Gifts

Maugham, W. Somerset

The Razor’s Edge.

Garden City, NY : Doubleday Doran & Company, 1944.

First American edition, which precedes the British edition of Maugham’s 20th-century manifesto for human fulfillment. Octavo, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, raised bands, gilt ruled to the front and rear panels, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition.

Carson, Rachel

Silent Spring.

New York : Mariner Books, 2002.

Early printing of the 40th anniversary edition author’s classic work. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Signed by Edward O. Wilson on the title page. Drawings by Lois and Louis Darling. Afterword by Edward O. Wilson. Introduction by Linda Lear. In fine condition.

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Uncle Tom’s Cabin; or, Life Among the Lowly.

London : H. G. Bohn, 1852.

Early English printing of Stowe’s enormously influential work, published the same year as the first. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, illustrated by Leech, Gilbert, etc. In very good condition. Housed in a custom folding chemise and half morocco slipcase.

Schumpeter, Joseph A

Capitalism, Socialism and Democracy.

London : George Allen & Unwin Ltd, 1942.

First edition of Schumpeter’s ground-breaking work. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the original dust jacket with some chips to the extremities. Rare in the original dust jacket.

[Warhol, Andy]

The Thistle: Andy Warhol 1949 Carnegie Institute of Technology Yearbook.

: Carnegie Institute of Technology, 1949.

1949 Carnegie Institute of Technology Yearbook featuring a rare photograph of Andy Warhol as a college senior. Folio, original boards, illustrated. Warhol is pictured as a member of Modern Dance club. The yearbook also includes a photograph of Philip Pearlstein, a fellow graduating senior. In near fine condition. Very rare, containing one of only aContinue reading "The Thistle: Andy Warhol 1949 Carnegie Institute of Technology Yearbook."

Dickens, Charles

Bleak House.

London : Bradbury Evans, 1853.

First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in three quarters calf over marbled boards, gilt titles and tooling to the spine, raised bands, top edge gilt, marble endpapers. In near fine condition. Illustrated with engraved title page and 39 engraved plates by H.K. Browne.

Scott, Paul

The Corrida at San Feliu.

London : Secker & Warburg, 1964.

First edition of Paul Scott’s rich, multi-layered novel. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Peter Rudland.

Bagehot, Walter

Lombard Street: A Description of the Money Market.

New York : Scribner, Armstrong and Co, 1873.

First edition of this “undying classic” (J.M. Keynes). Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition. First editions are scarce, especially in this condition.

Mandela, Nelson

Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela.

South Africa : MacDonald Purnell, 1994.

First South African edition, early printing of this classic autobiography, which has went on to sell over six million copies worldwide. Octavo, original black cloth, cartographic endpapers, illustrated with photographs. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Austin Christmas Compliments and best wishes NMandela 10.6.95.” Fine in a near fine dustContinue reading "Long Walk To Freedom: The Autobiography of Nelson Mandela."

Covey, Stephen R

The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 1989.

First edition of this best-selling work, which has went on to sell more than 25 million copies. Octavo, original half cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket with light shelfwear. Jacket design by Barry Littmann.

Morrison, Toni

Beloved.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1987.

First edition of the author’s fourth novel and considered by many her finest. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To Debra Toni Morrison.” Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by R.D. Scudellari.

Washington, Booker T

Up From Slavery. An Autobiography.

New York : A.L. Burt Company Publishers, 1901.

First edition of the A.L. Burt Publishers edition of Booker T. Washington’s landmark biography. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Exceptionally rare in the original dust jacket.

Waugh, Evelyn

A Handful Of Dust.

London : Chapman and Hall, 1934.

First edition of the author’s classic work. Octavo, original cloth. In near fine condition, contemporary name to the front free endpaper. A very sharp example.

Norman, Howard

Northern Tales: Traditional Stories of Eskimo and Indian Peoples.

New York : Pantheon Books, 1990.

