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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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“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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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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"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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“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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“I HOPE I WILL BE ABLE TO CONFIDE EVERYTHING TO YOU, AS I HAVE NEVER BEEN ABLE TO CONFIDE IN ANYONE”: FIRST EDITION OF ANNE FRANK’S DIARY, HET ACHTERHUIS; In the exceptionally rare dust jacket
FRANK, Anne .
Het Achterhuis: Dagboakbrieven van 12 Jun 1942 – 1 Augustus 1944. Met een woord vooraf door Annie Romein-Verschoor. [The Diary of Anne Frank].
Amsterdam: Contact, 1947.
First edition of the diary of Anne Frank in the original Dutch. Small octavo, original publisher's white and red paper-covered boards, illustrated with 2 photographic reproductions of the interior of the house, 1 floor plan, and 2 facsimiles from the diary. Introduction by Annie Romein-Verschoor. Very good in the dust jacket which is in very good condition with some professional restoration and tape repairs to the verso, with the second issue in blue. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Exceedingly rare and desirable, especially in the original dust jacket.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 96773
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"And people with obsessions, reflected Bond, were blind to danger": First edition of Ian Fleming’s Moonraker; Signed by Henry Blofeld
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. Signed by Henry Blofeld on front free endpaper. Blofeld is the son of Thomas Robert Calthorpe Blofeld (1903-1986) who attended Eton with Fleming and whose name is believed to be the inspiration for the supervillain Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket with the spine panel bright and with light wear to the spine extremities. Jacket design by Kenneth Lewis. Housed in a custom…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 107324
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First Edition of William Faulkner's Intruder In The Dust; Inscribed by Him to his Cousin
FAULKNER, William.
Intruder In The Dust.
New York: Random House, 1948.
First edition of this classic Faulkner novel, which explores the lives of a family of characters in the South. Octavo, original cloth. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "For Sally Burns William Faulkner 16 April." The recipient Sallie Faulkner Burns was William Faulkner‘s first cousin and was a great friend to Maud, William‘s mother. This was given to her by Faulkner and has remained in the family until now. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch of rubbing. Jacket design by E. McKnight Kauffer. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 114816
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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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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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"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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First British Edition of Isak Dinesen's Out of Africa; King Edward VIII's Copy with his ownership inscription
DINESEN, Isak [Karen Blixen] [King Edward VIII].
Out of Africa.
London: Putnam, 1937.
First British edition of the author's masterpiece, a lyrical meditation of the years she lived in Kenya, from the library of King Edward VIII. Octavo, original cloth. With numerous original photographs and newspaper clippings affixed to the front few pages. Originally from the collection of the author's brother Thomas Fasti Dinesen with two original black and white photographs of him hunting affixed to the verso of the front free endpaper and half-title page above which he has annotated, "My first lion April 6th 1922" and "Shot from boma April 11th 1922 The boma only five feet from the hill on…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 110991
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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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“He says that courage is a capital sum reduced by expenditure": First Edition of Ian Fleming’s Dr. No; signed by Sean Connery
FLEMING, Ian.
Dr. No.
London: Jonathan Cape, 1958.
First edition in the first-issue dust jacket with Fleming's name printed in black on the spine of the sixth Bond thriller, first state binding (Gilbert's variant A), without the "Honeychile" silhouette; the silhouette was later added to bring it in line with other titles in the series which bore designs on the front board. Octavo, original black cloth. Boldly signed by Sean Connery on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light rubbing to the extremities. Jacket design by Pat Marriott. Rare and desirable.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 135314
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“AMERICA’S SECOND DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE”: RARE "Suppressed Boston Edition" OF WALT WHITMAN’S LEAVES OF GRASS, THE MOST IMPORTANT AND INFLUENTIAL VOLUME OF AMERICAN POETRY
WHITMAN, Walt.
Leaves of Grass.
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1881-82.
The "suppressed Boston edition" (seventh edition overall) of the most important volume in American poetry, one of 1,010 copies printed. Octavo, original publisher's mustard cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel, tissue-guarded engraved portrait of the author by Hollyer after the daguerreotype by Gabriel Harrison opposite page 29. BAL 21418. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Dr. C H Shivers from the author." The recipient, Dr. C.H. Shivers was a Haddonfield, New Jersey-based physician, member of the New Jersey Medical Society for Camden County and friend and dinner companion of Whitman's (according to The…
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 139829
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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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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
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FIRST EDITIONS OF THE ADVENTURES AND MEMOIRS OF SHERLOCK HOLMES
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. Octavo, original pictorial black and gilt-stamped light blue and dark blue cloth, 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. In near fine condition, small name. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A superior set, with no cracking to the hinges as is typically seen.
Price: $12,500.00 Item Number: 120890
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"Everything in life is just for a while": First Edition of A Scanner Darkly; Signed by Philip K. Dick
DICK, Philip K.
A Scanner Darkly.
New York: Doubleday and Company, 1977.
First edition of one of the author’s best-known works. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Philip K. Dick on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket illustration by the Quays. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $12,000.00 Item Number: 101745
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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