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 1–20 of 3703 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- Framed Autographs and Historical Documents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
-
“It's in vain to recall the past, unless it works some influence upon the present": First Edition In Parts of Charles Dickens' David Copperfield
DICKENS, Charles.
The Personal History of David Copperfield.
London: Bradbury and Evans, May 1849-November 1850.
First edition in parts of "the most perfect of all the Dickens novels" (Virginia Woolf). Octavo, original blue-green illustrated serial issue wrappers being twenty parts in nineteen with the majority of preliminary advertisements present, frontispiece, vignette title-page and forty engraved plates. In excellent condition, an unrestored example of Dickens' classic work, with some of the backstrips with small chips. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very nice example.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 96702
-
"Love will find a way through paths where wolves fear to prey": The Poetical Works of Lord Byron; Finely Bound
LORD BYRON. [GEORGE GORDON BYRON],.
The Poetical Works of Lord Byron.
London: Frederick Warne and Co, c. 1890.
The Poetical Works of Lord Byron. Octavo, bound in half vellum over cloth, frontispiece, morocco spine label, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, marbled endpapers top edge gilt. In near fine condition. An attractive set.
Price: $375.00 Item Number: 111329
-
The Albion edition of the Poetical Works of Thomas Moore; finely bound with a double fore-edge painting
MOORE, Thomas.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore. [Fore-Edge Painting].
London: Frederick Warne and Co., n.d..
The Albion edition of Moore's poetical works. Octavo, bound in full polished tree calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Moore. With a double concealed fore-edge painting revealing two golfing scenes. In very good condition.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 129405
-
Magnificent first trade edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; with 20 remarkably intricate full color plates illustrated by Edmund Dulac
FITZGERALD, Edward. With illustrations by Edmund Dulac.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, [1909].
First trade edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, with English Verse from Edward Fitzgerald's second translated edition and illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Quarto, original publisher's gold-stamped cloth, gilt tltles and tooling to the spine, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, title page on Japanese vellum, with 20 intricate full color plates tipped in to decorated Japaneses vellum mounts with lettered tissue guards. In near fine condition.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 138224
-
The Beauties of Mozart, Consisting of the most Admired Sonatas Duetts and Concertos of this Esteemed Author
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus.
The Beauties of Mozart, Consisting of the Most Admired Sonatas Duetts and Concertos of this Esteemed Author.
London: Printed & Sold by Preston, c. 1810.
Rare edition of this compilation of Mozart's sonatas. Quarto, bound in full diced morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, 6 parts in 1, each part engraved throughout, titles incorporating small oval portrait vignette. In near fine condition.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 143842
-
Finley bound limited edition of J. Carpenter's French translation of The Rubáiyát
Roubayyat de Hafiz et d’Omar Khayyam. [The Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám].
Paris: Francis LeBegue, [1921].
Finely bound example of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám. Octavo, bound in full levant morocco with gilt titles to the spine, gilt Art Deco style decorations to the front and rear panel, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, decorated borders and initials. One of 300 copies. Text in French. Translated by J. Carpenter after L. Cramner Byng for Haifiz and after the poetic English version of Edward Fitzgerald for Omar Khayyám. Original wrappers bound in. Housed in a custom slipcase.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 127096
-
"I begin to see that a man's got to be in his own Heaven to be happy": Mark Twain's Extract From Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven; from the library of American journalist William Safire
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Extract From Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven.
New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d..
Early printing of the last work published by Twain during his lifetime. Octavo, original cloth with titles in white and vignette in black, frontispiece in blue and white, no publication date to the title page. From the library American journalist William Safire with his bookplate to the pastedown. William Safire was an important American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and Spiro Agnew. He authored several political columns in addition to his weekly column “On Language”…
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 127530
-
First edition of Ray Bradbury's The October Country; signed by him
BRADBURY, Ray.
The October Country.
New York: Ballantine Books, [1955].
First edition of Bradbury's classic collection of nineteen macabre short stories. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Joe Mugnaini. In Currey's "B" binding in its first state, with the Ballantine Books monogram at spine foot printed upside down. One of three bindings, no priority determined. Currey p.57. Signed by the author on the title page, "Ray Bradbury 1/22/81." Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Joe Mugnaini. Author photograph by Morris Dollens.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 142805
-
Rare autograph letter signed by P.L. Travers mourning the death of close friend and lifetime companion Madge Burnand
TRAVERS, P.L.
P.L. Travers Autograph Letter Signed.
[1959].
Autograph letter signed by the author of Mary Poppins, Pamela Lyndon Travers, concerning the distressing news of the death of close friend, long-term companion and possible lover Madge Burnand. Quarto, two pages, the letter reads, "‘Salvatore Mundi Hospital Rome - 19th March [1959]. My dear Richard, You will grieve to know that our dear Madge died last night. She had been ill & was in Chichester Christ Hospital. After asking the matron how she was, & being told 'very ill... it is in higher hands' she said 'I know what that means' - & cheerfully made her will - Then...…
Price: $3,500.00 Item Number: 143284
-
The Weimar edition of The Works of Friedrich Schiller; elaborately bound in full morocco
SCHILLER, Friedrich.
