Taylor; Millard Fillmore; Franklin Pierce; James Buchanan; Abraham Lincoln; Andrew Johnson; Ulysses S. Grant; Rutherford B. Hayes; James Garfield; Chester A. Arthur; Grover Cleveland; William McKinley; Theodore Roosevelt; William H. Taft; Woodrow Wilson; Warren G. Harding; Calvin Coolidge; Herbert Hoover; Franklin D. Roosevelt; Harry Truman; Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Autographs of the Presidents of the United States of America.
1783-1956.
Elaborately bound collection of Presidential autographs, containing the autograph of each of the first 34 Presidents of the United States from George Washington to Dwight D. Eisenhower. Quarto, bound in full red morocco by Riviere & Son with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt presidential seal to the front panel with white and blue morocco onlays, gilt arms and motto of George Washington to the rear panel with white and blue morocco onlays and his gilt signature in facsimile, centerpieces within quintuple gilt ruling with star emblems at each corner, blue…
Price: $80,000.00 Item Number: 125384
-
“What does the brain matter compared with the heart?”: First Edition of Virginia Woolf's Mrs Dalloway; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
WOOLF, Virginia.
Mrs Dalloway.
London: Hogarth Press, 1925.
First edition of one of Woolf's best-known novels, one of only 2000 copies. Octavo, original orange cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light wear to the extremities. From the library of Virginia bibliophile and historian Christopher Clark Geest with his bookplate to the pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example, scarce and desirable in the original dust jacket and in this condition.
Price: $56,000.00 Item Number: 99750
-
“Give me liberty, or give me death": Scarce 1776 separate edition of the Large Additions to Common Sense
PAINE, Thomas.
Large Additions to Common Sense; Addressed to the Inhabitants of America.
Philadelphia: Printed and sold, by R. Bell in Third-Street, 1776.
Scarce 1776 separate edition of the Large Additions to Common Sense. The title reads in full: Large Additions To Common Sense: Addressed To The Inhabitants Of America On The Following Interesting Subjects. I. The American Patriot’s Prayer. II. American Independancy, defended by Candidus. III. The Propriety of Independancy, by Demophilus The dread of Tyrants, and the sole resource Of those that under grim Oppression groan. Thomson. IV. A Review of the American Contest with some Strictures on the King’s Speech. Addressed to All Parents in the Thirteen United Colonies by a Friend To Posterity And Mankind. V. Letter to Lord…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 106523
-
"Taking the pledge will not make bad liquor good, but it will improve it": The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; inscribed by Mark Twain
TWAIN, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Tom Sawyer’s Comrade).
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1886.
Early printing of Twain's masterpiece, inscribed by Mark Twain. Octavo, bound in half buckram by Roycroft with paper labels to the spine, tissue-guarded frontispiece photogravure plate of Gerhardt's bust of Clemens, one hundred and seventy-four illustrations by E. W. Kemble. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Mr. Garth W. Cate: Taking the pledge will not make bad liquor good, but it will improve it. Truly Yours, Mark Twain, Nov. 25/06." With a lengthy letter of provenance dated October 14, 1964 and signed by the recipient which reads in part, "Dear Mr. Jacobs, If I had been younger…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 123083
-
"In the midst of winter, I found there was, within me, an invincible summer": First American Edition of Albert Camus’ Classic Novel The Stranger; Inscribed by Him to fellow novelist Vincent Sheean
CAMUS, Albert.
The Stranger.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.
First American edition of Camus' first novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original beige cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "A Vincent Sheean pour le remercier de savoir si bien parler de Stendhal Sympathiquement Albert Camus." The recipient, Vincent Sheean was an American journalist and novelist. Sheean's most famous work was Personal History, which won one of the inaugural National Book Awards: the Most Distinguished Biography of 1935. Film producer Walter Wanger acquired the political memoir and made it the basis for his 1940 film production Foreign Correspondent, directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Sheean wrote the narration for…
Price: $45,000.00 Item Number: 97850
-
"There are cases in which the greatest daring is the greatest wisdom": FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF ARGUABLY THE MOST IMPORTANT TREATISE ON POLITICAL-MILITARY ANALYSIS AND STRATEGY EVER WRITTEN; CARL VON CLAUSEWITZ'S ON WAR
VON CLAUSEWITZ, Carl Philipp Gottfried.
