Literature

Lewis, C.S

The Silver Chair.

London : Geoffrey Bles, 1953.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket, contemporary name to the half-title page. Illustrated by Pauline Baynes. An exceptional example, as this is the most difficult volume in the series to find in collectible condition.

Oliver, Mary

The Night Traveler.

: A Bits Chapbook, 1978.

First edition of this early collection by Mary Oliver. Octavo, original wrappers. Boldly signed twice by Mary Oliver, once on the front free endpaper and on the title page. In fine condition. Rare.

[Alcott, Louisa May; Ralph Waldo Emerson; Henry Wadsworth Longfellow; Harriet Beecher Stowe]

Souvenir of Eminent Poets and American Authors Series I & II.

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Rare collection of albumen silver print portraits of eminent 19th century poets and American authors. Octavo, three volumes, original pictorial covers, bound with the original ribbons. Including the portraits of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Alfred Lord Tennyson, George William Curtis, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Louisa May Alcott, and Harriet Beecher Stowe. In very goodContinue reading "Souvenir of Eminent Poets and American Authors Series I & II."

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. Signed by Kerouac on the front free endpaper and with the ownership name of his close childhood friend and neighbor in Lowell, Massachusetts, Charles Dudevoir. With a note of provenance signed by Charles Dudevoir’s granddaughter which reads in part, “Phil – my mother lived inContinue reading "The Town and the City."

Moore, Roger

Roger Moore As James Bond: Roger Moore’s Own Account of Filming Live and Let Die.

London : Pan Books, 1973.

First British edition of Moore’s diary regarding the making of Live and Let Die. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers, illustrated. Boldly signed by Roger Moore on the title page. In near fine condition. Photographs by Luisa Moore.

Moore, Roger

Roger Moore’s James Bond Diary.

: Fawcett Publications, 1973.

First edition of Moore’s diary regarding the making of Live and Let Die. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To John from Roger Moore.” In near fine condition. A very sharp example.

Dickens, Charles

Bleak House.

London : Bradbury Evans, 1853.

First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, top edge gilt, marble endpapers. In near fine condition. Illustrated with engraved title page and 39 engraved plates by H.K. Browne.

Lewis, C.S. [Anthony Colin Spearing]

C.S. Lewis and Anthony Spearing Autograph Correspondence Collection.

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Rare collection of correspondence between C.S. Lewis and his PhD student Anthony Colin Spearing including an autograph letter signed by and entirely in the hand of C.S. Lewis. Folio, the collection includes the original composition of Spearing’s 1957 English Tripos essay: “The Translation of English Verse (An Essay with some Specimen Translations)” which he sentContinue reading "C.S. Lewis and Anthony Spearing Autograph Correspondence Collection."

Walcott, Derek [V.S. Naipaul]

Omeros.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1990.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. From the library of fellow Nobel Prize-winning author V.S. Naipaul with his name to the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Derek Walcott. Jacket design by Cynthia Krupat. Author photograph by Sigrid Nama. A wonderful connectionContinue reading "Omeros."

Faulkner, William

Light In August.

New York : Harrison Smith & Robert Haas, 1932.

First edition, first issue, with first printing statement on copyright page, and “Jefferson” for “Mottstown” on page 340, line 1; first-issue binding, lettered in blue and orange. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Petersen A13a; Howard A13.1a; Massey 103. A sharp example.

Coetzee, J.M

Waiting for the Barbarians.

Johannesburg : Ravan Press, 1981.

First South African edition of this modern classic. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his first wife on the title page, “Philippa love from John.” Philippa Jubber and John Maxwell Coetzee were married in 1963. They had two children, Nicolas (1966–1989) and Gisela (b. 1968). In 1965 Coetzee entered the graduateContinue reading "Waiting for the Barbarians."

Waller, Robert James

A Thousand Country Roads.

Alpine & Houston : John M. Hardy Publishing, 2002.

