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"However closely we live together, at whatever time of day or night we sound the deepest thoughts in one another, we know nothing": Rare First Edition of the John Le Carre’s First Book
LE CARRE, John.
Call For The Dead.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1961.
First edition of the author's first book, which introduced the world to the recurring protagonist, George Smiley. Octavo, original red cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional example, uncommon in this condition.
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 139418
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James Joyce's First Privately Printed Edition copy of Marguerite Finaly's Reliquiae; with his ownership inscription
FINALY, Marguerite. [James Joyce].
Reliquiae.
Paris: Privately Printed, 1925.
James Joyce's first edition copy of the collected works of Marguerite Finaly, compiled by her husband, Horace Finaly, in her memory and privately printed for distribution to friends; with Joyce's ownership inscription. Octavo, bound in full crushed morocco by G. Cretté with gilt titles to the spine, silk-watered doublures and endleaves, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait of Marguerite Finaly. One of 150 copies privately printed. Signed and dated by Joyce on the title page, "James Joyce Paris 27.xi.1926." Horace Finaly became a close friend of Marcel Proust in Paris and contributed to the magazine La Banquette. He rose to prominence as head…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 131904
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"the most celebrated biography in the English language": Rare First Edition, First Issue of Boswell's The Life of Johnson
BOSWELL, James.
The Life of Johnson.
London: Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in The Poultry, 1791.
First edition, first issue of both volumes of the most celebrated biography in the English language, which was published on May 16, 1791 in a print run of only 1,750 copies. Quarto, bound in full morocco by Birdsall, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, inner dentelles, all edges gilt. Frontispiece portrait of Samuel Johnson, engraved by J. Heath after the Sir Joshua Reynolds (1756) painting. Housed in a custom clamshell box. In fine condition. An excellent example of this landmark work.
Price: $16,500.00 Item Number: 120374
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First editions of Parts I and II of Stephen King's The Plant; both volumes warmly inscribed by him to his publicist
KING, Stephen.
The Plant. The Opening Segment of an Ongoing Work and Part Two.
Bangor, Maine: Philtrum Press, 1982-1983.
First editions of the first two parts of King's rare unfinished epistolary novel. Octavo, original saddle-sewn olive green wrappers with folding flaps stamped and lettered in black, each part is one of 200 numbered copies printed at the Stinehour Press and designed by Michael Alpert: Part One, No. 147; Part Two, No. 138. Presentation copies, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of Part I, "For Barbara - All best, and have a very Happy New Year! Stephen King 1/11/83" and on the half-title page of Part II, "For Barbara - with best wishes, Steve King 1/2/83." With…
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 136499
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“Not until we can deliver our secret to our respective worlds and acquire an intact ship": First Edition of Larry Niven's Ringworld; Lengthily Signed by Him
NIVEN, Larry.
Ringworld.
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1972.
First British and first hardcover edition of this classic work, which went on to win the 1970 Nebula and 1971 Hugo award for best novel. Octavo, original cloth. Lengthily signed by the author on the title page, "Not until we can deliver our secret to our respective worlds and acquire an intact ship. Larry Niven." Very good in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A unique example.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 139744
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SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF THE COMPLETE SHERLOCK HOLMES; ONE OF ONLY 147 EXAMPLES
DOYLE, Arthur Conan.
Complete Sherlock Holmes.
New York: Doubleday & Company, 1953.
Signed limited edition of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories starring literature’s most famous detective, number 144 of only 147 examples. Octavo, two volumes, original half morocco, buckram sides, gilt titles to the spine, top edge blue, blue endpapers, original card slipcase with printed label. Signed by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle as issued. Introduction by John Dickson Carr. Preface by Christopher Morley. In near fine condition. Rare.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 142986
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"ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL, BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL THAN OTHERS": FIRST EDITION OF GEORGE ORWELL’S MASTERPIECE ANIMAL FARM; in the rare original dust jacket
ORWELL, George.
Animal Farm: A Fairy Story.
London: Secker & Warburg, 1945.
First edition of Orwell's timeless allegorical novel— a scathing satire on a downtrodden society’s blind march towards totalitarianism - with "First Published May 1945" on the copyright page. Fenwick A.10a. Octavo, original publisher's green cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with the 6s price to front flap, "Searchlight Books—each 2s net" and the train engine printed in blue on verso. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise clamshell box. An exceptional example, one of the nicest examples we have seen.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 147150
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Rare De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook; signed by James Baldwin as a graduating senoir
[BALDWIN, James].
James Baldwin Signed De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook.
Bronx, New York: Published by the Senior Class of De Witt Clinton High School, June 1941.
