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Our December Catalogue contains 150 select items, mostly selected with gift giving in mind. Included are beautifully bound classics, signed books, fine press titles, poetry, illustrated books, and the unusual. Highlights include a wonderful archive of Presidential letters sent to the first BLACK MAN IN THE WHITE HOUSE; Truman Capote's IN COLD BLOOD inscribed to his lawyer; a fine collection of Gehenna and Pennyroyal Press broadsides; books signed by Rachel Carson, T.S. Eliot, Shelby Foote, James Garfield, Langston Hughes, James Joyce, Somerset Maugham, Flannery O'Connor, Theodore Roethke, Woodrow Wilson, Virginia Woolf, and W. B. Yeats, among others; and much more. Future catalogues will feature 19th Century American Literature, author collections of Dorothy Parker, Thomas Merton, Carl Sandburg, Thornton Wilder, and others, as well as fine early printed books and exceptional signed Presidential material. You may also use our OUR FAST SEARCH ENGINE
| 014647 STEGNER, WALLACE. ON THE WRITING OF HISTORY. * n.p. [George Pfeiffer]: n.d. [1989].* First Edition.* Bound in decorated printed wrappers, housed in the original printed envelope. One of of 100 copies SIGNED by the author on the colophon page. Prints Stegner's first article for The American West magazine. Issued to celebrate Stegner's 80th birthday.* Fine (Wallace Stegner, Signed, Limited, Western Literature, Western Americana) |
$200.00 Order |
| 014559 STRAND, MARK. SLEEPING WITH ONE EYE OPEN. * Iowa City: Stone Wall Press 1964.* First Edition.* Pulitzer Prize winning poet's scarce first book, copy #40 of only 225 numbered copies. Apparently issued with a glassine, but not on any of the dozen or so copies we have seen. This copy INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper "For Gary/with both eyes open/--Mark Strand/July 28, 1966." Unusual to find with a contemporary inscription. Small split to paper at front hinge. Spine with usual fading, the gilt still clear.* Very Good or better copy of this important title. (Modern Poetry, Fine Press, Modern Firsts, First Book, Mark Strand, Limited, Signed, Inscribed) |
$1750.00 Order |
| 014641 STYRON, WILLIAM. AGAINST FEAR. * [Winston-Salem]: Palaemon Press (1981).* First Edition.* Bound in blue sewn wrappers. Styron's address delivered to the graduating class of Duke University. Copy #3 of 50 roman-numbered copies (of a total edition of 300) SIGNED by the author on the colophon page.* Fine (William Styron, Signed, Limited, Southern Literature, Palaemon Press) |
$150.00 Order |
| 014586 STYRON, WILLIAM. THE CONFESSIONS OF NAT TURNER. * New York: Random House (1967).* First Edition.* Winner of the Pulitzer Prize this novelization of the slave revolt led by Nat Turner is still controversial 35 years later because of Styron's narrative from the perspective of an African-American slave. Copy #253 of 500 SIGNED by the author of this Limited First Edition. Light soiling to covers and sunning to the spine.* Very Good or better in like slipcase. (Modern Firsts, Pulitzer Prize, African American, Slavery, Signed, Limited, Southern Literature, William Styron, Black History) |
$250.00 Order |
| 014602 TATE, JAMES. THE LOST PILOT. * New Haven & London: Yale University Press 1967.* First Edition.* Tate's first trade book, the title poem a tribute to his father who was lost during World War II over Germany five months after Tate was born.* Fine in close to Fine dustwrapper with slightly darkened spine. (James Tate, First Book, Modern Firsts, Modern Poetry) |
$350.00 Order |
| 014639 THATCHER, MARGARET. STATECRAFT. * Norwalk, CT: Easton Press 2002.* First Edition.* Bound in full gilt-decorated blue leather. SIGNED by the former prime minister of England, as issued.* As new. (Modern Firsts, Signed, England, Political, Limited, Fine Bindings, Women Leaders, Margaret Thatcher) |
$250.00 Order |
| 014696 UPDIKE, JOHN. RABBIT, RUN. * (Shelton, CT): (First Edition Library) n.d..* "Each First Edition Library volume is identical to the original edition, down to the first critic's comments printed on the jacket flap. The design of every volume is unique to its own era: the dust jacket artwork, hardcover bindings, typefaces, endpapers, title pages, even the minor errors that collectors look for." An exact facsimile of the First Edition except for the disclaimer on the copyright page and the FEL logo onthe rear flap of the dustwrapper.* Fine in Fine dustwrapper and slipcase, still in shrinkwrap. (Modern Firsts, Facsimile Edition, John Updike, Facsimile Editions, First Editions) |
