Literature

Porter, Katherine Anne

Ship of Fools.

Boston : Little Brown and Company, 1962.

First edition of this classic bestseller from the Pulitzer Prize winner which dramatizes the rise of totalitarianism in the 1930s in a sweeping story of a transatlantic cruise featuring a cast of unforgettable characters. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Katherine Porter on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket designContinue reading "Ship of Fools."

Viorst, Judith

Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 2000.

First edition of this comical work by the author of Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day. Small octavo, original cloth, illustrated by Laurie Rosenwald. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Helene + Bill with affection + thanks for many years of wonderful break-fasts- Judy.” Fine inContinue reading "Suddenly Sixty: And Other Shocks of Later Life."

Hemingway, Ernest

Winner Take Nothing.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1933.

First edition of Hemingway’s third collection of short stories. Octavo, original black cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. A very nice presentation.

Gray, Thomas

The Poetical Works of Thomas Gray. [Fore-edge Painting].

London : Bell and Daldy, 1857.

Finely bound collection of the collected poetical works of Thomas Gray decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of Eton College. Octavo, bound in full straight grain morocco with gilt titles to the spine, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of Eton College. In very good condition. Armorial bookplate.

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. Housed in a custom half morocco chemise and clamshell box.

McCarthy, Cormac

The Crossing.

New York : Vintage International, 1994.

First paperback edition of the second book in the author’s acclaimed Border Trilogy. Octavo, original wrappers. Signed by the author on the title page, “For Randy, All best wishes, Cormac McCarthy.” In near fine condition. Cover design by Chip Kidd.

Melville, Herman

Omoo.

New York : Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1847.

First edition of this classic Melville work Omoo, the Martin-Manney copy in the rare original wrappers. Octavo, two volumes, original wrappers. Volume 1 with half-title, title-page printed in black and red, and frontispiece map of the Marquesas and Tahiti. Volume 2 with advertisements at rear paginated [xv]-xxiii, [1]-16 (light staining to prelims, lower corner clippedContinue reading "Omoo."

Too True To Be Good, Village Wooing, On The Rocks.

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First edition of this classic work by the Nobel Prize-winning author. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page on the half-title page, “To Blanche Patch’s friend, Mrs. Frank Kinder, from G. Bernard Shaw 9th Nov. 1934.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom halfContinue reading "Too True To Be Good, Village Wooing, On The Rocks."

Triquarterly 48: Western Stories [Blood Meridian].

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Original Spring 1980 issue of TriQuarterly magazine containing the first excerpt from Cormac McCarthy’s classic Blood Meridian, this being chapter 12, with several textual differences from the 1985 first edition publication. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy at his appearance. In near fine condition. Rare and desirable signed.

Wharton, Edith

The Custom of the Country.

New York : Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913.

First edition of one of Wharton’s finest novels, which tells the story of Undine Spragg, a Midwestern girl who attempts to ascend in New York City society. Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition, name to the front free endpaper. Housed in a custom half morocco chemise and clamshell box. An exceptional presentation.

McCarthy, Cormac

Outer Dark.

New York : Random House, 1968.

First edition of the author’s second novel. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser. A superior example.

Shaw, George Bernard

Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch.

London : Constable and Company, Ltd, 1921.

First edition of this collection of plays by the Nobel Prize-winning playwright. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication, “To H.S.S from G.B.S 22nd June 1921.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise box. RareContinue reading "Back to Methuselah: A Metabiological Pentateuch."

O'Hara, John

Appointment in Samarra.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934.

First edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with a few small closed tears, contemporary bookplate to the front pastedown. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise box. A very nice example.

White, Henry Kirke

Remains of Henry Kirke White, with a Memoir of the Author. [Fore-edge Painting].

Glasgow : Printed for Richard Griffin & Co, 1844.

Finely bound collection of the letters and poems of Henry Kirke White. 12mo, finely bound in full morocco elaborately decorated in gilt, marbled endpapers, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of White, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting. In very good condition. Ownership inscription. A unique example.

McCarthy, Cormac

Suttree.

New York : Random House, 1979.

First edition of the author’s fourth novel and what many consider to be his finest. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “For Barbara with love Cormac.” With a photograph laid in of McCarthy with his arms around the recipient and his then wife Ann Delisle. NearContinue reading "Suttree."

Faulkner, William

The Town.

New York : Random House, 1957.

First edition, first state with the 5/57 at the bottom of the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the title page in the year of publication, “11 Nov 57 Best wishes William Faulkner.” With the publisher’s advance review copy slip dated May 1, 1957 laid in andContinue reading "The Town."

Wiesel, Elie

Night.

London : MacGibbon & Kee, 1960.

First English edition of Nobel laureate Wiesel’s masterpiece, which precedes the first American edition. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Elie Wiesel on the front free endpaper. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Jacket design by Cowan. Foreword by Francois Mauriac. TranslatedContinue reading "Night."

McCarthy, Mary

Birds of America.

New York : Harcourt, Brace Jovanovich, 1971.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Harlan Umansky my thanks, Mary McCarthy November 5, 1984.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket drawing by Peter Vos. Jacket design by Paul Bacon. Jacket photograph of Mary McCarthy by Jack Nisberg.Continue reading "Birds of America."

Asimov, Isaac

Murder at the ABA: A Puzzle in Four Days and Sixty Scenes.

Garden City, New York : Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1976.

First edition of Asimov’s wonderfully woven, old-fashioned murder mystery. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “To Stephen Isaac Asimov.” Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Al Nagy.

Hurston, Zora Neale

Hurston: Novels & Stories: Jonah’s Gourd Vine, Their Eyes Were Watching God, Moses Man of the Mountain, Seraph on the Suwanee, and Selected Stories [with] Hurston: Folklore, Memoirs, & Other Writings: Mules and Men, Tell My Horse, Dust Tracks on a Road and Selected Articles.

New York : Library of America, 1995.

First editions of the Library of American compilations of the works of both fiction and non-fiction of Zora Neale Hurston. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth, ribbon bound in. Edited by Cheryl A. Wall. Fine in fine dust jackets.

Follett, Ken [Erica Jong]

Code to Zero.

New York : Dutton, 2000.

Advance reading copy of the first edition of Follett’s page-turning thriller. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page,”To Ken + Erica – with love, Ken Follett.” The recipients, American writer Erica Jong and lawyer Kenneth David Burrows were married in August of 1989. Erica Jong remains best knownContinue reading "Code to Zero."

Follett, Ken [Erica Jong]

Jackdaws.

New York : Dutton, 2001.

Advance reading copy of the first edition of the New York Times bestselling author’s classic World War II spy thriller. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page,”To Ken + Erica – with love, Ken Follett.” The recipients, American writer Erica Jong and lawyer Kenneth David Burrows were marriedContinue reading "Jackdaws."

Follett, Ken [Erica Jong]

World Without End.

New York : Dutton, 2007.

First printing, advance uncopyedited manuscript of Follett’s bestselling historical novel, the sequel to The Pillars of Earth. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. From the library of Erica Jong and her husband Ken Burrows. American writer Erica Jong and lawyer Kenneth David Burrows were married in August of 1989 and became close personal friends of Follett’s. EricaContinue reading "World Without End."

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]

Life On The Mississippi.

Boston : James R. Osgood and Company, 1883.

First American edition, first state of this provocative portrait of the great Mississippi River with tailpiece of Twain in flames on p. 441 and “The St. Louis Hotel” caption on p. 443. Octavo, original publisher’s deluxe full sheep with morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled, illustrated. In very good condition,Continue reading "Life On The Mississippi."