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Scarce second edition of The First Spelling Primer; or an Easy Introduction to the Art of Reading Adorned with Emblematic Pictures
The First Spelling Primer; or an Easy Introduction to the Art of Reading Adorned with Emblematic Pictures.
London-Derry: Published by G. Douglas, 1795.
Second edition of this scarce 18th century spelling primer. 16mo, original limp paper boards, illustrated with twenty-six small text woodcuts illustrating the Prince's Alphabet, followed by an ABC poem, The Alphabet in Rhime, syllables of two and three letters, easy words, easy reading lessons, the Lord's Prayer, and a publisher's advertisement leaf aimed at children mentioning four other titles: The Ladder to Learning; Manson's Spelling Primer; Manson's Spelling Book; and The Universal Spelling Book. In good condition. Ownership name to the front panel. Housed in a custom folding case. Exceptionally rare with no other copies traced in auction records, nor…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 135238
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"Who Is Content Only With The Right Word": First Edition of Death of a Naturalist; Inscribed by Seamus Heaney to his Aunt
HEANEY, Seamus.
Death of a Naturalist.
London: Faber and Faber, 1966.
First edition of Heaney's first major published volume. Octavo, original green cloth with titles to the spine in gilt. Association copy, inscribed by the author to his aunt in a contemporary hand on the front free endpaper, "For Aunt Annie: who is content only with the right word. Love, Seamus." Additionally signed by Heaney in full on the title page. Fine in very good dust jacket with sunning to the pink portion of the spine and some overall wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Association copies of this caliber seldom enter the…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 3529
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"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 classic first book. Octavo, original green cloth. Lengthily signed by the author on the title page with the added words, "And when that happened the right words would be found. P.D. James 4/8/14." The inscription is the final lines of this novel. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Jacket design by Charles Mozley. An exceptional example.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 146895
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“My philosophy is that you can't explain the world. It's too big and it's too crazy and sometimes it's funny and most of the time it's... strange": First Edition of The Town and the City; Lengthily inscribed by Jack Kerouac
KEROUAC, Jack.
The Town and the City.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1950.
First edition of the Jack Kerouac's first book. Octavo, original red cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Dave Creviston To Scribner's With Luck To Dave With Luck (f.s) Jack Kerouac." An interesting inscription as Kerouac submitted this work to Charles Scribner's Sons twice, and was rejected both times before being accepted by Harcourt Brace. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional inscription, rare and desirable.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 131371
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First Edition, First Issue of Pearl Buck's Masterpiece The Good Earth; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
BUCK, Pearl S.
The Good Earth.
New York: The John Day Company, 1931.
First edition, first issue with "flees" for "fleas" on page 100, line 17 of the author's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original brown cloth, illustrated endpapers. Near fine in an excellent dust jacket with some professional restoration. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare in the original dust jacket.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 138099
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“We're forever teetering on the brink of the unknowable, and trying to understand what can't be understood": First Edition of Isaac Asimov's The Caves of Steel; Signed by Him
ASIMOV, Isaac.
The Caves of Steel.
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1954.
First edition of the first work in Asimov's acclaimed Robot series. Octavo, original blue boards, red topstain. Signed by Isaac Asimov on the title page. Light wear to the cloth, near fine in a very good dust jacket with some rubbing and wear to the extremities. Dust jacket design by Ruth Ray. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 39015
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“Love is that condition in which the happiness of another person is essential to your own": First Edition of Robert A. Heinlein's Stranger In A Strange Land; Inscribed by Him
HEINLEIN, Robert A.
Stranger In A Strange Land.
New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1961.
First edition, first issue with code C22 in the gutter of page 408 (Currey, 193) of Heinlein's masterpiece. Octavo, original green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "To Forrest K. Dart- All good wishes! Bob Heinlein." Near fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Ben Feder, Inc. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A sharp example, rare and desirable signed and inscribed.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 117628
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“Across the yard, brilliant against the façade of pines beyond, a cardinal shot like a drop of blood": 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. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light wear to the extremities, closed tear with archival tape repair. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 140633
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Rare First Illustrated Edition in English of Cervantes’ Masterpiece Don Quixote
CERVANTES SAAVEDRA, Miguel de.
The History of the Most Renowned Don Quixote of Mancha: And his Trusty Squire Sancho Pancha, Now Made English according to the Humour of our Modern Language. And Adorned with several Copper Plates.
London: Printed by Tho. Hodgkin, and are to be sold by John Newton, 1687.
First edition of the first illustrated edition in English of Don Quixote. Folio, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. With copper-engraved frontispiece and eight copper-engraved plates, each bearing two images. Translated by John Phillips. In very good condition with all plates present, signature trimmed. A very sharp example.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 133909
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“Trees that are slow to grow bear the best fruit": First Editions of the Works of Moliere
MOLIERE, Jean-Baptiste Poquelin.
Les Oeuvres De Monsieur De Moliere, Reveues, Corrigees & Augmentees (Tartuffe).
Paris: Chez Denys Thierry, 1682.
