Literature
Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
Browse rare first edition classics in American, English, world literature, poetry, and plays. View our entire collection of rare literature below, search our inventory with advanced search, or use our sorting tools to find exactly what you’re looking for. Please call with any questions you may have on a specific item or order online today.
Showing all 18 results
-
Browse by Category
- Browse All
- Americana
- Art and Architecture
- Autograph Letters Signed
- Biography and Autobiography
- Children's Books
- Economics and Finance
- Featured Rare Books
- Fine Bindings and Sets
- First Edition
- First Edition>Signed
- Food and Wine
- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents
- Geography
- Gifts
- Gifts - For Her
- Gifts - For Him
- Gifts - Graduation and Celebrations
- Gifts - Holidays
- History, Law, and Politics
- Literature
- Music
- New Arrivals
- Philosophy
- Photography
- Poetry
- Presidents and World Leaders
- Religion
- Science and Natural History
- Science Fiction and Mystery
- Signed
- Signed & Autographed Books
- Sports and Leisure
- Travel and Exploration
- Uncategorized
-
First editions of each volume in C.S. Lewis' acclaimed space trilogy; including the dedicatee's copy of Out of the silent planet; inscribed by C.S. Lewis' brother Warren Hamilton Lewis
LEWIS, C.S.
The Space Trilogy: Out of the Silent Planet, Perelandra and That Hideous Strength.
London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1938-1945.
First editions of each volume in C.S. Lewis' important space trilogy including the dedicatee's (Lewis' brother's) copy of Out of the Silent Planet, the rarest book in the series. Octavo, three volumes, original cloth. Inscribed by C.S. Lewis' brother Warren Hamilton Lewis on the front free endpaper to whom the book is dedicated, "This book. Well, speaking as dedicatee I felt that it was up to me to buy it. What's more, I also think that you, as being friendly to us two, should try it. But if you should dislike the tale, Don't say so and thus spoil its…
Price: $50,000.00 Item Number: 132054
-
"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
-
The original publisher's Galley Proof of Stephen King's The Plant: Part Three; With King's edits and annotations, approved and signed by him
KING, Stephen.
The Plant: Part Three Stephen King Original Annotated Galley Proof.
Bangor, Maine: Philtrum Press, 1985.
The original publisher's galley proof of Part Three of King's rare unfinished epistolary novel, initially published in parts and sent to his close friends in lieu of Christmas cards. Folded, the proof measures 60 inches by 19 inches with a typed note from King's publisher on the title page and King's inscription, "copy-edit complete. Steve King/." With King's annotations and edits throughout. In near fine condition. Exceptionally rare, a highly desirable rarity for the King collector.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 136241
-
"Keep close to Nature’s heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean": Finely Bound Set of The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir; With Eight Original Photographs
MUIR, John.
The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.
The Manuscript edition of The Writings of John Muir. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound in original special deluxe three quarters morocco over marbled boards, leather edges ruled in gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, matching endpapers, top edges gilt. With volumes 1 through 8 of this set each containing an original gelatin silver photograph at the front, each with a printed tissue guard. Kimes does not describe an edition with these additional real photo frontispieces. The binding matches that of Kimes 342. The scenes depicted in the inserted photographs are: The House of John Muir, Martinez, California;…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 76020
-
"you see stretching from the spurs of Ritter a row of exceedingly sharp and slender spires": The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir; with an original autograph manuscript page from Muir's The Mountains of California
MUIR, John.
The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.
Boston and New York: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.
The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir, one of 750 numbered sets produced with an original autograph manuscript page bound into the first volume. Octavo, 10 volumes in the publisher's deluxe three quarter crushed levant morocco over cloth boards with gilt titles and tulip stamping to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, ribbons bound in, illustrated with 69 photogravures, including colored frontispiece, 34 halftone plates of the author's sketches, 7 maps, and 2 plates of his drawings. One of 750 numbered sets with an original manuscript page bound…
Price: $10,000.00 Item Number: 143457
-
"Keep close to Nature’s heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean": Finely Bound Set of The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir; With Eight Original Photographs
MUIR, John.
The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.
The Manuscript edition of The Writings of John Muir. One of only 750 numbered copies, this is number 461. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound in the original green with morocco spine labels with gilt titles, containing the original gelatin silver photographic frontispiece to each volume with tissue guards present, illustrated with numerous photogravure and halftone plates; folding map in volume two. Edited by William Frederic Badè. The scenes depicted in the inserted photographs are: The House of John Muir, Martinez, California; The Cathedral Spires, Yosemite National Park; Eucalyptus on Muir's Ranch, Martinez, California; An Orange Tree in Front of Muir's House,…
Price: $6,200.00 Item Number: 96258
-
"The Best Science Book Ever"; First Edition Of The Periodic Table, Signed by Primo Levi
LEVI, Primo; Translated by Raymond Rosenthal.
