Wodehouse, P.G

Full Moon.

London : Herbert Jenkins, 1947.

First edition of Wodehouse’s hilarious comedy novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket, signature to the front free endpaper, ‘D. Steeds’. Jacket illustration by Frank Ford.

Wodehouse, P.G

Nothing Serious.

London : Herbert Jenkins, 1950.

First edition of Wodehouse’s dynamically humorous collection of short stories. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Frank Ford. Uncommon in this condition.

Wodehouse, P. G

Piccadilly Jim.

London : Herbert Jenkins, n.d.

First edition, later printing of Wodehouse’s lively comedy novel. Octavo, original cloth. Near fine in a very good price-clipped dust jacket. Jacket illustration by Frank Ford.

Baum, L. Frank

The Road to Oz.

Chicago : The Reilly & Britton Co, 1909.

First edition, first printing of the fifth book in L. Frank Baum’s classic Oz series, from the library of Nobel Laureate George Snell. Quarto, original publisher’s light green pictorial cloth variant A binding with the illustration on the rear board and the spine imprint reading “Reilly & Britton” in upper- and lowercase letters, tan pictorial endpapers printed in red andContinue reading "The Road to Oz."

Porter, Katherine Anne

Ship of Fools.

Boston : Little Brown and Company, 1962.

First edition of this classic bestseller from the Pulitzer Prize-winner which dramatizes the rise of totalitarianism in the 1930s in a sweeping story of a transatlantic cruise featuring a cast of unforgettable characters. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author in the year of publication on the half-title page, “For Mary Meier WithContinue reading "Ship of Fools."

Morrison, Toni

Paradise.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 1998.

First edition of this novel hailed by The New Yorker as, “Morrison at her novelistic best.” Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Toni Morrison on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Carol Devine Carson.

Miller, Arthur

Death of A Salesman.

New York : The Viking Press, 1998.

First edition of the 50th anniversary edition of this classic work. Octavo, original half cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Martin Ogolter. Original drawing of Willy Loman by Joseph Hirsch. Photograph of Arthur Miller by Esther Handler.

Kipling, Rudyard

The Bookman Portfolio: Three Illustrations in Colour From Sea and Sussex From Rudyard Kipling’s Verse.

London : Macmillian and Co. Limited, 1926.

The Bookman Portfolio 1926 Christmas issue containing three color illustrations inspired by Kipling’s collection of poems “Sea and Sussex.” Quarto, original wrappers, three colored plates laid in. In very good condition. Paintings by Donald Maxwell. From Rudyard Kipling’s Verse.

Kipling, Rudyard

The Cornhill Booklet Volume One, Number Two: Occasional Poems by Rudyard Kipling.

Boston : Alfred Bartlett, 1900.

Rare August 1900 issue of The Cornhill Booklet containing Rudyard Kipling’s “Occasional Poems.” Duodecimo, original wrappers, volume one, number two, printed in red and black, illustrated, with the original detached portrait of Kipling from an etching by William Strang laid in. In very good condition. Illustrated and designed by H.W. Colby.

Kipling, Rudyard

The Betrothed.

.

Rare pamphlet of Kipling’s humorous and ironic poem. Duodecimo, original wrappers, frontispiece of Kipling, pictorial initials, six pages. In very good condition. Rare with none appearing at auction in the last 100 years.

Smith, Wilbur

Eagle in the Sky.

London : Heinemann, 1974.

First edition of this powerful novel from the author of ‘When the Lion Feeds.’ Octavo, original light blue cloth. Very good in the very good dust jacket.

Baum, L. Frank. Illustrated by John R. Neill. [Judy Garland; Billie Burke; Ray Bolger; Frank Morgan; Bert Lahr; Margaret Hamilton; Jack Haley; Victor Fleming

The Magic of Oz.

Chicago : The Reilly & Lee Co, 1919.

First edition, first printing of this classic work in L. Frank Baum’s celebrated Oz series, the last of the series to appear during Baum’s lifetime, as he passed away shortly before its release in 1919. First printing with the verso of the ownership page listing Baum titles through The Tin Woodman of Oz. Octavo, originalContinue reading "The Magic of Oz."

Kerouac, Jack [Gary Snyder]

The Dharma Bums.

New York : The Viking Press, 1958.

