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.
    Naked Lunch.

    Burroughs, William S

    Naked Lunch.

    New York: Grove Press, Inc, 1962.

    First American edition, first issue jacket with no zip code on rear panel and no roman numerals on lower spine near back panel of Burroughs’ classic novel. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Will...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-87577
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    A Curious Dance Round a Curious Tree.

    Dickens, Charles

    A Curious Dance Round a Curious Tree.

    London: St. Lukes Hospital, 1860.

    First edition, first issue of Charles Dickens’ article on Saint Luke’s Hospital “for the gratuitous treatment of the insane poor.” Octavo, loosely bound in wrappers. In near fi...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-96189
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    Francis Bacon.

    Bacon, Francis] John Russell

    Francis Bacon.

    London: Methuen, 1964.

    First edition of this wonderfully illustrated work on Francis Bacon. Octavo, original boards, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, boldly inscribed on the front free endpaper, “For George...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-102743
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    A Sicilian Romance.

    Radcliffe, Anne

    A Sicilian Romance.

    Philadelphia: Printed For Henry and Patrick Rice, 1795.

    First American edition of Radcliffe’s classic 18th century gothic novel. Octavo, bound in full contemporary calf, morocco spine label lettered in gilt, gilt ruling to the spine. In good conditio...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151221
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    The Karla Trilogy: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley’s People.

    Le Carre, John. [David Cornwell]

    The Karla Trilogy: Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy; The Honourable Schoolboy; Smiley’s People.

    London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1974-1980.

    First editions of each title in the author’s acclaimed Karla Trilogy. Octavo, 3 volumes, original cloth. Presentation copy, lengthily inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper of Smiley’s Peo...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-137034
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    Suzuki Beane.

    Scoppettone, Sandra; Drawings by Louise Fitzhugh

    Suzuki Beane.

    Garden City, NY: Doubleday & Company, 1961.

    First edition of this classic children’s book. Quarto, original illustrated boards, illustrated endpapers, drawings by Louise Fitzhugh. Lengthily signed by the author on the title page “My...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-144579
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    Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by “Boz.”

    Dickens, Charles

    Memoirs of Joseph Grimaldi. Edited by “Boz.”

    London: Richard Bentley, 1838.

    First edition of Dickens’ popular retelling of the memoirs of celebrated English clown Joseph Grimaldi. Octavo, two volumes bound in full polished calf by Root with morocco spine labels lettered...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-148217
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    The Importance of Wearing Clothes.

    Langner, Lawrence [John Steinbeck]

    The Importance of Wearing Clothes.

    New York: Hastings House Publishers, 1959.

    First edition of this entertaining history of clothing and its impact on the human condition. Octavo, original half cloth, illustrated. The dedication copy, inscribed by the author on the front free e...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-111852
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    Songs For Youth.

    Kipling, Rudyard

    Songs For Youth.

    London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1924.

    First edition this classic selection of Kipling’s songs for children. Octavo, original cloth, illustrations by Leo Bates with 8 tipped-in color plates. Boldly signed by Rudyard Kipling on the ti...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151070
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    Night of January 16th.

    Rand, Ayn. [Annie Dillard]

    Night of January 16th.

    New York and Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1968.

    First edition in book form of the successful Broadway play by the author of The Fountainhead and Atlas Shrugged. Octavo, original half cloth. Boldly signed by Ayn Rand on the front free endpaper. From...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151371
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    Life On The Mississippi.

    Twain, Mark [Samuel L. Clemens]

    Life On The Mississippi.

    Boston: James R. Osgood and Company, 1883.

    First American edition, first state of this provocative portrait of the great Mississippi River with tailpiece of Twain in flames on p. 441 and “The St. Louis Hotel” caption on p. 443. Octavo, origina...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-142314
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    Carrie.

    King, Stephen

    Carrie.

    England: PS Publishing, 2014.

    First edition of the 40th Anniversary edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, original illustrated glossy boards, original slipcase. Although not called for signed by Stephen King on the tit...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-123034
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    Beautiful Losers.

    Cohen, Leonard

    Beautiful Losers.

    New York: The Viking Press, 1966.

    First edition of Cohen’s second and final novel. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “For Matthew all the best Leonard Cohen 2008.”...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-94686
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    Slaves Today: A Story of Liberia.

    Schuyler, George S

    Slaves Today: A Story of Liberia.

    New York: Brewer, Warren & Putnam, 1931.

    First edition of “the first novel about Africa written by an African American” (Aric Putnam). Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the title page, “T...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-116439
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    Capricorn One Original Shooting Script.

    Hyams, Peter

    Capricorn One Original Shooting Script.

    : ITC Entertainment, Inc., 1976.

    Rare original shooting script from from the 1978 science fiction thriller Capricorn One. Quarto, original leatherette wrappers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the writer/director on the title page,...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-124688
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    In This Our World.

    Gilman, Charlotte Perkins [Stetson]

    In This Our World.

    Boston: Small, Maynard & Company, 1899.

    Second edition of Gilman’s first collection of poetry, coupled with almost eighty previously uncollected pieces. Duodecimo, enclosed in a handsewn black silk cover, tissue-guarded frontispiece p...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-146575
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    Arthur Conan Doyle Autograph Letter Signed.

    Doyle, Arthur Conan

    Arthur Conan Doyle Autograph Letter Signed.

    :, .

    Rare handwritten letter signed by Arthur Conan Doyle to lecture manager James B. Pond, Jr. Octavo, one page on Windlesham letterhead, the letter reads in full, “Dear Mr. Pond It is pleasant to s...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-147770
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    Jock of the Bushveld.

    Fitzpatrick, Percy

    Jock of the Bushveld.

    London: Longmans, Green and Company, 1913.

    Early printing of this classic work. Octavo, original green cloth, gilt titles and tooling to the spine and front panel, illustrated throughout. Boldly signed by Percy Fitzpatrick on the title page. I...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-119744
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    The Decoration of Houses.

    Wharton, Edith & Ogden Codman Jr

    The Decoration of Houses.

    New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1897.

    First edition of Edith Wharton’s first published book. Quarto, original marbled paper boards. Illustrated with 56 plates. In very good condition. First editions are uncommon.
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-124586
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    Thunderball.

    Fleming, Ian

    Thunderball.

    London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.

    First edition of the ninth novel in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. Octavo, original black cloth. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket art by Richard Chopping. A bright example.
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151514
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    Inside U.S.A.

    Gunther, John

    Inside U.S.A.

    New York: Harper & Brothers , 1947.

    First edition of this classic work, “riveting from start to finish” (Robert Gottlieb, The New York Times). Octavo, original cloth, cartographic endpapers, pullout map. Boldly signed by Joh...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-134601
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    Nectar In a Sieve.

    Markandaya, Kamala

    Nectar In a Sieve.

    London: Putnam, 1954.

    First Edition of the author’s classic first novel. Octavo, original cloth. Inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Best Wishes and love, Kamala Markandaya January 1955.”...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-855
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    Dangling Man.

    Bellow, Saul

    Dangling Man.

    New York: Vanguard, 1944.

    First edition of the author’s first book. Octavo, original beige cloth. Fine in a very good dust jacket that shows some chipping to the crown and foot of the spine. Signed by Saul Bellow on the...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-1962
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    Our Town: A Play in Three Acts.

    Wilder, Thornton

    Our Town: A Play in Three Acts.

    New York: Coward McCann, 1938.

    First edition of the author’s second Pulitzer Prize-winning work. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gi...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-149898
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