Rare De Witt Clinton High School Class of 1941 Yearbook signed by James Baldwin as a graduating senior. Quarto, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Signed by James Baldwin to the right of his senior photograph of page 36, "James Baldwin." His accolades read: JAMES A. BALDWIN "Baldy" Magpie Editorial Boards; Student Court. Novelist-Playwright. 'Fame is the spur and - ouch!' Additionally signed by dozens of other graduating seniors. With copies of the Commencement Exercises, List of Awards and Prizes and June 1941 'Class-Nite' program laid in. In very good condition. Exceptionally rare, one of the earliest Baldwin autographs…
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 130241
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First Edition of Max Beerbohm's Zuleika Dobson; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket; With an autographed Letter Signed
BEERBOHM. MAX,.
Zuleika Dobson or An Oxford Love Story.
London: William Heinemann, 1911.
First edition of Beerbohm's classic and only novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket, which is in very good condition. According to Mark Samuels Lasner, the Beerbohm scholar and bibliographer, there have only been five copies of this book identified as still possessing their original dust jackets. Two are in institutions, two have been in private hands. Laid in is an autographed letter signed by Max Beerbohm dated August 3, 1911, the publication of Zuleika Dobson. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 121225
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"Everybody is going to be what they are, and whatever they are": First Edition of The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test; Signed by Ken Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, Phil Lesh, Larry McMurtry, Ken Babbs, Ralph Metzner, Ed McClanahan, Paul Krassner and Angela Davis
WOLFE, Tom [Ken Kesey.
The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test.
New York: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux, 1968.
First edition of the classic account of Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters during their bus trip across America in the late 1960's. Octavo, original cloth. Signed on title page and opposite page by Ken Kesey, Hunter S. Thompson, Phil Lesh, Larry McMurtry, Ken "Wolfe Boy" Babbs It had the Babbs Touch", "Blessings galore! Ralph Metzner", "Moi Aussi!! Ed McClanahan (and with a drawing), "Hey I'm here...Paul Krassner" and by Angela Davis on half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Milton Glaser. An exceptional example.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 146456
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“Each moment is the fruit of forty thousand years": First Edition of Look Homeward, Angel; Inscribed by Thomas Wolfe in the year of publication
WOLFE, Thomas.
Look Homeward, Angel.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929.
First edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original dark blue cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the title page, "To Jo Dauber with thanks for dragging me in. Thomas Wolfe, Nov. 27, 1929." Near fine in a very good first-issue dust jacket with the photograph of Wolfe by Doris Ulmann. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. A nice example, uncommon in this condition and signed.
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 125635
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FIRST EDITION OF F. SCOTT FITZGERALD'S THE GREAT GATSBY; with a rare Scribner's 'Compliments of the Publishers' card signed by Fitzgerald's editor Maxwell Perkins
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
The Great Gatsby.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925.
First edition, first state of Fitzgerald's "most perfectly realized work of art" with "chatter" p.60, "northern" p.119, "sick in tired" p.205, and "Union Street station" p.211. Octavo, original dark green cloth with gilt titles to the spine. With a rare Scribner's 'With the Compliments of the Publishers' card signed by Fitzgerald's editor, Maxwell Perkins, "Max" laid in. Maxwell Perkins, considered by many the greatest book editor of all time, left a monumental legacy in his thirty-seven years at the publishing house of Charles Scribner's Sons, helping shape literature by discovering and guiding several highly influential writers including F. Scott Fitzgerald,…
Price: $16,000.00 Item Number: 146995
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"Look at everything upside down.Take absolutely nothing for granted": Complete Set of Dick Francis’ Novels, Each Signed by Him
FRANCIS, Dick.
Dick Francis Complete Set. Dead Cert, Nerve, For Kicks, Odds Against, Flying Finish, Blood Sport, Forfeit, Enquiry, Rat Race, Bonecrack, Smokescreen, Slay-Ride, Knock Down, High Stakes, In The Frame, Risk, Trial Run, Whip Hand, Reflex, Twice Shy, Banker, The Danger, Proof, Break In, Bolt, Hot Money, The Edge, Straight, Longshot, Comeback, Driving Force, Decider, Wild Horses, Come To Grief, To The Hilt, 10-lb Penalty, Field Of Thirteen, Second Wind Shattered and Under Orders.
London: Michael Joseph, 1962-2006.
First editions of each of the first forty Dick Francis' mystery novels.Octavo, 40 Volumes. All forty volumes are signed by Francis and the first three novels: "Dead Cert", "Nerve", and "For Kicks" are signed with lines transcribed from them by Francis. The Set Consists of: Dead Cert, Nerve, For Kicks, Odds Against, Flying Finish, Blood Sport, Forfeit, Enquiry, Rat Race, Bonecrack, Smokescreen, Slay-Ride, Knock Down, High Stakes, In The Frame, Risk, Trial Run, Whip Hand, Reflex, Twice Shy, Banker, The Danger, Proof, Break In, Bolt, Hot Money, The Edge, Straight, Longshot, Comeback, Driving Force, Decider, Wild Horses, Come To Grief,…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 490
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"What do you intend to do with those diamonds": First Edition of Ian Fleming's Diamonds Are Forever; Signed by Sean Connery
FLEMING, Ian [Sean Connery].
