Skip to content

Literature

Rare & Classic, American or English Literature Books for Sale Online

Browse rare first edition classics in American, English, world literature, poetry, and plays. View our entire collection of rare literature below, search our inventory with advanced search, or use our sorting tools to find exactly what you’re looking for. Please call with any questions you may have on a specific item or order online today.

Showing items 624-672 of 4665

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

Life on the Mississippi.

London : Chatto & Windus, 1883.

First edition, first issue of Twain’s provocative portrait of the great Mississippi River which preceded the first American edition. First issue with the publisher’s advertisements at rear dated March 1883. Octavo, original publisher’s red pictorial boards stamped in black and gilt, patterned endpapers, frontispiece, plates and over 300 illustrations. In near fine condition with toningContinue reading "Life on the Mississippi."

Read more
$750.00
Item Number: RRB-150454
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Herbert, Frank

The Heaven Makers.

New York : Ballantine Books, 1977.

First Ballantine Books edition of this standalone science fiction novel from the author of Dune. Small octavo, original pictorial wrappers. Boldly signed by Frank Herbert on the title page beneath his name. In very good condition with some wear to the spine. Cover art by Darrell Sweet. Uncommon signed.

Read more
$975.00
Item Number: RRB-150244
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Durrell, Gerald [John Drinkall]

The Overloaded Ark.

London : Faber and Faber & The Book Society, 1953.

First edition of the Book Society edition of Durrell’s first book. Octavo, original green cloth, top stain blue. Boldly signed by Gerald Durrell on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Illustrated by Sabine Baur. Signed bookplate of John Drinkall, who was a distinguished British diplomat whose career in theContinue reading "The Overloaded Ark."

Read more
$850.00
Item Number: RRB-150367
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

[Fitzgerald, F. Scott]

The Great Gatsby Clamshell Box.

.

Custom full morocco clamshell box hand made by The Harcourt Bindery to house a first edition of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Pictorial clamshell box with gilt titles and an onlay of the woman from the original dust jacket to the front panel. In fine condition. An exquisite presentation.

Read more
$2,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150365
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Baldwin, James; Schapiro, Steve

The Fire Next Time.

Koln : Taschen, 2019.

First illustrated edition of one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century. Quarto, original boards, photographs by Steve Schapiro. In fine condition. Introduction by John Lewis. Boldly signed by Steve Schapiro on the title page.

Read more
$500.00
Item Number: RRB-150898
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Nabokov, Vladimir

Laughter in the Dark.

Indianapolis/ New York : The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1938.

First edition of this classic early Nabokov novel. Octavo, original green cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.

Read more
$2,250.00
Item Number: RRB-151015
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

A Tramp Abroad.

Hartford, Conn : American Publishing Company, 1880.

First edition of Twain’s classic fictionalized account of his walking tour of central and southern Europe, inscribed by him to his secretary. Octavo, original publisher’s pictorial gilt-stamped brown cloth, with 328 illustrations by Walter Francis Brown, True Williams, W.W. Denslow, and with four ‘pictures made by the author of this book, without outside help’, engravedContinue reading "A Tramp Abroad."

Read more
$45,000.00
Item Number: RRB-151014
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

The Prince and the Pauper. A Tale For Young People of All Ages.

James R. Osgood and Company : Boston, 1882.

First edition, first issue of of the author’s first historical novel with the Franklin imprint on the copyright page. BAL 3402. Johnson pp. 39-41. Octavo, bound in three quarter burgundy morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, marbled endpapers, with one hundred and ninety-two illustrations.Continue reading "The Prince and the Pauper. A Tale For Young People of All Ages."

Read more
$1,100.00
Item Number: RRB-150845
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Burns, Ken; Geoffrey C. Ward & Dayton Duncan

Mark Twain: An Illustrated Biography.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2001.

First edition of this companion volume to the documentary by Ken Burns. Quarto, original original cloth, illustrated. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson.

Read more
$50.00
Item Number: RRB-150841
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Custer, Elizabeth B

Tenting on the Plains or General Custer in Kansas and Texas.