On War.
London: N. Trubner & Co., 1873.
First edition in English of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written. Small quarto, three volumes complete in one, original cloth, frontispiece portrait of Clausewitz. Translated by Colonel J. J. Graham from the third German edition. In near fine condition. From the library of Lt. Colonel Walter Pipon Braithwaite with his bookplate and ownership signature. General Sir Walter Pipon Braithwaite was a British Army officer who held senior commands during the First World War. After being dismissed from his position as Chief of Staff for the Mediterranean Expeditionary Force, he received some acclaim as a…
Price: $40,000.00 Item Number: 127055
-
First Edition in English of Albert Camus’ Classic Novel The Stranger; Inscribed by Him
CAMUS, Albert.
The Stranger.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1946.
First American edition of Camus' first novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original beige cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "A Muriel Sutman nous ne sommes pas des étrangers, Albert Camus." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Warren Chappell. Translated by Stuart Gilbert. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Presentation copies of The Stranger are rare, with only one appearing at auction in the past 70 years.
Price: $37,500.00 Item Number: 116373
-
"The first atlas of the new world": First complete edition in Italian of Ptolemy's La Geographia, the earliest and most comprehensive small-format world atlas published
PTOLEMY, Claudius.
Le Geographia di Claudio Ptolemeo Alessandrino, Con alcuni comenti & aggiunte fattevi da Sebastiano munstero, Con le tavole non solamente antiche & moderne solite di staparsi.
Venice: G. B. Pedrezano, 1547.
First complete edition in Italian of Ptolemy's "first atlas of the new world" (Nordenskiöld) and the most detailed and comprehensive world atlas published prior to Ortelius's Theatrum in 1570. Small octavo, bound in full vellum with gilt morocco spine label, all edges speckled red, woodcut border to the title page, woodcut initials and illustrations throughout the text including a portrait of an astronomer and 60 double-page engraved maps designed by Giacomo Gastaldi. The majority of the 34 maps of the modern world are entirely new first appearances, including 7 maps of the Americas. Among the maps of the Americas is…
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 95367
-
Complete Set of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Deluxe Editions; Each Signed by Her
ROWLING, J.K.
Harry Potter Series Complete Deluxe Set. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.
London: Bloomsbury, 1997-2007.
First editions of the deluxe edition of each book in Rowling's Harry Potter series. Octavo, 7 volumes, original decorative cloth as issued. Each volume is signed by J.K. Rowling and were collected in person by the previous owner. The Prisoner of Azkaban is inscribed. In fine condition. No dust jackets were issued for these volumes. Scarce and desirable.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 81035
-
First Edition of STEPHEN HAWKING'S LANDMARK WORK A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME; Signed by Him
HAWKING, Stephen W.
A Brief History of Time: From the Big Bang to Black Holes.
London: Bantam Press, 1988.
First edition of Hawking’s groundbreaking work. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Ron Miller. Presentation copy, signed by Stephen Hawking on the title page with his thumbprint, "For John Simpson, this unique signature has been printed by Stephen Hawking." Fine in a fine dust jacket. Author photograph by David Gamble. First printings are exceptionally rare and desirable signed.
Price: $35,000.00 Item Number: 133889
-
"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 Brocke Peters 'Tom Robinson'", and "Bonnie, Thank you so much for all your help this week. Please…
Price: $32,500.00 Item Number: 133817
-
Rare First Edition of Herodotus' Historiae, in Greek
HERODOTUS; EDITED BY ALDUS MANUTIUS,.
Historiae, In Greek.
Venice: Aldus Manutius, September, 1502.
Rare first edition of Herodotus' history of the Persian Wars, one of the most important texts edited by the great scholar-printer-publisher. Folio, bound in contemporary vellum, woodcut title in Greek and Roman letter, verso with dedication in Latin, text in Greek letter throughout with spaces for capital letters, woodcut device on title and last page. Aldus claims in the dedication that he corrected the text from multiple exemplars, one of the few instances where such a claim by him is justified and can be verified. He was the first to have access to the 'Florentine' codices, where Valla had used the…
Price: $32,000.00 Item Number: 96588
-
First Edition of That Hideous Strength; Inscribed by C.S. Lewis to George Orwell
LEWIS, C.S.
