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): Limited Editions Club, (1988). Elephant folio. (70)pp. One of 550 copies, with an authorized facsimile of the artist's signature. Illustrated with seventeen lithographs by Willem de Kooning. After Frank O'Hara's untimely death in 1966, a volume of his poetry was published with illustrations from over thirty artists. O'Hara's poem..... More
NY: Henry Holt, 1914. Octavo. (144) pp. First edition, second issue, binding "B" of Frost's second regularly published book. One of 150 copies bound from sets of sheets from David Nutt, Frost's English publisher with Holt title page on a cancel stub. This was published on 20 February, 1915, and..... 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 very fine condition. Aside from light foxing to top..... More
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1932. First edition, first issue. A work of considerable depth, Stapledon’s novel describes the history of humanity from the present onwards across two billion years. Through a conceit that a member of a future human species has channeled the text through him, the narrator relates..... More
Edinburgh & London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1925; 1926. Two octavo volumes. First edition of the Scottish poet Hugh M'Diarmid's first collection of poetry, in the second binding, together with a first edition of his second book. Hugh M'Diarmid, or MacDiarmid, as it is more commonly written, was the pen..... More
NY: Harper & Brothers, 1849. Two octavo volumes. 365; 387pp., + 8pp. ads. First American edition. Mardi was Melville's third book, and his third on the theme of South Pacific exploration. In the novel, an American sailor deserts his whaling ship in order to pursue his own adventures. At the..... More
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1959. First edition. Winner of the 1960 Hugo Award. Miller’s quirky, significant novel was among the first in the modern science fiction canon to develop futuristic themes around religion: here, a monastic order in whose charge were a number of books saved from “the first Atomic Deluge”..... More
London: Methuen, (1927). First edition. This famous collection of children’s verses, featuring Milne’s son, Christopher Robin, and his bear, is illustrated throughout with Ernest H. Shepard’s whimsical drawings. Signed at a later date on the title page by Shepard. Handsomely bound by Bayntun-Rivière in deep red morocco, with gilt ruled..... More
Northridge, CA: Lord John Press, 1981. 29 pp. From an edition of 400, this is one of 100 copies specially bound by Bela Blau. Signed by President Gerald R. Ford. The text of a September 1980 address given to the Visa International Convention in Quebec encouraging world peace for economic..... More
Concord, MA: 1961. (16)pp. One of 200 paperback copies. Signed by the illustrator, Morton H. "Terry" Baker. Fields' most famous poem, illustrated with engaging line drawings, is followed by a brief biographical sketch of the poet. Minor wear, else fine. (3 1/8 by 2 1/8; 80x54mm). More
(Minneapolis): Minnesota Center for Book Arts, 2005. Tall quarto. (48)pp. From an edition of 226, this is one of twenty-six lettered copies, specially bound and with tipped-in editioned prints by five Minnesota artists. An anthology of original poetry from twelve Minnesota writers, including Robert Bly, Adrian Louis, Susan Steger Welsh..... More
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
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
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: Robin Price, 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
NY: Henry Holt, 1916. First edition. First issue with dated advertisement at rear. Sandburg's first regularly published book, preceded by two privately-printed pamphlets. Spine gilt a trifle dull, else about fine in dust wrapper which shows some chipping at spine ends, and a horizontal crease at upper front panel. 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
