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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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 about Of All Possible Worlds
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 about The Poetic and Dramatic Works of Alfred Lord Tennyson
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 about Original Watercolor of Henrik Ibsen and Four of his Heroines
(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 about Manuscript leaf from Cape Cod
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 about Monthly Suppers of the Male Teachers of New York at Hotel Albert
(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 about Mark Twain Shirts by Elder notepad
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 about The Carpentered Hen, and Other Tame Creatures
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 about On Meeting Authors
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 about Slan
(Gaithersburg, MD: 1991). Quarto. (14)pp., frenchfold. Calligraphic manuscript signed by Waters. Simply and elegantly lettered throughout in black Roman miniscules on the recto pages, Waters has complemented this direct reading of the poem by presenting each stanza as a double-page spread, the verso pages being in a dreamy style of... More about Fern Hill
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 about Manuscript letter and portrait
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 about Leaf signed by Kate Douglas Wiggin and Nora Archibald Smith
(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 about In the Winter of Cities
(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 about A Streetcar Named Desire
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 about Three Reliques of Ancient Western Poetry. Collected by Edmund Wilson from the Ruins of the...
West Hatfield, MA: Pennyroyal Press, 1985. Square quarto. 268pp. One of 350 copies. Inscribed by Moser on the half-title page to “Dorothy [Hurt] and Bill [Reese]”. Replete with Moser's iconic wood engravings, depicting fantastical characters and settings, from Munchkin Country to the Emerald City, and the Wicked Witch to the... More about L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
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 about When Worlds Collide. Together with: After Worlds Collide
Covelo, CA: Yolla Bolly Press, 1990. Oblong small quarto. 34ff. From an edition of 135 copies, this is one of 60 signed by the illustrator, Karin Wikström, with an additional unbound, signed print and a companion essay by Tim Hunt, also signed. Jeffers' long narrative about an Indian woman and... More about Roan Stallion
Covelo, CA: Yolla Bolly Press, (1994). Quarto. xiv, (ii), 124 pp. From an edition of 141 copies, 121 of which were for sale, this is one of 85 copies signed by Octavio Paz, Eliot Weinberger, and Enrique Chagoya. The result of a collaboration between Paz and Beckett, this survey of... More about The Bread of Days / El Pan de los días. Once poetas mexicanos/Eleven Mexican Poets. Translated...
Covelo, CA: Yolla Bolly Press, 1989. Octavo. xxviii, 92pp. One of 255 copies. Contains seven short stories and an introduction by the author, in which he discusses his stories and the process of writing. The stories are separated by sheets of colored paper covered with printing ornaments. Attractively printed, and... More about Two Rivers
