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“Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary": Rare First Separate Edition of Edgar Allan Poe's The Raven
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Raven.
New York: W. Jennings Demorest, c. 1869-1870.
The first separate American edition of Poe's most famous poem, and likely the first separate edition overall, preceding the 1869 Glasgow edition (BAL 16216). Small octavo, original cloth, blue endpapers. Octavo, original colored pictorial wrappers printed in blue and gold. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Only four copies of this separate Demorest edition have been located in OCLC, at the Huntington, Yale University, Brown University, Emory University, all with their bindings unspecified. Though The Raven is here published separately, another issue has been noted at both the University of Virginia and the Free Library Company…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 144195
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"the first novel in the English language": Rare complete set of all three books in Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe series
DEFOE, Daniel.
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe; Serious Reflections During the Life And Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe.
London: Printed for W. Taylor, 1719-1720.
Rare complete set of early editions of all three books in Defoe's classic Robinson Crusoe series. The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe is a stated second edition. Small octavo, three volumes bound in full period paneled calf with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, ornamental blind stamping to the front and rear panels, illustrated with an engraved frontispiece portrait of Robinson Crusoe in Vol. I, folding engraved world map in Vol. II, folding engraved frontispiece of Crusoe's island in Vol. III, decorated headpieces, tailpieces, and initials throughout. In very good…
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 145589
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"ONE OF THE GREAT CHARACTERS OF MODERN FICTION": FIRST EDITION OF KAZANTZAKIS’ ZORBA THE GREEK; SIGNED BY HIM
KAZANTZAKIS, Nikos [Kazantzaki].
Zorba The Greek.
London: John Lehman, 1952.
First edition in English, preceding the American edition by one year of the author's most popular novel. basis for the Oscar-winning film starring Anthony Quinn. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Nikos Kazantzakis. From the library of Odysseas Elytis, the recipient of the Nobel Prize in literature in 1979. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Translated by Carl Wildman. Introduction by Ian Scott-Kilvert. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Trade editions signed by Kazantzakis are exceptionally rare.
Price: $17,500.00 Item Number: 138764
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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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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 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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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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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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“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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"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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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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“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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“Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past": First Edition of George Orwell's Classic Nineteen Eighty-Four
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.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 143801
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Rare First Edition of Theodore Dreiser's Sister Carrie; Inscribed by Him
DREISER, Theodore.
Sister Carrie.
New York: Doubleday, Page & Co, 1900.
First edition of the author's scarce first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For F.W. Skiff, with good wishes, from Theodore Dreiser, Portland, June 7, 1930." Bookplate of noted book collector Frederick W. Skiff on the front pastedown. Laid in is an envelope addressed to recipient in Dreiser's hand, and with Dreiser's return address on the back including his name; inside the envelope is a receipt/waybill signed by Dreiser for a shipment via the American Railway Express Company, being a package shipped from Dreiser to Skiff on May 24, 1926,…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 117238
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"Like wind we come, like waves we go": First American edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám; from the library of Samuel Clemens with his ownership and gift inscriptions
OMAR KHAYYáM. [SAMUEL L. CLEMENS I.E. MARK TWAIN],.
Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám, the Astronomer-Poet of Persia.
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1878.
First American edition of the Rubáiyát of Omar Khayyám from the library of Samuel Clemens. Octavo, original decorated cloth with gilt titles to the spine and front panel. From the library of Samuel Clemens with his ownership signature and presentation inscription to the front free endpaper, "SL Clemens Hartford 1878" and "Transferred to Miss Henry G. Brooks with the kindest regards of S.L. Clemens May 1884." With scribbles and hash-marks in pencil to blank margins, presumably in Twain's hand, similar to the annotated ninth edition at the Mark Twain Archive, Elmira College. In very good condition with loss to the…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 123424
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“I CAN'T STAND TO THINK MY LIFE IS GOING SO FAST AND I'M NOT REALLY LIVING IT”: Ernest Hemingway's Fiesta; Inscribed by Him
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
Fiesta [The Sun Also Rises].
London: Jonathan Cape, 1955.
Later printing of Hemingway's first major novel published as Fiesta in the United Kingdom. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Jack Lonsdale with best wishes Ernest Hemingway Ritz 10/9/56." On this date, Hemingway was in Madrid for a bull fight with his wife Mary. Very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket, owner name. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 130412
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"It is said that men condemned to death are subject to sudden moments of elation; as if, like moths in the fire, their destruction were coincidental with attainment": First Edition of The Spy Who Came In From The Cold; Signed by John Le Carre
LE CARRE, John.
The Spy Who Came In From The Cold.
London: Victor Gollancz, 1963.
First edition of le Carre's classic work, which went on to reinvigorate the spy genre. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the title page, "David Cornwell aka John le Carre." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 115768
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The Works of Jonathan Swifts's From the Library of Founding Father Robert R. Livingstone
SWIFT, Jonathan [Robert R. Livingstone].
The Works of Jonathan Swift: Including, Gulliver’s Travels.
Edinburgh: Printed by Mrs. Mundell, 1778.
First of 4 issues, Scotch editions, from the library of Robert R. Livingstone, with his bookplate to the pastedown of each volume. Small octavo, bound in contemporary calf, spine compartments ruled with Greek key tooling, morocco spine labels. From the library of founding father Robert R. Livingston. As one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, Livingston played an important role in the early development of the newly formed country. He was known as "The Chancellor", after the high New York state legal office he held for 25 years. He was a member of the Committee of Five that drafted the Declaration of Independence, along with Thomas…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 119642
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“If you write a line of zeroes, it´s still nothing": Rare First Edition of Ayn Rand's We the Living; in the rare original dust jacket
RAND, Ayn.
We the Living.
New York: The MacMillan Company, 1936.
First edition of Rand's debut novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original price-clipped dust jacket with light rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 125765