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Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
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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": Lewis Carrol's Through The Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There
CARROLL, Lewis.
Through The Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.
New York: Worthington Co, n.d..
Early printing of the immensely popular sequel to Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Octavo, original publisher's cloth decorated in gilt, patterned endpapers, with fifty illustrations by John Tenniel. In very good condition.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 136052
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Rare Association Copy of Arthur Rackham's Illustrated edition of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens; signed and inscribed by J.M. Barrie, George Frampton, Princess Beatrice, Princess Marie Louise, Nadejda Mountbatten, and Arthur Rackham with an original drawing
BARRIE, J.M. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
London: Hodder & Stoughton Limited, n.d.
New edition of Rackham’s highly-sought-after masterpiece, which established his reputation as one of England’s premier illustrators. Quarto, original publisher's green cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 50 mounted color plates complete with captioned tissue guards including frontispiece. Association copy, signed by author J.M. Barrie on the verso of the front free endpaper, signed by Arthur Rackham on the recto of the frontispiece with an original drawing as well as Nadejda "Nada" Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven, signed by the sculptor of the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, George Frampton on front pastedown, and signed by Princess…
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 142267
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Harriet Martineau's Feats on the Fiord; illustrated by Arthur Rackham
MARTINEAU, Harriet. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Feats on the Fiord.
London: J. M. Dent & Sons Limited, n.d.
Early printing of Martineau's classic collection. Octavo, original publisher's blue cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, color pictorial onlay to the front panel, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with eight lithographic plates in color. In very good condition.
Price: $95.00 Item Number: 142418
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"In a little village there was a church, and on the top of the church stood a weathercock": Evelyn Sharp's The Story of the Weathercock
SHARP, Evelyn. Illustrated by Charles Robinson.
The Story of the Weathercock.
London: Blackie & Son Limited, n.d..
Early printing of Sharp's children's classic. Quarto, original publisher's decorated cloth, illustrated with sixteen color plates and numerous black-and-white illustrations by Charles Robinson. In good condition.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 135422
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Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland; finely bound in full crushed levant morocco by Whitman Bennett
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.
London: Macmillan and Co, 1867.
Finely bound early printing of Carroll's beloved children's classic. Octavo, bound in full 20th century scarlet crushed levant morocco by William Bennet, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, central gilt ornament of Alice holding a rabbit to the front panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated by John Tenniel, many with hand-coloring and including tissue-guarded frontispiece. In near fine condition. Bookplate and neat ownership name.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 137243
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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?": Finely bound Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass
CARROLL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland and Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1872.
Octavo, two volumes, uniformly bound in full red morocco, all edges gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spines, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, raised bands, original cloth bindings tipped in to rear of each volume. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland is an early printing. Through the Looking-Glass and What Alice Found There is an early printing. Illustrated by John Tenniel, text illustrated. A very nice set.
Price: $4,500.00 Item Number: 130848
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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": First Edition of Lewis Carroll's Through the Looking-Glass, And What Alice Found
CARROLL, Lewis. [Dodgson.
Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.
London: MacMillan and Co, 1872.
First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Bayntun with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt vignettes to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, frontispiece engraving with tissue guard present. With fifty illustrations by John Tenniel. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $3,800.00 Item Number: 130522
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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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"How doth the little crocodile improve its shining tail, and pour the waters of the Nile on every golden scale": First Edition of Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures Under Ground
CARROL, Lewis. [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson].
Alice’s Adventures Under Ground.
London: Macmillan and Co, 1886.
First edition being a facsimile of the original manuscript which was later expanded and published as Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Octavo, original scarlet cloth, elaborate gilt titles to the spine and front panel, gilt vignette to the rear panel, triple gilt ruled, all edges gilt, text printed in the author's handwriting including thirty-seven illustrations in facsimile, advertisements at rear. In very good condition.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 145905
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Charles Lever's Charles O'Malley: The Irish Dragoon; illustrated by Arthur Rackham
LEVER, Charles.
Charles O’Malley: The Irish Dragoon.
London: James Nisbit & Co., Limited, 1899.
Later printing of this tale illustrated by Arthur Rackham very early in his career. Octavo, original publisher's cloth, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with frontispiece and 15 plates. In very good condition.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 142691
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"ONE OF THE MOST ENDEARING BOOKS EVER WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN": First edition of Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows
GRAHAME, Kenneth.
The Wind in the Willows.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1908.
First American edition of Grahame's beloved children's novel which preceded the English edition by only four days, with Scribner's seal on the copyright page. Octavo, original publisher's cloth, tissue-guarded frontispiece by W. Grahame Robertson. In good condition.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 143829
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“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
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Ruth Plumly Thompson's Kabumpo in Oz
THOMPSON, Ruth Plumly; Founded on and continuing the Famous Oz Stories by L. Frank Baum.
Kabumpo in Oz.
Chicago: The Reilly & Lee Co, 1922.
First edition, early printing of Thompson's second fantastical continuation of Frank Baum’s 'Oz' stories. Octavo, original cloth with colored pictorial paper onlay, illustrated plates by John R. Neill. In very good condition.
Price: $95.00 Item Number: 145101
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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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"SHERE KHAN SPEAKS THIS MUCH TRUTH. THE CUB MUST BE SHOWN TO THE PACK": Rudyard Kipling's Two Jungle Books
KIPLING, Rudyard.
The Two Jungle Books.
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1932.
Later printing of Kipling's Two Jungle Books in one volume. Octavo, original red cloth decorated in gilt with illustrations by J. Lockwood Kipling and W.H. Drake. In very good condition. Bookplate and small ownership inscription.
Price: $100.00 Item Number: 135221
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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
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First Edition of Little Pig's Picnic; Signed by Walt Disney
DISNEY, Walt; Brown.
Little Pig’s Picnic and Other Stories.
Boston : D.C. Heath and Company, 1939.
First edition of this collection of stories. Octavo, original illustrated cloth, pictorial endpapers. Boldly signed by Walt Disney on the half-title page. Illustrated throughout by the Walt Disney Studio. Story by Margaret Wise Brown. In very good condition with some rubbing to the extremities. Rare and desirable signed by Walt Disney.
Price: $5,500.00 Item Number: 30060
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"I meant what I said, and I said what I meant. An elephant's faithful, one hundred percent!": Dr. Seuss's Horton Hatches the Egg
DR. SEUSS. [GEISEL, Theodor Seuss].
Horton Hatches the Egg.
New York: Random House, 1940.
Early printing of this Seuss classic. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated, second state dust jacket with $2.50 price to back flap and description of The King's Stilts. Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Child's ownership inscriptions to the front free endpaper and rear panel of the dust jacket.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 135097