Fine Bindings and Sets

Lewis, C.S

Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold.

London : Geoffrey Bles, 1956.

First edition of Lewis’ final novel retelling of Cupid and Psyche, based on its telling in a chapter of The Golden Ass of Apuleius. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, gilt signature to the frontContinue reading "Till We Have Faces: A Myth Retold."

Wilde, Oscar

An Ideal Husband.

London : Leonard Smithers and Co, 1899.

First edition of Wilde’s classic comedic stage play. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. An exceptional presentation.

Hall, Radclyffe

The Well of Loneliness.

New York : Covici-Friede Publishers, 1929.

Signed limited edition of this classic work, one of only 225 copies. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth, frontispiece to volume one. Signed by Radclyffe  Hall. In fine condition. An exceptional example.

Mill, James

Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind.

London : Baldwin and Cradock, 1829.

First edition of this classic exploration of the processes of human thought by the father of John Stuart Mill, whose own “logical and ethical doctrines are evidently suggested” by this work. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf, armorial stamp to the front panel of the Earl of Shaftesbury, with a four page autographed letter signedContinue reading "Analysis of the Phenomena of the Human Mind."

Wilson, Woodrow

A History of the American People.

New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1918.

The Documentary edition of this classic work. Octavo, 10 volumes, three quarters morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, top edge gilt, marble endpapers, contains numerous plates and illustrations. In very good condition.

Boswell, James

The Life of Samuel Johnson. [Boswell’s Life of Johnson].

London : Office of the National Illustrated Library, n.d. [c. 1880].

Finely bound 19th century illustrated printing of the most celebrated biography in the English language, elucidated by copious notes. Octavo, four volumes bound into two in contemporary three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers,Continue reading "The Life of Samuel Johnson. [Boswell’s Life of Johnson]."

Dickens, Charles

Bleak House.

London : Bradbury Evans, 1853.

First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with engraved title page and 39 engraved plates by H.K. Browne. In very good condition.

Johnson, Samuel

The Works of Samuel Johnson.

London : Henry G. Bohn, 1850.

Finely bound edition of the works of Samuel Johnson, with an essay on his life and genius by Arthur Murphy. Octavo, two volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, engraved frontispiece portrait of Johnson toContinue reading "The Works of Samuel Johnson."

Dickens, Charles

The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Battle of Life; The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain.

London : Chapman and Hall/Bradbury & Evans, 1843-48.

Complete set of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Books. Octavo, 5 volumes, original cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panels, all edges gilt. A Christmas Carol, in Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is a second edition in brown cloth with red and blue title-page dated 1843, ‘Stave One’ and correctedContinue reading "The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Battle of Life; The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain."

Shelley, Percy Bysshe

The Works of Percy Bysshe Shelley.

London : Edward Moxon, 1854.

Finely bound example of the works of Percy Bysshe Shelley. Royal octavo, bound in three quarters vellum over marbled boards, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In near fine condition. Armorial bookplate.

Smith, Adam

An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.

London : Adam Black, and William Tait/Longman, Rees, 1828.

First McCulloch edition of Adam Smith’s magnum opus and cornerstone of economic thought. Octavo, 4 volumes, bound in three quarters calf, gilt titles to the spine, morocco spine labels, raised bands, frontispiece to volume one. In near fine condition. An exceptional set of this classic work.

Swinburne, Algernon Charles

The Poems and Tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne.

London : Chatto & Windus, 1904-1906.

The Large-Paper edition of the poems and tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne. Octavo, 11 volumes, bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco, gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, ribbons bound in. One of 110 numbered sets, this is numberContinue reading "The Poems and Tragedies of Algernon Charles Swinburne."

Dumas, Alexandre

The Borgias.

London : Arthur L. Humphreys, 1911.

Finely bound edition of Dumas’ classic work. Octavo, bound in full red morocco gilt by Bumpus, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, gilt tooling to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, inner dentelles. In near fine condition.

Woolf, Virginia

The Years.

London : Hogarth Press, 1937.