First edition of the sequel to The Bridges of Madison County. Duodecimo, original boards. Boldly signed by Robert James Waller on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Leisha Israel. Author photograph by Linda Solomon.

Waller, Robert James

A Thousand Country Roads.

Alpine & Houston : John M. Hardy Publishing, 2002.

First edition of the sequel to The Bridges of Madison County. Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by Robert James Waller on the half-title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Leisha Israel. Author photograph by Linda Solomon.

Doyle, Arthur Conan

The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.

London : George Newnes, Limited, 1892-1894.

First editions of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories starring literature’s most famous detective. Octavo, original pictorial black and gilt-stamped light blue and dark blue cloth, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. First issues, the first title with the street scene vignette with no text on the street sign and with “Violent” for “Violet” on p 317. InContinue reading "The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes."

Kipling, Rudyard

Rudyard Kipling Ephemera Collection.

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Rare collection of Rudyard Kipling ephemera from the collection of William Britton Stitt including his membership card to The Kipling Society, letters of correspondence between him and the President of The Kipling Society, newspaper clippings, articles, postcards, pamphlets and separate editions of Kipling stories and poems. In very good condition. A unique collection.

Hemingway, Ernest

For Whom The Bell Tolls.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.

First edition with Scribner’s A of the novel that is regarded as one of Hemingway’s best works. Octavo, original beige cloth. Near fine in a good unrestored second-issue price-clipped dust jacket. Bookplate.

Hill, Napoleon

Think and Grow Rich.

Meriden, Conn. : The Ralston Society, 1937.

Rare first edition of this classic bestseller, which has sold over 100 million copies. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Napoleon Hill on an official bookplate on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable in the original dust jacketContinue reading "Think and Grow Rich."

Rowling, J.K

The Casual Vacancy.

New York : Little, Brown and Company, 2012.

First edition of this “positively propulsive read” (Wall Street Journal). Octavo, original boards. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Mario J. Pulice. Jacket illustration by Joel Holland.

Dickens, Charles

The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club.

London : Oxford University Press, 1967.

Early printing of the Oxford Illustrated edition of Dickens’ first novel. Octavo, bound in full crushed red morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling and fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers,Continue reading "The Posthumous Papers of the Pickwick Club."

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

Mark Twain’s (Burlesque) Autobiography and First Romance.

New York : Sheldon & Company, n.d.

First edition, second issue of Twain’s third book with the Ball, Black, & Co. advertisement on verso of the title page (BAL 3326). Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, illustrated and extra-illustrated with a tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece of Twain. In good condition.

Orwell, George

George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.

January 9, 1946.

Rare typed letter signed by the acclaimed author of Nineteen-Eighty Four, George Orwell; part of a long correspondence with scientist Edward R. Ward regarding his views on science. One page, typescript, the letter reads: ‘9th January 1946 Dear Mr. Ward, Your letter has been passed on to be by “Tribune”. I am sorry that inContinue reading "George Orwell Typed Letter Signed."

Povidky Pana Kockodana.

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First edition of this work by the famed Czech writer, humorist and journalist. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. In near fine condition. Rare.

Dickens, Charles

Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress.

London : Richard Bentley, 1838.

First edition, first issue of Dickens’ classic work with “Boz” title pages and the “Fireside” plate. Octavo, three volumes bound in three quarter leather over marbled boards, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, all edges speckled red, illustrated with 24 plates by George Cruikshank. In very good condition. Text blocks trimmed, without half-titles or advertisements,Continue reading "Oliver Twist; or, The Parish Boy’s Progress."

Holmes, John Clellon

Go.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1952.

First edition of the novel that launched the Beat Generation’s literary legacy and describes the world of Jack Kerouac, Allen Ginsberg, and Neil Cassady and “one of the best novels about the Beat Generation…brilliant and important” (Los Angeles Free Press). Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a good dust jacket. Jacket design by Helen Borten.