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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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"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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“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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First Edition of MacKays 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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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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"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 Flemings 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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"So just remember that this is the first sign of trouble - if books are banned, that means that things are going wrong": First English uncensored edition of Babi Yar; inscribed by Anatoly Kuznetsov
KUZNETSOV, Anatoly. Translated by David Floyd .
Babi Yar: A Document in the Form of a Novel.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1970.
First English uncensored edition of soviet writer Anatoly Kuznetsov's most acclaimed work in its complete, unredacted form. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication, "To Mr. M.G. Millard - with very best wishes, in appreciation for the invaluable help he has given me. A. Anatoli 14/XII/1970 London." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Exceptionally rare with no other signed examples traced at auction.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 143812
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FIRST EDITION OF FAULKNERS MASTERPIECE AND ONE OF THE GREATEST NOVELS OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY THE SOUND AND THE FURY: IN THE RARE FIRST ISSUE DUST JACKET
FAULKNER, William.
The Sound and the Fury.
New York: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, 1929.
First edition of Faulkner’s masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth, black and white patterned paper boards. Near fine in a very good unrestored first-issue dust jacket with the iconic design by Kathe Kollwitz on the front panel and a price of $3.00 for the book Humanity Uprooted on the rear panel, with a chip to the spine. Petersen A6.2a. Brucolli & Clark I:121. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 112328
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“You cannot conceive, nor can I, of the appalling strangeness of the mercy of God": First Edition of Graham Greene's Brighton Rock; Inscribed by Him
GREENE, Graham.
Brighton Rock.
New York: The Viking Press, 1938.
First American edition, preceding the British edition by one month of Greene's chilling expose of violence and gang warfare in the pre-war underworld is a classic of its kind. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Clive affectionately, Graham." The recipient Clive Francis is a British actor, known for his roles in Stanley Kubrick's A Clockwork Orange, Inspector Clouseau and The Crown and was a friend of Greene's. An excellent example in a very good dust jacket with rubbing and wear. Jacket design by George Salter. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 106788
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“Tell me. Tell me with your eyes": First Edition of Exiles: A Play in Three Acts; Signed by James Joyce
JOYCE, James.
Exiles: A Play in Three Acts.
New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1918.
First American edition of the author's only play, published simultaneously with the British edition. Octavo, original half cloth. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, "James Joyce 2 June 1923 Paris." In near fine condition. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 144094
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“Let's go." "We can't." "Why not?" "We're waiting for Godot": First Edition of Samuel Beckett's Waiting For Godot; Inscribed by Him
BECKETT, Samuel.
Waiting For Godot: A Tragicomedy In Two Acts.
London: Faber and Faber, 1956.
First British edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original black cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, "For Dr. Murray with all good wishes Samuel Beckett Paris July 1981." From the library of Irish book collector Dr. Philip Murray, author of The Adventures of a Book Collector. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket that shows some light rubbing to the spine. Translated by Beckett from the original French. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable signed and inscribed by Beckett.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 21046
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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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First Edition of The Mansion; Signed by William Faulkner
FAULKNER, William.
The Mansion.
New York: Random House, 1959.
First edition of the final novel in the Nobel Prize-winning author's classic The Snopes Trilogy. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed and dated by the author on the title page, "William Faulkner, Oxford Miss 22 Dec 1961." Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise box.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 146144