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: 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: Pynson Printers, 1936. First separate edition, and first edition of the epilogue. One of 370 copies. Signed by Elmer Adler, owner of the press, for presentation to Howard Eric. With a card signed by the author laid in. Presumably a subscriber, Eric's name nevertheless is not mentioned in Goldstone... 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
N.p: Privately printed, (1915). Octavo. (6 ff.). First edition. One of 25 copies. Privately printed and signed by Clement Shorter. Fine in original gray-green paper wrappers, housed in red chemise and slipcase, slightly worn at edges. (Beinecke 700). 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 The publication announcement was withdrawn, but the copies were not destroyed and eventually circulated.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
N.p. Prime Press, 1948. First deluxe edition. One of 100 copies, signed by the author and the illustrator L. Robert Tschirky. Sturgeon’s first book, this copy has been inscribed by Sturgeon to “Onkl J” Stanton. Limitation notice hand-written by a member of the Prime Press on front paste-down, which certifies..... More
Alpignano, Italy: Alberto Tallone, 1978. Folio. 220pp. From an edition of 525 copies, this is one of 160 printed on handmade Amatruda paper. The text, edited by Claudio Gorlier, is brightly printed in twelve-point Tallone type, while Gorlier's Afterword appears in ten-point Garamond. An exceptionally crisp edition of one of... More
NY: Ballantine Books, (1955). First edition of the author’s first book. Inscribed by Tenn to prominent science fiction fan and advocate Dirce Archer, or rather, “To all possible Dirce Archers,” and includes his real name, P[hilip] Klass in parentheses. Four powerful novelettes that expose the author’s sense of humor: “Firewater,”..... 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
(Market Drayton): Tern Press, 1989. Folio. 116pp. One of 100 copies signed by the editor and by Nicholas Parry, the illustrator. An anthology of selection in prose and verse, taken directly from Clare's manuscripts. Illustrated with linoleum cuts in color by Nicholas Parry. This subject is particularly suited to his... 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: Male Teacher's Association of New York, 1901. 24mo. booklet, signed by Mark Twain in pencil on the front cover. The booklet is a program for the monthly dinner meeting of the Male Teacher’s Association of New York that occurred on March 16th, 1901, most notable for the fact that... 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
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
1890. One-page letter, handwritten and signed in full by Walt Whitman. Dated April 25, 1890 from Camden, New Jersey, Whitman writes to his publisher David McKay with details on the publication of his upcoming Complete Poems and Prose. The letter reads: "Yes will sell the London proposer 100 sets of... More
London: Asprey & Co., 1979. Small octavo. (160)pp. One of 350 copies. Woodcut frontispiece, title-page vignette, and tail-piece by John Lawrence. Decorative initials in blue, red, and green. Printed for Asprey & Co. by the Whittington Press. A simple and supple edition, bound in full gray Nigerian morocco by Sangorski... 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 anthology Five Young... 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: 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
Covelo, CA: Yolla Bolly Press, (1995). Octavo. 99ff. One of 275 copies. Signed by Fowles. Offprint from the Yolla Bolly Press deluxe edition containing the first separate publication of Fowles's essay, and one of the woodcuts by Aaron Johnson. A very fine copy in black wrappers and heavy paper dust... More
