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“For every man in the world functions to the best of his ability, and no one does less than his best, no matter what he may think about it": First Edition of John Steinbeck's The Pearl; Inscribed by Him
STEINBECK, John.
The Pearl.
New York: The Viking Press, 1947.
First edition of this classic story of simplicity, based on a Mexican folk tale. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For Maggie and Larry with love John Steinbeck." Near fine in a near fine first-issue dust jacket with Steinbeck looking to the left on the rear panel. Drawings by Jose Clemente Orozco. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 103774
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Rare silver gelatin print of French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre; inscribed by him
SARTRE, Jean-Paul .
Jean-Paul Sartre Signed Photograph.
Rare silver gelatin print of French philosopher, novelist, and playwright Jean-Paul Sartre. Inscribed by him in the upper left corner of the image, "A M. Satoru Yamano, sympatheque hommage, Jean-Paul Sartre." In near fine condition. Matted and framed. The entire piece measures 14 inches by 11 inches.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 123541
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"The history of mankind is the history of the attainment of external power. Man is the tool-using, fire-making animal...Always down a lengthening record, save for a set-back ever and again, he is doing more": First Edition of H.G. Wells' The World Set Free; inscribed by him to George Bernard Shaw
WELLS, H.G. [George Bernard Shaw].
The World Set Free: A Story of Mankind.
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1914.
First edition, first issue of Wells' prophetic novel predicting the arrival of atomic weaponry with the publisher listed as Macmillan and Co. Limited (as opposed to Ltd.), 8 pages of advertisements at rear, and no statement of printing to the copyright page. Octavo, original cloth stamped in blind with gilt titles to the spine and front panel, top edge gilt. Association copy, inscribed by H.G. Wells to George Bernard Shaw, "G.B.S. from H.G." Like Wells, George Bernard Shaw used writing fiction as a vehicle to disseminate his political, social and religious ideas. Wells and Shaw connected when Wells joined the…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 109903
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"If you miss A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, you will deny yourself a rich experience": First Edition of A Tree Grows In Brooklyn; Inscribed by Betty Smith in the month of publication
SMITH, Betty.
A Tree Grows In Brooklyn.
New York: Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1943.
First edition of Smith's classic first novel about a young girl's coming-of-age at the turn of the twentieth century. Octavo, original green cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper in the year of publication, "For Foster and Marian Best Love Betty Smith Aug. 23, 1943." Near fine in a near fine first issue dust jacket with some professional restoration. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box made by the Harcourt Bindery.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 103855
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"In a world darksome as this'n I believe a blind man ort to be better sighted than most": First Edition of Cormac McCarthy’s Rare Second Novel; Signed by the author
MCCARTHY, Cormac.
Outer Dark.
New York: Random House, 1968.
First edition of the author's second novel. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket design by Muriel Nasser. A superior example.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 142349
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“Love is never any better than the lover": First Edition of Toni Morrison's First Book The Bluest Eye; Signed by her
MORRISON, Toni.
The Bluest Eye.
New York: Holt Rinehart & Winston, 1970.
First edition of Morrison's classic first book. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Toni Morrison on the title page. Near fine in a very good first issue dust jacket with the $5.95 price and 1070 on the bottom of front flap, with some expert restoration. Dust jacket design by Herb Lubalin and Jay Tribich. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell slipcase.
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 142255
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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 Richard Graham Greene." Near fine in near fine dust jacket with light rubbing and wear. Jacket design by George Salter. Housed in a custom clamshell box. First editions signed and inscribed are scarce
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 98352
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"The largest single engraving enterprise ever undertaken in England": Rare Finely Bound Complete Set of Boydell's Monumental illustrated edition of the Dramatic Works of Shakespeare
SHAKESPEARE, William. Revised by George Steevens.
The Dramatic Works of Shakespeare.
London: Printed by W. Bulmer and Co. for John and Josiah Boydell, George and W. Nicol., 1802.
Rare finely bound complete set of "by far the largest single engraving enterprise ever undertaken in England", John Boydell's magnificent illustrated folio edition of the dramatic works of Shakespeare. Folio, 9 volumes. Bound in three quarters morocco with gilt titles to the spine, all edges marbled. Elaborately illustrated with 96 plates engraved by the most eminent British engravers and painters of the era including Richard Westall, Thomas Stothard, George Romney, Henry Fuseli, Benjamin West, Angelica Kauffman, Robert Smirke, James Durno, John Opie, Francesco Bartolozzi, Thomas Kirk, and Henry Thomson. Edited by George Steevens, one of the greatest Shakespearean scholars of…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 109329
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"Poets are almost always wrong about facts. That's because they are not really interested in facts: only in truth": First Edition of William Faulkner's The Town; Signed by Him in the year of publication
FAULKNER, William.
