Literature

Crichton, Michael

The Lost World.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1995.

First edition of Crichton’s sequel to Jurassic Park. Octavo, original half cloth, cartographic endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Michael Crichton on the half-title page, “To Mrs. Pat Lisahie Best wishes Michael Crichton” and Chip Kidd Additionally signed by Chip Kidd with an original drawing mimicking the dust jacket art which he designed on the titleContinue reading "The Lost World."

Wouk, Herman

The Caine Mutiny.

Franklin, PA : The Franklin Library, 1977.

Signed limited first edition of Wouk’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel. Octavo, bound in full leather, gilt titles to the spine, front and rear panels, raised bands, all edges gilt, silk endpapers, ribbon bound in. Signed by Herman Wouk. Illustrated by George H. Jones. In fine condition.

Kinsella, W.P. [Kevin Costner]

Shoeless Joe.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin, 1982.

First edition of this classic work, basis for the film Field of Dreams starring Kevin Costner, which was later inducted into the National Film Registry. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed on the title page by Bill Kinsella and by Academy Award-winning actor Kevin Costner below Kinsella’s. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. JacketContinue reading "Shoeless Joe."

Chaucer, Geoffrey

The Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer.

London : William Pickering, 1852.

The Aldine edition of Chaucer’s brilliant poetical works. Duodecimo, six volumes, bound in full contemporary tan calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within gilt raised bands, all edges marbled, marbled endpapers, frontispiece portrait of Geoffrey Chaucer to Vol. I, decorated with botanical headpieces,Continue reading "The Poetical Works of Geoffrey Chaucer."

Hemingway, Ernest. [John Steinbeck]

The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1938.

First edition, second printing of this famed Hemingway anthology, containing his only published play as well as the first appearance in book form of The Short Happy Life of Francis Macomber, The Snows of Kilimanjaro, and Night Before Battle. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. Association copy, inscribed on the pastedown by Carol Brown Steinbeck to herContinue reading "The Fifth Column and the First Forty-Nine Stories."

Walton, Izaak and Charles Cotton

The Complete Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Being a Discourse on Rivers, Fish-Ponds, Fish, and Fishing.

London : Printed only for Thomas Hope; sold by him and Sackville Parker, Richard Matthews, and Samuel Trimmer, 1760.

First Hawkins edition of Walton’s classic work. Octavo, original full speckled tan calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, black morocco spine label, engraved frontispiece, illustrated with fourteen engraved plates, seventeen in-text engravings of fish, and several engravedContinue reading "The Complete Angler or The Contemplative Man’s Recreation: Being a Discourse on Rivers, Fish-Ponds, Fish, and Fishing."

McCullers, Carson

The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.

First edition, first printing with the date of 1940 on the title page of the author’s first novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Carson McCullers on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A veryContinue reading "The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter."

[Bible]

The Bible, that is the Holy Scriptures conteined in the Old and New Testament: Translated According to the Ebrewe and Greeke, and Conferred with the Best Translations in Divers Languages. [WITH] The Booke of Common Prayer, and the Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England.

London : Deputies of Christopher Barker, [1599]; London: Robert Barker, 1636.

Rare “Breeches” Bible, printed by Christopher Barker with the fictitious 1599 publication date. “There are many editions bearing this date, which while agreeing closely are yet distinct … the phenomena of the various editions described under the year 1599, and the very similar edition of 1633, constitute one of the most curious problems in theContinue reading "The Bible, that is the Holy Scriptures conteined in the Old and New Testament: Translated According to the Ebrewe and Greeke, and Conferred with the Best Translations in Divers Languages. [WITH] The Booke of Common Prayer, and the Administration of the Sacraments, and Other Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of England."

Wright, Richard

Native Son.

New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1940.

First edition, first issue with “A – P” on the copyright page. Octavo, bound in full calf, marbled endpapers, housed in a full calf slipcase. A beautiful presentation.

Dahl, Roald [Walt Disney]

The Gremlins. From the Walt Disney Production. A Royal Air Force Story.

New York : Random House, 1943.

First edition of Dahl’s rare first book, with 14 vibrant full-page illustrations by Walt Disney Productions. Quarto, original half cloth, pictorial endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by Walt Disney on the half-title page, “To Joan With Best Wishes Walt Disney.” In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the HarcourtContinue reading "The Gremlins. From the Walt Disney Production. A Royal Air Force Story."

King, Coretta Scott

The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr.

New York : Newmarket Press, 1987.