$50.00 Order |
| 014574 UPDIKE, JOHN. THE SAME DOOR. SHORT STORIES. * New York: Alfred Knopf 1959.* First Edition.* Updike's third book and first book of short stories. Some soiling to the rear of the dustwrapper.* Fine in a price-clipped, Near Fine First Issue dustwrapper. (John Updike, Modern Firsts, Short Stories, Fiction) |
$350.00 Order |
| 014595 VOLTAIRE. CANDIDE. * New York: Hermitage House 1949.* First Edition.* Voltaire's classic with mildly erotic illustrations by Sydney Joseph. One of 1500 copies, this copy not numbered as apparently many were not.* Fine in close to Fine slipcase. (Voltaire, Illustrated, Classics, French Literature, Satire, Sydney Joseph, Erotica, Erotic Illustration) |
$25.00 Order |
| 014651 WALTON, IZAAK & COTTON, CHARLES. THE COMPLEAT ANGLER. * London: John Lane/The Bodley Head (1931).* Reprint.* Reprint of the 1897 edition edited by Richard Le Gallienne with numerous illustrations by Edmund H. New. Octavo (4-7/8" x 7-1/2") bound by Charles E. Lauriat in 3/4 brown morocco and marbled boards with gilt-ruled borders, and a lovely gilt-lettered and decorated spine, top edge gilt. Very mild wear to joints and corners.* Near Fine in a handsome binding. (17th Century, Angling, Fishing, Sports, Fly Fishing, Fine Bindings, Fine Binding, Illustrated) |
$200.00 Order |
| 014625 WEBSTER, DANIEL. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS). * Washington: 22 March 1840.* A 4-page letter of @2000 words SIGNED "Danl Webster" on one integral sheet recto and verso folded into four 8" x 10" pages addressed to Hugh L. White,regarding the latter's departure from the Senate. White was a former colleague and longtime acquaintance who resigned from the Senate in Januaryof 1840 after the Tennessee General Assembly ordered him to vote in favor of the Independent Treasury Bill, a move which White, as a former banker, vigorously opposed. In part: "Your leaving the Senate, the manner of your leaving it, your letter, and all the circumstances of the case, have filledme with deep & profound feeling. Considering the enthusiasm, with which Tennessee supported you, in 1836, for the first office in the Nation, I didnot think it was in the fickleness of our fickle nature that her Legislature should have passed the Resolution of 1839. I had presumed that consistency, justice to a long tried public servant, self respect, state pride, or all these considerations & motives together, would have impressedthe Legislature, even although a majority of it was composed of your political opponents, with a sense of the propriety of a more forbearing course. But it is our misfortune, My Dear Sir, to live at a time when the power of party feeling is greater, with many men, than those of all other political considerations...."* Minor foxing, about Fine with superb content. (Autograph Letter, Signed, Letter, Daniel Webster, Autographs, Americana, Signatures, Politics, Dartmouth) |
SOLD Order |
| 014626 WEBSTER, DANIEL. THE DIPLOMATIC AND OFFICIAL PAPERS OF DANIEL WEBSTER WHILE SECRETARY OF STATE. * New York: Harper & Brothers 1848.* First Edition.* Original blind-stamped green cloth, spine lettered and decorated in gilt. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Webster and a folding map depicting eastern borders of the United States and Canada. INSCRIBED and SIGNED on the front free endpaper by the author in Washington on 2 April 1849 to U.S. Attorney General Reverdy Johnson: "My Dear Sir,/Will you be kind/enough to accept this volume/as a proof of my very high/personal & professional regard?/Yours very cordially/Danl Webster/To the Honble/Reverdy Johnson/AttyGen U.S." The typical discoloration to the endpapers of this volume cover much of Webster's writing, but it is still clear and readable. Mild to moderate foxing to interior leaves; rubbing to spine head.* Still Near Fine (Inscribed, Signed, Daniel Webster, Autographs, Americana, Signatures, Politics, Dartmouth) |
SOLD Order |