That Hideous Strength.
London: John Lane, The Bodley Head, 1943.
First edition of the final novel in Lewis' acclaimed Space Trilogy. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by C.S. Lewis to fellow writer and journalist George Orwell and his wife (Eric and Eileen Blair) on the front free endpaper, "To the Blairs, with kind regards, C.S. Lewis Aug. 1945." This is the review copy used in George Orwell's literary review of the book which was published in the Manchester Evening News on August 16th 1945. Also with three hand-corrections to the text in Lewis' hand which he made in all review copies before personally sending to critics. Although Lewis and Orwell…
Price: $30,000.00 Item Number: 81218
-
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
-
Extremely rare first Latin edition of Galileo's revolutionary Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems
GALILEI, Galileo.
Systema Cosmicum in Quo Quatuor Dialogis, de Duobus Maximis Mundi Systematibus, Ptolemaico et Copernicano. [Dialogue Concerning the Two Chief World Systems].
Strasbourg: D. Hauttius for the Elzevir, 1635.
Rare first Latin edition of Galileo's epoch-making Dialogo, the summation of the extraordinary mathematician's astronomical thought and the work which directly precipitated his 1663 trial and judgement for heresy. Preceded only by the 1632 edition in Italian. Small octavo, bound in full contemporary vellum, engraved additional title page, full page engraved frontispiece portrait of Galileo by Jacob van der Heyden, woodcut diagrams, with the final leaf of errata. This Latin edition includes two tracts in the appendix not in the Italian edition of 1632, and it is the only major work of Galileo's to be published outside Italy during his…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 93890
-
Rare 1617 Edition of Vesalius's Epitome containing 39 full-page anatomically illustrated plates
VESALIUS, Andreas. (Thomas Geminus).
Anatomia in Quat Tota Humani Corporis Fabrica. (Anatomy in Total of the Fabric of the Human Body).
Amsterdam: Joannes Janssonius, 1617.
Rare edition of the Epitome of Vesalius, first published in 1543 as an abbreviated dissection room manual to accompany his masterpiece De Humani Corporis Fabrica (On the Fabric of the Human Body). Folio, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, red spine label, raised tooled bands, marbled endpapers, engraved pictorial title page. Engraved portrait of Vesalius, engraved folding plate of Adam and Eve after that in the epitome before the main text. Containing 39 full-page anatomically illustrated plates, woodcut headpieces and initials. In near fine condition. Captions in both Latin and German, having been otherwise taken directly from…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 74638
-
First edition of Alexander Hamilton's Examination of President Thomas Jefferson's Message at the Opening of Congress December 7, 1801; from the library of Hamilton's close friend and colleague James Kent
HAMILTON, Alexander. [James Kent].
The Examination of the President’s Message at the Opening of Congress December 7, 1801.
Printed and Published at the Office of the New York Evening Post: New York, 1802.
First separate edition of Hamilton's analysis of Jefferson's first Annual Message to Congress which first appeared in the Evening Post, under the signature of Lucius Crassus. Howes H112. Octavo, bound in quarter morocco. Association copy, from the library of American jurist James Kent with his ownership signature to the title page. American jurist, New York legislator and legal scholar James Kent was part of the same legal elite in New York as Hamilton, and an ardent Federalist and admirer of both Hamilton and Jay. At the time of the present publication, he sat on the bench of the New York…
Price: $28,000.00 Item Number: 131843
-
“I am so clever that sometimes I don't understand a single word of what I am saying": The Works of Oscar Wilde; One of 80 Sets Bound in Japanese Vellum
WILDE, Oscar.
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde.
London: Methuen & Co, 1908.
