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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Omaha: Abattoir Editions, 1977. Large octavo. 100pp. One of 253 copies. Illustrated with thirteen wood-engravings by Moser. Moser's eerie engravings capture the anxiety and spiritual tension of Abraham and Sarah as they attempt to interpret God's wishes. A very fine copy in buckram with plain dust wrapper. More
Portland, Maine: Mosher, Thomas B., 1904. Octavo. 41pp. From an edition of fifty numbered copies, this is one of forty offered for sale. Printed on Japan vellum in red and black from the plates of The Bibelot, Vol. 10, June 1904. Illustrated with a frontispiece portrait of the author, with..... More
San Francisco: Tomoye Press, 1907. Quarto. 33ff., + 12 plates. One of 1000 copies designed by John Henry Nash, and printed in red and black on handmade paper. The pages of the poem are printed in the style of William Morris, with decorative borders by Will Jenkins. These pages are..... More
Verona: Officina Bodoni, 1974. Octavo. 49pp. One of 300 copies. Printed in two colors on handmade Magnani paper. Contains twenty-three songs, plus "The Phoenix and the Turtle," which was published separately. Attractively bound in morocco-backed green patterned cloth. T.e.g. Fine, in gray silk slipcase. Prospectus and offset of prospectus laid..... More
Montagnola: Officina Bodoni, 1924. Quarto. 151pp. One of 224 copies. Shakespeare's late, iconic comedy, printed in Catania, an original Bodoni type, on Fabriano handmade paper. Book designed by G. Mardersteig. Bound in green-dyed vellum over boards, with the Press's device stamped in gilt on the front cover. Upper board slightly..... More
Mt. Horeb, WI: Perishable Press, (1970). Octavo. (11) ff. One of 183 copies. With an inscription by James Laughlin. A short collection of poems by the poet and legendary founder of New Directions, which published some of the most important writers of the twentieth century, including Ezra Pound, William Carlos..... More
Boston: Small, Maynard, (1910). Octavo. First edition, second binding. Head of spine bumped and paper starting to split along upper hinge, else a near fine copy of Pound's first book printed in America. In dust wrapper with a few small chips to extremities. (Gallup A6). More
Nappanee: Press of the Indiana Kid, 1976. (10)pp. One of forty-five copies. A miniature recollection of the printer's brief correspondence with George Bernard Shaw. Bound in leather-backed marbled boards lightly rubbed, else near fine. (2 3/4 by 1 7/8; 70x48mm). More
Middletown, CT: Price, Robin, 1998. Quarto. (36)pp. One of 150 copies. Signed by the illustrator, Keiji Shinohara, below the colophon. Decorated throughout with woodcuts in soft grays, greens, browns, and reds. The woodcuts interplay with the text itself, recreating in a visual way the experience of sitting in person for..... More
Oxford: University Press, 1909. Quarto. (230)pp. One of 225 copies, printed in red & black in the Greek types designed by Robert Proctor. According to the colophon, Proctor’s type is based on a font cut in 1514 at the behest of Cardinal Ximenes for use in the New Testament of..... More
Hamburg: Raamin-Presse, 1976. Quarto. (40)pp. From an edition of 170, this is one of twenty copies with an additional two plates signed and numbered by the printer and illustrator, Roswitha Quadflieg. Translated into German from the original French by Elmar Tophoven, the short story "L'Expulsé" ("The Expelled") first appeared in..... More
Frankfurt: Raamin-Presse, 1978. Quarto. (28)pp. One of 100 copies. Signed by the artist at the colophon. Five full-page color initials by Quadflieg. The page opposite each initial features decorative rules and at two smaller decorated initials. The volume feature's Holderlin's poem in its 1803 and later versions. Bound in blue..... More
(Hamburg): Raamin-Presse, 1977. Quarto. 24pp. From an edition of 120 numbered copies signed by the artist/printer, Roswitha Quadflieg, this is one of forty copies printed in English, and from those forty, this is also one of ten with an extra signed etching. The text is from Adventures in the Skin..... More
Charleston: Poetry Society of South Carolina, 1923. Octavo. First edition. First appearance of this poem, which was awarded the Poetry Society of South Carolina's Southern Prize for 1923. This publication also prints the poems which received honorable mention: "A Fragment" by William Alexander Percy, and "Avalon" by Donald Davidson. This..... More
(London: Harper Collins, 1992). Three volumes, all first editions. The trilogy treats the planet as a habitable environment for humans and explores its colonization. Offers vivid, breathtaking descriptions of the Martian landscape, impressive character development, and what Barron claims "may well be the finest hard-science fiction novel of the last..... More
Evanston: Schori Press, 1965. viii, 47pp., frenchfold. From an edition of 600 copies, this is one of 500 on Bible paper. Illustrated by Andre Chappaz and Ron Solms. Text, including an Introduction, printed in brown and drawings in ochre. Fine in dark blue morocco, painted and gilt-tooled to show a...... More
NY: Ballantine Books, (1953). First Edition, first hardbound trade issue. Laid in to this copy is Joseph Mugnaini’s original preliminary cover art for the novel, which Bradbury personally owned. The watercolor and sketch work features the same elongated human figure dressed in newspapers and surrounded by flames. Mugnaini collaborated with..... 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
London: Lockwood & Co., 1864. Octavo. (4), 204pp. First edition. Inscription on recto of frontispiece identifies author: “Geo. Evans presented to him by the Author H. Cowen the 20 Sept. 1866.” In standard references and OCLC previous to this copy’s discovery, the book was recorded as anonymous or according to..... More
NY: Doubleday, 1976. First edition. A collaborative first bewteen Dick and Zelazny, who in their own rights weigh as heavyweights in the world of science fiction. Their novel charts the aftermath of World War Three and the rise of a new religion gathered around an enigmatic "Deus Irae", and the..... More
Hicksville, NY: Gnome Press, 1959. First edition. Inscription of publisher, Martin Greenberg, on front paste-down identifies this as the publisher’s file copy. Gnome Press, though short-lived, was responsible for the publication of many significant works in the Golden Age of science fiction. Their output included Arthur C. Clarke’s The Sands..... More
NY: David McKay, (1974). First edition. Author’s second novel, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1975 and was the basis for the film Gettysburg. Because of the poor production quality, this is a book which is not often encountered in fine condition. Aside from light foxing to top edge..... More
(Mount Vernon, NY: Artists & Writers Protest Inc., 1967). Folio. (28)pp. One of 100 deluxe copies. A collection of eighteen poems by writers who contributed their work as a form of opposition to the Vietnam War. The collection was edited by the artist Jack Sonenberg and contains works by Denise..... More
(Flemington, NJ: St. Teresa's Press, 1966). Small quarto. 14pp. One of 150 copies. With a lovely hand-painted title page and decorative initials modeled after the Book of Kells. Letterpress printed in Solemnis and Palatino Italic on handmade English paper. A short-lived and very fine small press, St. Teresa's flourished in..... More
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., (1932). First edition, in second issue dust wrapper from 1933. Told by the same “last man” who related the history of humanity’s future in Last and First Men, this work describes the last man’s exploration of the consciousness of present-day Englishman Paul. The advanced being..... More