| 014627 [WEBSTER, DANIEL] ROSENTHAL, MAX. LARGE COLOR MEZZOTINT PORTRAIT OF DANIEL WEBSTER. * Philadelphia: William J. Campbell 1897.* First Edition.* A fine mezzotint printed in colors portrait of American statesman Daniel Webster by Max Rosenthal in an old frame. Image size is 15-1/2" x 22" matted and framed to an overall size of 24" x 30". This artist's remarque proof is SIGNED in pencil by the artist in the lower right margin with an image of an owl holding a scroll labeled "Constitution" in the lower left margin. An old label from Sessler's Book Shop in Philadelphia identifies this as one of 25 signed proofs in color. The December 1907 sale held by Philadelphia auctioneer Stanley V. Henkels of the collection of engraved portraits belonging to the Honorable James T. Mitchell lists 14 proofs of this portrait, and it is likely that Sessler's acquired this particular proof at that sale. Max Rosenthal (1833-1918) was the backbone of Rosenthal's Lithography, an important lithographic printing company, activein Philadelphia from 1852 to 1884. Max and his brothers produced some of the earliest chromolithographs in the United States including Charles W. Webber's HUNTER-NATURALIST, published in 1851. They also produced a large number of lithographs depicting Civil War battle scenes and encampments. After his retirement in 1884, Max devoted his attention to teaching, mezzotint engraving, and oil painting. With his son Albert Rosenthal, also an artist, Max produced over five hundred portrait prints of famous American political and military figures.* Near Fine and a striking image. (Max Rosenthal, Signed, Portraits, Daniel Webster, Mezzotints, Americana, 19th Century, Politics, Dartmouth) |
SOLD Order |
| 014600 WELLS, H. G. WHAT IS COMING? A FORECAST OF THINGS AFTER THE WAR. * London: Cassell and Company Ltd. 1916.* First Edition.* INSCRIBED and SIGNED on the front blank by the author to writer Arnold Bennett: "Arnold/from/Bertie." Paper stock browned, as nearly always the case with this title; otherwise only minor wear.* Very Good copy with a superb presentation. (World War I, Modern Firsts, 19th C. Brit. Lit., Signed, Inscribed, H. G. Wells, Association Copy, WWI, Arnold Bennett) |
$2000.00 Order |
| 014694 WHITE, GLEESON. CHRISTMAS CARDS AND THEIR CHIEF DESIGNERS. * London/New York: Studio/Frederick A. Stokes 1895.* First Edition.* Quarto (8" x 11-1/2") bound in parchment-backed boards; 56 pages. Originally appearing in STUDIO Magazine, this comprehensive article is well illustrated with black-and-white photos. Foxing to endpapers but text is clean; owner inscription dated 1896 on front endpaper.* Very Good (Christmas, Christmas Cards, Studio Magazine, Illustrated, Periodicals) |
$100.00 Order |
| 014682 WHITMAN, WALT. COMPLETE POETRY AND COLLECTED PROSE. * (New York): The Library of America (1982).* Fifteenth Printing, attractively rebound by Asprey in full brown morocco with gilt rules and lettering, patterned endpapers, all edges gilt; 1380 pages. Includes LEAVES OF GRASS (1855); LEAVES OF GRASS (1891-92); COMPLETE PROSE WORKS (1892); and SUPPLEMENTARY PROSE.* Fine (Fine Bindings, Fine Binding, Poetry, Asprey, 19th C. Literature, 19th C. Amer. Lit., Walt Whitman) |
$150.00 Order |
| 014666 WHITMAN, WALT. [SONG OF MYSELF]. * Lincoln, MA: Penmaen Press 1974.* First Edition.* A 12" x 19" broadside with an oval-shaped wood engraving by Stephen Harvard printed on Mohawk Sandstone Vellum. Copy #195 of 300 copies SIGNED by the artist. The excerpt from SONG OF MYSELF, printed in red, begins with the line "The spotted hawk swoops by and accuses me, he complains of my gab and my loitering," and ends with the line "I stop somewhere waiting for you."* Fine (Michael McCurdy, Stephen Harvard, Penmaen Press, Fine Press, Limited, Signed, Broadsides, Poetry, Walt Whitman) |
SOLD Order |
| 014560 WILLIAMS, TED. FISHING "THE BIG THREE": TARPON. BONEFISH. ATLANTIC SALMON. * New York: Simon & Schuster (1982).* First Edition.* Illustrated with photographs. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author in black felt tip pen filling up the first blank page: "To Frank/Hope you enjoy/this book/Best to you/Ted Williams." Hinges cracked but covers still tight. A few small tears to dustwrapper.* Near Fine in a Very Good dustwrapper. (Modern Firsts, Sports, Baseball, Signed, Inscribed, Fishing, Ted Williams, Boston Red Sox) |
