Literature

Hemingway, Ernest

Green Hills of Africa.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1935.

First edition of Hemingway’s second work of nonfiction, an account of a month on safari he and his wife took in East Africa during December 1933. Octavo, original green cloth, decorations by Edward Shenton. Near fine in a bright very good dust jacket.

Du Bois, W.E.B

The Quest of the Silver Fleece.

Chicago : McClurg, 1911.

First edition of this landmark novel. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. In near fine condition.

Stein, Gertrude

The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1933.

First edition of Gertrude Stein’s most famous work; one of the richest biographies ever written. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper with a full page inscription, “For Amelia Henry Reinhardt, …it was in Oakland which is not near San Fernando and not at Pleasant Hill GertrudeContinue reading "The Autobiography of Alice B. Toklas."

Atwood, Margaret

Cat’s Eye.

London : Bloomsbury, 1989.

First edition of this “brilliant, three-dimensional mosaic… the story of Elaine’s childhood is so real and heartbreaking you want to stand up in your seat and cheer” (Boston Sunday Globe). Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Sally Soames- with best wishes- Margaret Atwood.” The recipient, British photojournalistContinue reading "Cat’s Eye."

Copland, Aaron

Copland on Music.

New York : Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1960.

First edition of this work by the “Dean of American composers.” Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Alden, who really loves music, Aaron Nov 1960.” With an autographed letter signed to the same recipients by Copland on his letterhead which reads, “Dear Alden and Rolf: WhatContinue reading "Copland on Music."

Stein, Gertrude

Geography and Plays.

Boston : The Four Seas Company Publishers, 1922.

First edition of this work by the author of The Autobiography of Alice Toklas. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Joanna Graham from Gertrude Stein.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Foreword by Sherwood Anderson.

Beerbohm, Max

A Survey.

London : William Heinemann, 1921.

Signed limited edition of this work, number 237 of 275 copies. Quarto, original cloth, frontispiece and 51 tipped-in chromolithographed plates, all edges gilt. Signed by Max Beerbohm to limitation. In very good condition.

White, Patrick

The Eye of the Storm.

London : Jonathan Cape, 1973.

First edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s ninth published novel. Ocatvo, original cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket painting by Desmond Digby.

Webb, James

Fields of Fire: A Novel.

Englewood Cliffs, NJ : Prentice Hall, 1978.

First edition of “the finest of the Vietnam novels” (Tom Wolfe). Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Captain Roger C. Patton- with thanks for your own Marine Corps service. Semper F- Jim Webb January 1979.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket designContinue reading "Fields of Fire: A Novel."

Schreiner, Olive [as Ralph Iron]

The Story of an African Farm: A Novel.

London : Chapman and Hall, 1883.

First edition of this highspot of African literature. Octavo, 2 volumes bound in three quarters contemporary morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Published under the pseudonym ‘Ralph Iron’, the entire printing of this first edition has been estimated toContinue reading "The Story of an African Farm: A Novel."

Kipling, Rudyard

‘They’ and the Brushwood Boy.

London : Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1925.

First edition of this collection of two Kipling stories. Octavo, original cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, with illustrations in color by F. H. Townsend. In very good condition.

De Cervantes, Miguel [Gabriel Garcia Marquez]

Don Quixote.

New York : Ecco/ Harper Collins Publishers, 2003.

First edition of this new translation which is considered one of the finest English-language translations of the Spanish novel, by authors and critics including Carlos Fuentes and Harold Bloom, who called her “the Glenn Gould of translators, because she, too, articulates every note.” Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Gabriel Garcia Marquez on the front free endpaper, whoContinue reading "Don Quixote."

Conrad, Joseph

The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad. [Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, The Nigger of “Narcissus”, Tales of Unrest, Lord Jim, The Inheritors, Youth: and Two Other Stories, Romance, Typhoon and Other Stories, Nostromo, The Mirror of the Sea, The Secret Agent, A Set of Six, Under Western Eyes, Some Reminiscences, ‘Twist Land & Sea Tales, Chance, Victory, Within the Tides, The Shadow Line, The Arrow of Gold, On Day More, The Rescue].

London : Various Publishers, 1895-1920.