First edition of this spellbinding collection of tales of the far North. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Angela Skouras.

Sondheim, Stephen; James Lapine; Illustrated by Hudson Talbott

Into The Woods.

New York : Crown Publishers, 1989.

First edition of this classic work, basis for the Broadway musical and later film. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “For Josh Kaiser, with very best wishes for you and your future-  Hudson Talbott 2/3/90.” Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.

Monkshood, G. F. and George Gamble

Rudyard Kipling: The Man and His Work. An Attempt at Appreciation.

London : Greening & Co., Ltd., 1902.

Third and enlarged edition of Monkshood’s homage to the legendary man of letters. Octavo, original cloth, tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait. In very good condition.

Kipling, Rudyard

Wee Willie Winkie and Other Stories. [Baa, Baa, Black Sheep; His Majesty the King; The Drums of Fore and Aft]

Allahabad : Published by Messrs. A. H. Wheeler & Co, n.d.

Later printing of this classic collection of Kipling’s tales for children. Octavo, original cloth. Contains Wee Willie Winkie, Baa Baa Black Sheep, His Majesty the King, and The Drums of Fore and Aft. In very good condition.

Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent

Vienna 1911.

Rare Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent bestowing upon Brunn industrialist Adolf Noble von Kurschner and his descendants a Hungarian noble title. Folio, bound in full morocco with elaborate gilt metal onlays embellished with precious stones, inner dentelles, silk-watered endleaves, tasseled ribbon bound in. The patent is richly decorated with hand-painted illuminated borders, large hand-painted coat of arms.Continue reading "Austro-Hungarian Nobility Patent"

Beard, Peter; Isak Dinesen [Karen Blixen]; Kamante

Longing For Darkness: Kamante’s Tales From Out of Africa.

New York : Harcourt Brace, 1975.

First edition, early printing of this collaboration between the famed photographer and author. Quarto, original boards with paper onlay featuring a portrait of Blixen to the front panel, illustrated with 168 drawings by Kamante and 160 photographs and captions by Isak Dinesen collected by Peter Beard. Presentation copy, warmly inscribed by Peter Beard on theContinue reading "Longing For Darkness: Kamante’s Tales From Out of Africa."

Goldblatt, David & Nadine Gordimer

Lifetimes Under Apartheid.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1986.

First edition of the photographer’s second collaboration with novelist Nadine Gordimer. Quarto, original cloth, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by both Nadine Gordimer and David Goldblatt on the title page. Very good in a very good dust jacket.

Wolfe, Tom

Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine And Other Stories, Sketches, and Essays.

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1976.

First edition of this collection of essays. Octavo, original cloth, sketches by the author. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the half-title page, “To Dan, with thanks- for a pleasant mid-day in the bowels of the NBC Building! Tom Wolfe December 9, 1976.” Near fine in a near fineContinue reading "Mauve Gloves & Madmen, Clutter & Vine And Other Stories, Sketches, and Essays."

[Seeley, Emma Louise]

Belt and Spur: Stories of the Knights of the Middle Ages from the Old Chronicles. [Fore-Edge Painting].

London : Seeley, Jackson, & Halliday, 1883.

Finely bound example of this classic on Knights and the Middle Ages. Octavo, bound in full morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, inner dentelles, illustrated with six illuminations, all edges gilt. With a disappearing fore-edge painting which reveals a jousting scene. In near fine condition.

Updike, John

Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit Is Rich; Rabbit At Rest; Licks of Love.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1960-2000.

First editions of each volume in the Rabbit quartet. Octavos, 5 volumes, original half cloth. Each volume is near fine to fine in very good to near fine dust jackets.

Wren, Percival Christopher

Beau Geste.

New York : Grosset & Dunlap Publishers, 1926.

The screenplay edition of this classic adventure novel. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, frontispiece, illustrated with scenes from the 1926 Paramount Pictures film. Very good in a good price-clipped dust jacket. Advertisements to the verso of the dust jacket.