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Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online
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"I do not ask for saintly souls to help me on my way, or male and female devilkins to lead my steps astray": First edition of Reveille: Devoted to the Disabled Sailor & Soldier with contributions by Rudyard Kipling, Joseph Conrad and John Galsworthy; with an autograph letter signed by the editor John Galsworthy tipped in
KIPLING, Rudyard; Joseph Conrad; John Galsworthy; J. M. Barrie et al. Edited by John Galsworthy.
Reveille: Devoted to the Disabled Sailor & Soldier.
London: Published by His Majesty's Stationery Office, [1918].
First edition of this scarce WWII periodical dedicated to wounded soldiers and sailors, containing appearances of Rudyard Kipling's A Pilgrim's Way, John Galsworthy's The Gist of the Matter, Joseph Conrad's The First News, and J. M. Barrie's Barbara's Wedding. Octavo, original wrappers, illustrated. With an autograph letter signed by Galsworthy tipped in. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise case.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 121473
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Harriet Martineau's Feats on the Fiord; illustrated by Arthur Rackham
MARTINEAU, Harriet. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Feats on the Fiord.
London: J. M. Dent & Sons Limited, n.d.
Early printing of Martineau's classic collection. Octavo, original publisher's blue cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, color pictorial onlay to the front panel, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with eight lithographic plates in color. In very good condition.
Price: $95.00 Item Number: 142418
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"I am convinced that invisible & intelligent beings exist who say that they are the spirits of dead persons": rare collection of eight unsigned handwritten manuscripts by Arthur Conan Doyle; containing notes on seances and Spiritualism
CONAN DOYLE, Arthur.
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Handwritten Manuscript Collection on Seances and Spiritualism.
c. 1920s.
Rare archive of eight unsigned handwritten manuscripts by Arthur Conan Doyle containing notes on seances and Spiritualism, totaling eleven pages on nine sheets, most undated but circa 1920s. Eleven pages on nine sheets, autograph manuscript ranging in size from 3.5 inches by 5 inches to 8.25 inches x 10.5 inches. For many of his later years, Doyle intensely pursued his interest in paranormal phenomena, and by the end of World War I he identified himself as a Spiritualist, believing in a spirit world and the ability to communicate with those beyond the grave. He established the specialized Psychic Bookshop in 1925, devoted entirely to the sale of spiritualistic and…
Price: $25,000.00 Item Number: 146985
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Rare First edition of the The Salvation Army British Exhibition Handbook; containing the first appearance of Rudyard Kipling's "Empire Building"
[KIPLING, Rudyard].
The Salvation Army British Exhibition Handbook.
New York: Harper & Brothers, [1924].
First edition of The Salvation Army British Empire Exhibition Handbook compiled for the information of visitors at the British Empire Exhibition at Wembley in 1924; containing the first appearance of Rudyard Kipling's "Empire Building". Quarto, original illustrated wrappers, illustrated. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom chemise case. Rare.
Price: $650.00 Item Number: 121047
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The Beauties of Mozart, Consisting of the most Admired Sonatas Duetts and Concertos of this Esteemed Author
MOZART, Wolfgang Amadeus.
The Beauties of Mozart, Consisting of the Most Admired Sonatas Duetts and Concertos of this Esteemed Author.
London: Printed & Sold by Preston, c. 1810.
Rare edition of this compilation of Mozart's sonatas. Quarto, bound in full diced morocco, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, 6 parts in 1, each part engraved throughout, titles incorporating small oval portrait vignette. In near fine condition.
Price: $8,800.00 Item Number: 143842
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Autograph Letter Signed by Jules Verne
VERNE, Jules.
Jules Verne Autograph Letter Signed.
January 4, 1889.
Rare autographed letter signed by the father of science fiction Jules Verne. One page, the letter reads in full (translated), "I ask Madame Poritzer to please supply Mr. Debry with his tickets for Around the World. Sending compliments from her devoted." The 'Around the World' event for which Verne was reserving tickets remains uncertain, however, 10 months after writing this letter, the plot of Verne's classic 1872 novel came to life when American journalist Nellie Bly boarded the steamer Augusta Victoria and began her own 40,070-kilometer 'Phileas Fogg' journey on November 14, 1889. She managed to do the journey within 72 days and…
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 146475
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Finely bound edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; with twelve remarkably intricate full color illustrations by E. Geddes
FITZGERALD, Edward; Introduction by A. C. Benson; Illustrated by E. Geddes.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: Siegle, Hill & Co, c. 1919.
Finely bound edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald and reproduced from a manuscript written and illuminated by F. Sangorski & G. Sutcliffe. Quarto, bound in full deerskin with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, gilt borders and blind stamping to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, illustrated with twelve full-color drawings by E. Geddes and engraved borders, initials, and writing by A. Sutcliffe. In very good condition.
