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He knew with a sudden and heart-lifting certainty that they would meet again. And when that happened the right words would be found": First Edition of the Author’s First Book Cover Her Face; Lengthily Signed by P.D. James
JAMES, P.D.
Cover Her Face.
London: Faber and Faber, 1962.
First edition of the author's first book. Octavo, original green cloth. Lengthily signed by the author on the title page with the added words, "P.D. James He knew with a sudden and heart-lifting certainty that they would meet again. And when that happened the right words would be found." The inscription is the final lines of this novel. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by Charles Mozley. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A superior example with a nice inscription from the author.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 4325
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“The darker the night, the brighter the stars, The deeper the grief, the closer is God!”: Rare First American Edition of Dostoyevsky's Classic Novel Crime and Punishment
DOSTOYEVSKY, Feodor.
Crime and Punishment.
New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, 1886.
First American edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth, gilt titles to the spine and front panel, frontispiece of the author. 1-page publisher's advertisement at end, with this work listed first and price of $1.50. Small name stamp to the front free endpaper, small stain to the front panel, a very good example. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. First editions in English of Crime and Punishment are rare.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 5078
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“Suspicion often creates what it suspects"; First Edition of C.S. Lewis' Screwtape Letters; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
LEWIS, C.S.
The Screwtape Letters.
London: Geoffrey Bles, 1942.
First edition of Lewis' classic novel of spiritual conflict, one of his most celebrated works. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket which is in very good condition. An excellent example. Very rare in this condition.
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 144515
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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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The Golden Book of Tagore: A Homage to Rabindranath Tagore from India and the World in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday; signed and dated by Tagore
TAGORE, Rabindranath. Edited by Ramananda Chatterjee.
The Golden Book of Tagore: A Homage to Rabindranath Tagore from India and the World in Celebration of His Seventieth Birthday.
Calcutta: The Golden Book Committee, 1931.
First subscribers' edition of The Golden Book of Tagore, the elaborate privately produced tribute to the famed poet; signed by Tagore and from the library of Raja Shamraj Rajwant Bahadur. Quarto, original cloth, lettered tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece portrait of Tagore by Martin Vos signed and dated by Tagore beneath his image, "Rabindranath Tagore Dec. 19, 1933," 29 additional engravings including 11 tipped-in in full color with lettered tissue guards. From the famed library of Raja Shamraj Rajwant Bahadur with his ownership initials "S.R.A.S" and library notes to the pastedown noting that the book was "Received from the Golden Book of…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 106982
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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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Fare First Edition of Dylan Thomas' First Book Eighteen Poems; Lengthily Inscribed by Him to literary editor and close friend Desmond Hawkins
THOMAS, Dylan.
Eighteen Poems.
London: Sunday Referee and the Parton Press, 1936.
First edition, first issue of Thomas' first book, one of 250 copies. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author to Desmond Hawkins, who was Dylan's literary editor and close friend, with a playful (and perhaps drunken) inscription which attempts to conflate their names, maybe in an effort to create a new single persona out of the two of them: "To and from Hawkins Dylan Desmond Thomas Dylan Desmond Dylan Desmond Hawkins Thomas Dylan Desmond." He has also included a more conventional inscription, signed "Dylan Thomas 24th May 1936." Near fine in a very good dust jacket with some…
Price: $15,000.00 Item Number: 111544
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"A man needs a little madness, or else... he never dares cut the rope and be free": Signed Limited Edition of the Kazantzakis’ Masterpiece Odyssey: A Modern Sequel
KAZANTZAKIS, Nikos.
Odyssey: A Modern Sequel.
Athens: Pyrsos, 1938.
First edition of Kazantzakis' masterpiece. Folio, brown cloth. One of 277 copies signed by Nikos Kazantzakis, this is number 109. In near fine condition.
Price: $14,500.00 Item Number: 2209
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“There's no liquor in the land that can stop your brain from bleedin": First Edition of Bob Dylan's First Book Tarantula; Signed by Him
DYLAN, Bob.