New York : Charles L. Webster & Company, 1887.

First edition of Elizabeth Custer’s famous defense of Custer. Octavo, original publisher’s decorated green cloth, patterned endpapers, engraved tissue-guarded frontispiece portrait and 28 illustrations, including 22 full-page and two maps. The publishing firm Charles L. Webster & Co. was founded in 1884 by Mark Twain, together with his business partner (and niece’s husband) Charles Webster,Continue reading "Tenting on the Plains or General Custer in Kansas and Texas."

Read more
$1,100.00
Item Number: RRB-150708
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Groom, Winston [Tom Hanks]

Forrest Gump.

New York : Doubleday & Company, Inc, 1986.

First edition of this modern classic, basis for one of the most iconic films of the twentieth century, starring Tom Hanks. Octavo, original half cloth. Association copy, lengthily inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the front free endpaper, “To Eugene Walter, Whose columns I enjoy reading weekly. Whose friendship I value,Continue reading "Forrest Gump."

Read more
$5,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150204
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Dickens, Charles

Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy’s Progress.

London : Richard Bentley, 1838.

First edition of one of Dickens’ most recognizable works, with “By Boz” to each title page and the corrected “Church” plate. Octavo, three volumes bound in full levant red morocco by Bayntun Riviere with gilt titles and elaborate gilt tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling and central giltContinue reading "Oliver Twist; or, the Parish Boy’s Progress."

Read more
$6,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150707
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Nabokov, Vladimir

Lolita.

Paris : The Olympia Press, 1955.

First edition of Nabokov’s masterpiece, published in Paris by the Olympia Press in 1955. First issue with the price of 900 francs on the rear panel of each volume. Octavo, 2 volumes, original green wrappers. In very good condition. Provenance: David Gerstein (ownership signature to each front free endpaper). Housed in a custom half moroccoContinue reading "Lolita."

Read more
$6,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150702
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Heller, Joseph

God Knows.

Franklin Center, PA : The Franklin Library, 1984.

The Franklin Library signed limited edition of this humorous retelling of King David’s life story from his own perspective, privately printed exclusively for the members of The Signed First Edition Society. Octavo, bound in full leather with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in four compartments within raised bands, gilt ruling and tooling toContinue reading "God Knows."

Read more
$125.00
Item Number: RRB-151605
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Twain, Mark. [Samuel L. Clemens]

A Dog’s Tale.

New York : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1904.

First edition of Twain’s “powerful indictment of cruelty to animals.” Octavo, original pictorial cloth, illustrated with four color plates by W.T. Smedley including tissue-guarded frontispiece. BAL 3483. Near fine in near fine dust jacket. Exceptionally rare in the original jacket.

Read more
$3,200.00
Item Number: RRB-150701
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Connell Jr., Evan S

Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge.

New York : The Viking Press, 1959 & 1969.

First editions of the author’s classic work and its sequel. Octavo, 2 volumes, original cloth. Lengthily signed by the author, who has added the last line of this work, “Hello? Hello out there? But no one answered….Evan Connell.” Mr. Bridge is signed by the author who has added the last line of this novel, “Joy?Continue reading "Mrs. Bridge and Mr. Bridge."

Read more
$4,200.00
Item Number: RRB-151012
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]

A Tramp Abroad.

Hartford : American Publishing Company, 1880.

First edition of Twain’s humorous and semi-autobiographical work of travel literature with the frontispiece captioned “Titian’s Moses” opposite the portrait of Twain. BAL 3386. Octavo, bound in full morocco by Stikeman and Co. with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt turn-ins and inner dentelles, all edgesContinue reading "A Tramp Abroad."

Read more
$975.00
Item Number: RRB-150844
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Warhol, Andy

Andy Warhol Prints.

New York : Ronald Feldman Fine Arts, Inc, 1985.

First edition of this definitive catalogue of Warhol’s prints, spanning his entire career. Quarto, original cloth, with over 390 illustrations of Warhol’s prints, including 344 in color. Boldly signed twice by Andy Warhol on both the front panel of the dust jacket and front free endpaper. Edited by Frayda Feldman and Jorg Schellmann. Essays byContinue reading "Andy Warhol Prints."

