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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Utrecht, The Netherlands: Catharijne Press, 1984. 20pp. One of 100 copies, with an artistic photogravure frontispiece by Johan de Zoete, which is signed and numbered. The two poems are "To Helen," and "Annabel Lee." Extremely fine oblong miniature; the first published by Catharijne Press. Bound in black morocco with a...... More
NY: McClure, Phillips, 1905. First edition, first binding. This copy belonged to Louise Pound and bears her signature on the front endpaper. Pound was an intimate friend of Cather's during their time at the University of Nebraska, where they were co-editors of "Lasso," a campus magazine. Pound went on to..... More
Boston: Richard G. Badger/Gorham Press, 1903. First edition. Cather's first book, a self-published collection of verse, and the only verse Cather published during her career. She reportedly bought remaining copies of this edition in 1908 and destroyed them. It was re-issued by Knopf as a limited edition in 1923 but..... More
(NY): Center for the Book Arts, (2007). Octavo. 18ff. One of thirty-nine copies. A collection of thirteen poems from Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, beautifully printed by nine compositor-printers at the Center for the Book Arts in New York. Each printer’s work occupies a single bifolium sheet, forming nine..... More
(Easthampton, MA): Cheloniidae Press, 1986. Oblong 16mo. (19)ff. From an edition of 225, this is one of twenty-five copies bound in full leather and joined by a suite of prints. Volume and suite signed by the artist. Robinson's drawing of Poe acts as frontispiece while his striking wood engravings and..... More
(Indianapolis): Bobbs Merrill, (1911). Small quarto. First edition. Illustrated with reproductions of drawings by Howard Chandler Christy, an American illustrator best known for his patriotic portraits of military men and romantic depictions of society women. The illustrations accompany a story in verse by the American poet James Whitcomb Riley. The..... More
NY: Ballantine Books, (1953). First edition. One of Clarke’s most famous novels, and considered by many to be one of his best. A Golden Age tale about the evolution of the human race and its joining the other advanced races of the galaxy. Recipient of the 2004 Retro Hugo Award..... More
NY: Ballantine Books, (1953). First edition. One of Clarke's most famous novels, and considered by many to be one of his best. A Golden Age tale about the evolution of the human race and its joining the other advanced races of the galaxy. Recipient of the 2004 Retro Hugo Award..... More
NY: Ballantine Books, 1957. First edition. A sort of interstellar Robinson Crusoe, Cycle of Fire follows the survival of human castaway Nils Kruger and his shipwrecked extraterrestrial companion Dar. As they travel across an unfamiliar planet, they learn to communicate and trust one another, eventually sharing critical knowledge that ensures..... More
Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1954. First edition. Signed by Clement on the title page, under which he has also signed his real name, Harry Stubbs, in parentheses. Clement is one of the premier practioners of hard science fiction. His best novels concern the lives of aliens in their own..... More
Florence: Felice Paggi, 1883. Small octavo. 236pp., + iipp. of advertisements. First edition. The enduring children’s classic about a mischievous marionette whose nose grows every time he tells a lie, in the original Italian and wonderfully illustrated with a full-page frontispiece of the titular character, as well as sixty-one additional..... More
NY: Knopf, 1946. First edition. One of 100 copies printed especially for the author, with an original drawing completed and signed by Covarrubias ahead of the title page. Edition replete with photoreproductions and other illustrations of life on the isthmus, as well as a fold-out map. Bound in pink cloth-covered..... More
NY: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1972. Folio. 202, (5)pp. Publisher's facsimile of the famed edition of Hamlet issued by the Cranach Press in 1929. With reprints of Edward Johnston's typography, Edward Gordon Craig's 74 woodcuts, and Eric Gill's contributions of two initials, the title over the first woodcut, and spine titling..... More
Boston: Impressions Workshop Inc./Cricket Press, 1965. Square quarto. (16)ff. One of 150 copies, signed on the colophon page by the poet, Bernard Bockes, and the illustrator, George Lockwood. Illustrated with fifteen fanciful woodcuts by Lockwood depicting insects, bats, dragons, and mythical beasts. Some are monochromatic prints, but others incorporate many..... More
(Thetford, VT: Cricket Press, 1962). Quarto. (20)pp. One of 50 copies. Printed in red and black, with one illustration by Gillian Tyler. Contains five poems by May Miller, one of the greatest playwrights of the Harlem Renaissance. While less known as a poet, Miller composed verse throughout her life and..... More
NY: Harcourt, Brace, 1958. First edition. One of 300 copies, signed by the poet. This title marks the last collection of new poetry published during cummings's lifetime. Spine evenly toned, though lettering remains bright, else about fine in publisher's slipcase, which shows some minor soiling to title label. (Firmage A27.a)..... More
London: Henry Rhodes, 1687. Octavo, (viii), 140, (iv), 206, (ii). Engraved frontispiece by F. H. van Hove. First complete edition in English, translated by Archibald Lovell. Cyrano was influenced by the revolutionary ideas of Copernicus, Galileo, and Kepler. He created utopian societies to illustrate the satirical points of his political..... More
Oxford: Daniel Press, 1901. Octavo. (xii), 53pp. One of 130 copies, of which this is copy number one. The author's first book. Contains forty-three short poems on religious and emotional subjects, each dated by hand. Bound by Emily Daniel, as a distinct hand at the rear flyleaf states, in exceptional..... More
Pasadena: Susan and Karen Dawson, 1966. 21pp. Burgess' humorous poem, printed in purple and illustrated with several whimsical line drawings. The binding on this book varies; this copy in glazed-leather boards, hand-bound by Bela Blau. With a cow illustration gilt-stamped in the top left corner of the cover. A fine..... More
Garden City: Doubleday, 1966. First edition. A novel that combines various signature Dick devices: a world in decay ruled by an immortal authoritarian figure, a protagonist who possesses the ability to travel to alternate worlds, and the trauma of drug addiction. A fine copy in cloth, lightly worn at the..... More
Garden City: Doubleday, 1969. First edition. A novel published toward the end of Dick’s extraordinary period of productivity, Ubik presents a world of parallel time periods composed of a reality so tenuous and subjective that it remains highly dubious even at the story’s close. In a striking jacket designed by..... More
(Surrey): Kerosina Books, 1987. First hardcover edition. One of 250 copies signed by Kim Stanley Robinson, who contributes an Afterword. This is the text of the first of Dick’s incomplete VALIS trilogy, which, Robinson notes, was to consist of the present title as the centerpiece, with the additions of The..... More
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
(Hammersmith): Doves Press, 1912. Octavo. (112)pp. One of 200 copies. Cobden-Sanderson's typography had a profound impact on the aesthetic of the German fine press movement that flourished prior to the outbreak of the first World War. As a result, the Doves Press Goethe titles were highly sought-after and sold well..... More
