Literature
Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
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First Edition of Poets from the North of Ireland; Signed by Seamus Heaney
HEANEY, Seamus.
Poets from the North of Ireland.
1979: Blackstaff Press, Belfast.
First edition of this collection of poems. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Boldly signed by Nobel Prize-winning poet Seamus Heaney on the half-title page. In near fine condition. Edited by Frank Ormsby.
Price: $750.00 Item Number: 141441
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Finely bound example of Alain-René Lesage's famous 18th century novel History of Gil Blas De Santillane
LESAGE, Alain-René.
Histoire De Gil Blas De Santillane, Par Lesage.
Paris: De L'Imprimerie De Didot Jeune, n.d.
Finely bound example of Lesage's famed picaresque novel. Octavo, four volumes bound in three quarter crushed levant morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrated with engravings by the best artists of Paris. In fine condition. A beautiful set.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 145006
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"one of the most significant works of religious English literature": Finely Bound Edition of John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress
BUNYAN, John.
Bunyan’s Choice Works: The Pilgrim’s Progress, The Holy War, The Barren Fig-Tree, Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and Heart’s Ease in Heart Trouble.
Glasgow: James Semple, c.1880.
Finely bound edition of one of the most significant works of religious English literature. Quarto, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt titles and tooling to the front panel, metal rim and double clasp to the boards, all edges gilt, profusely illustrated with in text woodcuts and full page chromolithograph plates. In near fine condition. An exceptional presentation.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 148101
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"On a gorgeous sunny winter's day in Cornwall": A Page From The Constant Gardener; Annotated by John LE CARRÉ
LE CARRÉ, John.
John le Carré Annotated Page From The Constant Gardener.
November 12, 2020.
Rare annotated page from the author's classic spy thriller. Octavo, one page on the first page of Chapter 19 of 'The Constant Gardener,' annotated by the author around the chapter heading, "John le Carré - on a gorgeous sunny winter's day in Cornwall, 12 Nov 2020." In fine condition.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 146559
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James T. Farrell's Studs Lonigan Trilogy; inscribed by him to American journalist William Safire
FARRELL, James T. [William Safire].
Studs Lonigan. A Trilogy Containing Young Lonigan, The Young Manhood of Studs Lonigan, and Judgment Day.
New York: The Modern Library, [1938].
First edition, early printing of Farrell's well-regarded trilogy. Octavo, bound in three quarter morocco with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Jan 9/ 1950 For Bill Safire with best wishes Jim Farrell." The recipient, William Safire was an important American author, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign in the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. Following Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a presidential speechwriter for both Nixon and Vice President Spiro Agnew. He was a…
Price: $1,750.00 Item Number: 127643
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“THREE THINGS CANNOT LONG BE HIDDEN: THE SUN, THE MOON, AND THE TRUTH": The Philosophy of Confucius; finely bound in full morocco by Maurin
CONFUCIUS. TRANSLATED BY JAMES LEGGE. ,.
The Philosophy of Confucius.
Mount Vernon and New York: The Peter Pauper Press, n.d..
First Peter Pauper edition of Legge's translation of the Analects of Confucius. Octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco by Maurin with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled endpapers, illustrations by Jeanyee Wong. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom slipcase.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 130503
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"I begin to see that a man's got to be in his own Heaven to be happy": Mark Twain's Extract From Captain Stormfield's Visit to Heaven; from the library of American journalist William Safire
TWAIN, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens].
Extract From Captain Stormfield’s Visit to Heaven.
New York: Harper & Brothers, n.d..
Early printing of the last work published by Twain during his lifetime. Octavo, original cloth with titles in white and vignette in black, frontispiece in blue and white, no publication date to the title page. From the library American journalist William Safire with his bookplate to the pastedown. William Safire was an important American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He joined Nixon’s campaign for the 1960 Presidential race, and again in 1968. After Nixon’s 1968 victory, Safire served as a speechwriter for him and Spiro Agnew. He authored several political columns in addition to his weekly column “On Language”…
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 127530
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"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor": The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka].
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1884].
The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Octavo, 8 volumes bound in full morocco by P.B. Sanford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in 6 compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece to each volume by R. Swain Gifford, Frederick Church and others, etched engraved vignettes to the title pages. One of 315 numbered copies signed and dated by the publisher on the limitation leaf of each volume, this is number 290. In fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 118042
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"nothing could be more delightful than to live in solitude, and enjoy the spectacle of nature, and sometimes read some book or other": Nikolai Gogol's Dead Souls
GOGOL, Nikolai V.
Dead Souls.
London: Vizetelly & Co., n.d..