Rare finely bound first edition collection of the writings of Joseph Conrad including a first issue of Almayer’s Folly. Octavo, 23 volumes bound in full crushed crimson levant morocco by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt banes, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, top edgeContinue reading "The Collected Works of Joseph Conrad. [Almayer’s Folly, An Outcast of the Islands, The Nigger of “Narcissus”, Tales of Unrest, Lord Jim, The Inheritors, Youth: and Two Other Stories, Romance, Typhoon and Other Stories, Nostromo, The Mirror of the Sea, The Secret Agent, A Set of Six, Under Western Eyes, Some Reminiscences, ‘Twist Land & Sea Tales, Chance, Victory, Within the Tides, The Shadow Line, The Arrow of Gold, On Day More, The Rescue]."

Greene, Graham

The Power and the Glory.

London : William Heinemann, 1940.

First edition of Greene’s masterpiece. Octavo, original yellow cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with some toning and light wear to the spine crown. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Scarce in the original dust jacket and in this condition.

Barnes, Djuna

Nightwood.

London : Faber and Faber, 1935.

First edition of this masterpiece―one of the greatest novels of the Modernist era. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket with a few small chips and notes notes to the flaps. The British edition precedes the American edition by one year.

Nabokov, Vladimir

Three Russian Poets: Selections from Pushkin, Lermontov and Tyutchev.

New York : New Directions Books, 1944.

First edition this collection of Nabokov’s translations of the major Russian poets. Octavo, original boards. In near fine condition.

O'Neill, Eugene

The Emperor Jones.

Cincinnati : Stewart Kidd, 1921.

First separate edition of the play that established O’Neill as a successful playwright. Octavo, original wrappers. In near fine condition.

The Book of Common Prayer, and Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church, According to the Use of the Church of England: Together with the Psalter or Psalms of David, Pointed as they are to be sung or said in Churches.

Cambridge : Printed by John Archdeacon, 1771.

Rare 18th century Book of Common Prayer. Small octavo, bound in full contemporary calf tie gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruing and cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers. In very good condition. Ownership inscriptions. Desirable in a contemporary binding.

Hall, Norman James and Charles Bernard Nordhoff

The Collected Works of Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall.

Boston and New York : Various Publishers, 1918-1942.

Rare first edition set of the works of Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall, including a first edition of Botany Bay signed by the authors. Octavo, 13 volumes, original cloth. Botany Bay is signed by the authors opposite the copyright page. Doctor Dogbody’s Leg is inscribed by James Norman Hall on a tipped-in note, “ForContinue reading "The Collected Works of Charles Nordhoff and James Norman Hall."

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft

Valperga: or, the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca. By the Author of ‘Frankenstein’.

London : G. and W.B. Whittaker, 1823.

Rare first edition of Shelley’s second novel, which has been called “a meditation on political, psychological, and sexual power” and is considered by many to be her finest work.  12mo., bound in 19th century three quarter calf over marbled boards by Bumpus, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels, raised bands. InContinue reading "Valperga: or, the Life and Adventures of Castruccio, Prince of Lucca. By the Author of ‘Frankenstein’."

Hearn, Lafcadio. Edited by Elizabeth Bisland

The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn.

Boston and New York : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1922.

The Large Paper Edition of Lafcadio Hearn’s collected writings. Octavo, 16 volumes bound in full blue levant morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, elaborately gilt citron levant morocco doublures, watered silk endleaves, top edge gilt withContinue reading "The Writings of Lafcadio Hearn."

Poe, Edgar Allan

The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka].

New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1884].

The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Octavo, 8 volumes bound in full morocco by P.B. Sanford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in 6 compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece toContinue reading "The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka]."

Kipling, Rudyard; Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, Bret Harte, Robert Louis Stevenson, et al.

My First Book.

London : Chatto & Windus, 1897.

The New Edition of My First Book with contributions by Rudyard Kipling, Arthur Conan Doyle, H. Rider Haggard, and Robert Louis Stevenson. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated, frontispiece. Introduction by Jerome K. Jerome. In very good condition.

Stegner, Wallace

Angle of Repose.

Garden City, NY : Doubleday & Company, 1971.

First edition of the author’s Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To John with best wishes Wallace Stegner November 9, 1972.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by E.D.N. Designs. Photograph of the author by Alex Gotfryd.Continue reading "Angle of Repose."