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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London: Sheed & Ward, (1931). Octavo. iv, 121 pp. First edition. One of 500 copies signed by Eric Gill and Rene Hague and printed by Hague & Gill. This is a presentation copy, inscribed on the colophon. Illustrated with twenty-five figures, including ten type specimens and four illustrations from wood... More about An Essay on Typography
(Waltham Saint Lawrence): Golden Cockerel Press, 1928. Quarto. 101pp. One of 500 copies. Illustrated with wood engravings and all but two initial capitals by Robert Gibbings. The remaining two capitals—“Lamia” on the title page and “IT” on page 18—were engraved by Eric Gill. A fine copy of what the Press..... More about Lamia, Isabella, The Eve of Saint Agnes & Other Poems
(London): Golden Cockerel Press, 1948. Tall octavo. 28pp. From an edition of 750, this is one of 100 copies specially bound and with an extra engraving. The twelve engravings by John Buckland Wright, with their supple lines and rich settings, perfectly complement Swinburne’s long erotic poem. In full sienna morocco... More about Laus Veneris
San Francisco: Grabhorn Press, 1953. Small quarto. (vi), 191pp. One of 180 copies printed in French Lettre Bâtarde on handmade paper. Illustrated with six striking color woodcuts by Mary Grabhorn. The most beautiful of the Grabhorn Press Shakespeare series. Slight separation at title page gutter, faint foxing to one page... More about The Tragedy of Richard the Third: with the Landing of Earle Richmond, and the Battell at Bosworth...
(San Francisco: Richard A. Gleeson Library, 1970). Large quarto. French-folded single sheet. Sketch of the poet Robert Graves to the front cover. On the interior, the printed text faces a facsimile of the original, handwritten poem. Printed by Lawton and Alfred Kennedy and presented to the joint meeting of hte... More about Queen-Mother to New Queen
Newtown: Gregynog Press, 1934. Octavo. 77pp. One of 300 copies. Printed on Kelmscott handmade paper with initial letters designed by Graily Hewitt, printed in red and green. Minor rubbing to corners, else fine in full gilt-stamped brown morocco, gilt title and imprint on spine. T.e.g. Prospectus laid in. (Harrop 21). More about Anne Boleyn, and Other Poems
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1884. Octavo. First edition of the author's third book. Publisher's copy, with bookplate stating, "Publisher's first-edition copy. Not to be taken away. Benjamin Ticknor" on front paste-down. Two letters from Harris to the publisher tipped in. The first, dated October 8, 1883, conveys Harris's... More about Mingo and Other Sketches in Black and White
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883. Small quarto. First edition. Widely illustrated with scenes from the familiar tales, including images of Brother Fox, Brother Bear, and Brother Rabbit. Bound in full pictorial yellow cloth stamped in black and gilt. Faint soiling at edges, general wear to extremities, else very good. More about Nights with Uncle Remus. Myths and Legends of the Old Plantation
Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press, 1892. Small quarto. First edition. Twelve illustrations, including frontispiece. Replete with the well-known moralizing short stories and jolly songs. Bound in green cloth decorated in black and gilt to spine and uppercover. Some edgewear and minor bumps to corners, else near fine. More about Uncle Remus and His Friends. Old Plantation Stories, Songs, and Ballads with Sketches of Negro...
NY: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. Octavo. 231pp. First edition, first issue, of Harris' first book, the first Uncle Remus book. With frontispiece and seven plates, vignette title page, and numerous illustrations in text. Original green cloth, spine gilt-lettered, front cover pictorially stamped in black and gilt. Eight pages of... More about Uncle Remus. His Songs and Sayings. The Folk-Lore of the Old Plantation
On a sheet of blue paper measuring 9 1/8 by 7 3/4 inches, matted and framed. This brief letter, written from the American Consulate in Liverpool, is dated 2 January, 1856, and is addressed to the Collector of Customs in New York. The content concerns a Certificate of Registry for... More about Autograph letter, Signed
London: Rainbow Press, 1975. First edition. One of 150 copies signed by the author. With full page two-color illustrations by Barrie Cooke. Handsomely printed early limited edition prints eight poems thematically related to Heaney's poetic pursuit of the archaeology of Ireland's violent past. These poems were published a month ahead... More about Bog Poems
1963-2013. Contains 135 discrete volumes of the Irish Nobel Laureate's primary works of poetry and essays. These titles are represented in their first editions and subsequent issues (English and/or American), as well as some proofs and other variants. In addition to the signed, limited editions, quite a number of the... More about Collection of primary works, broadsides, secondary works, and periodical contributions
NY: Oxford University Press, 1966. Octavo. First American edition. One of 1,000 copies comprised of sheets from the first edition with a new title page. This is Heaney's first commercially produced verse collection, preceded by Eleven Poems, a pamphlet published by Queen's University in Belfast. The future Nobel Laureate's richly... More about Death of a Naturalist
London and Boston: Faber & Faber, 1980. Octavo. 136pp. First edition, in first issue dust wrapper. Contains selections from Death of a Naturalist, Door into the Dark, Wintering Out, and North. Very light wear to top and bottom of spine, else fine in blue cloth-covered boards, gilt-titled to spine. Dust... More about Selected Poems 1965-1975
Dublin: Hieroglyph Editions Ltd, 1991. First edition. From an edition of 100 copies, this is one of 60 that were offered for sale. Illustrated with four lithographs by Felim Egan, who designed the book. Signed by Heaney and Egan. This is the first separate appearance of twelve poems from the... More about Squarings
Dublin: Andrew Carpenter, 1979. First edition. From an edition of 125, this is one of 30 copies issued in black morocco and offered for sale. Illustrated with two lithographs by Louis Le Brocquy. Signed by Heaney, Le Brocquy, Liam Miller the designer, and the publisher, Andrew Carpenter. The book was... More about Ugolino
Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1884. Small quarto. First edition, first issue, of the author's first book. Stories taken from Indian, Buddhist, Muslim, and Jewish traditions, as well as from the Finnish Kalewala. Tidily bound in yellow cloth stamped in black. Soiling to exterior, else near fine. More about Stray Leaves from Strange Literature
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 about The Unpleasant Profession of Jonathan Hoag
NY: House of Books, 1933. First edition, limited to 300 copies. This rather grim tale appeared again later the same year, slightly revised and censored, in Hemingway's collection "Winner Take Nothing." Light fading to spine of red cloth boards, else near fine. (Grissom A.11.1.A). More about God Rest You, Merry Gentlemen
NY: Scribner's, 1935. First edition. Decorations by Edward Shenton. The green cloth covers are faded, as usual, else a fine copy in a price-clipped dust jacket which shows light wrinkling along extremities. Housed in a cloth slipcase. (Grissom A.13.1.a). More about Green Hills of Africa
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Boston: Bromer Booksellers, 2011. Octavo. 408pp. First trade edition. Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley is the culmination of over twenty years of research, fact-finding, and detective work undertaken by David J. Bromer. With over 2,000 entries, Aun Aprendo is the most current and... More about Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley [TRADE
![DELUXE]. Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley....](/pictures/thumb/23630.jpg?v=1434431961)
Boston: Bromer Booksellers, 2011. Octavo. 408pp. One of 50 deluxe copies signed by the bibliographer, of which 40 are available for sale. The deluxe edition includes a previously unpublished poem by Huxley dedicated to his first wife Maria. Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley... More about DELUXE]. Aun Aprendo: A Comprehensive Bibliography of the Writings of Aldous Leonard Huxley
(1931-1935). Quarto. (10)ff. The titles are: "Good Conversation" (August, 1931); "Drugs" (December, 1931); "The Angry Ape" (1931); "On Being the Right Size" (February, 1932); "Forewarned is not Fore-armed" (April 1932); "Love: a Fashion Forecast" (June, 1932); "The Cunning of the Oriental" (1932); "Bull Fights and Democracy" (October, 1932); "The Cult... More about Proofs of Ten Essays for Nash's Pall Mall Magazine
San Fernando, CA: Junipero Serra Press, 1990. 14pp. One of 200 copies. Field's poem about a little boy called Willie (ca. 1888) introduced by Francis J. Weber. A postage stamp with a child's drawing is tipped in. Very fine in brown leather with gilt titling. A.e.g. (2 7/8 by 1 15/16; 73x49mm). More about Immortal Little Willie