Read more
$2,000.00
Item Number: RRB-150354
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Oliver, Mary

Blue Iris: Poems and Essays.

Boston : Beacon Press, 2004.

First edition of this work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning poet. Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Sara Eisenman.

Read more
$100.00
Item Number: RRB-151002
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Burroughs, Edgar Rice

Tarzan the Terrible.

Chicago : A. C. McClurg & Co., 1921.

First edition of the eighth book in the ‘Tarzan’ series. Octavo, original red cloth, frontispiece and nine illustrations by J. Allen St. John. In good condition, with speckled loss to the cloth and wear, signature to the front free endpaper.

Read more
$50.00
Item Number: RRB-145114
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Wells, Catherine; H.G. Wells

The Book of Catherine Wells.

London : Chatto and Windus, 1928.

First edition of this posthumous collection of short stories, poems, and sketches written by Amy Catherine Wells (“Jane”), the wife of H.G. Wells. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth with gilt titles and tooling to the spine, and tipped-in frontispiece. From the collection of British science fiction author Christopher Priest with his ownership signature to the frontContinue reading "The Book of Catherine Wells."

Read more
$40.00
Item Number: RRB-151144
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Buchan, John

Sick Heart River.

London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1950.

Finely bound edition of John Buchan’s final novel. Octavo, bound in three-quarters morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in six compartments within raised bands, marbled endpapers. In fine condition.

Read more
$300.00
Item Number: RRB-150838
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Wells, H.G

The Invisible Man, The Secret Places of the Heart, and God the Invisible King.

London : Odhams Press Limited, c. 1930.

Odhams Press Limited edition of Wells’ classic work of scientific romance, presented here alongside his later psychological and philosophical writings. Octavo, original publisher’s red cloth, ruling and decorations stamped in blind to the front panel, top stain red. In very good condition.

Read more
$40.00
Item Number: RRB-151468
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Hardy, Thomas

Two On A Tower.

London : Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1895.

Early edition of Thomas Hardy’s twelfth published novel. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine, top edge gilt, tissue-guarded frontispiece, with a map of Wessex to the rear. In very good condition with toning to the endpapers, darkening to the spine, bumping and rubbing to the extremities.

Read more
$75.00
Item Number: RRB-148175
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Wells, H.G

The Holy Terror.

London : Michael Joseph Ltd., 1939.

First British edition of Wells’ dark political satire depicting the rise of an ordinary man into a ruthless dictator, written as a warning against the growing threats of authoritarianism in the years preceding the Second World War. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth. From the collection of British science fiction author Christopher Priest. Priest’s most famous worksContinue reading "The Holy Terror."

Read more
$50.00
Item Number: RRB-151303
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Hardy, Thomas

Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

New York and London : Harper & Brothers Publishers, 1899.

Early edition of Thomas Hardy’s twelfth published novel. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine, frontispiece, with black and white illustrations. In near fine condition.

Read more
$40.00
Item Number: RRB-148193
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Hardy, Thomas

Tess of the d’Urbervilles.

New York and London : Harper & Brothers Publishers, .

Early edition of Thomas Hardy’s twelfth published novel. Octavo, original cloth with gilt titles to the spine, frontispiece, with black and white illustrations. In very good condition, ownership signature to the front free endpaper.

Read more
$75.00
Item Number: RRB-148192
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

McMurtry, Larry

All My Friends Are Going To Be Strangers.

New York : Simon and Schuster, 1972.

First edition of this early work by the Pulitzer Prize-winning author. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Larry McMurtry on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Paul Bacon.

Read more
$350.00
Item Number: RRB-150861
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Goldman, William

The Princess Bride. S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure.

New York : Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1973.

First edition of Goldman’s classic novel, basis for the cult classic directed by Rob Reiner, starring Cary Elwes. Octavo, original gray cloth. Boldly signed William Goldman on the title page at Yale University and additionally signed by director Rob Reiner and Cary Elwes on the front free endpaper. Fine in a near fine dust jacket.Continue reading "The Princess Bride. S. Morgenstern’s Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure."

