Gifts
Looking for a unique and personal gift? A rare book is a gift they will treasure for a lifetime. There are few gifts that are as lasting and appreciated as a rare book. They hold within its pages not only historical and cultural significance, but often also a personal significance to the recipient. Whether it is a beloved childhood book that turned them on to the joys of reading or a favorite title they read in high school or college, people treasure these books like a close friend.
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“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 condition.
Price: $27,500.00 Item Number: 103150
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“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. Rare and desirable in the original cloth, as most examples have been rebound.
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 111053
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“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 leather clamshell box. First editions are of the utmost scarcity.
Price: $20,000.00 Item Number: 88658
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First Edition of Walt Disney's Fantasia; Inscribed by Disney and with Twelve original drawings
DISNEY, Walt; Deems Taylor .
Walt Disney’s Fantasia. With a Foreword by Leopold Stokowski.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1940.
First edition of the lavishly illustrated companion volume to Disney’s animated musical masterpiece. Quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with 16 mounted color plates. Presentation copy, signed and inscribed by thirteen people (including Walt Disney); all who worked at Walt Disney studios in the 1940s. All of the inscriptions are to Jodie Ferguson Brudge, who was a secretary at Disney Studios, and upon her leaving to get married, raise family, she asked those that she worked with to inscribe her copy of Fantasia. This work contains the following inscriptions and illustrations, inscribed by Walt Disney on the title page, “To Jodie Best Wishes Walt Disney.” Page 10 has an original full-color illustration by Milt Banta of a card game between Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck and Milt Banta, with the inscription “Best Wishes Always Milt Banta.” Page 14 has a full page original illustration by Russ Dyson of a “ye olde family tree” for the Ferguson [Jodie] and Dyson branches. On the Dyson branch is a self-portrait of Dyson as a bird, with the inscription, “I Hope the Ferguson Branch Doesn’t grow any Larger! Good Luck – Russ Dyson 1/18/46.” Page 57 has an original watercolor of a tree branch and paint container, and the inscription: “Jodie – If you ever run across any automatic paint brushes like these – let me know. – Claude Coats.” Page 82 has a twenty-six line inscription that is warm and thoughtful from Ben [Sharpsteen]. Page 95 has an original color illustration of a frog fishing and the inscription, “An ‘Good Fishin’ to you all the time – Jodie. Hugh Hennesy” Page 102 has an original color illustration of a self-portrait of Bill Berg, with the inscription “Good Bye Jodie – We’ll Miss You!!! Bill Berg.” Page 118 has an original illustration of a self-portrait of Jerry Hathcock waking from a nightmare, with the inscription, “Gad!! What a Nightmare! Maybe Jodie is smart to leave. Good Bye + Good Luck, Jerry Hathcock.” Page 119 has an original illustration of a bouquet of flowers, that has been drawn into the hand/wing of the printed ostrich, with the inscription: “Best Luck and Good Wishes Jodie. Phil Barber.” Page 121 has an original illustration of a self-portrait of J. Eric Gurney who is holding a banner that reads, “Best Wishes to Jodie.” The opposite end of the banner is being held by the printed hippopotamus. Page 126 has an original illustration of a self-portrait of Nick Nichols (being held aloft by the printed elephant), with the inscription: “Bye Bye Jodie Come Back And Work For Me Again. Best Nick Nichols.” Page 159 has an original full-page illustration of Jodie as a centaurette, with the inscription, “G’bye Now. Lots of Luck an’ Stuff to Jodie. George Rowley.” The verso of the rear free endsheet contains an original illustration of a guitar player in a pancho and sombrero with the inscription, ” Good Luck Jodie. William de la Torre.” An excellent example in a very good dust jacket. A unique piece of Disney history.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 96808
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"As you may have noticed I have been wandering all the time": Rare autograph postcard signed and entirely in the hand of the Father of the Nation of India, Mahatma Gandhi
GANDHI, Mohandas K. [Mahatma].
Mohandas K. Gandhi Autographed Postcard.
1925.
Rare autograph postcard signed and entirely in the hand of the Father of the Nation of India, Mahatma Gandhi. The letter reads, “Dear Rev. Conley, You will please forgive one for my inability to reply to your letter earlier. As you may have noticed I have been wandering all the time. I am at present at Thithal leaving Bombay on 24th Oct for Bengal. I am afraid therefore that we cannot meet before the … Your serv MK Gandhi 25 4 25 Tithal.” The postcard measures 5.5 inches by 3.5 inches. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $12,800.00 Item Number: 105860
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First Edition of Max Born's Einstein's Theory of Relativity; Signed by Nobel Prize-winning physicist Max Born
BORN, Max [Albert Einstein].