First edition of this classic collection of the words of Dr. King, selected by Coretta Scott King. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated. Presentation copy, inscribed by Coretta Scott King on the front free endpaper, “To Mr. & Mrs. Charles Martin with love and warmest good wishes, Coretta Scott King,” beneath Florine B. Martin’s mail address label.Continue reading "The Words of Martin Luther King, Jr."

Eliot, George

The Mill On The Floss.

Edinburgh and London : William Blackwood and Sons, 1860.

First edition, first issue of Eliot’s most deeply autobiographical work with no inserted preliminary advertisement leaf in volume I and with the seventh edition of Adam Bede cited in the 16 pages of undated advertisements at rear of volume III. Octavo, three volumes in the publisher’s original terra cotta cloth, covers decoratively stamped in blind,Continue reading "The Mill On The Floss."

Orwell, George

Animal Farm.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1946.

Early printing of Orwell’s timeless allegorical novel—a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism. Octavo, original black cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with rubbing and wear to the extremities, name to the front free endpaper. Jacket art by Art Brenner.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Men of Our Times or Leading Patriots of the Day. Being Narratives of the Lives and Deeds of Statesmen, Generals, and Orators. Including Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of Lincoln, Grant, Garrison, Sumner, Chase, Wilson, Greeley, Farragut, Andrew, Colfax, Stanoton, Douglass, Buckingham, Sherman, Sheridan, Howard, Phillips and Beecher.

Hartford, Conn. : Hartford Publishing Co, 1868.

First edition of this work by the author of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles to the spine, gilt facsimile signature of Harriet Beecher Stowe to the front panel, illustrated with 18 tissue-guarded steel portraits including frontispiece portrait of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Second state with the title page corrected to “Douglass.” InContinue reading "Men of Our Times or Leading Patriots of the Day. Being Narratives of the Lives and Deeds of Statesmen, Generals, and Orators. Including Biographical Sketches and Anecdotes of Lincoln, Grant, Garrison, Sumner, Chase, Wilson, Greeley, Farragut, Andrew, Colfax, Stanoton, Douglass, Buckingham, Sherman, Sheridan, Howard, Phillips and Beecher."

Dahl, Roald

Dirty Beasts.

London : Jonathan Cape, 1983.

First edition of this book collection of poems about mischievous and mysterious animals. Quarto, original boards, illustrations by Rosemary Fawcett. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “To Lucy Love Roald Dahl.” In fine condition. First editions are rare and desirable signed.

Creasey, John [John Ball]

John Creasey Autograph Letter Signed.

Bodenham August 9, 1967.

Autograph letter signed by English author John Creasey to American novelist John Ball with a review of the film based on Ball’s first ‘Virgil Tibbs’ novel. One page on Cunard Line R. M. S. Queen Mary letterhead, duodecimo, the autograph letter reads, “Dear John, Last night in New York, I saw ‘In the Heat ofContinue reading "John Creasey Autograph Letter Signed."

Baldwin, James

The Fire Next Time.

New York : The Dial Press, 1963.

First edition of one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by James Baldwin on the dedication page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by Paul Bacon. Jacket photograph by Mottke Weissman. Rare and desirable, especiallyContinue reading "The Fire Next Time."

Saint-Exupery, Antoine de

The Little Prince Original Antoine de Saint-Exupery Watercolor Drawing.

[New York] [1942].

Rare original watercolor study of the beloved protagonist of Antoine de Saint-Exupery’s The Little Prince, a timeless masterpiece that has transcended generations and remains the most widely read work of fiction in history, having sold over 150 million copies over the course of the past 80 years. One page, pencil and watercolor on American ‘FidelityContinue reading "The Little Prince Original Antoine de Saint-Exupery Watercolor Drawing."

Greene, Graham

The Lost Childhood and Other Essays.

London : Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1951.

First edition of this collection of essays by Graham Greene, two of its four parts, Personal Prologue and Personal Postscript, comprise seven invaluable pieces of autobiography. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good dust jacket.

200 Utaibon Noh Chantbooks.

Kyoto : Tsunenosuke Hinoki, 1943-1944.

A theatrical collection of exactly 200 Utaibon Noh chantbooks. Original wrappers with stitched binding, average of approximately 20 pp. each, title labels on rice paper, patterned paper covers, calligraphic text in red and black. All in very good to fine condition. Housed in a dedicated wooden case, which is in good condition with partitioning toContinue reading "200 Utaibon Noh Chantbooks."