First edition of this classic work which introduced writer Gary Snyder to the world as Japhy Ryder. Octavo, original black cloth. Lengthily signed by fellow Beat writer and character in this novel, Gary Snyder on the half-title page, “Gary Snyder -not Jack Kerouac but possibly in some part Japhy Ryder 30.VI.2019.” The main characters areContinue reading "The Dharma Bums."

Salinger, J.D

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

Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1963.

First edition of this classic collection of two novellas by the author of The Catcher in the Rye. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “with best wishes J.D. Salinger.” The recipient was a neighbor and friendly with the author in Cornish, New Hampshire. Very good with dampstainingContinue reading "Raise High the Roof Beam, Carpenters and Seymour: An Introduction."

Farago, Ladislas

Patton: Ordeal and Triumph.

New York : Ivan Obolensky, 1963.

First edition of “the best Patton biography” (Military Bookman), a classic basis for the Academy Award-winning film, starring George C. Scott. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed Ladislas Farago on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Tony Post. Rare and desirable signed.

Rand, Ayn

The Romantic Manifesto: A Philosophy of Literature.

New York : The World Publishing Company, 1969.

First edition of this collection of essays regarding the nature of art. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Ayn Rand on the front free endpaper. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Tom Lincoln.

Tolstoi, Count Leon. [Leo Tolstoy]. Translated from the French by Clara Bell

War and Peace. A Historical Novel.

New York : William S. Gottsberger, Publisher, 1886.

First edition in English of Tolstoy’s masterpiece, a pillar of world literature. Octavo, six volumes in the publisher’s original pictorial brown cloth stamped in gilt and black, brown coated endpapers, with the cursive imprint in each part. Translated by Clara Bell. In near fine condition. Housed in two custom marbled slipcases. An exceptional set of Tolstoy’sContinue reading "War and Peace. A Historical Novel."

Pasternak, Boris

The Second Birth.

Moscow : Federation, 1932.

First edition of this collection of poems by one of the greatest Russian poets and novelists of the twentieth century. Octodecimo, in the original Russian, original pictorial boards. In good condition with some rubbing.

Rowling, J.K. [Kennelworthy Whisp]

Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.

London : Bloomsbury/Whizz Hard Books, 2001.

First British editions of this “amazingly imaginative work” (Associated Press), each volume signed by her. Duodecimo, 2 volumes, original pictorial wrappers as issued. Boldly signed by J.K. Rowling on the title page of each volume. In fine condition. Accompanied by the original plastic packaging depicting a leather schoolbag stating, “Harry Potter’s School Books” and twoContinue reading "Quidditch Through the Ages and Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them."

Early English Prose Romances I-III: Robert the Deuyll, Robin Hood, and Fryer Bacon.

Edinburgh : Otto Schulze & Co, 1904.

Finely bound edition of this collection of three prose romances from early English literature. Quarto, three volumes, original publisher’s half-cloth, title page vignettes in red and black, pictorial initials, elaborate border designs, with full-page illustrations. In very good condition. Ownership plates to the front pastedowns. Housed in the original brown board slipcase.

Rand, Ayn

El Manantial [The Fountainhead].

Barcelona : Editorial Planeta, 1958.

First Spanish edition of Rands’s breakthrough work and her first major literary success. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Ayn Rand on the dedication page. Near fine in a very good dust jacket.

Sheridan, Richard Brinsley

The Rivals; The Critic; The Duenna.

London : Printed for A. Millar, W. Law, and R. Cater, 1797.

Finely bound editions of three of Sheridan’s most well known and popular comic plays. Duodecimo, three volumes, bound in full red pebbled morocco with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in three compartments within raised gilt bands, triple gilt ruling to the front and rear panels, all edges gilt, gilt inner dentelles, marbled endpapers.Continue reading "The Rivals; The Critic; The Duenna."

Davies, Valentine

Miracle On 34th. Street.

New York : Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1947.

First edition of this modern Christmas classic. Octavo, bound in full 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, marbled endpapers, all edges gilt. In fine condition. AnContinue reading "Miracle On 34th. Street."

Wodehouse, P. G

Uncle Dynamite.

London : Herbert Jenkins, 1948.

First edition of Wodehouse’s hilarious and nonsensical novel. Octavo, original cloth. Very good in a very good dust jacket, inscription to the front free endpaper. Jacket illustration by Frank Ford.