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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 items 1-24 of 4655

Lucas, George; Alan Dean Foster

Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker.

New York : Del Rey, 1977.

First hardcover edition of Lucas’ Star Wars. Octavo, original boards, illustrated. Boldly signed by George Lucas on the front free endpaper and by Alan Dean Foster on the title page. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Cover art by John Berkey. With the letter code of “S27” in the gutter of page 183. HousedContinue reading "Star Wars: From the Adventures of Luke Skywalker."

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$7,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151096
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Graves, Robert. [Derek Jacobi]

I, Claudius. [and] Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina.

London : Arthur Barker, 1934 and 1936.

First editions of Graves’ classic “autobiography” of Claudius and its sequel. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth. I, Claudius is signed by Derek Jacobi in pencil on the half-title page. Derek Jacobi’s performance in I, Claudius (BBC, 1976) was widely regarded as one of the most accomplished portrayals in television history, bringing remarkable depth and nuanceContinue reading "I, Claudius. [and] Claudius the God and His Wife Messalina."

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$5,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151413
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Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von. Translated by Bayard Taylor

Faust: A Tragedy.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin and Company, 1906.

The Riverside Press large paper edition of Goethe’s masterpiece, translated by Bayard Taylor. Quarto, four volumes finely bound in full contemporary black morocco at the Riverside Press with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, elaborate gilt ruling and decorations to the front and rear panels, giltContinue reading "Faust: A Tragedy."

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$2,800.00
Item Number: RRB-151485
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Rowling, J.K.; Illustrated by Mary Grandpre

Harry Potter Series: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Prisoner of Azkaban, Goblet of Fire, Order of the Phoenix, The Half-Blood Prince, and The Deathly Hallows.

New York : Arthur A. Levine / Scholastic Press, 1999-2007.

First American editions, mixed printings of six of the seven volumes in the Harry Potter series, excluding Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Octavo, original half cloth, six volumes, illustrated by Mary Grandpre. Each are fine in fine dust jackets. An exceptional set.

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$750.00
Item Number: RRB-151478
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[Livingstone, David]

The Life and Explorations of David Livingstone, LL.D. Carefully Compiled From Reliable Sources.

London and Newcastle : The Tyne Publishing Company, Limited, c. 1875.

First edition of this magnificently illustrated and bound compendium of David Livingstone’s life and explorations. Folio, bound in full black morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt titles and elaborate pictorial gilt decorations to the front and rear panels, engraved brass-mounted edges and double clasps toContinue reading "The Life and Explorations of David Livingstone, LL.D. Carefully Compiled From Reliable Sources."

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$2,800.00
Item Number: RRB-151484
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Hugo, Victor. Translated from the French by Charles E. Wilbour

Les Miserables.

New York : Carleton, 1862.

First American edition and first English translation of Hugo’s epic historical novel, published in the same year as the first French edition. Royal octavo, five volumes in one, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to theContinue reading "Les Miserables."

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$3,800.00
Item Number: RRB-151455
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Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

New York : Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885.

First edition, first issue of Mark Twain’s masterpiece with all of the agreed upon first issue points and including the extraordinary “bulging fly” illustration. Octavo, bound in contemporary three quarter brown morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, patterned endpapers, with 174 illustrations by Edward W. Kemble. Copies of Huckleberry Finn were assembledContinue reading "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn."

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$6,200.00
Item Number: RRB-150973
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Rand, Ayn

For the New Intellectual: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand.

New York : Random House, 1961.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Ayn Rand on the half-tilt page on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Janet Halverson. An exceptional example.

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$2,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151460
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Aleman, Matheo

The Rogue: Or The Life of Guzman de Alfarache.

London : Printed for Edward Blount, 1623.

First edition in English of this seminal Spanish picaresque novel. Imperial octavo, written in English with a few leaves in Spanish, bound in full polished calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, ruling to the front and rear panels stamped in blind, all edges speckled red, turn-insContinue reading "The Rogue: Or The Life of Guzman de Alfarache."

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$2,200.00
Item Number: RRB-151266
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Oliver, Mary

No Voyage and Other Poems.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1965.

First American edition of the poet’s scarce first book. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Mary Oliver on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Janet Halverson. Author photograph by Molly Malone Cook. An exceptional example, rare and desirable signed and in this condition.

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$11,000.00
Item Number: RRB-150935
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Gibbon, Lewis Grassic [James Leslie Mitchell] [Ray Mitchell; Seumas Stewart; Bill Craig]

A Scots Hairst: Essays and Short Stories.

London : Hutchinson, 1967.

First edition of this posthumous collection of Lewis Grassic Gibbon’s shorter works. Octavo, original publisher’s blue cloth with gilt titles to the spine. Boldly signed by his wife Ray Mitchell on the front free endpaper. From the library of bibliophile Seumas Stewart, a respected figure in the field of book collecting and bibliophilic writing, bestContinue reading "A Scots Hairst: Essays and Short Stories."

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$1,600.00
Item Number: RRB-151457
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Beatty, Scott [Christopher Nolan; Christian Bale]

Batman Begins: The Official Movie Adaptation.