First collected edition, one of 80 sets on Japanese vellum, the rarest and most desirable of Wilde's works. Octavo, 14 volumes, bound in original vellum, gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel with the design by Charles Ricketts, top edge gilt. "The text is taken in most instances from the last editions issued under the superintendence of the author. In some cases the volumes contain additional matter which had not previously been reprinted, while some of the volumes contain matter here published for the first time" (Mason). In near fine condition. Rare and desirable, especially in this…
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 103150
-
First Edition of The Worst Journey in the World; Inscribed by the Author in Each Volume
CHERRY-GARRARD, Apsley.
The Worst Journey in the World.
London: Constable & Company, 1922.
First edition of this classic memoir of the 1910–1913 British Antarctic Expedition. Octavo, two volumes, original half white cloth, gray paper boards. Inscribed by Apsley Cherry-Garrard in each each volume. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities. First editions signed and inscribed are of exceptional rarity.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 33035
-
"The first surgical work by an American and printed in North America": John Jones' Plain Concise Practical Remarks, on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures
JONES, John.
Plain Concise Practical Remarks, on the Treatment of Wounds and Fractures.
Philadelphia: Robert Bell, 1776.
Exceptionally rare edition of the first surgical work by an American and printed in North America. Octavo, bound in nineteenth century three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, frontispiece. Jones' work was the accepted guide to surgical practice during the American Revolutionary War" G&M 2155; Austin 1843; Evans 15100 and 14814; Sabin 94063 and 36524. In near fine condition.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 91322
-
"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: $25,000.00 Item Number: 132338
-
Rare first edition of one of the earliest chess manuals; Pietro Carrera's Game of Chess
CARRERA, Pietro.
Il Gioco De Gli Scacchi Di D. Pietro Carrera Diviso in Otto Libri. (The Game of Chess).
Militello: Giovanni de' Rossi, 1617.
Rare first edition of one of the early chess manuals, and the first book printed in Militello at Prince Francesco Branciforte's private press. Octavo, bound in full contemporary vellum with ink titles to the spine, large engraving of the Branciforte coat of arms opposite the dedication page, woodcut illustrations throughout the text. In near fine condition. First editions are of exceptional rarity, with only three appearing at auction in the past 90 years.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 96172
-
“I've got the key to my castle in the air, but whether I can unlock the door remains to be seen": Rare FIRST EDITIONS OF BOTH PARTS OF LITTLE WOMEN, IN ORIGINAL CLOTH
ALCOTT, Louisa May.
Little Women and Little Women, Part the Second.
Boston: Robert Brothers, 1868-69.
First editions of both volumes of Alcott's most coveted work. Octavo, two volumes in the original green cloth with gilt titles and decorations to the spine and front panel, each volume illustrated with four plates including frontispiece; those in the first part created by the author’s sister, May. Little Women is first issue with all points including Little Women priced at $1.25 in terminal advertisements. Little Women, Part Second is mixed state, with notice about Part First on page iv and lacking terminal advertisements. Both volumes in very good to near fine condition with rubbing to the extremities. Housed in…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 111053
-
“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
-
First Edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Vegetable; Inscribed by Him to Legendary Actor and co-counder of Goldwyn Pictures Edgar Selwyn
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: $22,500.00 Item Number: 134567
-
"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
-
“Never test another man by your own weakness": First Edition of Joseph Conrad's Lord Jim; Inscribed by Him
CONRAD, Joseph.
Lord Jim.
New York: Doubleday & McClure Co, 1901.
First American edition of one of Conrad’s finest novels. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Signed for Richard Curle by Joseph Conrad this 24 January 1920." Laid into this volume is also a letter from Curle, dated November 11th, 1922, which begins, "I saw in a catalogue a copy of a book signed to me by Conrad and thought to discover how it had got there..." Curle was a Scottish author, traveler and bibliophile and was a frequent correspondent of Conrad's, for whom he acted as an assistant during the novelist's later years. In…
Price: $22,000.00 Item Number: 78009
-
First Edition of Martin Luther's King Jr.'s Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?; inscribed by him
KING JR., Martin Luther.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1967.
