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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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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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"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 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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"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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"Come right up close to me and I will show you something wonderful": First Edition of James and the Giant Peach; Signed by Roald Dahl and Illustrator Nancy Ekholm Burkert
DAHL, Roald; Illustrated by Nancy Ekholm Burkert.
James and the Giant Peach.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1961.
First edition of this Dahl classic. Octavo, original cloth, beautifully illustrated, many full-page and in color. Boldly signed by Roald Dahl on the front free endpaper and also signed by the illustrator, Nancy Ekholm Burkert on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of shelfwear. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional example, most rare and desirable signed by both the author and the illustrator.
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 144130
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“Do anything, but let it produce joy": RARE SECOND EDITION OF WALT WHITMAN’S LEAVES OF GRASS; ONE OF ONE THOUSAND COPIES
WHITMAN, Walt.
Leaves of Grass.
Brooklyn, New York: Fowler and Wells, 1856.
Rare second edition, one of a 1000 copies of the most important volume in American poetry, with an additional twenty poems not found in the first edition as well as a new section of correspondence and reviews entitled “Leaves-droppings” that begins with the famous letter from Emerson containing the salutation “I greet you at the beginning of a great career.” Small octavo, original green cloth. Engraved frontispiece portrait of Walt Whitman. Bookplate of Barrett Wendell to the inside panel. Barrett was an American academic and a trustee of the Boston Athenaeum, a member of the Massachusetts Historical Society, and a…
Price: $14,000.00 Item Number: 50052
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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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“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
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Rare First Edition of Leonard Cohen's First Book, One of 400 copies Let Us Compare Mythologies; Signed by Him in the year of publication
COHEN, Leonard.
Let Us Compare Mythologies.
Montreal: McGill Poetry Series by Contact Press, 1956.
First edition of Cohen's first book, which explores philosophy, sexuality, death, a world of violent contrasts that would define his future literary and musical careers. Octavo, original cloth. With five full-page line illustrations by Freda Guttman. Signed by the author in the month of publication on the front free endpaper, “Leonard Cohen May 1956.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Uncommon, as reportedly fewer than 400 copies of the first edition were printed (Nadel, 45).
Price: $13,500.00 Item Number: 140463
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First Edition of MacKay’s Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds; With an Autograph Letter Signed
MACKAY, Charles.
Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions and the Madness of Crowds.
London: Richard Bentley, 1841.
First edition of this classic study of crowd psychology, a compilation of human folly throughout the ages. Octavo, three volumes, illustrated. Bound in three quarter calf over marbled boards, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands. With an autographed letter signed by Charles MacKay in 1867 laid in. In near fine condition with light rubbing to the extremities.
Price: $13,500.00 Item Number: 129387
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"He touched her for the last time and then they turned away from each other and walked off into their different lives": First edition of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker
FLEMING, Ian.
Moonraker.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1955.
First edition, first issue with "shoo" for "shoot" on page 10 of the third novel in the James Bond series and what many critics to be his finest. Octavo, original black cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket with the spine panel bright. Jacket design by Kenneth Lewis. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional example, rare and desirable.
Price: $12,800.00 Item Number: 139218
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First Editions of William Klein's New York, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo; Each signed by Him
KLEIN, William.
New York, Rome, Moscow, Tokyo.
Various Places: 1956-1964.
First editions of each of the photographers famed city books. Tall quarto, 4 volumes. Each are signed by William Klein, with the caption booklet of New York signed as well. Very good to near fine books in original dust jackets showing some light rubbing and wear. A very sharp set of these volumes.
Price: $12,800.00 Item Number: 115672
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First Edition of Mary Mapes Dodge's Classic Work Hans Brinker; Inscribed by Her
DODGE, Mary Mapes.
Hans Brinker Or, The Silver Skates. A Story of Life in Holland.
New York: James O'Kane, 1866.
First edition of the author's second and best known work. Octavo, original green cloth, gilt titles to the spine. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "Presented to Robert Dale Owen by the author January, 1866." The recipient Robert Dale Owen was responsible for introducing the legislation to establish the Smithsonian. He represented Indiana in the U.S. House of Representatives (1843–47). As a member of Congress, Owen successfully pushed through the bill that established Smithsonian Institution and served on the Institution's first Board of Regents. Owen also served as a delegate to the Indiana Constitutional Convention in 1850 and was appointed as U.S.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 76002
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“Do not go gentle into that good night, Old age should burn and rage at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light": First Edition of Dylan Thomas' In Country Sleep; Signed by Him
THOMAS, Dylan .
In Country Sleep.
New York: New Directions, 1952.
First edition of this collection of poems, including the first book appearance of "Do not go gentle into that good night." Octavo, original cloth. Signed and dated by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "Dylan Thomas 1952." Fine in a very good dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed as Thomas passed away one year after the publication.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 106778
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The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson; Finely Bound in Full Morocco
STEVENSON, Robert Louis.
The Works of Robert Louis Stevenson [Including Treasure Island; Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde; Kidnapped].
Various: Various Publishers, 1878-1926.
An extensive collection of forty-nine works by Robert Louis Stevenson, publishing date 1878-1926 to include the Letters of Robert Louis Stevenson, Sidney Colvin, Methuen 1899 and The Life of Robert Louis Stevenson by Graham Balfour 1901. 2 vols. Stevenson's Baby Book, John Howell, San Francisco 1922. Cummy's Diary, A Diary kept by Robert Louis Stevenson's nurse, Alison Cunningham 1863. Chatto & Windus 1926. Ltd 734/780; Edinburgh Picturesque Notes by Robert Louis Stevenson with etchings by A Brunet-Debaines. Seeley Jackson and Halliday 1879. Octavo, 49 volumes, bound in dark green morocco, title titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt top edge,…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 136463
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"Even in this place one can survive, and therefore one must want to survive, to tell the story, to bear witness; and that to survive we must force ourselves to save at least the skeleton, the scaffolding, the form of civilization": First Edition of Primo Levi’s If This Is A Man; Signed by Him
LEVI, Primo.
If This Is A Man.
New York: The Orion Press, 1959.
First edition of Levi’s masterpiece, which was later published as Survival In Auschwitz. Octavo, original blue cloth. Signed by Primo Levi on the title page. Fine in a very good dust jacket with a small chip to the rear panel. Jacket design by Wladislaw Finne. Translated by Stuart Woolf. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Extremely rare signed.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 4541
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“We all have souls of different ages": First Edition of The Beautiful and the Damned; In the Rare Original Dust Jacket
FITZGERALD, F. Scott.
The Beautiful and the Damned.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1922.
First edition, first state of the author's second novel. Octavo, original green cloth, titles to the spine in gilt. Very good in a very good dust jacket with some professional restoration. Jacket illustrated by W.E. Hill. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 138104
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First edition of Ambergris: A Selection From the Poems; inscribed by Aleister Crowley to English Zionist Sir Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett
CROWLEY, Aleister.
Ambergris: A Selection From the Poems.
London: Elkin Mathews, 1910.
First edition of this scarce collection of Crowley's poetry. Octavo, original publisher's boards lettered in gilt, rebacked, frontispiece portrait. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the rear free endpaper, "Henry Mond from Aleister Crowley." The recipient, Sir Henry Ludwig Mond, 2nd Baron Melchett was an English politician, industrialist and Zionist. He served as Member of Parliament for the Isle of Ely 1923-24 as a Liberal and deputy chairman of Imperial Chemical Industries from 1940 to 1947. Having been brought up in the Church of England, he reverted in the 1930s to his family's original Judaism and became a champion…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 146395