Literature

Fitzgerald, Edward; Illustrated by F. Sangorski and G. Sutcliffe

Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.

London : Siegle, Hill & Company, 1910.

Signed limited first edition of this work reproduced in color from the manuscript written and illuminated by Francis Sangorski & George Sutcliffe, number 247 of 550 copies signed by the publisher. Folio, bound in publisher’s full vellum, front panel elaborately stamped in gilt in a peacock motif, gilt titles and a floral motif to theContinue reading "Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam."

Nabokov, Vladimir

Lolita.

Paris : The Olympia Press, 1955.

First edition of Nabokov’s masterpiece, published in Paris by the Olympia Press in 1955. First issue with the price of 900 francs on the rear panel of each volume. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green wrappers. In very good condition with light rubbing, some toning to the extremities. Ownership names and newspaper clipping tipped in.

Within the Rim and Other Essays, 1914-15.

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First edition of this collection of essays. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel. In very good condition. BAL 10702.

Irving, John

3 By Irving: Setting Free the Bears; The Water-Method Man; The 158-Pound Marriage.

New York : Random House, 1980.

First edition of this compilation of the author’s first three novels. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page to his editor David Kent, “For David Kent John Irving with my admiration and affection.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Jack Ribik. Introduction by Terrence Des Pres.

Butler, Samuel

The Way of All Flesh.

London : A.C. Fifield, 1919.

Finely bound example of Butler’s semi-autobiographical Bildungsroman. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards by Sangorski and Sutcliffe with gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, red morocco spine label lettered in gilt, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. In very good condition.

James, Henry

The Soft Side.

New York : The Macmillan Company, 1900.

First edition of this collection of James’ novellas. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine. In very good condition.

Bellow, Saul

Henderson the Rain King.

New York : The Viking Press, 1959.

First edition of the author’s fourth book. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a fine first issue dust jacket. Jacket painting by Bill Preston.

Gernsback, Hugo

Ralph 124C 41+.

Boston : The Stratford Company, 1925.

First edition of “arguably the first major work of American science fiction” (The Economist). Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition.

Rowling, J.K

The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Translated from the Original Runes by Hermione Granger. With Commentary by Professor Albus Dumbledore.

London : The Children's High Level Group, 2008.

First edition, limited issue of this wizarding classic. Signed by J.K. Rowling on the half-title page, with the authentication hologram. Octavo, original brown morocco-patterned boards with silver metal cornerpieces and central ornament accented with faux blue gems, silver metal clasp, marbled endpapers, green silk bookmark, illustrated. Housed in the embroidered velvet bag within the publisher’s calfContinue reading "The Tales of Beedle the Bard. Translated from the Original Runes by Hermione Granger. With Commentary by Professor Albus Dumbledore."

Hugo, Victor

The Novels of Victor Hugo.

Boston : Dana Estes, n.d.

The Illustrated Cabinet edition of the novels of Victor Hugo. Octavo, 12 volumes. Bound in three quarters navy blue morocco over blue cloth, elaborate gilt decorated spines with raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, with illustrated plates, frontispieces. In near fine condition. An exceptional set.

Thomas, Dylan

In Country Sleep.

New York : New Directions, 1952.

First edition of this collection of poems, including the first book appearance of “Do not go gentle into that good night.” Octavo, original cloth. Signed and dated by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, “Dylan Thomas 1952.” Fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom halfContinue reading "In Country Sleep."

Gordimer, Nadine

July’s People.

New York : The Viking Press, 1981.

First American edition of one of the author’s most beloved titles. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Nadine Gordimer on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by One + One Studios.

Disney, Walt

Walt Disney’s Cinderella.

Stuttgart : Bluchert-Verlag, 1951.

First German edition of the classic retelling of one of the most celebrated Disney films. Octavo, original illustrated boards, pictorial endpapers, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by Walt Disney on the half-title page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Laid in is a business card of the publisher with a note referencing this wasContinue reading "Walt Disney’s Cinderella."

Green, Hannah [Joanne Greenberg]

I Never Promised You a Rose Garden.

New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1964.