Einstein’s Theory of Relativity.
London: Methuen & Company, 1924.
First edition of this classic account of Born’s analysis and interpretation of Einstein’s theory of relativity. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Einstein. Signed by Max Born on the verso of the frontispiece. Translated by Henry L. Brose. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. First editions are uncommon, signed examples rare.
Price: $11,500.00 Item Number: 78904
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SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF ALBERT EINSTEIN’S "ONE AND ONLY INTELLECTUAL BIOGRAPHY": SIGNED AND DATED BY HIM in the rare original dust jacket
EINSTEIN, Albert.
Albert Einstein: Philosopher-Scientist.
Evanston: Library of Living Philosophers, 1949.
Signed limited first edition, number 711 of 760 copies signed and dated “Albert Einstein ‘49.” Octavo, original brown cloth, top edge gilt. The book is in fine condition in the rare original dust jacket, which is in very good condition. Edited by Paul Arthur Schilpp. Frontispiece portrait of Einstein by Yousef Karsh. Rare and desirable in this condition.
Price: $11,000.00 Item Number: 110472
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"Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots - but you have to play the ball where it lies.": First Edition of Down the Fairway; Signed by Bobby Jones
JONES, Robert T..
Down the Fairway: The Golf Life and Play of Robert T. Jones, Jr.
Minton, Balch & Company: New York, 1927.
First trade edition of what many consider the greatest golf book of the twentieth century. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. Signed by Jones on the front free endpaper, “with best wishes, Robert T. Jones, Jr.” Foreword by Grantland Rice. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example, rare and desirable in the original dust jacket and signed.
Price: $11,000.00 Item Number: 117324
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"LIGHT OF MY LIFE, FIRE OF MY LOINS": FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE OF NABOKOV'S TOUR DE FORCE LOLITA; from the library of Elizabeth Bishop
NABOKOV, Vladimir.
Lolita.
Paris: The Olympia Press, 1955.
First edition, association copy of Nabokov’s masterpiece from the library of Pulitzer Prize-winning American poet Elizabeth Bishop. First issue with the price of 900 francs on the rear panel of each volume. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green wrappers. In near fine condition with light rubbing, some toning to the extremities. Bishop and Nabokov both gained international recognition for their mastery of prose in America in the mid-20th century. It was not until Nabokov began writing in the English language that he gained a reputation as a great writer, and it was the present volume that catapulted his career. Referred to by Dwight Garner as “the most purely gifted poet of the 20th century”, Elizabeth Bishop’s first book North & South, was first published in 1946 and won the Houghton Mifflin Prize for poetry. She would go on to become the Pulitzer Prize winner for Poetry in 1956, the National Book Award winner in 1970, and the Neustadt International Prize for Literature in 1976. Nabokov was a finalist for the National Book Award for Fiction seven times. Housed in a custom clamshell box. An important association, linking two masters of English prose.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 104529
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Etching of Albert Einstein by Lionel S. Reiss; Signed by Both Reiss and Einstein
EINSTEIN, Albert; Lionel S. Reiss.
Albert Einstein Signed Etching.
1921.
Etched portrait of Albert Einstein by well-known Polish-American Jewish artist Lionel S. Reiss. Signed by both Einstein and Reiss. In fine condition. Double matted and framed, the entire piece measures 13.5 inches by 16.5 inches. An exceptional piece.
Price: $9,800.00 Item Number: 87430
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“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all": Complete Works of Oscar Wilde; One of 52 Copies; Finely Bound In Full Morocco
WILDE, Oscar.
The Complete Works of Oscar Wilde.
London: Keller-Farmer Co, 1907.
The Astral edition of Wilde’s works, one of 52 sets, this is number one. Octavo, 15 volumes. Bound in full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, floriated corner devices in gilt, red and green, raised bands, moire silk endpapers, top edge gilt. With photogravures in two states from paintings, photographs, and drawings (4 of which are by Aubrey Beardsley). In near fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 104968
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Etching of Albert Einstein by Hermann Struck; Signed by Both Struck and Einstein
EINSTEIN, Albert; Hermann Struck.
Albert Einstein Signed Etching.
1923.
Etch bust of Albert Einstein done by well-known artist Hermann Struck. Signed by both Einstein and Struck, numbered 49/150. In fine condition. Double matted and framed, the entire piece measures 12.25 inches by 15 inches. An exceptional piece.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 95890
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Rare First Edition of Ernest Hemingway's The Torrents of Spring
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
The Torrents of Spring.