Read more
$22,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150806
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

King, Stephen [Ray Bradbury; Gerald Ford; Jim Harrison; Norman Mailer; Joyce Carol Oates; John Updike; Eudora Welty; et al]

Lord John Signatures.

Northridge, California : Lord John Press, 1991.

First deluxe limited edition of this collection of author photographs and signatures. Oblong octavo, original half cloth with faux navy morocco spine, gilt titles to the spine, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, facsimile signature endpapers, illustrated throughout with photographs. Signed by Stephen King at the conclusion of his introduction in addition toContinue reading "Lord John Signatures."

Read more
$1,100.00
Item Number: RRB-150137
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Silverstein, Shel

The Giving Tree.

New York : Harper & Row Publishers, 1964.

First edition of the author’s classic work. Octavo, bound in full green morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, gilt inner dentelles stamp-signed by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt signature to the front panel, marbled endpapers,Continue reading "The Giving Tree."

Read more
$2,800.00
Item Number: RRB-150802
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Roth, Philip

The Great American Novel.

New York : Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1973.

First edition of this classic work. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Philip Roth on the title page. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket.

Read more
$275.00
Item Number: RRB-151347
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Dumas, Alexandre [Alexander]

The Works of Alexandre Dumas, Including: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later.

Boston : Little, Brown, and Company, 1893-98.

Rare limited edition of the works of Dumas, one of only 50 copies of the Illustrated Library Edition of the complete works of Alexandre Dumas. Octavo, 60 volumes bound in three quarter blue morocco by Bumpus over marbled boards with gilt titles and ruling to the spine in four compartments within raised gilt bands, topContinue reading "The Works of Alexandre Dumas, Including: The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne: Ten Years Later."

Read more
$15,000.00
Item Number: RRB-150854
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Herbert, Frank

The Illustrated Dune.

New York : Berkley Publishing Corporation, 1978.

First illustrated edition of the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers, fully illustrated by John Schoenherr. In near fine condition, bookplate to the verso of the front panel. Uncommon in this condition.

Read more
$750.00
Item Number: RRB-150361
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Melville, Herman

Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale.

New York : Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1851.

First edition, first issue binding of Melville’s masterpiece. Octavo, original red variant cloth (BAL’s A grain), covers stamped in blind with Harper’s circular device at the center of the front panel within a heavy blind ruled frame, plain orange endpapers. Issued in a single volume, in black, green, blue, red, purple, slate or brown cloth,Continue reading "Moby-Dick; Or, The Whale."

Read more
$42,000.00
Item Number: RRB-150358
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Collins, Joseph

Taking the Literary Pulse: Psychological Studies of Life and Letters.

New York : George H. Doran Company, 1924.

First edition of this work analyzing modern authors and their literary characters through a psychological lens. Octavo, original publisher’s red cloth, illustrated with tipped in plates. In near fine condition, bookplate to the front pastedown.

Read more
$50.00
Item Number: RRB-151569
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Heaney, Seamus

Saw Music Broadside.

Northfield, Massachusetts : Swamp Press, 2006.

Original broadside by the Nobel Prize-winning poet, one of 200 numbered examples, signed by Seamus Heaney, designed by Shawna Parker and Wyn Cooper of Green River Press and printed with Ed Rayher at Swamp Press. The poem, which first appeared in AGNI 61, was written in memory of Czeslaw Milosz. OCLC locates only four copiesContinue reading "Saw Music Broadside."

Read more
$475.00
Item Number: RRB-150814
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Rushdie, Salman

Two Years Eight Months and Twenty-Eight Nights.

New York : Random House, 2015.

First edition of this New York Times best selling magical realism novel. Octavo, original boards. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design and illustration by Kelly Blair.

Read more
$25.00
Item Number: RRB-151136
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Stephenson, Neal

Termination Shock.

New York : William Morrow, 2021.

