Literature

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

Autobiography (Burlesque) First Romance, and Memoranda.

Toronto : James Campbell & Son, [1871].

Rare unauthorized edition of Twain’s witty collection of satirical sketches; this edition possibly containing the first appearance of My Late Senatorial Secretaryship. BAL 3334. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. In very good condition. Rare.

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]

The Curious Republic of Gondour and Other Whimsical Sketches.

New York : Boni and Liveright, 1919.

First edition of Twain’s classic collection of humorous sketches. Octavo, original half cloth over paper-covered boards. In near fine condition. Period ownership inscription.

Marias, Javier

Tu rostro mañana: 1 Fiebre y lanza.

Madrid : Alfaguara, 2002.

First Spanish edition and true first of the first novel in the author’s acclaimed trilogy. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Signed by Javier Marias on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.

The Presence of Grace.

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First edition of this classic collection of stories by the National Book Award-winning author. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For John Lehmann from a proud old contributor to New Writing and the London Magazine – J.F. Powers.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.Continue reading "The Presence of Grace."

Nabokov, Vladimir

The Defense.

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1964.

First edition of this early Nabokov novel, which tells the tragic story of a man destroyed by his own genius and of the hopeless efforts of the wife who loves him to save him from himself. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket, name to the front free endpaper. Translated by MichaelContinue reading "The Defense."

Travers, P.L.. Adapted by Kathy McCullough. Screenplay by David Magee. [Angela Lansbury]

Mary Poppins Returns.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Harcourt/Disney Enterprises, Inc., 2018.

First edition, early printing of the deluxe novelization of the 2018 American musical fantasy film starring Emily Blunt as Mary Poppins. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers, illustrated with color photographs from the film. Signed by Angela Lansbury opposite the title page. Lansbury played played the role of the Balloon Lady, a kindly old woman who sellsContinue reading "Mary Poppins Returns."

Occasion for Loving.

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First American edition of this work by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Nadine Gordimer on the title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Bill English.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel

La Hojarasca.

Bogota : Ediciones- S.L.B., 1955.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s first book. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers by artist Cecilia Porras. In very good condition. A very sharp example.

Wallace, David Foster

The David Foster Wallace Reader.

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2014.

Deluxe signed limited edition of this compilation of Foster Wallace’s work. Octavo, original boards. Signed by artist Karen Green, the widow of Foster Wallace. The limited edition contains one piece of the original painting, “signed on verso with the artist’s fingerprint.” Fine in a fine slipcase.

Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth

The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. [Fore-edge Painting].

London : George Routledge & Sons, 1877.

Finely bound example of the collected poetical works of Longfellow. Octavo, bound in full contemporary crushed levant morocco with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine and panels, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of a pastoral scene, illustrated. InContinue reading "The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. [Fore-edge Painting]."

Macaulay, Thomas Babington

Critical and Historical Essays Contributed to the Edinburgh Review by Lord Macaulay.

London : Longmans, Green, and Co, 1878.

Finely bound new edition of the historical essays of Macaulay. Octavo, 3 volumes, bound in full polished tree calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins, inner dentelles stamped in blind,Continue reading "Critical and Historical Essays Contributed to the Edinburgh Review by Lord Macaulay."

Twain, Mark. [Samuel Clemens]

The Writings of Mark Twain.

Hartford, Connecticut : The American Publishing Company, 1899-1907.

The Royal edition of the writings of Mark Twain. Octavo, 21 volumes of the original 25 bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco over marbled boards for Brentano’s  with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, illustrated with many full-page illustrations, including etchings,Continue reading "The Writings of Mark Twain."

Wallace, David Foster

Infinite Jest: A Novel.

Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1996.

Uncorrected proof of the first edition of the author’s magnum opus. Thick octavo, original wrappers. Boldly signed by David Foster Wallace. In near fine condition.

Goldsmith, Oliver

The Vicar of Wakefield.

London : J.M. Dent & Co, 1904.

First Series of English Idylls Deluxe vellum edition of one of the most popular and widely read novels among Victorians. Octavo, original publisher’s full cream vellum elaborately decorated in gilt, top edge gilt with others untrimmed, pictorial endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece and pictorial title page, illustrated with twenty-five color illustrations by C.E. Brock. In near fineContinue reading "The Vicar of Wakefield."

Jerome, Jerome K

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).

Bristol : J. W. Arrowsmith, 1889.

First edition, second state of Jerome’s humorous account of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by A. Frederics. Second state with ’11 Quay Street’ (first state is without the 11) to the title page. In good condition. Period ownership inscription.

Rowson, Susanna Haswell

The History of Charlotte Temple. Founded on Fact.

Hartford : Printed by John Babcock, 1801.

Early American printing of the first American bestseller, first published in 1794. 16mo, bound in one quarter contemporary leather over paper-covered boards. In good condition. Period ownership inscription, “Mary More Her Book Bought in the year 1802 Price 2/0 If this Book you Chance to Borrow and it should get lost it would fill myContinue reading "The History of Charlotte Temple. Founded on Fact."

Silverstein, Shel

Uncle Shelby’s Story of Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back.

New York : Harper & Row, Publishers, 1963.

First edition of the first children’s book which started Silverstein’s incomparable career. Small quarto, original cloth, illustrated. Boldly signed on the half-title page by the author who has added a drawing. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. We have never seen another signed example.

Faulkner, William

Unvanquished.

New York : Random House, 1938.

First edition of this novel which tells the story of the Sartoris family, who first appeared in the novel Sartoris. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Edward Shenton. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.

Russell, Bertrand

The Good Citizen’s Alphabet.

London : Gaberbocchus Press Limited, 1953.

First edition of this playful work by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original cloth, with drawings by Franciszka Themerson. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Rhoda Kellogg from Bertrand Russell.” The recipient, Rhoda Kellogg was a notable scholar of early childhood and maintained an extensive collection of children’s artwork. SheContinue reading "The Good Citizen’s Alphabet."

Gluck, Louise

The Triumph of Achilles.

New York : The Ecco Press, 1985.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s classic work, her most anthologized. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author, “For Meryl with good wishes Louise Glück.” Fine in a fine dust jacket.

Kerouac, Jack

The Town and the City.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1950.

First edition of Kerouac’s first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Leo Manso.

Wharton, Edith

Ethan Frome.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911.

First edition, first issue with “wearily” in perfect type on penultimate line of page 135 and with four pages of publisher’s advertisements at rear, of Wharton’s greatest tragic story, a “grim tale of a bud of romance ice-bound and turned into a frozen horror in the frigid setting of a New England winter landscape” (The NewContinue reading "Ethan Frome."

Goldsmith, Oliver; Edmund Burke; Sir H. Walpole; et al

A Collection of Poems, Mostly Original, by Several Hands.

Dublin : Printed for the Editor by M. Graisberry, 1789.

First edition of this rare collection of early English literature. Octavo, bound in full calf, elaborate gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, ribbon bound in, illustrated with engraved vignettes, lists of subscribers. In near fine condition. An attractive binding.    

Goldsmith, Oliver

The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. [Fore-edge Painting].

London : Bickers and Son, 1880.

Finely bound example of one of the most popular and widely read novels among Victorians. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, decorated with a fore-edge painting of Squire Thornhill visiting the Primrose family, illustrated. InContinue reading "The Vicar of Wakefield: A Tale. [Fore-edge Painting]."