Diamonds Are Forever.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1956.
First edition of the fourth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by Sean Connery opposite the title page. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Rare and desirable signed by this iconic figure who first embodied James Bond in film.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 139463
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First edition of Peter Rabbit's Painting Book; lengthily inscribed by Beatrix Potter to the Headmistress of Queen's College
POTTER, Beatrix.
Peter Rabbit’s Painting Book.
London & New York: Frederick Warne & Co, 1911.
First edition of this charming paint-by-line children's book featuring Potter's most beloved animal characters. Quarto, original pictorial cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with 12 color plates, each with facing outlined illustration intended for coloring-in, two of which have been hand-painted. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the second free endpaper in the year of publication, "Love to Mary Kynaston from Miss Potter and Peter Rabbit: and love to Joan and Phyllis and their little brother from all the little animals. (It is going to be gray squirrels next time, but that is a secret!) Thank you for a very…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 135107
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"Alas! the love of women! it is known To be a lovely and a fearful thing": Rare complete first edition set of Lord Byron's Don Juan; from the library of Erica Jong
BYRON, George Gordon Noel. [Lord Byron].
Don Juan.
London: Thomas Davison [i.e., John Murray], 1819-1821 (Cantos I-V, Volumes I-II)/John Hunt, 1823-24 (Cantos VI-XVI, Volumes III-VI).
Scarce complete first edition set of Byron's great work which was widely criticized as immoral upon publication and is now considered one of the greatest poems of the Romantics; from the library of American writer Erica Jong. Volume one was produced in quarto format and the subsequent 5 volumes in octavo (Davison abandoned the quarto format after disappointing sales of the first volume), six volumes uniformly bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. With an autograph letter signed…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 142573
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"the most celebrated biography in the English language": Rare First Edition, First Issue of Boswell's The Life of Johnson
BOSWELL, James.
The Life of Johnson.
London: Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, in The Poultry, 1791.
First edition, first issue of both volumes of the most celebrated biography in the English language, which was published on May 16, 1791 in a print run of only 1,750 copies. Quarto, bound in full calf, gilt titles to the spine, morocco spine labels. Frontispiece portrait of Samuel Johnson, engraved by J. Heath after the Sir Joshua Reynolds (1756) painting. In very good condition. An excellent example of this landmark work.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 124524
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"Wit beyond measure is a man's greatest treasure": First Edition Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix; Signed by J.K Rowling and several members of the 2007 film cast including Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson, Rupert Grint, and Tom Felton
ROWLING, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.
London : Bloomsbury, 2003.
First edition of the fifth novel in J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series. Octavo, original illustrated boards. Boldly signed by J.K. Rowling on the title page. Additionally signed by several primary members of the 2007 film cast on the front free endpaper and pastedown, including: Daniel Radcliffe (Harry Potter), Emma Watson (Hermione Granger), Rupert Grint (Ron Weasley), Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy), Michael Gambon (Albus Dumbledore), Harry Melling (Dudley Dursley), Bonnie Wright (Ginny Weasley), Richard Griffiths (Vernon Dursley), and Matthew Lewis (Neville Longbottom). Fine in a fine dust jacket with a "Signed by the Author at Waterstones" sticker to the front panel.…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 143822
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"For Maurice with many thanks for the Future!": Exceptional association copy of Dr. Seuss' The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins; inscribed by him to fellow children's book legend Maurice Sendak
SEUSS, Dr. [Theodor Seuss Geisel]; Maurice Sendak.
The 500 Hats of Bartholomew Cubbins.
New York: The Vanguard Press, 1938.
First edition, early printing of Seuss's unique book of prose. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the pastedown, "For Maurice with many thanks for the Future! Dr. Seuss." The recipient, Maurice Sendak, is best known for his immensely popular illustrated children’s book, Where the Wild Things Are, which was awarded the Caldecott Medal in 1964 and gained him international fame. Sendak acquired the present volume, which had been previously signed by Seuss on the verso of the front free endpaper "For Alice, Best Wishes - Dr. Seuss", and brought it to the July 1, 1980 American Library Association Conference…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 135672
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Max Beerbohm's And Even Now; From the personal collection of young Ernest Hemingway
BEERBOHM, Max. [Ernest Hemingway].
And Even Now.
London: William Heinemann, 1921.
Second printing of Beerbohm's critically praised book of essays, from the collection of Ernest Hemingway with his ownership signature, and later that of his first wife Hadley. Octavo, original publisher's cloth and paper spine label. From the personal collection of young Ernest Hemingway with his ownership signature to the front free endpaper, "Ernest M. Hemingway" and his annotations in pencil on the opening chapter half-title and final page, bookseller ticket to the pastedown, "Fanny Butcher Books 75 East Adams Street Chicago." Hemingway stopped signing with his middle initial early in his writing career, this, his personal copy of one of…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 141576