First edition of the most successful of Woolf’s later novels, often viewed as her masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and ruling to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, gilt signature to the front panel, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. InContinue reading "The Years."

Churchill, Winston Spencer

London To Ladysmith Via Pretoria.

London : Longmans, Green, 1900.

First edition of Churchill’s fourth book and personal record of his impressions during the first five months of the Second Boer War. Octavo, in original cloth, with three folding maps (one printed in color). In very good condition, owner’s small name. A nice example.

Select Poetry. Chiefly on Subjects Connected with Religion. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : Printed for L. B. Seeley and Son, 1825.

Finely bound poetry collection decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. 18mo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. In very good condition.

Burns, Robert

The Complete Works of Robert Burns.

London : Blackie, 1888.

The works of Robert Burns, finely bound. Octavo, 5 volumes, bound in full morocco, gilt titles and elaborate tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated throughout. Edited by Charles Annandale. In near condition. An exceptional set.

Dickens, Charles

The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Battle of Life; The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain.

London : Chapman and Hall/Bradbury & Evans, 1843-48.

Complete set of Charles Dickens’ Christmas Books. Octavo, 5 volumes, original red cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panels, all edges gilt. A Christmas Carol, in Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas is a fourteenth edition illustrated 4 hand-colored plates and wood-engraved illustrations after John Leech, advertisement leaf atContinue reading "The Christmas Books: A Christmas Carol; The Chimes; The Cricket on the Hearth; The Battle of Life; The Haunted Man and The Ghost’s Bargain."

Yeats, W.B

The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats.

New York : The Macmillan Company, 1957.

Signed limited edition, one of 825 numbered copies signed by W.B. Yeats, this is number 231 of this classic collection of poetry by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original half cloth, original slipcase. Edited by Peter Allt and Russell Alspach. Additionally inscribed by the editor on the front free endpaper, “To Bob Steele high regardsContinue reading "The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats."

Walton, Izaak. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham

The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation Being a Discourse of Rivers, Fishponds, Fish and Fishing no unworthy the Perusal of most Anglers.

London : George C. Harrap & Co Ltd, 1931.

Deluxe signed limited edition of Arthur Rackham’s wonderfully illustrated rendition of The Compleat Angler. Quarto, original publisher’s full vellum decorated in gilt, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 12 full-page color plates and 25 in-text line cuts. One of seven hundred and seventy-five numbered copies signed by Arthur Rackham, this is number 143. InContinue reading "The Compleat Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation Being a Discourse of Rivers, Fishponds, Fish and Fishing no unworthy the Perusal of most Anglers."

Fitzgerald, F. Scott

The Great Gatsby Manuscript Facsimile.

Washington, D.C : Microcard Editions Books, 1973.

The facsimile manuscript edition of Fitzgerald’s masterpiece. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated. Near fine in a near fine slipcase. Edited and with an introduction by Matthew Bruccoli.

Holmes, Richard R. [Queen Victoria]

Queen Victoria.

London : Boussod, Valadon & Co, 1897.

First edition, limited issue of this finely illustrated account of the life and reign of Queen Victoria compiled and edited by the librarian to the Queen, Richard Holmes, to commemorate her Diamond Jubilee. Folio, bound in full crushed levant morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands,Continue reading "Queen Victoria."

Wilde, Oscar

Lord Arthur Savile’s Crime. A Study of Duty.

[London] : Privately Printed, 1904.

First separate edition of Wilde’s classic collection of of mystery tales; a pirated edition produced by Leonard Smithers. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine, original wrappers bound in. One of 300 numbered copies, this is number 125. In fine condition. A very rare Wilde title.

Eliot, George

The Mill On The Floss.

Edinburgh and London : William Blackwood and Sons, 1860.

First edition, first issue of Eliot’s classic work without the advertisement leaf to volume I and with the seventh edition of Adam Bede cited in the advertisements at rear of volume III. Octavo, three volumes bound in three quarter crushed dark green morocco by Sotheran & Co. with gilt titles and tooling to the spineContinue reading "The Mill On The Floss."