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926.
First edition of Hemingway’s first novel, one of 1250 printed. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the crown. An exceptional example.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 112442
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SIGNED LIMITED FIRST EDITION OF PORGY AND BESS; SIGNED BY GEORGE AND IRA GERSHWIN, DUBOSE HEYWARD, AND ROUBEN MAMOULIAN
GEORGE GERSHWIN. LIBRETTO BY DUBOSE HEYWARD. LYRICS BY DUBOSE HEYWARD AND IRA GERSHWIN. PRODUCTION DIRECTED BY ROUBEN MAMOULIAN,.
Porgy and Bess.
New York: Random House, 1935.
Deluxe limited edition of Porgy and Bess, number 55 of only 250 copies signed by George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin, DuBose Heyward and director Rouben Mamoulian. Folio, original full red morocco, raised bands, top edge gilt, illustrated. In very good condition with light rubbing and wear.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 98943
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“I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing": First Edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens] .
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain’s masterpiece, with the first state of the frontispiece portrait. Octavo, original publisher’s decorated green cloth gilt to the spine and front panel. With frontispiece portrait of Twain inserted at front (with the imprint of the Heliotype Printing Co., but the cloth is not visible). This example exhibits the following issue points: title leaf is conjugate. Copyright notice dated 1884; the illustration captioned “Him and another Man” [p.13] listed as p.88 (first state); 11th line from bottom of p.57 reads “…with the was…” (first state); p. 283 is an integral leaf with the corrected engraving; the final 5 in the numeration of page 155 is larger than the first and slightly below the others; leaf 23-8 is present as a blank; first state of the frontispiece portrait (imprint of Heliotype with tablecloth visible). In near fine condition with light toning to the extremities. A very bright example.
Price: $7,200.00 Item Number: 85975
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“I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing": First Edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain’s masterpiece. Octavo, original publisher’s decorated green cloth gilt to the spine and front panel. With 174 illustrations by E.W. Kemble. In fine condition. Mixed state with the copyright notice dated 1883; “Him and Another Man” corrected to page 87; p. 57 “was” corrected to “saw”; with the signature mark lacking on p. 161; p. 155 with the final 5 broken. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Bookplate to the pastedown. A near perfect example.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 103555
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“I do not wish any reward but to know I have done the right thing": First Edition of Mark Twain's Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn [Tom Sawyer’s Comrade].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.
First edition of Twain’s masterpiece, photogravure plate of a portrait bust of Clemens by Karl Gerhardt, title-leaf a cancel with copyright notice dated 1884; illustrated captioned “Him and another Man” listed on page 88 in contents; eleventh line from bottom of page 57 reads “with the was”;”5″ final five on page 155 is slightly larger; page 283/284 on a stub, without additional final blank leaf, In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities. Housed in custom chemise and full morocco clamshell box. A very nice example.
Price: $6,500.00 Item Number: 100058
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"There can be nothing in the world more beautiful than the Yosemite, the groves of giant sequoias and redwoods, the Canyon of the Colorado, the Canyon of the Yellowstone, the Three Tetons": Signed Limited Edition of Theodore Roosevelt's Outdoor Pastimes of An American Hunter
ROOSEVELT, Theodore.
Outdoor Pastimes of An American Hunter.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1905.
Signed limited edition of Roosevelt’s classic work, one of 260 numbered copies signed by Theodore Roosevelt, this is number 225. Small quarto, original three quarters calf, printed on ruisdael paper by the De Vinne Press, photogravure frontispiece of Roosevelt, illustrated throughout. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell slipcase. A very nice example.
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 117165
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First Edition of F. Scott's Fitzgerald's All the Sad Young Men; In the Original Dust Jacket
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
All the Sad Young Men.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926.
First edition, first issue of Fitzgerald’s third collection of short stories. Octavo, original green cloth. Fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with the woman’s lips unbattered (Bruccolo, A12).
Price: $6,000.00 Item Number: 96010
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Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring; inscribed by him
COPLAND, Aaron.
Appalachian Spring. (Ballet for Martha).
New York: Boosey and Hawkes, 1945.
First edition of the Booksey and Hawkes Pocket Orchestral Score of Copland’s Appalachian Spring, one of the most enduring of the twentieth century. Large octavo, original wrappers as issue. Inscribed by the composer on the title page, “For Bruce Kubert Aaron Copland Heaton Hall July 1946.” In very good condition with a tear to the front panel. Exceptionally rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $5,800.00 Item Number: 96244