Literature

Bishop, Elizabeth

North Haven: In Memoriam Robert Lowell.

Northridge, CA : Richard Bigus for the Lord John Press, 1979.

Memorial broadside, signed by Elizabeth Bishop, one of only 150 examples. It measures 21 inches by 14.5 inches. Framed, signature lightly faded, small stain to the bottom edge. Rare.

Wolfe, Tom

I Am Charlotte Simmons.

New York : Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 2004.

First edition of this “hilarious, exclamation-point filled novel” (John Freeman). Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, boldly inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To the Michaels Charlotte Simmons c’est Moi! Tom Wolfe.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Susan Mitchell.

Hugo, Victor

La Légende des Siècles. [The Legend of the Ages: First Series].

Bruxelles : 1859, Edition Hetzel.

First Brussels edition and true first edition of the first series of Hugo’s epic work. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. Provenance: from the library of H. Bradley Martin (his sale, Sotheby’s New York, October 16-17, 1989, lot no. 901; bookplate). “The H. Bradley Martin sale of 1989-1990 was a terribly significant sale of a stupendously variedContinue reading "La Légende des Siècles. [The Legend of the Ages: First Series]."

Dickey, James

Deliverance.

Boston : Houghton Mifflin Company, 1970.

First edition of Dickey’s first and most famous novel. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the title page, “To my old friend Inman Mays this novel of survival: “adapt of die”- James Dickey June 21, 1970.” Additionally signed by Academy Award-winning actor Jon Voight on the title page, who starredContinue reading "Deliverance."

Buck, Pearl S

The Good Earth.

New York : The John Day Company, 1931.

First edition of the author’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and masterpiece. First issue with “flees” for “fleas” on page 100, line 17. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentellesContinue reading "The Good Earth."

Lem, Stanislaw

Solaris.

Warszawa : Wydawnictwo Ministerstwa Obrony Narodowej, 1961.

True first edition of this classic work. Octavo, original wrappers. Boldly signed by Stanislaw Lem on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. A very sharp example, uncommon in this condition and signed.

Kew Gardens.

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Signed limited edition, number 172 of 500 numbered copies, signed by Virginia Woolf and Vanessa Bell in purple ink. Quarto, original illustrated paper boards, text printed within woodcut borders designed by Woolf’s sister Vanessa Bell. From the library of publisher, editor, and literary agent Donald Friede, and with his Miguel Covarrubias-designed book-plate on front paste-down.Continue reading "Kew Gardens."

Buck, Pearl S

The Good Earth.

New York : The John Day Company, 1931.

First edition of the author’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and masterpiece. First issue with “flees” for “fleas” on page 100, line 17. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentellesContinue reading "The Good Earth."

Woolf, Virginia

On Being Ill.

London : Hogarth Press, 1930.

Signed limited first book edition of this meditation on the literary possibilities of illness, number 54 of 250 copies signed by Woolf in her characteristic purple ink. Octavo, original half vellum and green silk boards, marbled endpapers. Fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition.

James, Henry

The Ambassadors.

New York : Harper & Brothers, 1903.

First American edition of this dark comedy, which Henry James considered his finest work. Octavo, original cloth, gilt topstain. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light toning to the spine.

Seth, Vikram

A Suitable Boy.

New York : Harper Collins Publishers, 1993.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated endpapers. Boldly signed by Vikram Seth on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design and illustration by Honi Werner.

Select Poetry: Chiefly on Subjects Connected with Religion. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : R. B. Seeley, 1830.

Finely bound poetry collection decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. 18mo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, gilt fleuron cornerpieces to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of St. Saviour’s church in London. In very goodContinue reading "Select Poetry: Chiefly on Subjects Connected with Religion. [Fore-Edge Painting]."

Kazantzakis, Nikos

Zorba The Greek.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 1953.

First edition of Kazantzakis’ masterpiece, basis for the beloved Academy award-winning film. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers, all edgesContinue reading "Zorba The Greek."

von Arnim, Elizabeth

The Enchanted April.