The Works of Friedrich Schiller.
Weimar and New York: The Northern Press, Printed for Subscribers only, n.d.
The Weimar edition of the collected works of Friedrich Schiller. Octavo, 10 volumes bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, elaborate gilt tooling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles, watered silk endleaves and doublures with central gilt mongrams "EHR", top edge gilt, illustrated with numerous hand-colored photogravures. One of 100 numbered copies of the Weimar edition, this is number 2. Provenance: from the collection of Fred and Kay Krehbiel. In very good condition.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 143624
-
James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan Trilogy; inscribed by him to American journalist William Safire
FARRELL, James T. [William Safire].
Studs Lonigan. A Trilogy Containing Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment Day.
New York: The Modern Library, [1938].
First edition, early printing of Farrell's well-regarded trilogy. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Jan 9/ 1950 For Bill Safire with best wishes Jim Farrell." The recipient, William Safire was an important American author, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign in the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. Following Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a presidential speechwriter for both Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. He was a…
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 127643
-
Rare first edition of Victor Hugo's La Légende des Siècles: First Series; From the Library of H. Bradley Martin
HUGO, Victor.
La Légende des Siècles. [The Legend of the Ages: First Series].
Bruxelles: 1859, Edition Hetzel.
First Brussels edition and true first edition of the first series of Hugo's epic work. Octavo, original publisher's cloth. Provenance: from the library of H. Bradley Martin (his sale, Sotheby's New York, October 16-17, 1989, lot no. 901; bookplate). "The H. Bradley Martin sale of 1989-1990 was a terribly significant sale of a stupendously varied and robust library that realized some major funds as well as publicity for Sotheby’s and for Martin’s executors. It also led H. Bradley Martin into the historic pantheon of legendary great bookmen. From it, we can surmise that book collecting on a massive scale and…
Price: $3,200.00 Item Number: 142580
-
“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary": Rare First Separate Edition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Raven.
New York: W. Jennings Demorest, c. 1869-1870.
The first separate American edition of Poe's most famous poem, and likely the first separate edition overall, preceding the 1869 Glasgow edition (BAL 16216). Small octavo, original cloth, blue endpapers. Octavo, original colored pictorial wrappers printed in blue and gold. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Only four copies of this separate Demorest edition have been located in OCLC, at the Huntington, Yale University, Brown University, Emory University, all with their bindings unspecified. Though The Raven is here published separately, another issue has been noted at both the University of Virginia and the Free Library Company…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 144195
-
First edition of The Magic of Kindness; Or, The Wondrous Story of the Good Huan; finely bound
BROTHERS MAYHEW,.
The Magic of Kindness; Or, The Wondrous Story of the Good Huan.
London: Darton and Co, c. 1849.
First edition of this classic tale with illustrations by George Cruikshank. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Kenny Meadows, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In very good condition.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 115662
-
"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor": The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka].
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1884].
The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Octavo, 8 volumes bound in full morocco by P.B. Sanford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in 6 compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece to each volume by R. Swain Gifford, Frederick Church and others, etched engraved vignettes to the title pages. One of 315 numbered copies signed and dated by the publisher on the limitation leaf of each volume, this is number 290. In fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 118042
-
Selection of Olympia Press Erotica from the Traveller's Companion series
VARIOUS AUTHORS,.
Olympia Press Collection.
Paris: Paris, Various Dates.
First editions of a selection of works from Olympia Press, which was based in Paris and specialized in English-language books which could not be published elsewhere without risking legal action. Octavo, 44 volumes, original wrappers. In near fine condition.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 129671
-
Rare George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed.
June 1944.
Rare autographed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne detailing his usual weekly routines between his home and the offices of Tribune, in order to make lunch arrangements to meet her and her husband, also promising her a book ("...I'll try & find a copy of 'Burmese Days for you. These Penguins are sold out as soon as published nowadays, but I believe I have a few copies somewhere... signed E. Blair"), one page, 10a Mortimer Crescent, London NW6, 23 June 1944. Amy Charlesworth, with whom Orwell had corresponded in 1937, had now married her second husband…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142004
-
Rare autograph note signed by famed English writer Rudyard Kipling
KIPLING, Rudyard.
Rudyard Kipling Autograph Note Signed.
Sept. 2, 1917.
Rare autograph note signed by and in the hand of Rudyard Kipling. 12mo, one page on Kipling's Bateman's house letterhead, the note reads in full, "Sep. 2, 1917 Dear Dr. Curtiss, Would you please come down to Bateman's as soon as may be to see Mrs. Kipling who is suffering from a sudden attack of illness that I cannot make out the nature of. Very sincerely, Rudyard Kipling." A 17th-century house located in Burwash, East Sussex, Bateman's was the home of Rudyard Kipling from 1902 until his death in 1936. Kipling wrote some of his finest works at the house…
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 142237