Gulliver's Travels.
Swift, Jonathan

Two quarto volumes. One of 195 copies on handmade paper. With twelve hand-colored copper-engraved illustrations by Rex Whistler and many engraved head- and tailpieces. In original green morocco and vellum-over-boards by the Wood bindery. Spines show slight toning and a few small snags at the top of both volumes and along the outer hinge of the first volume. Spines possibly redyed, and the spine lettering has been skillfully redone on three morocco lettering pieces on each volume. Housed in original slipcase that has been re-covered in buff linen. Overall, a nearly fine set of Whistler's most important illustrated text and an increasingly scarce book. Prospectus laid in.

Chamber Music.
Joyce, James

16mo. (18)ff. Second edition. With a label inside the rear cover from Shakespeare and Company, the famed bookshop and literary meeting place founded by Sylvia Beach. Beach was a strong supporter of Joyce and the first publisher of Ulysses. Chamber Music, Joyce's first book, was published only through the considerable efforts of Arthur Symons, whom he had met through Yeats in 1902. Symons not only moved heaven and earth to find him a publisher who wouldn't require a subsidy, but he also wrote an extremely favorable review of the book in the Nation. Bound in printed gray laid paper wrappers, which show some slight edgewear. A spot on the front cover has some faint residue from a previous label; else fine. Housed in a folding blue cloth chemise and a matching protective slipcase. With the book label of John Haven Ferguson, poet and former U.S. ambassador to Morocco.

Dubliners.
Joyce, James

Octavo. First edition. One of approximately 746 copies that were bound. When Joyce first submitted his proposal for this collection of short stories, he wrote, "I do not think that any writer has yet presented Dublin to the world." However, Joyce was far from sentimental about the city, writing, "From time to time I see in publisher's lists announcements of books on Irish subjects so that I think people might be willing to pay for the special odour of corruption which, I hope, floats over my stories." Bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering on front cover and spine. Some faint waterstaining to bottom and top edges of pages, as well as top corner of rear pastedown, that does not affect the inside of the book. Top and bottom edges of spine slightly bumped, spine darkened with some slight rubbing, and faint rubbing to spine edges. Very small, shallow spot of biopredation to front board; still a very good copy of a scarce book. Bookplate of American diplomat and poet John Haven Ferguson.

Ulysses.
Joyce, James

Eighth printing, in which the type was entirely reset in order to address typographical errors found in earlier printings. As noted by Slocum and Cahoon, it incorporated into the text most of the changes indicated on the "Additional corrections" page that had been added to the fourth, fifth, and sixth printings. In all, the text was expanded to 735 pages. This is essentially a second edition; the reset plates were used through the eleventh printing. Joyce's publisher, Sylvia Beach, hired a proofreader from the Daily Mail to comb through the text before it was reset, but Joyce was disappointed with the result. Proofreading Joyce's work was certainly a daunting task, and typos continued to be a problem throughout the book's history of publication. There is much debate over which version of the book is most authoritative and whether certain changes made were actually corrections or well-intentioned corruptions of the text. In blue wrappers with the title and author in white. Some chipping to corners of spine and to fore-edges of wrappers, spine edges slightly rubbed, and a few very short closed tears, else a very good copy.

A Sentimental Journey Through France and Italy by Mr. Yorick.
Sterne, Laurence

Two small octavo volumes. (ii), xx, 203; (iv), 208 pp. First edition, first issue. Bound with the rare advertisement leaf promising completion of the work the following year and including a list of subscribers. Also, a frontispiece portrait of Jens Baggesen, an eighteenth century Danish writer who was greatly influenced by Sterne, has been inserted at the beginning of volume I. The portrait was probably inserted by the Danish collector whose library this book came from. The provenance further includes Lord Gray, whose bookplate appears on the inside front cover of volume I. A Sentimental Journey is Sterne's best-known work apart from Tristram Shandy. Bound in contemporary marbled boards with calf spines, gilt in six compartments with red morocco titles. A very nice copy, with virtually no foxing. Housed in a morocco-backed, marbled slipcase labeled Baggeseniana in gilt on the spine, with the title "Yorick's Labyrint," a combination of Sterne's original title and the title of Baggesen's similar work, "The Labyrinth." A delightfully calculated obfuscation -- Sterne and Baggesen would approve.

Chamber Music.
Joyce, James

First edition, first issue of Joyce's first book. The first printing consisted of 509 copies; however, fewer than fifty copies of the first binding appear to have been issued and perhaps fewer than fifteen copies are extant. Chamber Music, Joyce's first book, was published only through the considerable efforts of Arthur Symons, whom he had met through Yeats in 1902. Symons not only moved heaven and earth to find him a publisher who wouldn't require a subsidy, but he also wrote an extremely favorable review of the book in the Nation. Spine lettering rubbed away, some wear to extremities, small marginal dampstain affects the first few leaves, sporadic tiny tears to page edges. Overall a very good copy in publisher's green cloth.

John Sherman and Dhoya by Ganconagh.
Yeats, William Butler

First edition of Yeats' third book. This novella and short story formed the tenth title in Unwin's "Pseudonym Library." Of an edition of 2000 copies, this is one of 356 that were bound in cloth. A fine copy of an elusive early title about which Yeats wrote: "Written when I was very young and knew no better." (Wade 4).