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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(Greenbrae, CA): Allen Press, (1982 & 1983). Two octavo volumes. (67); (74)ff. One of an edition of 240 copies. Translated by E. D. A. Morshead, and with an introduction by Mark Livingston, who also did the Greek calligraphy for the titles. Printed in brown with striking flame-orange headings, and title..... More
(N.p. Flagless Editions, 1984). 16mo. (21)pp. One of 167 copies. Cover illustration based on an unfinished series of lithographs by Yoko Ono and John Lennon. The text of this unusual alphabet poem was written by John Lennon in February 1969 for inclusion in the portfolio Bag One. Designed and printed..... More
Lexington, KY: Anvil Press, 1993. Large octavo. x,107pp. This is one of fewer than 40 in bindings hand-painted by Carolyn Hammer and Paul Holbrook, from an edition of 75 copies printed by Hammer, in Victor Hammer's American Uncial typeface, the rest of which (in marbled boards) were given away as..... More
Lexington, KY: Anvil Press, 1993. Octavo. x, 107pp. One of 40 copies in bindings hand-painted by Carolyn Hammer and Paul Holbrook, from an edition of 75 copies printed by Hammer, in Victor Hammer's American Uncial typeface, the rest (in marbled boards) of which were given away as gifts. With initialed..... More
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2016. Folio. 225, (2)pp. One of 300 copies. Introduction and translation by Mark Polizzotti. In this, Flaubert's comedic final novel, two mid-nineteenth century copyists begin to conduct improbable experiments based on misinformation gathered from random readings. Reflecting the occupations of the heroes, all pages of the..... More
San Francisco: Arion Press, 1992. Quarto. 117pp. One of 400 copies, signed by the author and the artist. Illustrated with five wood engravings, four of them full page, by Michael McCurdy. The first play in the Arion Press drama series. A fine copy in blue-green cloth with a ring of..... More
San Francisco: Arion Press, 1993. Large quarto. 143pp. One of 300 copies, signed by the author and the artist. Illustrated throughout with fifteen drawings by Stan Washburn. The second in Arion's drama series. A very fine copy in pictorial boards and goatskin spine, with a mylar wrapper. Lacks accompanying CD..... More
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2001. Oblong folio. xvi, 115pp. One of 400 copies, signed by the author, Tom Stoppard, and the artist, William Matthews. Illustrated with four reproductions of watercolor views showing the manor and landscape as they change over the course of the play. Foreword by the author. A...... More
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2013. Octavo. 178, (ii)pp., + 20pp. of illustrations. One of 400 copies, signed by Lucy Gray, whose twenty photographs were printed by offset lithography in two colors and overlaid with varnish. Gray is married to film historian and critic David Thomson, who contributed the Introduction to..... More
South Freeport, ME: Ascensius Press, 2015. Small quarto. 44ff. From an edition of forty-one, this is one of twenty-six lettered copies, bound in full calf. Frost's second book of poetry is here published in a centenary edition by Scott Vile of the Ascensius Press. In homage to Joseph Blumenthal, Frost's..... More
Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1954. First edition. Publisher’s file copy with statement stamped on front free endpaper. A science fiction murder mystery in which a robot detective is teamed with a human counterpart. Although Asimov is best known for his science fiction work, he also dabbled in mystery. A...... More
NY: Gnome Press, 1951; 1952; 1953. First editions of the Foundation Trilogy. All of the books are in first issue bindings and bright, unrestored dust wrappers. The third volume is inscribed by the author: “Best wishes / Isaac Asimov.” The Foundation Trilogy is perhaps the best-known science fiction series and..... More
London: Constable, (1920). Small quarto. (76)ff. One of fifty copies printed on Japon, signed by the artist, and with an extra hand-colored illustration. Illustrated with six full-color plates and thirty-two in black & white, some of which have touches of color, as well as numerous smaller line drawings throughout. Balfour's..... More
1934, 1950. (1)ff. autograph letter, dated July 25th, 1934. A letter from J. M. Barrie to William Maldon "Bill" Woodfull, the Australian cricketer who captained both the Victoria and Australia cricket teams. Barrie comments on the fourth game of the 1934 Ashes series, in which Australia played against England, saying..... More
NY: G. P. Putnam's, 1899. First edition, first issue. A collection of 243 "updates" of many classic fables, including a section titled "Aesopus Emendatus." Inscribed in pencil by Bierce to Dr. J. W. Robertson, noted bibliographer of Edgar Allan Poe, in the year of publication. Robertson was a prominent physician..... More
San Francisco: W. E. Wood, 1903. First edition, second issue. A collection of Bierce's later poems. Inscribed in pencil by Bierce to Dr. J. W. Robertson in the month of publication. Robertson was a bibliographer of Edgar Allan Poe and a prominent physician in Livermore, California, whose daughter married Edwin..... More
(North Hills): Bird & Bull Press, 1980. Octavo. 40pp. One of 350 copies, each copy numbered "1". A clever and entertaining spoof by Henry Morris of several contemporary private presses, including his own Bird & Bull. Fine in cloth-backed decorated boards. More
Newtown: Bird & Bull Press, 1990. Quarto. 64pp. One of 230 copies. A miscellany of amusing satires on many aspects of the world of fine printing, with cartoon-like line drawings. Includes "Meet Me at the Fair" and "Scouts' Honor" by Sidney Berger, both of which are signed by the author..... More
(Northampton, MA): Gehenna Press, 1959. Octavo. (8)ff. One of 250 copies printed for the Print Club of Philadelphia, and signed by the artist. Contains nine wood engravings by Baskin. The volume, as described by Baskin himself, marks the beginning of his invention of "typographic structures of originality and sensitivity", brought..... More
(NY): Center for the Book Arts, (2007). Octavo. 18ff. One of thirty-nine copies. A collection of thirteen poems from Blake’s Songs of Innocence and Experience, beautifully printed by nine compositor-printers at the Center for the Book Arts in New York. Each printer’s work occupies a single bifolium sheet, forming nine..... More
NY: Null-Q Press, 1968. First American edition. One of 250 copies printed on a mimeograph machine on pulp paper, and stapled. This copy is inscribed and signed by Blish. This novel was first published in the U.K. in 1964, and because no American imprint would agree to publish it in..... More
NY: Ballantine Books, (1953). First edition. One of a likely 50 copies bound in red cloth, stamped in gold, intended for Bradbury’s personal use. Card inscribed by the author laid in. Fahrenheit 451—the temperature at which paper burns—has long been regarded as a high point of the science fiction genre..... More
Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1950. First edition of Bradbury’s magnum opus. The Martian Chronicles consists of a string of episodes originally published separately. All of them relate to the colonization and exploration of Mars and result in a compelling narrative. Bradbury’s mixture of science fiction and fantasy is first..... More
Munich: Bremer Presse, (1923-1924). Folio. (482)pp. One of 615 copies. Printed entirely in Greek, save the appended commentary and colophon. Colin Franklin describes the book as a "magnificent example of controlled printing." Bound in full calf with gilt rules to covers and spine. Fine. Top edge red. (Franklin p.163). More
Niles, IL: Dark Harvest, 1986. Two quarto volumes. First edition. One of 52 copies signed by the author and the illustrator, Paul Sonju. A collection of short stories including the 1984 Hugo Award-winning "The Crystal Spheres." Each story features an illustration by Sonju. A very fine copy in bronze paper..... More
