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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(Norfolk, CT: New Directions Books, 1956). First edition. One of 100 copies, signed by Tennessee Williams. Printed by Peter Beilinson at the Peter Pauper Press. Overlooked in light of Williams’s titanic reputation as a playwright is the fact that his first appearance in print was in the 1944 anthology Five..... More
(NY): New Directions, (1947). First edition. This is Williams's most famous play, which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama the year it was published. Legend has it that the audience applauded for half an hour after the debut performance ended. Williams also wrote the screenplay for the 1951 film, which..... More
E. Wilson: (N.p, c. 1951). First edition. Inscribed by Wilson, "Happy New Year to Giorgio and Dorothy from E.W." A thirteen-page pamphlet issued as a New Year's greeting by the Wilsons. Curwen patterned wrappers lightly browned at top and spine, barely discernible stain on lower front wrapper, and small bump..... More
NY: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, (1930). First edition, second printing. This is Ward's second woodcut novel, with the story told exclusively via woodcut illustrations. Through this dramatic and expressive non-verbal style, Ward communicated situations and emotions using nothing more than the woodcut's stark contrast of black and white. A...... More
Cleveland and NY: World Publishing Company, 1967. Octavo. (viii), (194)pp. Inscribed on the half-title by Lynd Ward to Dan Burne Jones, who worked, albeit without public fruition, on a bibliography of Ward's works. Without text, this "story" tells with pictures the tale of a young man trapped in a drab..... More
NY: Frederick A. Stokes Company, 1933; 1934. First Edition. Laid in is a typed letter, signed, from Wylie to a Mr. Langdon, dated April 13, 1943, which reads: “My dear Mr. Langdon…….Jesus Christ! What a letter! My reply is belated. The paraphrase may refresh your memory. But I am sorry..... More
