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 ...
Read more about Literature
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
London: John Macrone, 1836, 1837. Three small octavo volumes. viii, 348 pp.; (iv), 342pp.; viii, 377pp., + (19)pp. of advertisements. First edition, first issues in book form of Dickens's first work. Illustrated throughout with engravings by George Cruikshank, volumes I and II each with a frontispiece and seven subsequent illustrations... 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 Bindery. (Tidcombe DP22). 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
(Hammersmith): Doves Press, 1914. Large octavo. 203pp. One of 200 copies. Printed in red and black. This collection was first mentioned as a tentative future project along with the collection by Shelley in March 1913, with a publication date eventually set for October of the following year. However, T. J.... More
Hammersmith: Doves Press, 1914. Octavo. (168)pp. One of 200 copies printed on paper. Following the Doves Press's style, the two initials are a red five-line "C" on the half-title, and a black four-line "B" on page 7. Stage directions, names, and scene indicators printed in red, while lines from The... More
Hammersmith: Doves Press, 1914. Octavo. (168)pp. One of 200 copies printed on paper. Two initials in typical Doves Press style: a red five-line "C" on the half title, and a black four-line "B" on page 7. Stage directions, names, and scene indicators from The Tragedy of Coriolanus printed in red... More
(Hammersmith): Doves Press, 1914. Large octavo. 181pp. One of 200 copies. Printed in red and black. This collection was first mentioned as a tentative future project along with the collection by Keats in March 1913, with a publication date set for June 1914. After T. J. Cobden-Sanderson's long illness, he... More
(Hammersmith): Doves Press, 1915. Octavo. 301pp. One of 155 copies printed in red and black. Wordsworth's spiritual autobiography is one of final few titles printed at the Doves Press prior to its closure in 1917, and is therefore has one of the smallest press runs of all Doves books. Slight... More
Guy Oliver Duncan, (n.d.). Broadside measuring 21 7/16 by 13 3/4 inches. One of twenty-five numbered copies, signed by the author and printer, Guy Oliver Duncan. Contains six poems by Duncan: "Feelings of a Lost Conviction," "(I see nothing)," "The Rising Sun," "The Spires," "Vanda," and "The Call of the... 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
(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
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
(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
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
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
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