Tarantula.
Madison, Wisconsin: Wimp Press, c. 1966.
First pirated edition of Dylan's first book. Octavo, original wrappers as issued. Signed by Bob Dylan in a contemporary hand on the title page. One of the earliest pirated editions of Dylan’s novel, taken from the Macmillan 1966 proofs after production was delayed, pre-dating the 1971 trade edition. In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Scarce and desirable signed by Dylan.
Price: $14,500.00 Item Number: 60050
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"And he no longer cared to tell which were things done and which dreamt": First Edition of Cormac McCarthy’s First Book The Orchard Keeper; Signed by the author
MCCARTHY, Cormac.
The Orchard Keeper.
New York: Random House, 1965.
First edition of the author's rare first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by Cormac McCarthy on the title page in a contemporary hand. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light wear to the extremities. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser. Books signed by McCarthy are uncommon, especially his earlier novels. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $14,500.00 Item Number: 79880
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“Better to stay alive, At least while there's a chance to get free": Rare first edition of Octavia Butler's Kindred; inscribed by her
BUTLER, Octavia E.
Kindred.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1979.
First edition of Butler's classic bestselling novel. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "To Steve Best wishes Octavia E. Butler." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Larry Schwinger. Jacket typography by Elizabeth Levine. First editions of this classic Butler novel are scarce, signed examples exceedingly so.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142883
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"To the few who love me and whom I love – to those who seek rather than to those who think – to the dreamers and those who put faith in dreams as in the only realities – I offer this book of truths" : Rare first edition of Edgar Allan Poe's Magnum Opus, Eureka, One of only 500 copies
POE, Edgar Allan.
Eureka: A Prose Poem.
New York: George P. Putnam, 1848.
First edition, first issue of Poe's classic work. Duodecimo, original publishers blind stamped black cloth with gilt lettering to the spine. First issue, without the review for Eureka on page 2 of the 16 page catalogue at the end of the book, but reads simply: “Poe. — Eureka, A Prose Poem: Or the Physical and Metaphysical Universe. By Edgar A. Poe, Esq.” In very good condition, with some light rubbing to the extremities, rebacked. Housed in a custom clamshell box. Rare.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 140614
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"I know it is wet and the sun is not sunny, but we can have lots of good fun that is funny": First Edition of the Cat In the Hat; Inscribed by Dr. Seuss
SEUSS, Dr. [Theodor Geisel].
The Cat in the Hat.
New York: Random House, 1957.
First edition, first issue of Dr. Seuss' classic work. Octavo, original illustrated unlaminated boards. Inscribed by the author, "For Ruth Dr. Seuss." Fine in an excellent dust jacket with light wear. All issue points present: price of 200/200 on the dust jacket, no mention of the "Beginner Books" series on the rear panel, and has four paragraphs of educator's reviews on rear panel. Book contains a single signature and 61 pages with a message on final page before end paper contained in an outline of the cat's hat & head. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 24005
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"THE KING OF PHILOSOPHERS": Exceptionally Rare First Edition of the First Complete English Translation of The Works of Plato
TAYLOR, Thomas. [Plato].
The Works of Plato, Viz. His Fifty-Five Dialogues, and Twelve Epistles, Translated From the Greek; Nine of the Dialogues by the Late Floyer Sydenham, and the Remainder by Thomas Taylor: With Occasional Annotations on the Nine Dialogues Translated by Sydenham, and Copious Notes, by the Latter Translator.
London: Printed for Thomas Taylor, By R. Wilks, Chancery-Lane, 1804.