Finely bound example of Gogol's masterwork, “the first novel from which the world began to form its ideas of 19th-century Russia” (Hornstein, 139). Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments, raised bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt. In near fine condition.
Price: $975.00 Item Number: 132581
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Photograph of Stephen King; Signed by Him
KING, Stephen.
Stephen King Signed Photograph.
March 14, 1993.
Photograph of Stephen King, the “king of horror”, boldly signed by him. Octavo, one page, glossy color photograph of Stephen King, boldly signed and dated by him in black felt tip, "Stephen King 3/14/93." In near fine condition.
Price: $550.00 Item Number: 146561
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“Weakness is doubly weak by being new”: the Works of Thomas Hardy
HARDY, Thomas.
The Works of Thomas Hardy. [Including Far from the Madding Crowd; Two on a Tower; The Return of the Native.]
New York and London: Harper & Brothers Publishers, [1895].
The Thin Paper Edition of Books by Thomas Hardy. Duodecimo, six volumes bound in the original publisher's sheepskin with gilt titles and elaborate botanical tooling to the spines, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece to each volume. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities, book plate to the front pastedown of 'Jude the Obscure', ownership signatures to some volumes. A charming set.
Price: $250.00 Item Number: 147346
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First Edition of Evelyn Waugh's Black Mischief; Finely Bound by the Harcourt Bindery
WAUGH, Evelyn.
Black Mischief.
London: 1932, Chapman & Hall.
First edition of "one of the century's great masters of the twentieth century" third novel. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, frontispiece, 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 edges gilt.
Price: $1,400.00 Item Number: 147543
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First Edition of Hasegawa Takejirō's Kachi-Kachi Yama
TAKEJIRō, Hasegawa.
Kachi-Kachi Yama.
Tokyo: Kobunsha, c.1885.
First edition of volume five in Hasegawa Takejirō's Japanese Fairy Tale Series. Duodecimo, original pictorial wrappers, illustrated throughout with color woodcuts, cord ties. In very good condition. Translated by David Thomson.
Price: $125.00 Item Number: 147960
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First editions Ransom Riggs' The Miss Peregrine Series; Each Signed by him
RIGGS, Ransom.
The Miss Peregrine Series Including: Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, Hollow City, Library of Souls, Tales of the Peculiar, Map of Days, The Conference of the Birds.
New York : Random House, various dates.
First editions of the first six volumes in the author's acclaimed series. Octavo, original boards, illustrated. Each are signed by Ransom Riggs on the half-title and title pages. Fine in fine dust jackets.
Price: $850.00 Item Number: 128727
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Rare first edition of Victor Hugo's La Légende des Siècles: First Series; From the Library of H. Bradley Martin
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 varied and robust library that realized some major funds as well as publicity for Sotheby’s and for Martin’s executors. It also led H. Bradley Martin into the historic pantheon of legendary great bookmen. From it, we can surmise that book collecting on a massive scale and…
Price: $3,200.00 Item Number: 142580
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Autograph Letter Signed By English Author John Creasey to American Novelist John Ball
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 of the Night.' It was quite remarkable, and I hope you agree that any changes from the book did no harm at all. It is, in fact, a tremendous piece of film making and a social document which will surely be of great value and urgently…
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 145578
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First Edition of Charles Dickens' The Nine Christmas Numbers of All the Year Round
DICKENS, Charles.
The Nine Christmas Numbers of All the Year Round.
London: Chapman and Hall, [1859-1867].
First collected edition of all nine short stories that had first been published in Dickens' weekly magazine bound together. Octavo, half calf bound in three quarter morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, all edges marbled. In near fine condition.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 147695
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Rare Samuel Arlent-Edwards Signed Mezzotint Portrait of Izaak Walton
ARLENT-EDWARDS, Samuel .
Samuel Arlent-Edwards Signed Izaak Walton Mezzotint Portrait.
c. 1898.
Rare mezzotint print of Samuel Arlent-Edwards' portrait of Izaak Walton, inscribed by the artist. Folio, color mezzotint. Inscribed by Samuel Arlent-Edwards in the lower right corner, "Engraved and printed in color at one printing without retouching Samuel Arlent-Edwards." In very good condition. The print measures 14.75 inches by 12 inches. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare.
Price: $2,800.00 Item Number: 132607
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Rudyard Kipling's Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories
KIPLING, Rudyard.
Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories. [Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; His Majesty the King; The Drums of Fore and Aft]
Allahabad: Published by Messrs. A. H. Wheeler & Co, n.d.
Later printing of this classic collection of Kipling's tales for children. Octavo, original cloth. Contains Wee Willie Winkie, Baa Baa Black Sheep, His Majesty the King, and The Drums of Fore and Aft. In very good condition.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 135005