Price: $1,600.00 Item Number: 146936
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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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"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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First edition of The Magic of Kindness; Or, The Wondrous Story of the Good Huan; finely bound
BROTHERS MAYHEW,.
The Magic of Kindness; Or, The Wondrous Story of the Good Huan.
London: Darton and Co, c. 1849.
First edition of this classic tale with illustrations by George Cruikshank. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. Illustrated by George Cruikshank and Kenny Meadows, tissue-guarded frontispiece. In very good condition.
Price: $400.00 Item Number: 115662
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First edition of H. A. Tapp's United Services College 1874-1911. A Short Account of Rudyard Kipling's Old School at Westward Ho! containing Rudyard Kipling’s The Song of the Exiles
TAPP, Major H. A. Preface by Major-General L. C. Dunsterville. [Rudyard Kipling].
United Services College 1874-1911. A Short Account of Rudyard Kipling’s Old School at Westward Ho!
Aldershot: Gale & Polden, Ltd., [1933].
First edition of Tapp's history of Westward Ho! College with Kipling's The Song of the Exiles. Quarto, original boards with gilt titles to the front panel, marbled endpapers. In near fine condition.
Price: $175.00 Item Number: 121048
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Magnificent limited edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam; with 20 remarkably intricate full color plates illustrated by Edmund Dulac
FITZGERALD, Edward. With illustrations by Edmund Dulac.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: Hodder and Stoughton, c. 1909.
Limited edition of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, rendered into English Verse by Edward Fitzgerald and with illustrations by Edmund Dulac. Quarto, original publisher's gold-stamped vellum with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, title page on Japanese vellum, with 20 intricate full color plates tipped in to decorated Japanese vellum mounts with lettered tissue guards. This edition is limited to two hundred copies, for the United States of America, of which this is number 188. In near fine condition.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 127331
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"One thing is certain, and the rest is lies; the flower that once has blown for ever dies": Willy Pogany's illustrated RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM; finely bound by Bayntun Riviere
TRANSLATED BY EDWARD FITZGERALD. ILLUSTRATED BY WILL POGANY,.
Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.
London: George G. Harrap & Co. Ltd., n.d..
Elaborately bound example of Pogany's finely illustrated Rubaiyat. Octavo, bound in full crushed red morocco by Banytun Riviere with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, quadruple gilt ruling, fleuron cornerpieces, and central gilt arabesque to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated by Willy Pogany. Translated by Edward Fitzgerald. In very good condition.
Price: $1,200.00 Item Number: 129800
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Rare finely bound set of the complete novels of Francis Edward Smedley
SMEDLEY, Francis Edward [Frank].
The Works of Frank E. Smedley. [Lewis Arundel, Frank Fairlegh, Harry Coverdale’s Courtship, The Colville Family]
London: George Routledge and Sons, c. 1888.
Rare finely bound set of the complete novels of Francis Edward Smedley. Octavo, 4 volumes bound in three quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt tooling to the spine in four compartments within raised gilt bands, red and green morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers and all edges marbled. In near fine condition.
Price: $1,250.00 Item Number: 110526
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First Edition of Rudyard Kipling's Songs For Youth From Collected Verse
KIPLING, Rudyard.
Songs For Youth From Collected Verse.
London: Hodder and Stoughton Limited, [1924].
First edition this selection of Kipling's songs for children. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by Leo Bates. In near fine condition. Bookplate to the pastedown.
Price: $75.00 Item Number: 121607
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Selection of Olympia Press Erotica from the Traveller's Companion series
VARIOUS AUTHORS,.
Olympia Press Collection.
Paris: Paris, Various Dates.
First editions of a selection of works from Olympia Press, which was based in Paris and specialized in English-language books which could not be published elsewhere without risking legal action. Octavo, 44 volumes, original wrappers. In near fine condition.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 129671
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SCARCE JACK KEROUAC AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT QUESTIONNAIRE. HIS CAREER GOAL: "BE A GREAT WRITER MAKING EVERYBODY BELIEVE IN HEAVEN"
KEROUAC, Jack.
Jack Kerouac Autograph Manuscript Signed.
February 28,1964.
Autograph manuscript signed, being Kerouac’s answers to twelve typed questions from Robert Dodd, two pages, quarto, 28 February 1964. Kerouac candidly replies to a young man’s questions. Given a ninth-grade classroom assignment to contact his favorite writer, Robert Dodd chose Jack Kerouac. The author provides lengthy answers to the young Dodd's questions. On the question of his changing writing style Kerouac explains: "The Town and the City was my first, young man novel when I was just starting our trying to write like Thomas Wolfe -- Lonesome Traveler is a product of my own style which I developed in later…
Price: $75,000.00 Item Number: 79098
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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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Kenneth Grahame's The Golden Age; finely bound
GRAHAME, Kenneth.
