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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Evanston: Schori Press, 1962. 23pp. One of 100 copies, signed by Ward Schori. Bound in full green leather with richly gilt-stamped front cover with decorative borders and shell motif in the four corners. An extremely fine copy of the first book of the Press. A.e.g. (1 13/16 by 2 3/16;..... 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
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
(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
London: Metuen & Co. Ltd., 1932. First edition, first issue. 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 experiences the world through Paul..... More
London: Methuen, (1935). First edition, first issue, with ads at rear dated “535” (i.e., May, 1935); later issues bear an August date. One of 3096 copies printed. A novel that explores the idea of a Nietzschean “Super-man” with great mental prowess living among ordinary human beings. John Wainwright, the titular..... More
NY: Knopf, 1931. Second edition, third binding. This edition contains fourteen new poems, while dropping three from the original edition. The complete printing of the second edition consisted of 1,500 copies, which were bound over a period of thirteen years. This copy is inscribed by Stevens on a preliminary blank..... More
London: Privately printed, 1898. Octavo. (13)ff. First edition. One of thirty copies. First published unintentionally and without permission. The publication announcement was withdrawn, but the copies were not destroyed and eventually circulated. Includes facsimiles of the original manuscripts. In cream Japan paper over boards with gilt title on toned and..... More
London: Edward Moxon, 1855. First edition, second issue, with eight pages of advertisements bound in at the front. Victorian novelist and poet George Meredith's copy, with his signature on the title page. The volume is the first collection produced by Tennyson after he was named Poet Laureate. "Maud," Tennyson's emotional..... More
Boston: Riverside Press, 1929. Seven octavo volumes. One of 500 large paper copies. Includes illustrations from photographs of Tennyson's country by Charles S. Olcott, as well as a portrait of the author. Introduction by Henry Van Dyke. ALs by Tennyson tipped-in to preliminary leaf. A lovely set bound in full..... More
1925. A humorous cartoon measuring 10 by 8 1/2 inches. Celebrated playwright Henrik Ibsen, shown in caricature with a wild beard and hair, is depicted surrounded by four of his heroines, including Hedda Gabler and Nora from A Doll's House. Not all seem very happy to see him: Hedda points..... More
(Poiano, Italy: Franco Riva, 1979). Folio. (6)ff. One of 120 copies. Illustrated with a frontispiece etching by Italian artist Ernesto Treccani, with his signature in pencil below. A translation of Dylan Thomas' poem into Italian by Anna Maria Faccini. Part of the "Lectura Dominica" series issued by Franco Riva. Leaves..... More
(c. 1849). Single sheet measuring 7 1/2 inches by 9 3/4 inches. In brown ink with pencil annotations and strikethroughs. This is a section of Thoreau's working notes from his visit to Cape Cod in 1849, and the text touches on a comparison of land transportation to the expediency of..... More
NY: Frederick A. Stokes Company, (1924). First American edition. One of only 250 copies designated for the United States from a total edition of 2,000. The handsomely produced and lavishly illustrated tale of an old man who builds a square-rigged ship with the help of fairy artisans, and sails through..... More
(Elder Mfg. Co., c. 1950). A notepad in which each sheet is printed with a different quote from Mark Twain at the top. The base of each page is printed with "Buy by name - buy... Mark Twain shirts by Elder." Twain gave permission to Miller and Bingham Company to..... More
Northridge, CA: Lord John Press, 1990. 24pp. One of 200 numbered copies signed by the author. A collection of eight Updike poems originally printed in The New Yorker, Agni, The New Republic, and elsewhere. Each poem is preceded by a small illustrative device in green. The book is bound by..... More
NY: Harper, (1958). First edition. First issue of dust wrapper, which carries the statement in the biographical blurb that Updike had "two small children." Updike's first book, a collection of lean and sly poems, among which one, titled "Ex-Basketball Player," almost seems a rough character sketch for Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom..... More
Reading, PA: Fantasy Press, 1950. First edition. One of 500 copies signed by the author. A short novel dealing with time travel is coupled with a short story entitled "The Changeling," both of which were later published separately. Top corner of front endpaper is clipped, and "signed" is written in..... More
Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1946. First edition of the author’s first book. One of the most popular science fiction novels ever, Slan was first published in Astounding Science Fiction in 1940. The plot revolves around the classic science fiction motif: the struggle between mutants and humans in a period..... More
Easthampton, MA: Warwick Press, 2000. Small octavo. (9)pp. One of 140 copies signed by the two poets, the printer, Carol Blinn, and Jack Kelleher, who organized the reading in Cummington, MA that brought Hall and Wilbur together. Designed, illustrated, and letterpress printed by Blinn at the Warwick Press to commemorate..... More
Newton, IA: Tamazunchale Press, 1985. 46pp. One of 250 copies. E. B. White's observations on domestic geese first appeared in "The New Yorker." Printed by Enschedé. Extremely fine in gray morocco, gilt. The marbled endpapers resemble goose feathers. A.e.g. (Bradbury, p. 300). (2 1/2 by 1 7/8; 64x46mm). More