First edition of King's "last grand expression of his vision" (Cornel West). Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with eight pages of black-and-white photogravures. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Lester Arnet In appreciation for your great support Martin Luther King Jr." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ronald Clyne. Jacket photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Bob Fitch. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 133573
-
“Don't you know that everybody's got a Fairyland of their own?”: Rare First Edition of Mary Poppins; Signed by P.L. Travers
TRAVERS, P.L.
Mary Poppins.
New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1934.
First American edition of this children's classic. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with 27 line cuts (13 full-page) and chapter tailpieces by Mary Shepard. Boldly signed by P.L. Travers on the front free endpaper. Very good in a very good dust jacket with some light rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 96590
-
"I would advise anyone who wants to get to the kernel of the life of a Polar explorer to read the book": Edition De Luxe of Antarctic Days; Signed by Shackleton, Murray and Marston
SHACKLETON, Ernest; James Murray and George Marston.
Antarctic Days. Sketches of the Homely Side of Polar Life by Two of Shackleton’s Men: Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
London: Andrew Melrose, 1913.
Limited edition de luxe of this account of the 1907-09 Nimrod Expedition under Shackleton. number 181 of 280 copies signed on the recto of the limitation leaf by E.H. Shackleton, James Murray and George Marston. Octavo, original blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel with a mounted color illustration, top edge gilt, 4 mounted color plates after watercolors by C. Day, 34 photo illustrations on 28 plates. In near fine condition with a light rubbing, with the original dust jacket lacking the spine. A very nice example, as most copies have been rebound and we have…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 132467
-
"I hope that this book ain't so silly and that it will always remain in the cas[s]a": First Edition of Where the Sidewalk Ends, Signed by Shel Silverstein; Inscribed to the Children of His Editor
SILVERSTEIN, Shel.
Where the Sidewalk Ends: Poems and Drawings.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1974.
First edition of the author's first collection of children's poetry. Stated first edition on the copyright page. Small quarto, original brown cloth, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by Shel Silverstein with an original poem on the front free endpapers to the children of his editor and publicist William Cole, "For Alex and Rossa and Billy, I hope that this book ain't so silly and that it will always remain in the cas[s]a (The superfluous 's' has been scribbled out with footnote "Bill Cole's Incessant Editorial Meddling") of Billy and Alex Rossa (Not a bad rhyme for three such difficult names and…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 91344
-
“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. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 99635
-
"War is the continuation of politics by other means": Scarce First Edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written; Carl von Clausewitz's On War
VON CLAUSEWITZ, Carl Philipp Gottfried.
Vom Kriege. Hinterlassenes Werk. [On War].
Berlin: Ferdinand Dümmler, 1832-34.
Scarce first edition of arguably the most important treatise on political-military analysis and strategy ever written. Octavo, three volumes bound in contemporary half cloth over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 123578
-
"A man does what he must — in spite of personal consequences, in spite of obstacles and dangers, and pressures — and that is the basis of all human morality": First Edition of Kennedy's Profiles In Courage; Signed by Him to Fell U.S. Senator Frederick Payne
KENNEDY, John F.
Profiles In Courage.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1956.
First edition of Kennedy's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original half cloth, with eight pages of black-and-white photogravures. Foreword by Allan Nevins. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Fred Payne with the highest regards John Kennedy." The recipient Frederick G. Payne was a United States Senator from Maine from 1953 to 1959. He previously served as the 60th Governor of Maine from 1949 to 1952. Kennedy and Payne worked together in the Senate in the 1950s and were close friends. "From the Personal Library of Senator Frederick G. Payne" stamped opposite the front free endpaper,…
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 74004
-
Rare First Edition, First Printing of Mark Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, and Other Sketches.
New York: C.H. Webb, 1867.
First edition, first printing of the author's rare first book. Octavo, original cloth, first issue lacking the leaf of ads facing the title page but with unbroken type on pages 21, 66 and 198. In very good condition with light wear to the extremities. A sharp example.
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 125145
-
"But man is not made for defeat," he said. "A man can be destroyed but not defeated": First Edition of Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the Sea; inscribed by him to close friend Sara Murphy
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
The Old Man and the Sea.
New York: Charles Scribner's & Sons, 1952.