First complete and first illustrated collected edition, including 6 previously unpublished plays of the works of Moliere. Small octavo, 8 volumes. Finely bound in full crushed red morocco by Pouillet, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, illustrated with engravings throughout. In near fine condition. An exceptional example.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 95843
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"The past is never dead. It's not even past": First Edition of Requiem for a Nun; Inscribed by William Faulkner to Editor John Bott and with an original drawing
FAULKNER, William.
Requiem for a Nun.
London: Chatto & Windus, 1953.
First British edition of the sequel to Faulkner's Sanctuary. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication on the title page and with an original drawing by Faulkner on the front free endpaper, "For John Bott William Faulkner New York 3 Mar 1953." The recipient, John Bott was the City Editor of the New York Post who wore leg braces his whole life due to polio. Bott's friend had just brought him the book from London. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Hogarth.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 144084
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FIRST EDITIONS OF THE ADVENTURES AND MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES; In Exceptional Condition
DOYLE, Arthur Conan.
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.
London: George Newnes, Limited, 1892-1894.
First editions of Arthur Conan Doyle’s classic stories starring literature’s most famous detective, with an autographed letter. Octavo, original pictorial black and gilt-stamped light blue and dark blue cloth, illustrated by Sidney Paget, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt. First issues, the first title with the street scene vignette with no text on the street sign and with "Violent" for "Violet" on p 317. Each are in near fine condition with the spine gilt fresh. Each is housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. An exceptional set, most rare and desirable in this condition.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 146225
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Rare 1925 Printing of the Piano solo and second piano score for Rhapsody in Blue; Inscribed by George Gershwin
GERSHWIN, George.
George Gershwin Signed Rhapsody in Blue Piano Score.
New York: Harms Incorporated, 1925.
Rare 1925 printing of the piano score for the orchestral composition that defined the jazz age, first published in 1924. Small folio, original illustrated wrappers, piano solo and second piano in score. Presentation copy, inscribed by George Gershwin on the title page, "For Mr. Fuerst - with all best wishes George Gershwin." The recipient, Eugene Fuerst, was conductor and director of the Portland Civic Opera Association and the Theater Arts Opera Association. In very good condition with some loss and creasing to the cover and slight toning to the title page. A beautiful signature from Gershwin.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 145285
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"In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines...": First Edition of Madeline; Inscribed by Ludwig Bemelmans
BEMELMANS, Ludwig.
Madeline.
New York: Simon and Schuster, 1939.
First edition, first issue of this classic children's book with the 1939 date on the title page and with 12 girls instead of 11 in the "They went home and broke their bread" illustration. Thin folio, original illustrated boards, color illustrations throughout, illustrated endpapers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Elinor Green Ludwig Bemelmans." The recipient, Elinor Green, was the promotions director at Simon and Schuster in the 1940s, and married Merle Miller in 1948. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Light rubbing to the extremities and spine of the dust jacket,…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 146780
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H. Rider Haggard's King Solomon's Mines; inscribed by him to his sister Ella Green
HAGGARD, H. Rider.
King Solomon’s Mines.
London: Cassel & Company, 1885.
First edition, third issue of Haggard's immensely popular Victorian adventure novel the first great "Lost World" action-adventure, a precursor to Indiana Jones. Octavo, original cloth, folding facsimile of the map of the route to King Solomon's mines. Association copy, signed by the author opposite the half-title page with an additional note inscribed to his sister, Ella Green, pasted to the same page, "your loving brother H. Rider Haggard." In very good condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 118637
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The original publisher's Galley Proof of Stephen King's The Plant: Part Three; With King's edits and annotations, approved and signed by him
KING, Stephen.
The Plant: Part Three Stephen King Original Annotated Galley Proof.
Bangor, Maine: Philtrum Press, 1985.
The original publisher's galley proof of Part Three of King's rare unfinished epistolary novel, initially published in parts and sent to his close friends in lieu of Christmas cards. Folded, the proof measures 60 inches by 19 inches with a typed note from King's publisher on the title page and King's inscription, "copy-edit complete. Steve King/." With King's annotations and edits throughout. In near fine condition. Exceptionally rare, a highly desirable rarity for the King collector.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 136241
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Rare First Edition of Robert Frank's The Lines of My Hands; Inscribed by Him to Yuichi Hibi
ROBERT FRANK,.
Lines of My Hands.
Tokyo: Yugensha, 1972.
Limited first edition of Frank’s memorable autobiography in photographs, one of 500 copies. Folio, original black cloth, slipcase with mounted cover photograph. Association copy, inscribed by the photographer on the title page, "To Yuichi, getting ready to travel East. Good Luck. Robert. NYC Dec. 5, 1996" with a line drawing of a fish below a surface line. The recipient Yuichi Hibi is a well-known photographer who in 2005 issued a signed, limited edition of a work entitled A Weekend with Mr. Frank. Includes 30 pp. Japanese booklet cataloguing the 160 images which comprise the book. Fine in a fine slipcase. An exceptional…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 121798
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William Faulkner's Officer of the Légion d'Honneur
[FAULKNER, William].
