There is a deceptively simple goal for the collector of first editions: to obtain the earliest printed form of a work of literature, in as close to the condition it was in when it first appeared in bookstores as a new book. Dig deeper, though, and you find that the first edition collector also has an interest in ...
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NY: Simon and Schuster, (1966). First edition of the author’s scarce second book. This copy is inscribed by Doctorow on the front endpaper, and even the inscription, “A rare edition,” attests to the scarcity of this title. Although not set in the future, Doctorow employs the science fiction device of..... More
(Hammersmith: Doves Press, 1910). Octavo. 202 pp. One of 250 copies. Printed in red and black. A collection of Browning's dramatic poems and monologues, and the second Browning title published by the Doves Press. Minor cockling to pastedowns, spine imperceptibly faded, else fine in full limp vellum by the Doves..... More
London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1939. First edition. Eliot's living-room drama, written partly in blank verse and partly in prose, and emulating both Greek drama and pulp detective plays. Bound in gray cloth with red lettering to spine. Covers and endpapers noticeably toned, dust wrapper minorly chipped and with discoloration..... More
New Rochelle, NY: Elston Press, 1902. Octavo. (viii), 116pp. One of 160 copies. Sharp and robust title pages and initials by H. M. O'Kane, expressing the clear influences of William Morris at the Kelmscott Press and Charles Ricketts at the Vale Press. Keats' celebrated love poem printed in red and..... More
Cambridge: Riverside Press, 1903-04; 1909-14. Twelve octavo volumes. Autograph Centenary Edition. One of 600 copies signed by the publisher, and with an autograph manuscript leaf by Emerson bound in to the first volume. The original leaf, which has been expertly and invisibly repaired along the crease, is from "Man The..... More
Petersham, MA: Lone Oak Press, 2005. Oblong quarto. 89pp. From an edition of fourteen deluxe copies and 70 standard copies, this is one of five deluxe copies chosen to be specially bound for the international traveling exhibit "InsideOUT: Contemporary Bindings of Private Press Books," and as such, it does not..... More
Stockholm: July 12, 1950. Single 8 1/2 by 11-inch sheet, folded in six. In this letter, addressed to "Blijestra," the American novelist states his plans to visit Amsterdam, bringing with him an American trade union official whom he plans to introduce to one De Kadt. Fine. More
Cleveland, Miss. Delta State Teachers College Campus, 1952. First edition. The text of a speech by Faulkner, printed with his permission. According to Petersen, Faulkner agreed to speak to the Delta Council, which was composed of 3000 farmers and businessmen from an eighteen-county area, because he needed the $400 speaker's..... More
NY: Smith & Haas, 1933. Octavo. First edition. Faulkner's last poetry collection published during his lifetime has a title-page vignette and dust wrapper illustration by Lynd Ward. In A William Faulkner Encyclopedia, Stephen Hahn writes that "The poems in A Green Bough are remarkable for the degree to which they..... More
(Minneapolis: Faulkner Studies, 1953). First edition. One of 1000 numbered copies. First issue. Introduction by William Van O'Connor. Interior of wrappers soiled with some bumps to corners, endsheets toned. Near fine in very good wrappers. (Peterson A35.1a). More
NY: Random House, (1951). First edition. One of 750 copies, signed by Faulkner. This novel was written as a sequel to Sanctuary, and Faulkner structured it as a three-part play. This treatment allowed it to be adapted for the stage by Ruth Ford, though its run on Broadway in 1959..... More
New Orleans: Pelican Bookshop Press, 1926. From a total edition of 400 copies, this is one of 250 numbered copies. First edition, first issue. With illustrations of Sherwood Anderson and other famous Creoles, by William Spratling. Bound in green boards. This copy bears the white label, one of three variants..... More
Oxford, Miss. 1950. First edition. An original copy of Faulkner's famous "Beer Broadside" containing four arguments for legalizing the sale of beer in Oxford, Mississippi. This was Faulkner's direct challenge to an earlier broadside distributed by a group of clergy calling for the sale of beer to remain illegal. Contains..... More
(N.p.): Kallistos Press, 1985. Octavo. (viii), 13pp. One of 150 copies printed at the Firefly Press. Signed by the printer, John Kristensen. Engraved frontispiece by "Phiz," from the first edition of The Pickwick Papers, depicting a sexton caught off guard by an imposing goblin. Fine in green printed wrappers, which..... More
(Nutley, N.J.): Gianettino & Meredith, Inc., 1977. 12mo. (24)pp. From an edition of 275, this is one of fifty lettered copies in a cloth binding, signed by the artist, Jill Karla Schwarz. This humorous holiday list of thirteen "recipes" for turkey was appropriately filed by the author under the heading..... More
NY: Vincent FitzGerald & Co., 1987. Quarto. (17)ff. One of 75 copies, signed by the translator, Michael Feingold, and the artist, Neil Welliver, whose five color etchings and double-page fold-out lithograph were printed by Shigemitsu Tsukaguchi. The translator served as the lead drama critic for the Village Voice until it..... More
London: Florence Press, 1915. Two octavo volumes. xviii, 338; viii, 371pp. One of 250 copies. Keats' entire corpus, including an appendix for "Verses jocular or trivial" extracted from letters and notes. All are lovingly printed on hand-made paper, with sharp black ink and two-line initials to start each poem. With..... More
London: Jones & Company, 1823. Two 32mo. volumes. (viii), xii, 268; (x), xviii, 201pp. Engraved frontispieces to both volumes. Each book bears a detailed fore-edge painting, skillfully executed with bright highlights and impressive depth, conveying the grandeur of Haymarket and Lombard Street, respectively. Their depictions of active London street life and..... More
London: Ernest Benn, (1932). 16ff. First edition of this selection. Binding A, in wrappers with the title page as the front cover. Together with a copy in the second binding, in which a simulated red linen paper is pasted over the wrappers, with a rectangular cut-out in the front which..... More
November 1952. Holograph manuscript on two leaves of white wove, three-holed, loose-leaf paper measuring 9 1/2 by 6 inches. At the bottom of the second leaf, in Frost’s hand, the work is inscribed “Robert to Fred” (i.e. Frederick B. Adams, Jr.). A life-long bibliophile, Adams was the director of the..... More
Middlebury, VT: Bread Loaf School, (c. 1929). Single sheet folded twice to form an eight-page booklet. First separate edition. Bread Loaf Folder No. 3. This is the second printing of this small pamphlet, distinguishable by its being printed on pale green laid paper. This is a fine copy of a...... More
(c. 1946). Octavo. (8)ff. A manuscript poetry chapbook handmade by Robert Frost and inscribed by the poet with the dedication, "A Preview / for Nita and Doc / from / R. F. / After a good Bread Loaf / 1946." "Doc" refers to Frost's friend Reginald Cook, a Middlebury professor..... More
NY: Holt, (1936). First edition. One of 4,000 copies printed. This copy is inscribed by Frost with the final quatrain of "Desert Places". The inscription is dated "June 1936", which is shortly after the book's May 30th publication date. Frost received the Pulitzer Prize for this collection, and was the..... More
Philadelphia: Colonial Press, February, 1917. Square octavo. 52, (2)pp. Contains the first appearance of "Locked Out," which had only previously seen print in The Bouquet, a magazine compiled by Frost's children in 1914. This poem was not included in the first edition of Mountain Interval but was added to its..... More
London: David Nutt, (1914). First edition. From an edition of 1,000 copies, this is one of 200 in the sixth binding state. This was one of two binding states that were done by the Dunster House Bookshop in 1923 in Cambridge, MA when the remaining first edition sheets were sold..... More