The Golden Age.
London: Thomas Nelson & Sons, c. 1920.
Finely bound example of the author of Wind and the Willows, Kenneth Grahame's collection of short stories for children. Small octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over cloth covered boards with gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, engraved frontispiece, top edge gilt. In very good condition.
Price: $100.00 Item Number: 111086
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Finely Bound example of Anthony Trollope's The Macdermots of Ballycloran
TROLLOPE, Anthony.
The Macdermots of Ballycloran.
London: Chapman and Hall, nd.
Finely bound example of Trollope's first published novel. Octavo, bound in three quarters morocco over pebbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, marbled endpapers. In very good condition.
Price: $475.00 Item Number: 115533
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“The power of a glance... it is in this way that love begins, and in this way only": The Nottingham Society Edition De Luxe of The Works of Victor Hugo
HUGO, Victor.
The Works of Victor Hugo.
New York: The Nottingham Society, c. 1900.
The Nottingham Society Edition De Luxe of the Works of Victor Hugo. Octavo, 10 volumes bound in three quarter contemporary royal blue crushed levant morocco over watered silk covered boards with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling with red fleur-de-lis gilt onlays to the spine in two compartments, marbled endpapers, top edges gilt with others untrimmed and occasionally uncut, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece to each volume. In near fine condition with some light rubbing to the extremities. Ownership name. An exceptional set.
Price: $4,000.00 Item Number: 149034
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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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"Keep true to the dreams of thy youth": The Connoisseur Edition of the Works of Schiller; One of only 150 sets; Bound in Full Morocco
SCHILLER, Friedrich.
The Works of Friedrich Schiller.
Boston: Francis A. Niccolls, c.1900.
Finely bound example of the Connoisseur edition of the works of Schiller, number 34 of only 150 sets printed. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound in full red morocco, ornate gilt tooling to the spine, with pastedowns of red leather borders and central green morocco panel, with floral decorations at the corners and a central gilt sprig of flowers, plates in two states, printed on laid paper with deckled edges. Bookplates on versos of the moire green silk endpapers of New York industrialist John K. MacGowan. In fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 129287
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The Arbury edition of the works of George Eliot
ELIOT, George.
The Works of George Eliot.
Boston: Dana Estes & Company, n.d..
The Arbury edition of the works of George Eliot. Octavo, 24 volumes bound in three quarter half russet crushed morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, top edge gilt, hand-colored tissue-guarded frontispiece and photogravure plate printed on cream velin to each volume. One of one thousand numbered copies, this is number 277. In very good condition.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 144866
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Signed Limited First Edition of John Grisham's A Time To Kill
GRISHAM, John.
A Time To Kill.
New York: Doubleday, November 1993.
Signed limited first edition of Grisham’s first book. Octavo, bound in full with gilt titles to the spine in five compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers, blue speckled edges, silk ribbon bound in. Boldly signed by John Grisham on the limitation page, one of only 350 numbered copies, this is number 84. In fine condition with the rare original tissue jacket in a fine slipcase. An exceptional example.
Price: $1,500.00 Item Number: 147893
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The Albion edition of the Poetical Works of Thomas Moore; finely bound with a double fore-edge painting
MOORE, Thomas.
The Poetical Works of Thomas Moore. [Fore-Edge Painting].
London: Frederick Warne and Co., n.d..
The Albion edition of Moore's poetical works. Octavo, bound in full polished tree calf with elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Moore. With a double concealed fore-edge painting revealing two golfing scenes. In very good condition.
Price: $1,100.00 Item Number: 129405
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Photograph of Stephen King; Signed by Him
KING, Stephen.
Stephen King Signed Photograph.
November 12, 1989.
Photograph of Stephen King, the “king of horror”, boldly signed by him. Octavo, one page manufactured by Kodak, glossy color photograph of Stephen King, boldly signed and dated by him in black felt tip, "Stephen King 11/12/89." In near fine condition with a PSA authenticators sticker to the bottom corner. Accompanied by a Certificate of Authentication card from PSA authenticators, which verifies the authenticity of the signature with a certification serial number.
Price: $600.00 Item Number: 146563
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First edition of George Alfred Henty's Those Other Animals
HENTY, George Alfred [G.A.].
Those Other Animals.
London: Henry and Co., [1891].
First edition of one of the more uncommon Henty titles. Octavo, original publisher's decorated cloth, with twenty two illustrations by Harrison Weir. In very good condition.
Price: $200.00 Item Number: 123098
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Rare 18th Century Heart-Shaped Christian Broadside; containing liturgical prayers, hymns, and creeds in latin
Rare 18th Century Heart-Shaped Christian Broadside.
