Gifts - Holidays

The Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of The United Church of England and Ireland: Together with the Proper Lessons For Sundays and Other Holy-Days. [Double Fore-edge Painting].

Oxford : Printed at the Oxford University Press, 1863.

Finely bound Oxford University printing of the Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments decorated with a double disappearing fore-edge painting. Small octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles to the spine, gilt inner dentelles, brass reinforced board edges and clasp, ribbons bound in, all edges gilt with a double disappearingContinue reading "The Book of Common Prayer and Administration to the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of The United Church of England and Ireland: Together with the Proper Lessons For Sundays and Other Holy-Days. [Double Fore-edge Painting]."

Amishah Umshei Torah, Im Haft Arot Le-Khol Ha-Shanah. [Hebrew Chumash/The Pentateuch].

Tel Aviv : Hotsa at Sinai, c. 1950.

Rare Hebrew Chumash containing the Five Books of Moses, blessings before and after the Haftarah, and accents according to the Ashkenazic, Sephardic, and Italian rites. 32mo, five volumes, original cloth with gilt titles and decorations to the spine, text in Hebrew. The word chumash refers to one of the five books of the Torah, whichContinue reading "Amishah Umshei Torah, Im Haft Arot Le-Khol Ha-Shanah. [Hebrew Chumash/The Pentateuch]."

Freud, Sigmund

The Ego and the Id.

London : Published by Leonard & Virginia Woolf at the Hogarth Press, 1927.

Rare first edition in English of Freud’s classic study of the human psyche. Octavo, original cloth. Authorized translation by Joan Riviere. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.

Camus, Albert

L’État de Siège. [The State of Siege].

Paris : Gallimard, 1948.

First edition, early printing of Camus’ fourth play, a political allegory about resistance to the plague of authoritarian rule. Octavo, original wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “A Jean de Bosschère assiege sure anso mars insoumais [L’Etat de Siege] are Esperes a plus cordials Albert Camus.” The recipient, Jean deContinue reading "L’État de Siège. [The State of Siege]."

Holmes, Richard R. [Queen Victoria]

Queen Victoria.

London : Boussod, Valadon & Co, 1897.

First edition of this finely illustrated account of the life and reign of Queen Victoria compiled and edited by the librarian to the Queen, Richard Holmes. Quarto, bound in three quarter vellum over cloth-covered boards with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt tooling to the spine and panels, top edge gilt with others untrimmed,Continue reading "Queen Victoria."

Camus, Albert

Actuelles Chroniques 1944-1948; Actuelles Chroniques 1948-1953; Actuelles, III Chronique Algerienne 1939-1958.

Paris : Gallimard, 1950-1958.

First editions of all three volumes in Camus’s collected articles and commentaries. Octavo, original wrappers as issued. Each volume is fine condition. A rare complete set in exceptional condition.

Shaw, George Bernard

Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant.

London : Grant Richards, 1898.

First edition of the definitive text of Shaw’s volume of “unpleasant” plays: Widowers’ Houses, The Philanderer, and Mrs. Warren’s Profession  Octavo, two volumes, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece and 8 pages of publisher’s advertisements to Vol. I, 4 pages of publisher’s advertisements to Vol. II. Presentation copy,Continue reading "Plays: Pleasant and Unpleasant."

Washington, Booker T

My Larger Education: Being Chapters From My Experience.

Garden City, New York : Doubleday, Page & Company, 1911.

First edition of this uncommon collection of the author’s speeches and essays concerning education. Octavo, original cloth lettered in gilt, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In good condition with rubbing to the extremities. Bookplate.

Watson, James D

The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA.

New York : Atheneum, 1968.

First edition of Watson’s ground breaking work regarding the discovery of DNA for which the author, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962. Octavo, original blue cloth, with numerous diagrams and photographic illustrations. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Frank from JimContinue reading "The Double Helix: A Personal Account of the Discovery of the Structure of DNA."

Hillary, Edmund. [Yousuf Karsh]

Edmund Hillary Signature and Yousuf Karsh Portrait.

1953.

Rare notecard signed by Edmund Hillary who on May 29, 1953, along with Tenzing Norgay, became the first climber to reach the summit of Mount Everest as part of the ninth British expedition led by John Hunt. Boldly signed by Hillary on a notecard less than six weeks after his successful ascent of Mt. Everest,Continue reading "Edmund Hillary Signature and Yousuf Karsh Portrait."

Taylor, George

An Account of the Genus Meconopsis.

London : New Flora and Silva Ltd, 1934.

First edition of Taylor’s best-known work. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated with frontispiece, 29 plates from photographs and 12 distributional maps. In very good condition. Small ownership name.

Hill, Ralph Nading. [Ronald Reagan]

Robert Fulton and the Steamboat.

New York : Random House, 1954.

