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Literature

Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online

Browse rare first edition classics in American, English, world literature, poetry, and plays. View our entire collection of rare literature below, search our inventory with advanced search, or use our sorting tools to find exactly what you’re looking for. Please call with any questions you may have on a specific item or order online today.

Showing items 840-860 of 2245

Orwell, George

Animal Farm.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1946.

First American edition 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. Jacket art by Art Brenner.

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$975.00
Item Number: RRB-145465

Mead, Shepherd

How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: The Dastard’s Guide to Fame and Fortune.

New York : Simon and Schuster, 1952.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt ruled inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrations by Claude. InContinue reading "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying: The Dastard’s Guide to Fame and Fortune."

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$1,100.00
Item Number: RRB-146086

Farina, Richard

Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me.

New York : Random House, 1966.

First edition of the author and songwriter’s first novel, warmly praised by his friend Thomas Pynchon; the only novel published in Fariña’s lifetime, as he tragically died in a motorcycle accident two days after its publication. Octavo, original half green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the month of publication with a drawing ofContinue reading "Been Down So Long It Looks Like Up To Me."

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$25,000.00
Item Number: RRB-146072

McKay, Claude

Harlem: Negro Metropolis.

New York : E. P. Dutton & Company, Inc, 1940.

Scarce first edition of this intimate history of the Black Mecca of the world, authored by one of the central figures in the Harlem renaissance. Octavo, original brown cloth with gilt titles, red topstain, frontispiece of Bird’s-eye View of Harlem, illustrated with eighteen additional plates of black and white photographs. Near fine in the scarce originalContinue reading "Harlem: Negro Metropolis."

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$9,800.00
Item Number: RRB-145357

Eden, Emily; Introduction by Anthony Eden

The Semi-Attached Couple.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1947.

First edition of the Honorable Emily Eden’s brilliant comedy of manners. Octavo, original publisher’s pictorial cloth with central botanical flourish, illustrated by Suzanne Suba. Association copy, signed and dated by the Right Honorable Anthony Eden, who contributed the introduction, on the verso of the half-title page, “Anthony Eden Paris March 1948.” Near fine in aContinue reading "The Semi-Attached Couple."

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$400.00
Item Number: RRB-145160

Faulkner, William

Pylon.

New York : Harrison Smith and Robert Hass, Inc, 1935.

First edition of Faulkner’s explosive novel about a group of Southern barnstormers. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket with light rubbing and wear and toning to the spine.

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$500.00
Item Number: RRB-146052

Swift, Jonathan

Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, first Surgeon, and then Captain of Several Ships. [Gulliver’s Travels].

London : Printed for Benj. Motte, at the Middle Temple-Gate in Fleet-Street, 1726.

First edition of one of the most important works in all of English literature, Teerink’s “AA” edition of Jonathan Swift’s masterpiece. Octavo, four parts in two volumes bound in full contemporary calf, rebacked with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, botanical gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt scrollingContinue reading "Travels into Several Remote Nations of the World. In Four Parts. By Lemuel Gulliver, first Surgeon, and then Captain of Several Ships. [Gulliver’s Travels]."

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$17,500.00
Item Number: RRB-146104

Caputo, Philip

A Rumor of War.

New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1977.

First edition of this classic work, which the Los Angeles Times Book Review called “heartbreaking, terrifying, and enraging. It belongs to the literature of men at war.” Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the half-title page, “Feb, 2023 With best wishes, Philip Caputo.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket illustrationContinue reading "A Rumor of War."

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$475.00
Item Number: RRB-145413

Bryant, Peter [Peter George]

Two Hours to Doom: A Novel of Suspense.

London : T.V. Boardman & Company, 1958.

First edition of this work, basis for the classic Stanley Kubrick film Dr. Strangelove. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front endpaper, “Billie, This is the original, all the best, Peter.” Very good in a very good dust jacket. First editions are scarce, signed and inscribed examples are rare, asContinue reading "Two Hours to Doom: A Novel of Suspense."

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$4,500.00
Item Number: RRB-127658

Scott, Paul. [Charles Dance]

The Raj Quartet. [The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence, A Division of the Spoils, Staying On].

London : Heinemann, 1966-1975.