First edition of the first complete English translation of the works of Plato. Quarto, five volumes bound in full pebbled cloth retaining contemporary black morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, half-titles, engraved frontispiece to volume I. In the words of the Prometheus Trust, "Taylor's Works of Plato, has two outstanding features which make it an essential component to the genuine philosophers library. Firstly, Taylor himself translates Plato's Dialogues from within the ancient Greek Tradition. No English translator, before or since, has been so completely at one with the Greek philosophical and religious world view: Taylor fulfills, to the highest degree,…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 131256
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"WE WILL MANAGE OUR WORLD FOR OURSELVES BECAUSE IT IS OUR WORLD, COSA NOSTRA": FIRST EDITION OF THE GODFATHER; INSCRIBED BY MARIO PUZO TO FELLOW WRITER AND CLOSE FRIEND MEL SHESTACK
PUZO, Mario.
The Godfather.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.
First edition of Puzo's definitive novel of the Mafia underworld. Octavo, original half black cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Mel and Jessie See what you're missing in New York? Mario." The recipient, Mel Shestack was a writer and close friend of the author, who hired Puzo as an associate editor to write for Magazine Management, giving him an early break in the industry. Fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket art by S. Neil Fujita. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional association.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 144978
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Rare George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Autographed Letter Signed.
June 1944.
Rare autographed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne detailing his usual weekly routines between his home and the offices of Tribune, in order to make lunch arrangements to meet her and her husband, also promising her a book ("...I'll try & find a copy of 'Burmese Days for you. These Penguins are sold out as soon as published nowadays, but I believe I have a few copies somewhere... signed E. Blair"), one page, 10a Mortimer Crescent, London NW6, 23 June 1944. Amy Charlesworth, with whom Orwell had corresponded in 1937, had now married her second husband…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142004
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“AMONG THE BEST EVER WRITTEN FOR CHILDREN”: First Editions, First States of A.A. MILNE’S FOUR POOH BOOKS, each volume in the rare ORIGINAL DUST JACKET
MILNE, A.A.; Illustrated by Ernest Shepard.
The Four Pooh Books: When We Were Very Young; Winnie-The-Pooh; Now We Are Six; The House At Pooh Corner.
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd, 1924-1928.
First editions, first issues of each work in Milne's wonderful Pooh quartet, with only When We Were Very Young being a first issue. Octavo, four volumes, original publisher's gilt-decorated pictorial cloth, top edge gilt, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with decorations by Ernest Shepard. When We Were Very Young is a first issue with page ix unnumbered, jacket with light toning to spine and a few losses to the extremities. Winnie-The-Pooh, cartographic endpapers, all edges gilt sunning to the spine, ownership ticket to the half-title page, jacket evenly toned with chipping to extremities with a closed tear to the rear hinge. Now…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 146840
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“PASSAGES OF UNEARTHLY BEAUTY”: Signed Limited Edition of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake
JOYCE, James.
Finnegans Wake.
London: Faber & Faber, 1939.
First signed limited edition, number 115 of only 425 large-paper copies signed by Joyce. Large octavo, original red cloth, titles to spine in gilt, top edge gilt, original publisher's yellow cloth slipcase. Signed by James Joyce on the limitation page. In near fine condition.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 137512
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Rare George Orwell Typed Letter Signed
ORWELL, George.
George Orwell Typed Letter Signed.
October 1944.
Rare typed letter signed by George Orwell signed to Amy Charlesworth Byrne Typed letter signed ("Geo. Orwell"), to Mrs Amy Byrne excusing his delayed reply ("...I have been away again, and also somewhat distraught with the move into here..."), writing with relief that he has brought his young son down from Newcastle ("..It is no joke travelling with a child now..."), with other personal news and hoping that they will be able to visit the Byrnes at their home in Liverpool, 1 page, 4to, 27b Canonbury Square, Islington, London, 23 October 1944. "...I'd like to show you the baby (his name…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 142498
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“There's no liquor in the land that can stop your brain from bleedin": First Edition of Bob Dylan's First Book Tarantula; Signed By Him
DYLAN, Bob.
Tarantula.
New York: MacMillan & Company, 1966.
First edition of Dylan's first book. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Bob Dylan on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light wear to the extremities. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed by Dylan.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 75081