First edition of Hemingway's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and one of his most famous works. Octavo, original blue cloth. Association copy, with one of Hemingway's calling cards tipped which is inscribed by him, "Dearest Sara you might like this one Ernest." The recipient, Sara Murphy and her husband Gerald Clery Murphy were expatriate Americans who moved to France in the 1920s and, through their generous hospitality and flair for parties, created a vibrant social circle of artists and writers on the French Riviera. The group included a number of great artists and writers of the Lost Generation including Ernest Hemingway, Zelda…
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 133730
-
"When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has sooner or later its peculiar autumnal tint, or tints": The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau; In the Original Binding
THOREAU, Henry David.
The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of Henry David Thoreau.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906.
The manuscript edition of the writings of Henry David Thoreau. With the original manuscript sheet by Thoreau from his journal tipped-in to volume 1. The two page manuscript fragment comprises 58 lines from "Autumnal Tints," in altered form, published in the Atlantic Monthly, October 1862, and collected in Excursions the following year. The fragment concludes with the line containing the title phrase: "When you come to observe faithfully the changes of each humblest plant, you find that each has sooner or later its peculiar autumnal tint, or tints [...]." Octavo, 20 volumes. Bound in the publisher's three-quarter green morocco over…
Price: $18,500.00 Item Number: 97590
-
"A Major Source for Shakespeare": Second and preferred edition of Holinshed's Chronicles of England, Scotland and Ireland
HOLINSHED, Raphael.
The First and Second Volumes of Chronicles of England, Scotland, and Ireland With: The Third volume of Chronicles, beginning at Duke William the Norman [Holinshed Chronicles].
London: John Harrison, George Bishop, Rafe Newberie, Henrie Denham, and Thomas Woodcocke, 1587.
Preferred second edition of the greatest Elizabethan repository of English history which served as an important source for Shakespeare's plays. Folios, 3 volumes bound into 2, bound in full calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, red morocco spine labels, gilt ruled, woodcut initials and title pages. Separate title pages and pagination for The Description and Historie of England, The Description and Historie of Ireland, and The Description and Historie of Scotland comprising volume 1. When this expanded second edition of the Chronicles appeared in January 1587, the Privy Council, responding to Queen Elizabeth’s displeasure at certain passages, ordered the Archbishop…
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 95438
-
First Edition of Martin Luther's King Jr.'s Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?; inscribed by him
KING JR., Martin Luther.
Where Do We Go From Here: Chaos or Community?
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1967.
First edition of King's "last grand expression of his vision" (Cornel West). Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated with eight pages of black-and-white photogravures. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Mr. H.O. Wilson In appreciation for your great support Martin Luther King Jr." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Ronald Clyne. Jacket photograph of Martin Luther King, Jr. by Bob Fitch. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 120468
-
“It is a curious fate to be objectified alive. Think with humor while reading": First Edition of Anton Reiser's Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait; Inscribed by Albert Einstein with an original poem
REISER, Anton. [Albert Einstein].
Albert Einstein: A Biographical Portrait.
New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1930.
First edition of this Einstein biography written by Rudolf Kayser, a German literary historian and husband to Albert Einstein's stepdaughter Ilse under the pseudonym Anton Reiser. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Inscribed by Albert Einstein with an original poem on the front free endpaper in German, which translates as, "It is a curious fate to be objectified alive. Think with humor while reading. A. Einstein." From the library of Alexandre and Catherine Barjansky with her ownership signature to the verso of the front panel and notation below Einstein's inscription, "S.S. 'Belgenland,' New-York, 14/XII/30." Russian sculptress Catherine Barjansky, her celebrated cellist husband, and Einstein…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 90431
-
“UNDOUBTEDLY, PHILOSOPHERS ARE IN THE RIGHT WHEN THEY TELL US THAT NOTHING IS GREAT OR LITTLE OTHERWISE THAN BY COMPARISON": First edition of Johnathan Swift's masterpiece Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World
SWIFT, Jonathan.
Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, first Surgeon, and then Captain of Several Ships. [Gulliver’s Travels].
London: Printed for Benj. Motte, at the Middle Temple-Gate in Fleet-Street, 1726.
