Literature

Fleming, Ian

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. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket, bookplate. Jacket design by Richard Chopping. An exceptional example.

Poe, Edgar Allan

Eureka: A Prose Poem.

New York : George P. Putnam, 1848.

First edition, first issue of Poe’s classic work. Duodecimo, original publishers blind stamped black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. First issue, without the review for Eureka on page 2 of the 16 page catalogue at the end of the book, but reads simply: “Poe. — Eureka, A Prose Poem: Or the Physical andContinue reading "Eureka: A Prose Poem."

Flaubert, Gustave

Madame Bovary: Provincial Manners.

Paris : Michel Lévy frères, 1857.

True first edition of the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, two volumes, bound in three quarters leather. In near fine condition. A very sharp example.

McGuffey, William

The Eclectic Fourth Reader: Containing Elegant Extracts in Prose and Poetry, From the Best American and English Writers. With Copious Rules for Reading, and Directions for Avoiding Common Errors.

Cincinnati : Published by Truman and Smith, 1838.

Finely bound sixth edition of the fourth McGuffey Reader. Octavo, bound in full contemporary mottled calf with gilt ruling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt. In very good condition.

Afternoon of a Cow Original Typed Manuscript Drafts.

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Three original typed drafts of William Faulkner’s parodical short story “Afternoon of a Cow.  By Ernest V. Trueblood.” Two complete copies, each 17 leaves; bound with brass clasps in green folders with the third copy lacking the first leaf; with 49 strikethroughs in Faulkner’s hand throughout most excising a single word. When Faulkner returned toContinue reading "Afternoon of a Cow Original Typed Manuscript Drafts."

Proulx, Annie

Bird Cloud: A Memoir.

New York : Scribner, 2011.

First edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winning author’s magnificent memoir. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Annie Proulx on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Rex Bonomelli. Jacket photograph of Bird Cloud by Annie Proulx.

Hughes, Langston and Milton Meltzer

A Pictorial History of the Negro in America.

New York : Crown Publishers, Inc, 1956.

First edition of this important compilation on the history of African Americans. Quarto, original half cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed by Langston Hughes and Milton Meltzer on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Uncommon signed.

McCarthy, Cormac

The Orchard Keeper.

New York : Random House, 1965.

First edition of the author’s rare first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light wear to the extremities, closed tear with archival tape repair. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshellContinue reading "The Orchard Keeper."

Keyes, Daniel

The Minds of Billy Milligan.

New York : Random House, 1981.

First edition of “this fascinating work” (Los Angeles Times). Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Daniel Keyes on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, bookplate. Jacket painting and interior painting by Billy Milligan. Jacket design by Lawrence Ratzkin. Uncommon signed.

Dickens, Charles

Complete Set of the Works of Charles Dickens Nonesuch Press.

London : The Nonesuch Press, 1937-38.

The complete set of Charles Dickens by the Nonesuch Press, one of only 877 sets. Octavo, 24 volumes, original cloth, woodcut illustrations, original variously colored buckram by Leighton Straker. Edited by Arthur Waugh, Hugh Walpole, Thomas Hatton and Walter Dexter. In near fine condition. A very sharp set.

Schulz, Charles M

The Charlie Brown Dictionary.

New York 1973.

Complete set of The Charlie Brown Dictionary, volume one inscribed by Charles M. Schulz. Octavo, 7 volumes. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in volume one on the half-title page, “For Steve- Best wishes Charles M. Schulz.” In near fine condition.

Kipling, Rudyard

Rudyard Kipling First Appearance Collection: The Burning of the Sarah Sands, An English School, and My Personal Experience With a Lion.

Boston : The Youth's Companion, 1898.

Rare collection of Kipling first appearances including the first appearance of The Burning of the Sarah Sands, An English School, and My Personal Experience With a Lion. Quarto. Housed in a custom folder. In near fine condition.

Willmott, Robert Aris [Editor]

The Poets of the Nineteenth Century. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : Frederick Warne and Co, 1869.

Finely bound example of Willmott’s compilation of the great nineteenth century poets. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, central gilt emblem and fleuron cornerpieces within triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbledContinue reading "The Poets of the Nineteenth Century. [Fore-Edge Painting]."