Officer of the Ordre National de la Légion d’Honneur Diploma Awarded to William Faulkner.
Republique Francaise, 1949.
Partially printed diploma awarded to William Faulkner as an Officer of the Légion d'Honneur, conferred on him be the French government five months after he accepted the 1949 Nobel Prize in Literature. One page, partially printed and completed in a calligraphic hand, the diploma is signed by three French officials with an embossed seal. In near fine condition. Matted. The entire piece measures 15 inches by 18.5 inches. From the collection of William Faulkner.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 139733
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"History had a slow pulse; man counted in years, history in generations": First American Editions of Arthur Koestler’s Classic Trilogy; including Darkness At Noon; Signed by the author
KOESTLER, Arthur.
Gladiators; Darkness At Noon and Arrival and Departure.
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1939-1943.
First American editions of each work in Koestler's acclaimed trilogy, including his masterpiece, Darkness at Noon. Octavo, original cloth. Darkness at Noon is signed by Arthur Koestler on the front free endpaper. Each volume is very good in a very good dust jackets with some rubbing and wear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. First printings are rare signed.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 71020
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The Bombay Edition of Rudyard Kipling; Bound in Full Morocco; With Volume One Signed by Him
KIPLING, Rudyard.
The Works of Rudyard Kipling: The Deluxe Signed Edition. [Including Plain Tales from the Hills; The Phantom Rickshaw; The Light That Failed; Gunga Din; The Jungle Book; The Second Jungle Book; Captains Courageous; Kim; Just So Stories.]
Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1914-26.
Signed limited edition of Rudyard Kipling's collected works. Octavo, 27 volumes. Bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, gilt tooling and ruling to the spine, front and rear panels, raised bands, inner dentelles, top edge gilt, marbled endpapers. One of 1,050 sets with volume 1 signed by Rudyard Kipling. In fine condition. An exceptional set.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 115765
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"Keep close to Nature’s heart... and break clear away, once in awhile, and climb a mountain or spend a week in the woods. Wash your spirit clean": Finely Bound Set of The Manuscript Edition of The Writings of John Muir; With Eight Original Photographs
MUIR, John.
The Writings of John Muir: The Manuscript Edition.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1916-24.
The Manuscript edition of The Writings of John Muir. Octavo, 10 volumes, bound in original special deluxe three quarters morocco over marbled boards, leather edges ruled in gilt, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, matching endpapers, top edges gilt. With volumes 1 through 8 of this set each containing an original gelatin silver photograph at the front, each with a printed tissue guard. Kimes does not describe an edition with these additional real photo frontispieces. The binding matches that of Kimes 342. The scenes depicted in the inserted photographs are: The House of John Muir, Martinez, California;…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 76020
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First English edition of Jules Verne's The Mysterious Island: Dropped From the Clouds
VERNE, Jules.
The Mysterious Island: Dropped From the Clouds.
London: Sampson, Low, Marston, Low, & Searle, 1875.
First edition in English in book form of the first volume of Verne's Mysterious Island trilogy, preceding the Scribner Armstrong's first American edition. Octavo, original publisher's cloth decorated in gilt, all edges gilt, illustrated, tissue-guarded frontispiece. Translated from the French by W.H.G. Kingston. In fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Armorial bookplates to the pastedown and front free endpaper. An exceptional example, scarce in this condition.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 125618
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First edition of Henry James' Italian Hours; inscribed by him to Edmund and Ellen Gosse and later from the library of famed children's book author Maurice Sendak
JAMES, Henry.
Italian Hours.
London: William Heinemann, 1909.
First edition, one of 1000 copies printed of James' classic book of travel writing, wonderfully illustrated by Joseph Pennell. Quarto, original cloth decorated in gilt, top edge gilt. Illustrated by Joseph Pennell with 32 tissue-guarded color plates. Association copy, inscribed by Henry James on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, "To Edmund and Nelly Gosse their all, faithful old friend Henry James December 4th 1909." The recipients, English poet, author, and critic Edmund Gosse and his wife, Pre-Raphaelite painter Ellen Gosse were two of James' closest and longest-standing friends. James and Edmund exchanged more than 400 letters…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 135623
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First editions of all three volumes of Ian Fleming's Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car; with Adventure Number One signed by Roald Dahl and Adventure Number Three from the collection of Harry Saltzman
FLEMING, Ian. [Roald Dahl].
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang: The Magical Car.
1964-65: Jonathan Cape Ltd, London.
First editions of all three volumes of Fleming's rare children's novel. Octavo, three volumes, original pictorial boards, pictorial endpapers, illustrated by John Burningham. Adventure Number One is signed by Roald Dahl who co-wrote the screenplay for the 1968 film adaptation opposite the half-title page, very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Adventure Number Two is very good in a very good in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Adventure Number Three is from the collection of Harry Saltzman, who co-produced the first nine James Bond films with Albert R. Broccoli. Housed in a custom green cloth slipcase. Rare…
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 146992