“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus": First Edition of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
Twain, Mark.
$2,000.00Item Number: 37051
New York: Charles L. Webster, 1889.
First edition, first printing of a 9th-century citizen of Hartford, Connecticut who awakens to find himself transported back in time to early medieval England. Octavo, original green pictorial cloth, gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel with both first edition, first printing issue points including the S-like ornament between the two word caption on page 59 and without broken type on page 72. In near fine condition.
Mark Twain wrote A Connecticut Yankee after reading Thomas Malory's Morte d'Arthur, exploring "a number of implicit parallels between Arthur's England and the American South: slavery; an agrarian economy which came into armed conflict with an industrial economy; a chivalric code which, Clemens said, was secondhand Walter Scott and kept the South mawkish, adolescent, verbose, and addicted to leatherheaded anachronisms like duels and tournaments. In both frameworks a civil war destroys the old order, and the Yankee has as acute a sense of loss as Mark Twain did" (Kaplan, 297).
Other Books by this Author
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Rare first American edition, first printing, first state, of one of the masterpieces of American literature Tom Sawyer; Finely Bound
Twain, Mark; Samuel Langhorne Clemens.
Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876.
First edition, first printing, first state (with “THE” on half title in 10-point rather than 14-point type), peach endpapers, printed on wove paper, with preliminary matter paginated [I]-XVI and front and rear triple flyleaves of laid paper. BAL 3369. Johnson, 27-30. MacDonnell, 39-40. MacBride, 40. Octavo, bound in full blue morocco, titles to the spine in gilt, gilt tooling to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt.
Price: $6,200.00
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“Few things are harder to put up with than the annoyance of a good example": First Edition of Mark Twain's The Tragedy of Pudd'nhead Wilson
Twain, Mark.
The Tragedy of Pudd’nhead Wilson. And the Comedy, Those Extraordinary Twins.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1894.
First edition, first state of Twain’s story about two boys. Octavo, original brown cloth. In fine condition. An exceptional example.
Price: $1,250.00
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“Poor little doggie, you saved HIS child!”: First Edition of Mark Twain's A Dog's Tale; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Twain, Mark.
A Dog’s Tale.
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1904.
First edition of Twain’s famous dog story. Octavo, original cloth. Contemporary inscription to the front free endpaper, near fine in the rare original dust jacket with wear and tear and some writing on the front panel. Illustrations by W. T. Smedley. BAL 3483.
Price: $1,600.00
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Mark Twain Signed Envelope From Berlin
Twain, Mark; Samuel Clemens.
Mark Twain Signed.
Addressed envelope in Mark Twain’s hand, which reads, “Mark Twain, Hotel Royal, Berlin. Col. McClure 21 Bedford Street, Strand London England.” Double matted and framed with a portrait of Twain. The entire piece measures 15 inches by 23 inches.
Price: $2,000.00
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"I Was a Very Smart Child at the Age of Thirteen": First Edition of Mark Twain's Editorial Wild Oats; In the rare Original Dust jacket
Twain, Mark.
Editorial Wild Oats.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1905.
First edition of this collection of short stories. Octavo, original red cloth, illustrated. Fine in a very good dust jacket with some rubbing and wear to the extremities. Rare in the original jacket.
Price: $2,500.00
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"None genuine without this label on the battle": First Edition, First Issue of Mark Twain's Punch, Brothers, Punch! And Other Sketches; With a signed Note
Twain, Mark.
Punch, Brothers, Punch! And Other Sketches by Mark Twain.
New York: Slote, Woodman & Co, 1878.
First edition: title page with author’s name written in roman, letters missing from p 91, line 4, and 13 lines on p 101. Octavo, original cloth. With a signed notecard from Twain on his stationary which reads, “None genuine without this label on the battle. S.L.C. Oct. 28/ 80. Yrs Truly S.L. Clemens Mark Twain. June 1880.” Inscription to the endpaper, in near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional quote, desirable signed twice by Twain.
Price: $4,000.00
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One of 1024 Numbered Sets, Signed By Mark Twain
Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clemens).
The Writings of Mark Twain. (Including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Innocents Abroad; Life on the Mississippi; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; The Prince and the Pauper; A Tramp Abroad).
New York: Gabriel Wells, 1922.
The Definitive edition, this being number 482 of 1024 numbered sets, with volume one signed by Mark Twain and Albert Bigelow Paine. Octavo, original cloth, 35 volumes. The publisher states that Twain intended a definitive edition and therefore signed 1024 single leaves in 1906 in anticipation of this edition. In very good condition with the labels in facsimile to the spine.
Price: $4,000.00
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One of 1024 Numbered Sets, Signed By Mark Twain; Finely Bound
Twain, Mark, Samuel L. Clemens.
The Writings of Mark Twain. (Including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Innocents Abroad; Life on the Mississippi; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; The Prince and the Pauper; A Tramp Abroad).
New York: Gabriel Wells, 1922.
The Definitive Edition, one of 1024 numbered sets, with volume one signed by Mark Twain and Albert Bigelow Paine. The publisher states that Twain intended a definitive edition and signed 1024 single leaves in 1906 in anticipation of this edition. Octavo, 37 volumes, bound in full contemporary calf, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels. In near fine condition.
Price: $12,500.00
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"I begin to see that a man's got to be in his own Heaven to be happy": First Edition of Mark Twain's Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clemens).
Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven.
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1909.
First edition of the last work published by Twain during his lifetime. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece, tissue guard. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few small chips to the extremities. Uncommon in the original dust jacket.
Price: $1,500.00
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Mark Twain's Europe and Elsewhere; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Twain, Mark.
