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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(Leipzig: Ernst Ludwig Presse, 1925-1931). Seven volumes, a complete set as published. One of 250 copies. Only 200 copies of the seventh volume were printed. The dedication notes that this edition was produced as an homage to T.J. Cobden-Sanderson and the German editions of Goëthe printed at the Doves Press... More
(Stuttgart): Manus Presse, 1968. Quarto. (104)pp. One of 130 copies, signed by the artist. Illustrated with nineteen full-page lithographs from etchings by the surrealist Max Ernst. There are also three small vignettes. This is a bilingual edition of Carroll's nonsensical epic poem about a crew of ten men in pursuit... More
Petersham, Massachusetts: 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
Berkeley: University of California General Library, 1960. First edition. Single sheet folded to make (4) pp. One of 200 copies printed by Kenneth Carpenter for a joint meeting of the Roxburghe and Zamorano Clubs. Illustrated with two woodcuts by Carpenter. This poem, which was part of a previously unpublished sequence... 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
Tokyo: Kenkyusha, (1956). Small octavo. First edition. A series of interviews, conversations at seminars, and speeches, including Faulkner's Nobel Prize speech, edited by Robert A. Jelliffe, Fulbright Lecturer in Kobe College. Spine lightly toned, else fine in gray cloth boards with white cloth spine. Dust wrapper has one corner clipped... More
Rahway, NJ: Smith & Haas, (1932). First printing, first binding of rough tan cloth stamped in orange on front cover and in blue and orange on the spine. Top edge stained orange. Faulkner's seventh novel marks a change from the interior monologue and stream of consciousness narrative modes of previous... More
(Minneapolis: Faulkner Studies, 1953). First edition. One of 1,000 numbered copies. First issue. Light wear to extremities of dust wrapper, else fine. (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
NY: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, (1931). First edition, first issue, first binding. This is Faulkner's sixth novel, which marked his first commercial success. The story was bought by Paramount in 1932 and was adapted twice for film as "The Story of Temple Drake." As with other titles from this... 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
London: Printed for A. Millar, in the Strand, 1752. Four small octavo volumes. xii, 285; viii, 262; ix, 323; vii, 296 pp. First edition, second state with the corrected line on page 191 of the third volume. Fielding's last novel was printed in a rather large first printing of 5000... 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
Oxford: Bibliographical Society, 1938. Octavo. Edges darkened and worn, else near fine in blue wrappers. More
Princetown, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1962. Octavo. Fine in brown cloth, foxing to edges of textblock. Yellow dust wrapper shows some darkening to spine and edges, mild soiling; near fine. More
(Cambridge, MA: Harvard Press, 1932). 16mo. (4)ff. First separate edition. One of 100 copies. A review copy of the stapled pamphlet in which Forster expresses his admiration for Lewis's ability to bring America and its people alive in writing. Inscribed by the pamphlet's distributor, Harvey Taylor, to Leonard R. Allis... More
Mount Vernon, New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1925. Octavo. 51pp. One of 500 copies. A one-act play, set in Medieval Spain, by the English poet and dramatist T. Sturge Moore. Designed by Bruce Rogers and bound in full golden morocco by Peter Franck, who at one time executed tooled leather... More
Amherst: 1934. Single sheet measuring 6 1/8 by 8 inches. Addressed to Mr. Cutler, who was the principal of Athol High School in Massachusetts. Dated November 14, 1934, Frost appears to be responding to Cutler's request for a lecture, which he declines due to "being sent south for my health,"... 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
NY: Limited Editions Club, 1950. Two quarto volumes. xliv, 608pp., paginated continuously. Limited to 1500 copies designed by Bruce Rogers and signed by Frost, Nason, and Rogers. Very fine in full indigo denim with leather spine labels stamped in gold, and housed in marbled slipcase. Each volume in original glassine... 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: Henry Holt, (1936). First edition. Second printing. This copy is inscribed by Frost below the poem "Storm Fear," which opens this selection. Contains a poem for each month of the year, selected by the poet from previously published work. They include two of Frost's best-loved poems, "The Road Not... More