The Town.
New York: Random House, 1957.
First edition, first state with the 5/57 at the bottom of the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the title page in the year of publication, "11 Nov 57 Best wishes William Faulkner." With the publisher's advance review copy slip dated May 1, 1957 laid in and a copy of the jacket photograph of Faulkner by Phyllis Cerf laid in. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with only light rubbing to the crown of the spine, bookplate. Jacket design by Push Pin Studios. Rare and desirable signed in the year…
Price: $9,500.00 Item Number: 125095
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"And the voice of his devotion filled my soul with strange emotion; for its tones by turns were glad, sweetly solemn, wildly-sad": First Edition of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's Poems on Slavery; inscribed by him
LONGFELLOW, Henry Wadsworth.
Poems on Slavery.
Cambridge: John Owen, 1842.
First edition of Longfellow's collection of poems published in support of the United States anti-slavery efforts. Small octavo, bound in full pebbled morocco by Bradstreet's with gilt titles and raised bands to the spine, inner dentelles. Presentation copy, inscribed by Longfellow on the half-title page, "Rev. R. C. Waterston from the Author.” The recipient, Reverend Robert Cassie Waterston, was a noted Unitarian clergyman of Boston, the majority of his library is now housed in the Massachusetts Historical Society. In near fine condition. Bookplate. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 101568
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First edition of Walt Whitman's Two Rivulets: Including Democratic Vistas, Centennial Songs, and Passage to India; one of only 100 copies signed and dated by Walt Whitman and with an autograph note signed by him tipped in
WHITMAN, Walt.
Two Rivulets: Including Democratic Vistas, Centennial Songs, and Passage to India.
Camden, New Jersey: Author's Edition, 1876.
Scarce first edition, first issue with the blank leaf between 'As a Strong Bird' and 'Memoranda' and single leaf of advertisements for Whitman’s books inserted between the back flyleaves. One of only 100 copies. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentetlles, gilt top stain, marbled endpapers. With the frontispiece sepia photograph of Whitman signed and dated by him, "Walt Whitman 1881." From the library of Richard Hoe Lawrence with an autograph note by Whitman…
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 114654
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"Many thanks for your lucid thoughts and interest in my work": First edition of Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team; inscribed by John Steinbeck to Legendary literary critic Edmund Wilson
STEINBECK, John.
Bombs Away: The Story of a Bomber Team.
New York: The Viking Press, 1942.
First edition of Steinbeck's riveting account of his experiences with several bomber crews of the U.S. Army Air Forces during WWII. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated with 60 photographs by John Swope. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, "Dear Mr. Wilson, Many thanks for your lucid thoughts and interest in my work, John Steinbeck." The recipient, Edmund Wilson, was an American literary critic and progenitor of the Library of America publication series. His critical works helped foster public appreciation for many of the foremost American writers of the 20th century including F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway,…
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 109635
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Rare First Edition of William Bligh's A Narrative of the Mutiny on Board His Majesty's Ship Bounty; in the rare original boards
BLIGH, Lieutenant William.
A Narrative of the Mutiny on Board His Majesty’s Ship Bounty; and the Subsequent Voyage of Part of the Crew, In the Ships Boat from Tofua, one of the Friendly Islands, To Timor, Dutch Settlement in the East Indies.
London: Printed for George Nicol, 1790.
First edition of Bligh's firsthand account of "one of the most remarkable incidents in the whole of maritime history [which ultimately absolved him] from any blame that might be levelled against him because of the incident" (Hill). Quarto, original boards, lacking the spine, engraved folding plan "A copy of the draft from which the Bounty's launch was built", three engraved folding charts J. Walker after W. Harrison. In good condition. Scarce in the original boards.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 109832
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“Clocks slay time... time is dead as long as it is being clicked off by little wheels; only when the clock stops does time come to life": First Edition of William Faulkner's Masterpiece The Sound and the Fury
FAULKNER, William.
The Sound and the Fury.
New York: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, 1929.