Garden City, NY : Doubleday, Page & Company, 1923.

Signed limited edition of this classic novel, one of only 377 copies. Octavo, original vellum, original slipcase. Near fine in a very good dust jacket in a very good slipcase. Rare and desirable.

Cervantes Saavedra, Miguel de

El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Segunda Parte del Ingenioso Cavallero Don Quixote de la Mancha.

Madrid : Por Juan de La Cuesta, vendese en casa de Francisco de Robles, librero del Rey, 1608-1615.

Exceedingly rare and spectacular 17th century editions of both volumes of Cervantes’ prized work, the remarkable Beilby Thompson-Maggs-Ortiz Linares copy with a shared provenance spanning over 320 years, this is among the oldest known sets of both parts paired and uniformly bound in the 18th century, comprising one of the most desirable pairings of theContinue reading "El Ingenioso hidalgo Don Quixote de la Mancha. Segunda Parte del Ingenioso Cavallero Don Quixote de la Mancha."

Williams, Tennessee

Cat On A Hot Tin Roof.

New York : New Directions, 1955.

First edition, first issue of one of Williams’s best-known works and his personal favorite. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, marbled endpapers,Continue reading "Cat On A Hot Tin Roof."

Seuss, Dr. [Theodor Geisel]

McElligot’s Pool.

New York : Random House, 1947.

First edition with the 250/250 price on the front flap as well as the $2.50 price added to the rear flap (state ‘c’) of the first Dr. Seuss title to feature full-color art on every other page. Quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author, “For Mrs. Haye with veryContinue reading "McElligot’s Pool."

Dickens, Charles; John Forster

The Works of Charles Dickens and The Life of Charles Dickens.

London : Chapman and Hall and Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott & Co., 1873-1876.

Finely bound set of the works of Charles Dickens, uniformly bound with John Forster’s definitive biography of Dickens. Octavo, 30 volumes bound in full crushed levant morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with numerous etchedContinue reading "The Works of Charles Dickens and The Life of Charles Dickens."

Schiller, Friedrich

The Works of Friedrich Schiller.

Weimar and New York : The Northern Press, Printed for Subscribers only, n.d.

The Weimar edition of the collected works of Friedrich Schiller. Octavo, 10 volumes bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, elaborate gilt tooling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles, watered silk endleaves and doublures with central gilt mongrams “EHR”, top edgeContinue reading "The Works of Friedrich Schiller."

Galsworthy, John

The Complete Works of John Galsworthy.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1906-1932.

Uniformly bound set of the complete works of John Galsworthy. Various sizes (quarto, octavo, 12mo), 36 volumes uniformly bound in full calf by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, double gilt ruling, cornerpieces, and blind-stamped basketweave pattern toContinue reading "The Complete Works of John Galsworthy."

O'Flaherty, Liam

The Informer.

Jonathan Cape Ltd : London, 1925.

First edition of this classic novel set in the aftermath of the Irish Civil War, which was adapted numerous times, most famously by John Ford for RKO Pictures in 1935. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example.

Orwell, George

Nineteen Eighty-Four.

London : Secker & Warburg, 1949.

First edition of Orwell’s classic dystopian novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a few small chips and closed tears. Jacket design by Michael Kennard. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A very nice example.

Faulkner, William. [Cormac McCarthy]

The Town: A Novel of the Snopes Family.

New York : Random House, 1957.

First edition, first printing of the second novel in Faulkner’s celebrated Snopes trilogy with line 8 on page 327 repeated as line 10. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. From the library of Cormac McCarthy with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper. McCarthy has been widely praised as not only a disciple of Faulkner, butContinue reading "The Town: A Novel of the Snopes Family."

Asch, Sholem

East River: A Novel of New York.

New York : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1946.

First edition of this classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author with a loose translation, “For my good friend Dr. Tunik with [illegible] and good wishes Sh. Asch Oct. 1946.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Haberstock. Translated by A.H. Gross.