The Periodic Table.
New York: Schocken Books, 1984.
First edition of this classic collection of short stories by Primo Levi. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Primo Levi on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by John Clarke. Translated by Raymond Rosenthal. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Books signed by Levi are rare.
Price: $4,500.00 Item Number: 3619
-
Scarce first edition of Maxwell Knight's Talking Birds; illustrated and signed by David Cornwell aka John le Carre
KNIGHT, Maxwell. Illustrated by David Corwell [John le Carre].
Talking Birds.
London: G. Belll & Sons, Ltd, 1961.
First edition of Knight's work on the varying capabilities of talking birds; illustrated by David Cornwell (John le Carre) and one of his earliest appearances in print. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by David Corwell. Signed by him on the title page with both his real and pen name, "David Cornwell x x a.k.a. John le Carre." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket photograph by Alec Brooksbank. Small ownership name. Scarce signed by Le Carre with not other signed copies traced in auction records.
Price: $3,200.00 Item Number: 131508
-
Signed Limited First Edition of William Beebe's Galapagos: World's End
BEEBE, William.
Galapagos: World’s End.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1924.
Signed limited first edition, one of 100 numbered copies, this is number 54, boldly signed by William Beebe, the father of modern ecology. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated endpapers. Illustrated with 24 tipped-in color plates by Isabel Cooper, and 83 photographs mostly by John Tee-Van. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.
Price: $3,000.00 Item Number: 84953
-
First Edition of Pat Frank's Classic Science Fiction Novel Mr. Adam; Inscribed by Him
FRANK, Pat.
Mr. Adam.
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1946.
First edition of the author's classic first novel, which has went on to sell over two million copies. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper: "For Cynthia - With best regards, Pat Frank, Tarrytown, '47". Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Uncommon signed and inscribed.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 122192
-
“I had been my whole life a bell, and never knew it until at that moment I was lifted and struck": Annie Dillard's Pilgrim At Tinker Creek; Signed by Her
DILLARD, Annie.
Pilgrim At Tinker Creek.
New York: Harper's Magazine Press, 1974.
First edition, early printing of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original brown cloth, pictorial endpapers. Boldly signed by Annie Dillard on the title page. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Sheila Berger. Line drawing by Annie Dillard.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 134771
-
First edition of Isaac Asimov's Satellites in Space; signed by him
ASIMOV, Isaac.
Satellites in Outer Space.
New York: Random House, 1960.
First edition of Asimov's book on satellites. Quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by John Polgreen. Signed by Isaac Asimov on the title page. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 142878
-
"Wallace embraces the incompatibility of mathematics and prose and makes art from it": First Edition of Everything And More; Signed by David Foster Wallace
WALLACE, David Foster.
Everything and More: A Compact History of Infinity.
New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 2003.
First edition of this work which examines the history of infinity, focusing primarily on the work of Georg Cantor, the 19th-century German mathematician who created set theory. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by David Foster Wallace on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Base Art Co./Terry Rohrbach.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 144245
-
First Edition of Mary McCarthy's Birds of America; Inscribed by the author
MCCARTHY, Mary.
Birds of America.
New York: Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1971.
First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Harlan Umansky my thanks, Mary McCarthy November 5, 1984." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket drawing by Peter Vos. Jacket design by Paul Bacon. Jacket photograph of Mary McCarthy by Jack Nisberg. An exceptional example.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 142315
-
Margaret Mead's From the South Seas; Inscribed by Her
MEAD, Margaret.
From the South Seas: Studies of Adolescence and Sex in Primitive Societies.
New York: William Morrow and Company, 1939.
First edition, third printing of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Hardin S. Rarny Margaret Mead May 6, 1946." Near fine in a very good dust jacket, bookplate to the front pastedown.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 143499
-
First Edition of How Did We Find Out About Germs; Inscribed by Isaac Asimov
ASIMOV, Isaac.
How Did We Find Out About Germs.
New York: Walker and Company, 1974.
First edition of this work by the award-winning writer. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author opposite the title page, "For Allen and Andrew Isaac Asimov." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Illustrated by David Wood.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 129739
-
First Edition of The Poetic Species; Signed by Edward O. Wilson and Robert Haas
WILSON, Edward O. & Robert Haas.
The Poetic Species: A Conversation With Edward O. Wilson and Robert Haas.
New York: Bellevue Literary Press, 2014.
First edition of this "wonderful read in its entirety, short yet infinitely simulating" (Maria Popova, Brain Pickings). Small octavo, original half cloth. Signed by both Robert Haas and Edward O. Wilson (who has drawn a picture of an ant) on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.
Price: $350.00 Item Number: 3300