New York : D.C. Comics, 2005.

First edition of the comic movie adaptation. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by director Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale on the front panel. In fine condition.

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$1,200.00
Item Number: RRB-151368
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Fleming, Ian [Roger Moore; Julian Glover; Eva Rueber-Staier; John Wyman; John Moreno; Alkis Kritikos; Jack Klaff; Stefan Kalipha; Charles Dance; John Glen; et al.]

For Your Eyes Only.

London : Jonathan Cape, 1960.

First edition of the eighth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Signed and inscribed by fourteen cast members of the 1981 film adaptation of For Your Eyes Only on the title page and facing page, including: Roger Moore, director John Glen, Julian Glover, Eva Rueber-Staier, John Wyman, John Moreno, AlkisContinue reading "For Your Eyes Only."

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$16,000.00
Item Number: RRB-151450
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Galbraith, Robert. [J.K. Rowling]

Troubled Blood: A Strike Novel.

London : Sphere, 2020.

First edition of the fifth novel in the Cormoran Strike series, written by J. K. Rowling and published under the pseudonym Robert Galbraith. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the title page, “Robert Galbraith.” With Rowling’s hologram sticker to the verso of the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket designContinue reading "Troubled Blood: A Strike Novel."

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$3,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151258
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Steinbeck, John

East of Eden.

New York : The Viking Press, 1952.

First edition, first printing of Steinbeck’s epic and moving story of a modern Cain and Abel. Octavo, original lime green cloth. First issue with the word “bite” present on page 281, line 38. Fine in a near fine first issue price-clipped dust jacket with the portrait of Steinbeck. An exceptional example.

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$3,000.00
Item Number: RRB-151256
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Fleming, Ian [Roger Moore; Caroline Munro; Olga Bisera; Sue Vanner; Shane Rimmer; Eva Rueber-Staier; Marilyn Galsworthy; Valerie Leon; Edward de Souza; Vernon Dobtcheff; John Glen]

The Spy Who Loved Me.

London : Jonathan Cape, 1962.

First edition of the ninth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by eleven cast members of the 1977 film adaptation on the title page and facing page, including: Roger Moore, Caroline Munro, Olga Bisera, Sue Vanner, Shane Rimmer, Eva Rueber-Staier, Marilyn Galsworthy, Valerie Leon, Edward de Souza, VernonContinue reading "The Spy Who Loved Me."

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$15,000.00
Item Number: RRB-151448
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McCarthy, Cormac

Suttree.

New York : Random House, 1979.

First edition of the author’s fourth novel and what many consider to be his finest. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper and title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Jack Ribik. An exceptional example.

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$8,800.00
Item Number: RRB-151471
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Christie, Agatha

Cat Among the Pigeons.

London : Collins Crime Club, 1959.

First edition of this classic novel by the Queen of crime. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.

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$600.00
Item Number: RRB-150695
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Didion, Joan

South and West: From A Notebook.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

First edition of this collection of writings from the acclaimed author of Slouching Towards Bethlehem. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Joan Didion. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson. Uncommon signed.

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$800.00
Item Number: RRB-144137
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Tolstoy, Leo. [Count Lyof N Tolstoi]. Translated by Nathan Haskell Dole

Anna Karenina.

New York : Thomas J. Crowell & Co, 1886.

First edition in English of Tolstoy’s masterpiece with all the points of first issue: sheets bulk to 35 mm, floral patterned endpapers, “13 Astor Place” on title page, no front adverts, and 5 pp. of rear adverts not listing Russian titles. Octavo, original cloth, with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel,Continue reading "Anna Karenina."

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$6,000.00
Item Number: RRB-151442
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Dahl, Roald

Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator.

London : George Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1978.

First British edition, early printing of the sequel to Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, continuing the story of young Charlie Bucket and eccentric chocolatier Willy Wonka as they travel in the Great Glass Elevator. Octavo, original publisher’s pictorial boards, with black and white illustrations. Boldly signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “WithContinue reading "Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator."

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$1,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151318
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Christie, Agatha

The Clocks.

London : The Crime Club by Collins, 1963.

First edition of this classic murder mystery. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Michael Harvey.

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$300.00
Item Number: RRB-150710
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Kerouac, Jack

Big Sur.

New York : Farrar, Straus & Cudahy, 1962.

First edition of Kerouac’s poignant masterpiece of self-reflection. Octavo, original quarter cloth, top stain blue. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Janet Halverson. The nicest example we have seen.

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$2,500.00
Item Number: RRB-151182
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Hersey, John [Cormac McCarthy]

Antonietta.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1991.

First edition of this fictionalized history of a Stradivarius violin named “Antonietta,” created in 1699, Cormac McCarthy’s copy with his name to the front free endpaper. Octavo, original publisher’s wrappers. Boldly signed by Pulitzer Prize-winning author Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper. Both Cormac McCarthy and John Hersey were published by Alfred A. Knopf,Continue reading "Antonietta."

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$1,600.00
Item Number: RRB-151409
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