First edition of this speculative science fiction novel by New York Times bestselling author Neal Stephenson. Octavo, original publisher’s half cloth, cartographic endpapers. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Owen Corrigan. Author photograph by Brady Hall.

Read more
$30.00
Item Number: RRB-150689
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Christie, Agatha

A Pocket Full of Rye.

London : The Crime Club by Collins, 1953.

First edition of Christie’s ingenious murder mystery. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in the rare original dust jacket, in good condition with losses to the spine and front panel. From the collection of Dr. John Talbot Gernon.

Read more
$300.00
Item Number: RRB-149982
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Forester, C.S

Single Handed.

New York and London : G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1929.

First American edition of this classic maritime adventure novel that showcases themes of duty, resilience, and individual impact during wartime. Octavo, original publisher’s full cloth, top stain blue. Near fine in a good dust jacket, losses to the front panel and spine, bookplate and inscription to the front pastedown.

Read more
$100.00
Item Number: RRB-151158
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Traver, Robert [John D. Voelker]

Anatomy of a Murder.

New York : St. Martin's Press, 1959.

First book club edition of this classic work, basis for the film produced and directed by Otto Preminger, starring James Stewart and Lee Remick. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Best wishes to Rick Bohy, a fellow writer. Robert Traver (John Volker) Ishpeming May 31, 1985. ”Continue reading "Anatomy of a Murder."

Read more
$1,250.00
Item Number: RRB-150824
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Salinger, J.D

Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction.

Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1963.

First edition of this collection of two novellas by the author of The Catcher in the Rye. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box. A very sharp example.

Read more
$2,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150818
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Thackeray, William Makepeace

Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero.

London : Bradbury and Evans, 1848.

First edition, first issue of Thackeray’s masterpiece. Octavo, bound in full green morocco elaborately bound by Bayntun in Cosway-style with a portrait of Thackeray inset on the front cover, elaborate gilt titles and tooling to the spine, front and rear panels, inner dentelles, raised bands, green ribbon marker, green silk moiré endpapers, all edges gilt.Continue reading "Vanity Fair: A Novel Without a Hero."

Read more
$4,500.00
Item Number: RRB-150809
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Steinbeck, John

The Grapes of Wrath.

New York : The Viking Press, 1939.

First edition of this pivotal Pulitzer prize-winning novel, with “First Published in April 1939” on the copyright page and first edition notice on the front flap of the dust jacket. Octavo, original pictorial beige cloth, pictorial endpapers. Boldly signed by the author on the half-title page. Near fine in a near fine unclipped dust jacketContinue reading "The Grapes of Wrath."

Read more
$25,000.00
Item Number: RRB-148747
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Buchan, John

Castle Gay.

London : Hodder and Stoughton, 1930.

First edition of this gripping adventure novel, the second to include Dickson McCunn. Octavo, bound in half morocco over marbled boards with gilt titles to the spine in five compartments within gilt bands. In near fine condition.

Read more
$400.00
Item Number: RRB-150775
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Hemingway, Ernest

The Old Man and the Sea First Publication in Life Magazine.

New York : Time-Life Publications, 1952.

September 1, 1952 Life magazine volume 33, number 9 with a black and white portrait of Ernest Hemingway on the cover. The issue presented for the first time and in full Hemingway’s new novel The Old Man and the Sea in a twenty page spread. Ernest Hemingway maintained a close relationship with Life magazine, whichContinue reading "The Old Man and the Sea First Publication in Life Magazine."

Read more
$600.00
Item Number: RRB-149119
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details

Steinbeck, John

Of Mice and Men.

New York : Covici-Friede, 1937.

First edition, first issue with the word “pendula” present on page 9 and the dot between the 8’s on p. 88 of Steinbeck’s “marvelous picture of the tragedy of loneliness” (Eleanor Roosevelt). Octavo, original cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. An exceptional example.

Read more
$4,200.00
Item Number: RRB-115598
Add to Cart
Ask a Question Details
Previous 1 ... 12 13 14 15 16 ... 98 Next
Malcare WordPress Security