SOLD Order |
| 014623 WILSON, WOODROW. THE NEW FREEDOM. A CALL FOR THE EMANCIPATION OF THE GENEROUS ENERGIES OF A PEOPLE. * New York & Garden City: Doubleday, Page & Company 1913.* First Edition.* SIGNED by the author as President on the half-title page and dated by him "Washington, D.C./24 Jan'y. 1914," less than a year into his first term. Animportant book by Wilson, though as he explains in the preface not actuallywritten by him but rather a compilation of excerpts from his campaign speeches. Books autographed by Wilson are rather uncommon; those signed as President are genuinely scarce. Small advertising flyer from publisher laidin. Attractive bookplate of Rita S. and Louis J. Halle on the front pastedown. Spine darkened though readable.* Very Good, lacking the scarce dustwrapper. (Woodrow Wilson, Signed, Presidential, Modern Firsts, Rare, Autographs, History, Americana, Speeches) |
$7500.00 Order |
| 014632 WOOLF, VIRGINIA. ORLANDO. * New York: Crosby Gaige 1928.* First Edition.* Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of Orlando and seven plates. Copy #260 of 861 copies SIGNED by the author of this imaginative biography of a young Elizabethan nobleman who lives for four centuries living alternately as a male and a female. Dedicated to Vita Sackville-West, whose son, Nigel Nicholson, said of this book that it was "the longest love letter in literature."* Mild fraying to spine tips, typical for this book. Near Fine (Transgender, Signed, Virginia Woolf, Movie Fiction, Modern Firsts, 20th C. Brit. Lit., Bloomsbury, Limited, Vita Sackville-West) |
SOLD Order |
| 014601 WRIGHT, CHARLES. CHINA TRACE. * Middletown, CT: Wesleyan University Press (1977).* First Edition.* The final book of his trilogy.* Fine in a Near Fine dustwrapper. (Modern Poetry, Southern Literature, Modern Firsts, Charles Wright) |
$50.00 Order |
| 006485 WRIGHT, CHARLES. THE GRAVE OF THE RIGHT HAND. * Middletown: Wesleyan University Press (1970).* First Edition.* Poet's first trade book. This copy, as with all we have seen, has the poem on page 36 with a large printed X through it. Minor rubbing and soiling to dustwrapper.* Fine in Near Fine dustwrapper, price-clipped as usual. (First Book, Modern Poetry, Southern Literature, Modern Firsts, Charles Wright) |
$100.00 Order |
| 014566 WRIGHT, JAMES. TO A BLOSSOMING PEAR TREE. * New York: Farrar, Straus & Giroux (1977).* First Edition.* The dustwrapper was designed by Antonio Frasconi. SIGNED by the author on the front endpaper and rather uncommon as such. Dustwrapper has some edgewear.* Fine in Very Good dustwrapper. (Modern Firsts, Modern Poetry, Antonio Frasconi, James Wright, Signed) |
$250.00 Order |
| 014699 WRIGHT, RICHARD. NATIVE SON. * (Shelton, CT): (First Edition Library) n.d..* "Each First Edition Library volume is identical to the original edition, down to the first critic's comments printed on the jacket flap. The design of every volume is unique to its own era: the dust jacket artwork, hardcover bindings, typefaces, endpapers, title pages, even the minor errors that collectors look for." An exact facsimile of the First Edition except for the disclaimer on the copyright page and the FEL logo onthe rear flap of the dustwrapper. Mild spotting to the cloth.* Near Fine in Fine dustwrapper and slipcase. (Modern Firsts, Facsimile Edition, Richard Wright, Facsimile Editions, African-American, First Editions) |
$40.00 Order |
| 014568 YEATS, W. B. THE VARIORUM EDITION OF THE POEMS OF W. B. YEATS. * New York: The MacMillan Company 1957.* First Edition.* Original two-color buckram with gilt lettering on the spine; 884 pages. Edited by Peter Allt and Russell K. Alspach. Copy #239 of 825 numbered copies SIGNED by the author on the limitation leaf of this definitive collection of Yeats's poetry. Mild sunning to the spine; two small indentations, as if from a pen tip, on the front cover, neither piercing the cover although they leave slight impressions on a few pages at the front.* Near Fine, lacking the slipcase. (W. B. Yeats, Modern Firsts, Modern Poetry, Signed, Limited, Irish Literature, Variorum Edition, Irish Poetry) |
$2750.00 Order |
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