First edition of the author’s semi-autobiographical modern classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Lengthily signed by the author as Joanne Greenberg and her pseudonym “Hannah Green”, as follows, “I never promise lies and the rose-garden world of perfection is a lie, and a bore too.” “Hannah Green” Joanne Greenberg.” Near fine in a very good dustContinue reading "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden."

O'Casey, Sean

Within the Gates.

London : Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1933.

First edition of this work by the Irish dramatist and memoirist. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, “From Sean O’Casey to his dear friend Joe Cummins, Whose companionship, through hours of eventide, he often misses deeply Chalfont St Gilles 1933.” Near fineContinue reading "Within the Gates."

Emerson, Ralph Waldo

The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson.

Cambridge : Riverside Press, 1903.

Autograph Centenary edition with a double sided manuscript in Emerson’s hand bound into volume one. Octavo, 12 volumes, bound in three quarters contemporary morocco over cloth, elaborately gilt-decorated spines, raised bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. Numerous mounted photogravure illustrations. One of 600 copies. In near fine condition.

Wallace, David Foster & Mark Costello

Signifying Rappers.

New York : Ecco Press, 1990.

First edition of the first book to seriously consider rap and its position as a vital force in American culture. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers as issued. Boldly signed by David Foster Wallace on the title page. In fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare, especially signedContinue reading "Signifying Rappers."

Collins, Billy

The Art of Drowning.

Pittsburgh : University of Pittsburgh Press, 1995.

First edition of this early work by Collins. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Stephen whose poetry rocks. Billy.” The recipient Stephen Perry was a poet and friend of the Collins. In fine condition. No dust jacket was issued for this first edition.

Conrad, Joseph

Typhoon And Other Stories.

London : William Heinemann, 1903.

First English edition, first printing of this collection of stories, including the thrilling titular novella, “generally thought to inaugurate Conrad’s period of artistic maturity.” Octavo, original Cagle’s binding A with only the top edge trimmed and with 110 mm between “Conrad” and “Heinemann” on the spine, with gilt titles to the spine and front panel.Continue reading "Typhoon And Other Stories."

Greene, Graham

A Burnt-Out Case.

London : Heinemann, 1961.

First edition of this Greene novel set in a leproserie on the upper reaches of a tributary of the Congo River in Africa. Octavo, original cloth. Small name to the front free endpaper, near fine in a fine dust jacket. Dust jacket design by Lacey Everett. An exceptional example.

Dryden, John

Fables Ancient and Modern; Translated into Verse, From Homer, Ovid, Boccace, & Chaucer: With Original Poems.

London : Jacob Tonson, 1700.

First edition of this collection of fables with nearly 12,000 verses translated or paraphrased from various including Homer, Chaucer and Ovid. Quarto, bound in contemporary calf Cambridge binding, tooled and lettered in gilt on spine, raised bands. In very good condition.

Moliere, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin

Oeuvres Completes de Moliere.

Paris : Imprimerie Nationale, 1878.

Finely bound set of Moliere. Quarto, 5 volumes, bound in full red morocco, illustrated with plates, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges gilt, original wrappers bound in, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers. Edited by Adolphe Regnier. With the slipcovers in marbled paper. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.

Travers, P.L

I Go By Sea, I Go By Land.

New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1941.

First edition of this classic work, a fictional diary of Sabrina Lind, an eleven-year-old English girl who is sent on the long voyage across the sea to her aunt in America. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, “K. Jean Bourne, P.L.Continue reading "I Go By Sea, I Go By Land."

Tagore, Rabindranath. Edited by Ramananda Chatterjee

The Golden Book of Tagore: A Homage to Rabindranath Tagore from India and the World in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday.

Calcutta : The Golden Book Committee, 1931.

First subscribers’ edition of The Golden Book of Tagore, the elaborate privately produced tribute to the famed poet; signed by Tagore and from the library of Raja Shamraj Rajwant Bahadur. Quarto, original cloth, lettered tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Tagore by Martin Vos signed and dated by Tagore beneath his image, “Rabindranath Tagore Dec. 19,Continue reading "The Golden Book of Tagore: A Homage to Rabindranath Tagore from India and the World in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday."