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“It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities": First edition, first issue of Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
ROWLING, J.K.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.
London: Bloomsbury, 1998.
First edition, first issue of the second novel in Rowling's Harry Potter series. Octavo, original illustrated boards. Fine in a fine dust jacket without wear. Jacket design by Cliff Wright.
Price: $8,200.00 Item Number: 140027
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“THE SOCIAL IMPACT ON THE UNITED STATES WAS GREATER THAN THAT OF ANY BOOK BEFORE OR SINCE”: FIRST ISSUE OF UNCLE TOM’S CABIN
STOWE, Harriet Beecher.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin; Or, Life Among the Lowly.
Boston and Cleveland: John P. Jewett & Company, 1852.
First edition, first issue, with "spilt" (rather than "spiled") in Volume I, 42, line 1; "cathecism" (rather than "catechism") in volume II, 74, line 5; and all other first issue points of the author's classic work. Octavo, 2 volumes, bound in contemporary three quarters leather over cloth, gilt titles to the spine, volume with title vignettes and six wood-engravings. In very good condition with light wear and toning. A nice example, scarce and desirable in contemporary binding.
Price: $8,000.00 Item Number: 104745
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"The corpse without hands lay in the bottom of a small dinghy drifting just within sight of the Suffolk coast": First Edition of Unnatural Causes; Lengthily Inscribed by P.D. James
JAMES, P.D.
Unnatural Causes.
London: Faber and Faber, 1964.
First edition of the author's third book. Octavo, original green cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Signed by the author on the title page with a transcription as follows, "The corpse without hands lay in the bottom of a small dinghy drifting just within sight of the Suffolk coast." Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $8,000.00 Item Number: 4328
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First Editions of The Works of William Thackeray
THACKERAY, William.
The Works of William Thackeray.
London: Various Publishers, 1840-1867.
First edition of the works of William Thackeray. Octavo, 34 volumes, uniformly bound in three-quarters morocco. From the library of Alfred Charles William Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe, with his bookplate to each volume. Harmswoth was a British newspaper and publishing magnate who exercised vast influence over British popular opinion. Gilt titles and tooling to the spine, all edges gilt. Includes: Paris Sketch Book, 2 volumes., 1840; Comic Tales and Sketches, 2 volumes., 1841; Irish Sketchbook, 2 volumes., 1843; Cornhill to Grand Cairo, 1846; Mrs. Perkins Ball, [1847]; Book of Snobs, 1848; Our Street, 1848; Vanity Fair, 1848 (With the suppressed woodcut on…
Price: $8,000.00 Item Number: 19005
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Rare First Edition of Ernest Hemingway's The Torrents of Spring
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
The Torrents of Spring.
New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926.
First edition of Hemingway's first novel, one of 1250 printed. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with light wear to the crown. An exceptional example.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 112442
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First Edition of For Whom The Bell Tolls; Signed by Ernest Hemingway
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
For Whom The Bell Tolls.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1940.
First edition, early printing of the novel that is regarded as one of Hemingway’s best works. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Ernest Hemingway. Near fine in an excellent near fine first issue dust jacket without the photographer's name to the rear panel. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed by Hemingway.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 117657
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"Im not brave any more darling. Im all broken. Theyve broken me": First Edition of Ernest Hemingways Classic Novel A Farewell To Arms; In the Original First State Dust Jacket
HEMINGWAY, Ernest.
A Farewell To Arms.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1929.
First edition of this early Hemingway classic, which established him among the American masters. Octavo, original black cloth. Fine in a near fine first state dust jacket with the misspelling "Katharine Barclay" in the blurb on the front flap. A very sharp example of this highspot of American literature.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 143083
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"So figure some way to explain to her, boy, you know women better’n I do...": Rare autograph letter signed by Jack Kerouac to close friend Ed White
KEROUAC, Jack.
Jack Kerouac Autograph Letter Signed.
1954.
Rare autograph letter signed by Jack Kerouac to close friend Ed White. Bifoliate leaf, one page covered; pencil. With envelope addressed in autograph, postmarked Jamaica, New York. The letter reads in full, "Fri. Jan. 7 Dear Ed - For reasons completely unexplainable to someone like Beverly I'd on New Year's Eve made a vow not to leave the house (my hermitage) till I'd accomplished 2 things, (1) a certain piece of writing, (2) a certain term of reading - study and tranquil meditation - so when she called last night I had nothing to say in defense of my private…
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 145634
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"Maybe when people longed for a thing that bad the longing made them trust in anything that might give it to them": Carson McCuller's The Heart is a Lonely Hunter; With a Note Signed by Her
MCCULLERS, Carson.
The Heart Is A Lonely Hunter.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1940.
First edition, first printing with the date of 1940 on the title page of the author's first novel and masterpiece. Octavo, original cloth. With a note laid in from the author which reads, "With all good wishes from Carson McCullers Thanks for the good time at the Inn." Fine in a near fine dust jacket with some light professional restoration. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very sharp example, rare and desirable signed.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 138095
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“Half of what I say is meaningless; but I say it so that the other half may reach you”: Signed Limited First Edition of Kahlil Gibran's Sand and Foam
GIBRAN, Kahlil.
Sand and Foam: A Book of Aphorisms.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1927.
Signed limited edition of the author's classic work. Octavo, original half cloth over marbled boards, number 33 of 95 copies, signed by Kahlil Gibran. Illustrated with seven drawings by the author. In near fine condition.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 131582
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First edition of One City; signed by J.K. Rowling, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith and Irvine Welsh
RANKIN, Ian; Alexander McCall Smith; Irvine Welsh. Introduction by J. K. Rowling.
One City.
Edinburgh: Polygon, 2005.
First edition of this collection initiated by four of Edinburgh's most famous authors to benefit One City Trust, a charity committed to tackling social injustice and inequality in Edinburgh. Octavo, original cloth, patterned endpapers. One of 150 numbered copies signed by J.K. Rowling, Ian Rankin, Alexander McCall Smith and Irvine Welsh on the half-title page, this is number 100. Introduction by J. K. Rowling. Foreword by Rt Hon. Lesley Hinds. Near fine in the original slipcase which is in fine condition.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 124173
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First edition of Henry Fielding's The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
FIELDING, Henry.
The History of Tom Jones, A Foundling.
London: Printed for A. Millar, 1749.
First edition, first issue of one of the most influential English novels, one only 2,000 copies printed. Octavo, bound in full contemporary polished calf with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, double gilt ruling to the front and rear panels. First issued with the errata leaf present in the first volume and errata uncorrected throughout the text. In good condition. Small bookplates. Each volume house in a custom half morocco and folding chemise slipcase.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 139551
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"Once there was a little tree ... and she loved a little boy": The Giving Tree; Signed by Shel Silverstein
SILVERSTEIN, Shel.
The Giving Tree.
New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1964.
Early printing of this classic work. Octavo, original illustrated boards, illustrated. Boldly signed by Shel Silverstein on the half-title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Inscription to the half-title page. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. Rare and desirable signed.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 147387
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"Jellicle Cats come out tonight, Jellicle cats come one come all: the jellicle moon is shining bright- jellicles come to the jellicle ball": Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats; Inscribed by T.S. Eliot
ELIOT, T.S.
Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.
London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1960.
Later printing of Eliot's beloved collection of whimsical feline poems which served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber's 1981 megamusical phenomenon Cats. Octavo, original yellow pictorial cloth, illustrated by T. S. Eliot. Association copy, inscribed by the author to portrait painter Sir Gerald Kelly on the front free endpaper, "For Gerald Kelly with the warm regards & admiration of the author of these verses and the illustrator, T.S. Eliot (O.P.)" Eliot and the recipient, Gerard Kelly, struck up a close friendship back in the early 1920s, and in 1960 Kelly was commissioned to paint a portrait of Eliot, which…
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 145467
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First Edition of Put Money In Thy Purse: A Diary of the Film Othello; Inscribed with a painting by Orson Welles
MAC LIAMMOIR, Michael; Preface by Orson Welles.
Put Money In Thy Purse: A Diary of the Film Othello.
London: Methuen, 1952.
First edition of this work on the film Othello. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Welles as Othello. Association copy, inscribed by Orson Welles and with a painting (self-portrait) done by him across the front endpaper and the front pastedown of a self-portrait of Welles in black, purple and yellow paint and is inscribed "For Lennie with much love and a tiny pinch of salt Orson." The recipient, New York Post columnist Leonard Lyons was an early champion of Welles and the two were close friends for decades. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Rare and desirable with such…
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 43050
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"We have two lives... the life we learn with and the life we live after that": First Edition of Bernard Malamuds The Natural; Inscribed by Him To Close Friends
MALAMUD, Bernard.
The Natural.
New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1952.
First edition of the author's first book, and one of the greatest baseball novels of all time. Octavo, original cloth. Advance review copy with the slip laid in for a release date of August 21, 1952. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper one month before the date of publication, "For Susie and Paul Cordially Bern July, 1952." The recipients, Suzanne and Paul Shrag were close friends of Malamud. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Cover art by Simon Goltche. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 100076
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“I was born lost and take no pleasure in being found": First Edition of John Steinbeck's Travels with Charley; Inscribed by Him
STEINBECK, John.
Travels with Charley.
New York: The Viking Press, 1962.
First edition of Steinbeck’s beloved cross-country narrative. Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by the author on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Don Freeman. Photographs of Steinbeck by Hans Namuth. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 142958
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"ENOUGH FOR ME IN DREAMS TO SEE AND TOUCH THY GARMENTS' HEM- THY FEET HAVE TROD SO NEAR TO GOD, I MAY NOT FOLLOW THEM": FIRST EDITION OF RUDYARD KIPLING'S MANY INVENTIONS; inscribed by him to his second cousin
KIPLING, Rudyard.
Many Inventions.
London: Macmillan and Co., 1893.
First English edition of this collection of Kipling's poems and tales. Octavo, original cloth decorated in gilt. Association copy, inscribed by Rudyard Kipling on the title page in the year of publication to his second cousin by marriage, "Eliot [sic] Balestier from Rudyard Kipling Xmas. 93." The recipient, Elliot Francis Balestier was the second cousin of Kipling's wife, Caroline Balestier and her brother, Wolcott, with whom Kipling collaborated with for the novel The Naulahka: A Story Of East And West, which he would later name his historic shingle style house in Dummerston Vermont after. In very good condition. A fine…
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 123441
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First British Editions of The Border Trilogy; Each Volume Signed By Cormac McCarthy and Three Times Each by Chip Kidd
MCCARTHY, Cormac.
All the Pretty Horses; The Crossing; Cities of the Plain.
London: Picador, 1992-1998.
First British editions of each title in the author's acclaimed Border Trilogy. Octavo, original half cloth, three volumes. All three volumes are signed by Cormac McCarthy and additionally signed three times in each volume by legendary jacket designer Chip Kidd, on the front panel, on the half-title page and on the rear flaps. Each are fine in near fine dust jackets. Jacket design by Chip Kidd.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 145942
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“You don’t have a home until you leave it and then, when you have left it, you never can go back": First Edition of Giovanni's Room; Signed by James Baldwin
BALDWIN, James.
Giovanni’s Room.
New York: The Dial Press, 1956.
First edition of this landmark novel. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by James Baldwin on the title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket with a touch a shelfwear. Jacket design by Seymour Chwast. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery. An exceptional example.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 140400
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“ONE OF THE MOST INFLUENTIAL WORKS IN WESTERN LITERATURE”: RARE FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF OVID’S METAMORPHOSIS
OVID,.
Ovid’s Metamorphosis Englished by G. S.
London: Printed by William Stansby, 1626.
First edition of George Sandys’ famous verse translation of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, with engraved title page. Small folio, bound in contemporary calf, illustrated with engraved title by T. Cecil, and full-paged engraved portrait of Ovid by Marshall. In very good condition, names. Rare and and desirable.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 146369
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"SITTING BY NIGHT IN MY SECRET STUDY…": Rare First Edition in English of Nostradamus' True Prophecies or Prognostications
NOSTRADAMUS, Michael.
True Prophecies or Prognostications of Michael Nostradamus Physician to Henry II. Francis II. and Charles IX. Kings of France, and one of the best Astronomers that ever were. A Work full of Curiosity and Learning.
London: Thomas Radcliffe and Nathaniel Thompson, 1672.
First edition in English of Nostradamus famous prophetical work. Folio, contemporary calf, title page printed in red and black, lacking the frontispiece. In very good condition. Rare and desirable in contemporary calf.
Price: $7,800.00 Item Number: 129189