First edition of the author’s compelling work on the inventor of the world’s first commercially successful steamboat. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by Lee Ames. Signed by Ronald Reagan on the half-title page. Ronald Wilson Reagan served as the 40th president of the United States from 1981 to 1989 and became a highly influentialContinue reading "Robert Fulton and the Steamboat."

Darwin, Charles

The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication.

New York : Orange Judd & Company, 1868.

First edition of Darwin’s hypothesis of pangenesis. Octavo, original publisher’s green cloth with gilt titles to the spine, illustrated with numerous in-text illustrations and a chart. Preface by Asa Gray. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.

Ellis, George Agar

The True History of the State Prisoner, Commonly Called The Iron Mask, Extracted from Documents in the French Archives.

London : John Murray, 1826.

First edition of this early account of the French legend, later retold by Alexandre Dumas in The Man in the Iron Mask. Octavo, bound in three quarter contemporary straight grain morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges marbled. In very good condition. An attractive 19th century binding.

Dayout, Armand. [Napoleon Bonaparte]

Napoleon: Raconte Par L’Image D’Apres Les Sculpteurs, les Graveurs et Les Peintres.

Paris : Librairie Hachette, 1895.

First edition of one of the richest Napoleonic iconographies published. Folio, original publisher’s full morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, large gilt central insignia to the front panel, all edges gilt, watered silk endleaves, ribbon bound in, illustrated with hundreds of tissue-guarded chromolithographs. In near fine condition.

Fitzgerald, Zelda

Save Me The Waltz.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1932.

First edition of Zelda Fitzgerald’s only novel, a semi-autobiographical account of her life and marriage to F. Scott Fitzgerald. Octavo, original cloth. Laid in is a card with an original gouache painting of a flower painted by Fitzgerald and signed by her with her initials, “Z S.F.” Zelda began painting while on holiday in RomeContinue reading "Save Me The Waltz."

Mitchell, William

Skyways: A Book on Modern Aeronautics.

Philadelphia and London : J. B. Lippincott Company, 1930.

First edition of this classic work on aeronautics by “the father of the United States Air Force” Billy Mitchell. Octavo, original cloth, with seventy-six illustrations from photographs and drawings. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To W. Walter Healy National President Society of the Fifth Division U.S.A. With the regardsContinue reading "Skyways: A Book on Modern Aeronautics."

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Autograph Centenary Edition.

Cambridge : Printed at the Riverside Press, 1903.

The Autograph Centenary edition of Emerson’s complete works with an autograph manuscript in his hand and with his notations tipped in. One of six hundred copies additionally signed by the publisher, this is number 576. Octavo, 12 volumes bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments withinContinue reading "The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson: Autograph Centenary Edition."

Rodgers, Richard and Oscar Hammerstein

Me and Juliet.

New York : Random House, 1953.

First edition of the book companion to the sixth stage collaboration between Rodgers and Hammerstein. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with photographs by Fred Fehl. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.

Whittier, John Greenleaf

Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl.

Boston : Ticknor and Fields, 1866.

First edition, first issue of this poetic description of the pleasant isolation of “the inmates of the family at the Whittier homestead” with the final page properly numbered 52. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, pale yellow endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait and title page vignette, headpiece and initial letter byContinue reading "Snow-Bound. A Winter Idyl."

Malte-Brun, Conrad [China]

Empire Chinois et Japon. [Nineteenth Century Conrad Malte-Brun Map of the Chinese Empire] [China].

Paris 1812.

Fine detailed nineteenth century map of China by Dano-French geographer Conrad Malte-Brun. One page. In near fine condition. Double matted and framed. The entire piece measures 18 inches by 14.75 inches.

Shakespeare, William; John Dryden; William Congreve; et al

Tragedies and Comedies of the Great English Playwrights.

London : Various Publishers, c.1730-1760.

Finely bound sammelband collection of comedies and tragedies by early English playwrights including William Shakespeare, John Dryden, and William Congreve. Octavo, 43 volumes bound into 7 in half contemporary calf over marbled boards with burgundy morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, numerous engraved frontispieces, headpieces, tailpieces and illustrations. In very good condition. A very uniqueContinue reading "Tragedies and Comedies of the Great English Playwrights."

Eliot, T.S

The Cocktail Party.

London : Faber and Faber Ltd, 1950.

First edition of the most popular of Eliot’s seven plays published during his lifetime. First issue with “here” for “her” on page 29, line 1. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with an archival tape repair to the front panel. Small bookplate and ownership inscription. Housed in a custom clamshellContinue reading "The Cocktail Party."

Jerrold, Blanchard. [George Cruikshank]

The Life of George Cruikshank. In Two Epochs.

London : Chatto and Windus, 1882.

First edition of the definitive biography of famed illustrator and satirist George Cruikshank. Octavo, bound in full crushed levant morocco by Sangorski & Sutcliffe, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, allContinue reading "The Life of George Cruikshank. In Two Epochs."