Germany: c. 1780.
Rare late 18th century liturgical broadside. Printed broadside mounted on a decorated heart-shaped hardwood frame with a hand-painted botanical border containing Protestant liturgical chants, daily prayers, and hymns. Text in Latin. In very good condition. Scarce and desirable.
Price: $1,800.00 Item Number: 96227
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The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare; finely bound with a concealed fore-edge painting of Shakespeare
SHAKESPEARE, William.
The Dramatic Works of William Shakespeare with Copious Glossarial Notes and a Biographical Notice. [Fore-edge Painting].
Edinburgh and London: Gall & Inglis, n.d.
Finely bound example of Inglis' compilation of the dramas of Shakespeare. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, all edges gilt, decorated with a concealed fore-edge painting of Shakespeare, illustrated with four engravings on steel. In very good condition.
Price: $2,000.00 Item Number: 138237
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From the Library of John Steinbeck
[STEINBECK, John].
Two Russian Books From the Library of John Steinbeck.
Moscow: Various, c. 1960.
Two volumes in Russian from the library of American literary master John Steinbeck. Quarto, two volumes including a book of early Russian Orthodox paintings with many in color and a folio of loose plates featuring artwork from the Hermitage Museum. From the library of John Steinbeck. In very good condition.
Price: $950.00 Item Number: 117588
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Calligraphic manuscript on vellum with a color miniature of the painting of Jesus by Leonardo Da Vinci
Calligraphic Manuscript on Vellum with a Color Miniature of the Painting by Leonardo Da Vinci.
c.1900.
Rare illuminated manuscript regarding Da Vinci’s master drawing The Head of Christ (c. 1495), the basis for Da Vinci’s depiction of Jesus in The Last Supper. Da Vinci himself considered the drawing so important, he reworked it several times over the course of his life. The text is headed "Art" at the center in liquid gold, flanked by "Revealing the Emotions and the Soul - The Head of Christ by Leonardo Da Vinci". The body of the text flanking the painting describes the image and its meaning. Framed. The entire piece measures 8.75 inches by 10.75 inches.
Price: $2,500.00 Item Number: 119865
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First edition in English of Johann Jacob Wecker's Eighteen Book of the Secrets of Art & Nature
WECKER, Johannes Jacob.
Eighteen Books of the Secrets of Art & Nature, Being The Summe and Substance of Naturall Philosophy, Methodically Digested. First designed by John Wecker Dr in Physick, and now much Augmented and Inlarged by Dr. R. Read. A like work never before in the English tongue.
1660: Printed for Simon Miller at the Starre in St. Pauls Church-yard, London.
First edition in English of Reade's 17th century adaptation of Johann Jacob Wecker's De secreti libri xvii [Book of Secrets] of 1582. Folio, bound in three quarter polished calf over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine, woodcut printer's device to the title, woodcut head and tailpieces and initials, numerous woodcut diagrams in the text. In near fine condition. Lacking the engraved frontispiece, title page supplied. Exceptionally rare.
Price: $7,500.00 Item Number: 127083
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"Who dost though love O seer in thy vision? Women I love, slender and strange and stately waiting untroubled for the years to bear them": First Edition of Sir George Macmunn's Kipling's Women
MACMUNN, Sir George [Rudyard Kipling].
Kipling’s Women.
London: Sampson Low, Marston & Co. Ltd., n.d..
First edition of the former President of the Kipling Society's study of the women portrayed in Kipling's song and story. Octavo, original publisher's cloth with gilt titles and central gilt emblem to the front panel. Very good in the rare original dust jacket which is in good condition.
Price: $30.00 Item Number: 135257
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Rare Association Copy of Arthur Rackham's Illustrated edition of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens; signed and inscribed by J.M. Barrie, George Frampton, Princess Beatrice, Princess Marie Louise, Nadejda Mountbatten, and Arthur Rackham with an original drawing
BARRIE, J.M. Illustrated by Arthur Rackham.
Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens.
London: Hodder & Stoughton Limited, n.d.
New edition of Rackham’s highly-sought-after masterpiece, which established his reputation as one of England’s premier illustrators. Quarto, original publisher's green cloth elaborately decorated in gilt, illustrated by Arthur Rackham with 50 mounted color plates complete with captioned tissue guards including frontispiece. Association copy, signed by author J.M. Barrie on the verso of the front free endpaper, signed by Arthur Rackham on the recto of the frontispiece with an original drawing as well as Nadejda "Nada" Mountbatten, Marchioness of Milford Haven, signed by the sculptor of the Peter Pan statue in Kensington Gardens, George Frampton on front pastedown, and signed by Princess…
Price: $18,000.00 Item Number: 142267