Europe and Elsewhere.
New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1923.
Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. With an appreciation by Brander Matthews and an introduction by Albert Bigelow Paine. Uncommon in this condition.
Price: $600.00
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“You can't depend on your eyes when your imagination is out of focus": First Edition of Mark Twain's A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
Twain, Mark.
A Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.
New York: Charles L. Webster, 1889.
First edition, early printing of a 9th-century citizen of Hartford, Connecticut who awakens to find himself transported back in time to early medieval England. Octavo, original green pictorial cloth, gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel with both first edition, without “S” ornament to p. 59. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco chemise box.
Price: $975.00
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First Edition of Mark Twain's A Horse' Tale; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clemens).
A Horse’s Tale.
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1907.
First edition of this story told in part from the perspective of a horse. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated, frontispiece, tissue guard. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with large chips and wear. Illustrated by Lucius Hitchcock.
Price: $550.00
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“Learning softeneth the heart and breedeth gentleness and charity": First Edition of Mark Twain's Classic The Prince and the Pauper
Twain, Mark.
The Prince and the Pauper.
James R. Osgood and Company: New York, 1882.
First edition, first issue with uncorrected text; p. 124, line 1 reading “estate”; p. 263 “do not”; p. 362 “reigned.” Franklin Press imprint on verso of title page. Octavo, original publisher’s green pictorial cloth. In near fine condition with only light shelfwear. BAL 3402; Johnson p. 39-41.
Price: $2,000.00
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The Manuscript Edition of the Writings of Mark Twain; Finely Bound
Twain, Mark (Samuel L. Clemens).
The Writings of Mark Twain. (Including The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn; Innocents Abroad; Life on the Mississippi; A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court; The Prince and the Pauper; A Tramp Abroad).
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1929.
The Memorial edition, one of 90 copies bound with an original Mark Twain manuscript page. Octavo, 37 volumes, bound in half morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, plates. The leaf paged “43” includes notes regarding a “whisky conspiracy” against soldiers’ health and morals, among other ink jottings. In fine condition.
Price: $30,000.00
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Mark Twain's Saint Joan of Arc; With illustrations by Howard Pyle; In the Original dust jacket
Twain, Mark; Illustrated by Howard Pyle.
Saint Joan of Arc.
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1919.
Octavo, original cloth. With Illustrations in Color by Howard Pyle. Decorations in Tint by Wilfred J. Jones. Bookplate, near fine in a very good dust jacket.
Price: $175.00
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Rare first American edition, first printing, first state, of one of the Masterpieces of American literature, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
Twain, Mark) Samuel L. Clemens .
Adventures of Tom Sawyer.
Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876.
First edition, first printing, first state (with “THE” on half title in 10-point rather than 14-point type) of one of the great masterpieces of American literature. Octavo, original blue cloth, peach endpapers, top edge gilt. In very good condition with some very light rubbing to the cloth. Peach endpapers, printed on wove paper, with preliminary matter paginated [I]-XVI and front and rear triple flyleaves of laid paper. BAL 3369. Johnson, 27-30. MacDonnell, 39-40. MacBride, 40. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A nice example of an important book.
Price: $22,000.00
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First Edition of Mark Twain's Is Shakespeare Dead?; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
Twain, Mark.
Is Shakespeare Dead?
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1909.
First edition of this Twain work regarding the Shakespeare-Bacon controversy. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with two frontispiece plates statues of Shakespeare and Bacon. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket which shows some light wear and tear.
Price: $1,250.00
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"If you tell the truth, you don't have to remember anything": Photograph of Mark Twain; Signed by Him
Twain, Mark (Samuel Clemens).
Mark Twain Signed Photograph.
1906.
Signed black and white photograph of Mark Twain in his trademark white three-piece suit seated. Signed by Mark Twain below the photograph on a mount. This photograph was taken in 1907 by the Wm. A. F. Bradley Company in New York, one of the most successful studio photographers in the world at that time, which Twain autographed and sold to raise funds for those affected by the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 17 inches by 29 inches.
Price: $7,200.00
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“Only God knows how much I love you”: First American Edition of the Love In The Time Of Cholera; Signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
Garcia Marquez, Gabriel.
Love in the Time of Cholera.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1988.
First American edition of Garcia Marquez’s work, which ranks as one of the great novels of the last half of the twentieth century. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on the dedication page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson and Chip Kidd. Translated from the Spanish by Edith Grossman. Also, laid into the book is the original postcard for the publication.
Price: $2,500.00
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"Men go out into the desert, and they are like ships at sea; no one knows when they will return": FIrst English Edition of J.M.G. Le Clezio's Desert; Signed by Him
Le Clezio, J.M.G.
Desert.
London: Atlantic Books, 2009.
First British edition. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Signed by J.M.G. Le Clezio on the title page.
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Signed by Nobel Prize-winning Author Imre Kertesz
Kertesz, Imre.
Sorstalanság (Fateless).
Budapest: Szepirodalmi, 1985.
Second Hungarian edition published in 1985. Small octavo, original illustrated wrappers as issued. Warmly inscribed by Imre Kertesz on the title page. In near fine condition.
Price: $650.00
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First Edition of Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game; Lengthily Inscribed by William Kennedy
Kennedy, William.
Billy Phelan’s Greatest Game.
New York: Viking Press, 1978.
First edition of the second novel in Kennedy’s Albany cycle. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Lee and Laurie, who have watched the game from a ringside seat, with good will and love, Bill”, additionally signed by Kennedy on the half-title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with wear and chips to the extremities. A nice inscription.
Price: $275.00