First edition, first printing of Faulkner’s masterpiece. Octavo, original half cloth over black and white patterned paper boards. Very good in a very good second state dust jacket with Humanity Uprooted priced at $3.50 instead of $3.00 on the rear panel. Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 139490
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First Edition of Frank O'Hara's Meditations In An Emergency; inscribed by Frank O'Hara to his college roommate
O'HARA, Frank.
Meditations In An Emergency.
New York: Grove Press, 1957.
First edition of O'Hara's classic work of poetry. Octavo, original cloth, number 28 of an unknown number cloth-bound copies produced in the first print run. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "For my darling Hal in Hell's despite - Love, Frank." The recipient, Hal Fondren was O'Hara's roommate at Harvard College. After graduating, O'Hara moved to New York City and shared Fondren's apartment ion East 49th Street before attending graduate school at the University of Michigan. Near fine in a very good slipcase. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. An exceptional association.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 132649
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“The timeless in you is aware of life's timelessness. And knows that yesterday is but today's memory and tomorrow is today's dream": Scarce First Edition of Kahlil Gibran's The Prophet
GIBRAN, Kahlil.
The Prophet.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1923.
First edition of the author's masterpiece. Octavo, original publisher's black cloth decorated in gilt, illustrated with 12 collotype plates by the author. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box by the Harcourt Bindery. A scarce and desirable example of the elusive title. The first printing consisted of a run of 2,000, of which Knopf sold 1,159 copies.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 126298
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“THERE WASN’T MUCH FISH, JUST A FEW STRAY BITS OF BARE BACKBONE”: FIRST EDITION IN ENGLISH OF SOLZHENITSYN’S ONE DAY IN THE LIFE OF IVAN DENISOVICH; INSCRIBED BY HIM
SOLZHENITSYN, Alexander. [Solzhentizyn].
One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.
New York: E. P. Dutton & Co., Inc, 1963.
First edition in English, preceding the first British edition, of the Nobel Prize-winner’s first published work. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, "To Anne Roberts A. Solzhenitsyn Dec. 2004." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by the Duquesnes. Jacket photograph by Sovfoto. Translated by Ralph Parker. Introduction by CBS newsman Marvin Kalb with a special foreword by Alexander Tvardovsky, Editor-in-Chief ofÂNovy Mir, the leading dissident literary journal during the late years of the Soviet Union.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 140674
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"Poet, Singer, Great heart, may our god bless your name, and the womb that held you, and the breasts that gave you milk. and may god forgive us all"; First Edition of Kahlil Gibran's Jesus The Son of Man; Warmly Inscribed by him
GIBRAN, Kahlil.
Jesus: The Son of Man.
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1928.
First edition of Kahlil Gibran's masterful retelling of the story of Jesus of Nazareth. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by the author. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, "For Roy and D. from Howard and Bill With the blessing upon you four, and with the gratitude of Kahlil Gibran 1928." Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. Rare and desirable inscribed and in the original dust jacket.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 89433
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"Ah, distinctly I remember it was in the bleak December; And each separate dying ember wrought its ghost upon the floor": The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe
POE, Edgar Allan.
The Works of Edgar Allan Poe. [Including: The Murders in the Rue Morgue, The Gold Bug, Raven, Eureka].
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, [1884].
The Amontillado edition of the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Octavo, 8 volumes bound in full morocco by P.B. Sanford with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in 6 compartments within raised gilt bands, double gilt ruling to the panels, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt, tissue-guarded engraved frontispiece to each volume by R. Swain Gifford, Frederick Church and others, etched engraved vignettes to the title pages. One of 315 numbered copies signed and dated by the publisher on the limitation leaf of each volume, this is number 290. In fine condition. Rare and desirable.
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 118042
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“The closest I ever got to the sound I hear in my mind": Blonde on Blonde; Signed by Bob Dylan
DYLAN, Bob.
Blonde on Blonde.
1966.
Original pressing of one of the greatest albums of all-time. Boldly signed by Bob Dylan on the front panel. The cover photograph of Blonde on Blonde shows a 12-by-12 inch close-up portrait of Dylan. The double album gatefold sleeve opens to form a 12-by-26 inch photo of the artist, at three quarter length. The artist's name and the album's title only appear on the spine. A sticker was applied to the shrink wrap to promote the release's two hit singles, "I Want You" and "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35". The cover shows Dylan in front of a brick building, wearing a suede jacket…
Price: $9,200.00 Item Number: 114175