Goldsmith, Oliver

The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. and Professor of Ancient History in the Royal Academy of the Arts. [Fore-edge Painting].

London : Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, 1846.

Finely bound example of Goldsmith’s complete poetical works, decorated with a fore-edge painting of a golfing scene. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt scrolling and fleuron cornerpeices to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, illustratedContinue reading "The Poetical Works of Oliver Goldsmith, M.B. and Professor of Ancient History in the Royal Academy of the Arts. [Fore-edge Painting]."

Fielding, Henry

The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, in Six Volumes.

London : Printed for A. Millar, 1749.

First edition, first issue of one of the most influential English novels, one only 2,000 copies printed. Octavo, bound in full contemporary mottled calf with gilt ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels. Armorial bookplates. In veryContinue reading "The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, in Six Volumes."

Salisbury, Mark [Stephen Sondheim]

Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.

London : Titan Books, 2007.

First edition of the in-depth companion volume to the big-screen adaptation of Stephen Sondheim’s award-winning musical thriller. Quarto, original boards, patterned endpapers, illustrated. From the collection of Bill Zwecker. A member of the Broadcast Film Critics Association, Zwecker was a longtime entertainment and celebrity journalist. A Chicago native and second-generation newspaper star (his late mother,Continue reading "Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street."

Wilde, Oscar

Ave Imperatrix! A Dirge of Empire by Oscar Wilde.

Washington : Snohomish, 1902.

First edition of Wilde’s classic Hellenic poem. Octavo, original boards, illustrated with engravings and hand painted initials embellished in gilt, frontispiece by John Dennis Clancy. In very good condition.

Wilde, Oscar

Impressions of America.

Sunderland : Keystone Press, 1906.

First edition of Wilde’s report on his lecture tour throughout America in 1882. Octavo, original stiff paper wrappers. One of fifty numbered copies, this is number 24. Very good with the majority of the original dust jacket.

Doyle, Arthur Conan

The Land of the Mist.

London : Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers), Ltd, [1926].

First edition of the third novel in the author’s Professor Challenger series. Octavo, original publishers cloth. In good condition.

Fleming, Ian

Goldfinger.

London : Jonathan Cape, 1959.

First edition of the seventh novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Lionel, Something more to read! From Ian.” The recipient, Lionel Berry, 2nd Viscount Kemsley was a politician and newspaper editor. His father, the 1st Viscount Kemsley, hadContinue reading "Goldfinger."

Braybrooke, Neville. [J.D. Salinger]

The Wind and The Rain: An Easter Book For 1962.

London : Seeker & Warburg, 1962.

First edition of Braybrooke’s “Easter book” of modern literature. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the editor on the front free endpaper, “To: J.D. Salinger, with best wishes, and with admiration, Neville Braybrooke.” The recipient, J.D. Salinger remains best known for his classic novel The Catcher in the Rye and its memorable cynical adolescentContinue reading "The Wind and The Rain: An Easter Book For 1962."

Flaubert, Gustave

A Simple Heart.

Paris : Societe des Beaux Arts, n.d. [ca. 1895].

The limited Salon edition of Flaubert’s classic novella. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling with red morocco onlays to the spine in five compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, with tissue-guarded illustrations by Emile Adan. Limited to five hundredContinue reading "A Simple Heart."

Thomas, Dylan

The Map of Love: Verse and Prose.

London : J. M. Dent and Sons Ltd, 1939.

First edition, first issue of Thomas’s third book with “Dent” blind-stamped on spine. Octavo, original purple cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, with the frontispiece portrait of Thomas after the painting by Augustus John. Presenation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Leo & John… From Dylan Thomas OxfordContinue reading "The Map of Love: Verse and Prose."

Carroll, Lewis; Illustrated by Barry Moser

Lewis Carroll’s Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There.

Berkely : Published by the University of California Press, 1983.

First Pennyroyal Press edition of Through the Looking-Glass, and What Alice Found There. Quarto, original half cloth, illustrated by Barry Moser. Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket.