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: 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 The publication announcement was withdrawn, but the copies were not destroyed and eventually circulated.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
(Wiltshire, England): Compton Press, (1978). Two octavo volumes. (14); (12)ff. First edition. One of fifty copies signed by both Murdoch and Stone and accompanied by a full set of numbered and initialed artist's proofs of the engravings. Twelve of Murdoch's short poems, each one titled after a month of the..... 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
(NY): Hollywood Theater, (1935). Quarto. (2)ff. A program from a screening of Max Reinhardt's 1935 film production of "A Midsummer Night's Dream," held at the Hollywood Theater in New York City. The movie was based on Reinhardt's stage production of the previous year and featured the music of Felix Mendelssohn..... 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
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
Newburyport, MA: Wickford Press, 1968. Octavo. 12pp. First separate edition of an essay that was first published in the New York Times. One of 250 copies. Red two-line initials and title device. Printed in celebration of Christmas 1968. Updike's thoughts on meeting one's literary heroes, for better or worse, and..... 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
NY: Equinox Cooperative Press, 1935. Thirty lithographs by Ward illustrate Hicks’ biography of Reed, the author of Ten Days that Shook the World and the first American ambassador to the Soviet Union. Reed witnessed firsthand the Bolshevik Revolution, and through his articles in The Masses, transmitted his impressions to an..... 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
(Andoversford, 1985). Lorson's Books & Prints. (24)pp. From an edition of 150, this is one of 35 deluxe copies signed by the artist, Gwenda Morgan, and with an extra suite of plates. Each month is described by a verse of English poetry, coupled with a full-page wood-engraving by Morgan. In..... More
N.p. c. 1920s. Octavo. (1)ff. Leaf excised from an unknown book, inscribed to Richard Vernon Johnson from his sister Marian. The leaf is also signed by the editors Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith, her sister. Kate Douglas Wiggin is best known for writing Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, but..... More
(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
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: 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