Complete first edition set of “one of the most important landmarks of post-war fiction” (The Times). Octavo, five volumes, original cloth. Presentation copies, each volume inscribed by British actor Charles Dance who featured in the televised version of The Jewel in the Crown on the front free endpaper, “For Charles Swynnerton from Charles Dance!” EachContinue reading "The Raj Quartet. [The Jewel in the Crown, The Day of the Scorpion, The Towers of Silence, A Division of the Spoils, Staying On]."

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$2,500.00
Item Number: RRB-144627

Forster, Reverend Edward

The Arabian Nights, in Five Volumes, Translated by The Reverend Edward Forster.

London : Printed for William Miller, 1802.

Large paper edition of this early translation by Edward Forster (1769-1828), based on the French version of Antoine Galland which first appeared between 1704 and 1717. Royal octavo, bound in full period calf with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt rulingContinue reading "The Arabian Nights, in Five Volumes, Translated by The Reverend Edward Forster."

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$600.00
Item Number: RRB-145199

Oliver, Mary

Blue Horses: Poems.

New York : Penguin Press, 2014.

First edition of this “lyric collection to be treasured” (The New York Journal of Books). Octavo, original boards. Boldly signed by Mary Oliver on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Darren Haggar. Rare and desirable signed.

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$1,250.00
Item Number: RRB-103431

King, Stephen

The Dark Half and Four Past Midnight Stephen King Signed Promotional Poster.

New York : Signet/Penguin/Viking, .

Combined promotion and advertising campaign poster for Stephen King’s best-selling horror novels The Dark Half and Four Past Midnight. One page, the poster features a full color image of Stephen King with both books. Boldly signed by Stephen King in black felt pen. The poster measures 22 inches by 16.75 inches. In fine condition.

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$1,250.00
Item Number: RRB-145483

Kerouac, Jack

Jack Kerouac Autograph Letter Signed.

1954.

Rare autograph letter signed by Jack Kerouac to close friend Ed White. Bifoliate leaf, one page covered; pencil. With envelope addressed in autograph, postmarked Jamaica, New York. The letter reads in full, “Fri. Jan. 7 Dear Ed – For reasons completely unexplainable to someone like Beverly I’d on New Year’s Eve made a vow notContinue reading "Jack Kerouac Autograph Letter Signed."

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$7,800.00
Item Number: RRB-145634

Lefevre, Edwin

The Making of a Stockbroker.

New York : George H. Doran Company, 1925.

First edition of this classic Wall Street narrative. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands,  gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt ruled inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fineContinue reading "The Making of a Stockbroker."

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$1,200.00
Item Number: RRB-146015

Greene, Graham

The Heart of the Matter.

London : William Heinemann Ltd, 1948.

First edition of what many consider the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands,  gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition.

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$1,200.00
Item Number: RRB-146011

Vonnegut, Kurt

Cat’s Cradle.

New York : Holt, Rinehart Winston, 1963.

First edition of Vonnegut’s classic satire of the clash between science and religion in the nuclear age. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, boldly signed by Kurt Vonnegut in a page bound in, gilt ruling to the frontContinue reading "Cat’s Cradle."

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$3,200.00
Item Number: RRB-146009

Steinbeck, John

The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication.

New York : The Viking Press, 1957.

First edition of Steinbeck’s only political satire. unrevised proof copy, signed presentation inscription from the author “Dear Elsie Clough: This book was ghost written in the truest sense of the world. An imp crept down my arm and played in the ink. Don’t turn me in please Yours John Steinbeck.” on front inner wrapper, 2Continue reading "The Short Reign of Pippin IV: A Fabrication."

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$4,800.00
Item Number: RRB-145697

Thackeray, William M

William M. Thackeray Autograph Letter Signed.

.

Autograph letter signed by William M. Thackeray to Lady John Russell, wife of the Prime Minister. One page, the letter reads, “I have an engagement contracted 3 weeks ago unfortunately, or I should have had the greatest pleasure in coming to Richmond on Friday.” Matted and framed with two engravings, one of Thackeray and theContinue reading "William M. Thackeray Autograph Letter Signed."

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$1,500.00
Item Number: RRB-145284
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