First edition of Swift's masterpiece with Teerink-Scouten 290 (AA), with title page variant in volume II without the edition statement, but with "Vol. II", author portrait with Latin verses beneath printed on paper with vertical chain lines. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in full calf, illustrated with five engraved maps and one engraved table. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 133845
-
"what first attracts our interest in the person of Moses is his name": First Edition of Freud's Moses And Monotheism; Inscribed by Him To His Niece
FREUD, Sigmund.
Moses And Monotheism.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1939.
First American edition of last book written and published in Sigmund Freud's lifetime. Presentation copy, inscribed on the front free endpaper, "To dear Poppy from Uncle Sigm. London 1939." The eldest daughter of Freud's elder brother, Philipp, Pauline "Poppy" Freud was born in 1873 when Sigmund was seventeen years old. Freud visited Pauline and her parents in Manchester, England periodically throughout her childhood and maintained correspondence with Pauline well into her adulthood, visiting her and her husband, Frederick Oswald Hartwig, in London in 1939. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some wear to the extremities. Housed in a…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 67018
-
"I'm wearing a necklace and ear-rings so that the mountains can enjoy looking at them!": Exceptionally rare collection of autograph letters signed by reclusive author P.L. Travers
TRAVERS, P.L.
Collection of P. L. Travers Autograph Letters Signed Archive.
1974-1993.
Exceptionally rare collection of 28 typed and hand written letters and notes signed by the author of Mary Poppins, P. L. Travers. 36 pages, the letters are a collection of 20 years of correspondence between Travers and close personal friends John and Jacqueline Rutherfurd and offer an intimate glimpse into Travers' personal life and many travels. In one note dated August 10, 1981, Travers writes: "Dear Jaqueline, I write, with a newly overhauled portable (and see how it works and imagine what I will have to say to them when I get back to London!) from Chandolin, the highest lived-in-all-the-year-round…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 92809
-
First Edition of Lady and the Tramp; Boldly Signed by Walt Disney
DISNEY, Walt; Ward Greene.
Lady and the Tramp.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1953.
First edition of Lady and the Tramp, boldly signed across the title page by Walt Disney in his usual blue crayon. Octavo, original cloth, with charming illustrations by Joe G. Rinaldi. Foreword by Walt Disney. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Scarce and desirable signed by Walt Disney, especially in this condition.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 135081
-
First Edition of Derek Parfit's Reasons and Persons; Inscribed by Him to fellow oxford professor Tony Honoré
PARFIT, Derek.
Reasons and Persons.
Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1984.
First edition of one of the most important philosophical texts of the second half the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "To Tony, with love from Derek 7 May '84." The recipient, Tony Honoré was a close friend of Parfit's and the longest serving Professor of Law at Oxford where Pafit was a professor. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Books signed by Parfit are rare.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 123431
-
"It is said that men condemned to death are subject to sudden moments of elation; as if, like moths in the fire, their destruction were coincidental with attainment": First Edition of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold; Signed by John Le Carre
LE CARRE, John.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1963.
First edition of le Carre's classic work, which went on to reinvigorate the spy genre. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the title page in a contemporary hand, "David Cornwell aka John le Carre." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 115768
-
“NIELSEN’S MOST SPECTACULAR AND CELEBRATED BOOK”: SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF EAST OF THE SUN AND WEST OF THE MOON
NIELSEN, Kay. Asbjornsen.
East of the Sun West of the Moon: Old Tales from the North.
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1914.
Signed limited edition of one of the most important and impressive books of the Golden Age of book illustration. One of 500 numbered copies, this is number 41. Quarto, original vellum, gilt titles and decoration to spine and front cover gilt, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers. Signed by the illustrator Kay Nielsen. With 25 tipped in color plates. In near fine condition. A very nice example. Laid is the original notice for the Leicester Galleries exhibition held in November and December of 1914, where the watercolors for this book were offered for sale.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 69026
-
First edition of the second book on architecture published in America: Owen Biddle's The Young Carpenter's Assistant
BIDDLE, Owen.
The Young Carpenter’s Assistant; Or, A System Of Architecture, Adapted To The Style Of Building In The United States.
Philadelphia: Benjamin Johnson, 1805.
First edition of the second book on architecture published in America, second only to Asher Benjamin's Country Builder's Assistant' published in 1797( Shaw & Shoemaker, 8018). Quarto, bound in full calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, illustrated with 44 engraved plates, 2 folding. In very good condition. Scarce with only 2 copies having appeared at auction in the past 50 years.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 117672
-
"I want to be a healer, and love all things that grow and are not barren": J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings Trilogy; Finely Bound
TOLKIEN, J.R.R.
The Lord of The Rings Trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King.
London: George Allen and Unwin, 1966.
Finely bound set of each title comprising the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in full red morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front panels, folding maps. In fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase. The first printing of the second, revised, edition (with "Second Edition 1966" on the copyright page with no further printings listed). An exceptional set.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 133131
-
"I would advise anyone who wants to get to the kernel of the life of a Polar explorer to read the book": Edition De Luxe of Antarctic Days; Signed by Shackleton, Murray and Marston
SHACKLETON, Ernest; James Murray and George Marston.
Antarctic Days. Sketches of the Homely Side of Polar Life by Two of Shackleton’s Men: Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
London: Andrew Melrose, 1913.
Limited edition de luxe, numbered 85 of 280 copies signed on the recto of the limitation leaf by E.H. Shackleton, James Murray and George Marston. Octavo, original blue cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel with a mounted color illustration, top edge gilt, 4 mounted color plates after watercolors by C. Day, 34 photo illustrations on 28 plates. In near fine condition with a light rubbing. A very nice example, as most copies have been rebound. Introduced by Sir Ernest Shackleton.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 103746
-
Rare French Military Artillery and Fortification Manual with text in manuscript and technical drawings throughout
French Military Artillery and Fortification Manual.
Metz: Ecole Royale de l'Artillerie et du Genie, 1818-19.
Rare early 19th century French military manual created in manuscript for the Ecole Royale de 'Artillerie et du Genie (School of Application of Artillery and Engineering of Metz) containing lessons and technical drawings in the mechanics of artillery and construction of temporary and permanent military fortifications. Quarto, ten volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine and front panels, text in manuscript with technical drawings throughout. In near fine condition, internally exceptionally clean. A rare and desirable piece of 19th century French military history.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 109852
-
"WE WILL MANAGE OUR WORLD FOR OURSELVES BECAUSE IT IS OUR WORLD, COSA NOSTRA": FIRST EDITION OF THE GODFATHER; SIGNED BY MARIO PUZO, FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA AND ROBERT DE NIRO
PUZO, Mario.
The Godfather.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.
First edition of Puzo's definitive novel of the Mafia underworld. Octavo, original half black cloth. Signed by both Mario Puzo on the the front free endpaper and additionally signed on the front free endpaper by director Francis Ford Coppola and Robert De Niro. Puzo and Coppola both won an Oscar for the best adapted screenplay for The Godfather. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket art by S. Neil Fujita. A unique example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 129526
-
“Do anything, but let it produce joy": RARE SECOND EDITION OF WALT WHITMAN’S LEAVES OF GRASS; ONE OF ONE THOUSAND COPIES
WHITMAN, Walt.
Leaves of Grass.
Brooklyn, New York: Fowler and Wells, 1856.
Rare second edition, one of a 1000 copies of the most important volume in American poetry, with an additional twenty poems not found in the first edition as well as a new section of correspondence and reviews entitled “Leaves-droppings” that begins with the famous letter from Emerson containing the salutation “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” Small octavo, original green cloth. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Walt Whitman. Bookplate of Barrett Wendell to the inside panel. Barrett was an American academic and a trustee of the Boston Athenaeum, a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 50052
-
First Editions of William Klein's New York, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo; Each signed by Him
KLEIN, William.
New York, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo.
Various Places: 1956-1964.
First editions of each of the photographers famed city books. Tall quarto, 4 volumes. Each are signed by William Klein, with the caption booklet of New York signed as well. Very good to near fine books in original dust jackets showing some light rubbing and wear. A very sharp set of these volumes.
Price: $12,800.00 Item Number: 115672