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.
    Welcome to Christmas.

    Welcome to Christmas.

    :, 1875.

    Rare 19th century album on Christmas. Octavo, bound in full black morocco, elaborate ruling in blind and in gilt, silk moire endpapers, eight cardstock leaves, six in cream and two in grey, all hand l...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-139519
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    Patton: Ordeal and Triumph.

    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 Ladisla...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-150611
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    Our Kind of Traitor and An Address Given at the Oxford Literary Festival March 2010.

    Carre, John le

    Our Kind of Traitor and An Address Given at the Oxford Literary Festival March 2010.

    London: Viking and London Review Bookshop, 2010.

    Signed limited first edition of this thrilling novel which was the inspiration for the 2016 film by the same name starring Ewan McGregor, Naomie Harris, Stellan Skarsgård, Damian Lewis and Alicia von...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-145764
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    Minden Másképpen Van (Ötvenkét Vasárnap). [Everything is Different (Fifty-Two Sundays)].

    Frigyes, Karinthy

    Minden Másképpen Van (Ötvenkét Vasárnap). [Everything is Different (Fifty-Two Sundays)].

    Budapest: Athenaeum, 1929.

    Rare first edition of this collection of stories in the original Hungarian which introduced the sociological phenomena of “six degrees of separation.” Octavo, original wrappers with titles...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-146211
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    A Clockwork Orange.

    Burgess, Anthony

    A Clockwork Orange.

    New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc, 1963.

    Finely bound edition of Burgess’ landmark novel. Octavo, bound in full morocco by the Harcourt Bindery, gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, gilt ru...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-146490
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    Ralph Waldo Emerson Autograph Letter Signed.

    Emerson, Ralph Waldo

    Ralph Waldo Emerson Autograph Letter Signed.

    :, 1864.

    Autograph letter signed by Ralph Waldo Emerson. The letter reads, “Concord 8 Feb. 1864 Dear Mrs. Botta, In obedience to your request sent to me through my daughter, I enclose this paper. Yours f...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-64045
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    The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.

    Seuss, Dr. [Theodor Geisel]

    The Cat in the Hat Comes Back.

    New York: Beginner Books: A Division of Random House, 1958.

    First edition, stated first printing of the sequel of Dr. Seuss’ The Cat in the Hat. Octavo, original illustrated boards, pictorial endpapers. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author opposite...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151999
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    Anarchism and Other Essays.

    Goldman, Emma

    Anarchism and Other Essays.

    New York: Mother Earth Publishing Association, 1911.

    Second revised edition of Goldman’s most important collection of essays. Octavo, original cloth, frontispiece of Goldman. Boldly signed by Emma Goldman on the front free endpaper. In very good c...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-144296
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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-125792
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    Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

    Stoppard, Tom

    Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead.

    London: Faber & Faber, 1967.

    First paperback edition (issued simultaneously in hardback) of the author’s masterpiece. Octavo, original wrappers. Boldly signed by Tom Stoppard on the title page. In near fine condition.
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-139108
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    Bleak House.

    Dickens, Charles

    Bleak House.

    London: Bradbury Evans, 1853.

    First edition of this Dickens’ classic. Octavo, bound in full calf by Sangorski & Sutcliffe with gilt titles and tooling to the spine in six compartments within raised gilt bands, top edge m...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-148214
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    Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

    Eliot, T.S

    Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats.

    London: Faber and Faber Limited, 1939.

    First British edition of Eliot’s beloved collection of whimsical feline poems which served as the basis for Andrew Lloyd Webber’s 1981 megamusical phenomenon Cats. Octavo, original pictori...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-149333
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    The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses; The Crossing; Cities of the Plain.

    McCarthy, Cormac

    The Border Trilogy: All the Pretty Horses; The Crossing; Cities of the Plain.

    New York: Everyman's Library, 2008.

    Everyman’s Library edition of McCarthy’s classic trilogy, appearing here in one volume for the first time. Octavo, original cloth. Boldly signed by Cormac McCarthy on the half-title page....
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-151348
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    Portnoy’s Complaint.

    Roth, Philip [Richard Benjamin]

    Portnoy’s Complaint.

    New York: Random House, 1969.

    Signed limited first edition of Roth’s breakthrough novel. Octavo, original cloth, slipcase. One of 600 numbered examples signed by Philip Roth and additionally by actor Richard Benjamin, who st...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-142668
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    The Secret History.

    Tartt, Donna

    The Secret History.

    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

    First edition of this contemporary literary classic and “an accomplished psychological thriller…absolutely chilling” (Village Voice). Octavo, original illustrated boards. Boldly sign...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-145993
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    The Secret History.

    Tartt, Donna

    The Secret History.

    New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1992.

    First edition of this contemporary literary classic and “an accomplished psychological thriller…absolutely chilling” (Village Voice). Octavo, original illustrated boards. Presentatio...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-143517
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    Coyote Tantras and Other Poems.

    Gifford, Barry; [Jack Kerouac]

    Coyote Tantras and Other Poems.

    London: Silverthorne Foundation Inc, 1968.

    First edition of this compelling book of poetry; from the library of ‘On the Road’ author Jack Kerouac. Octavo, original illustrated wrappers. Association copy, inscribed by the author on the title pa...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-146635
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    Summer of Love.

    Kilmer, Joyce

    Summer of Love.

    New York: The Baker & Taylor Company, 1911.

    First edition, first issue of Joyce Kilmer’s first book of verse. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to fellow poet and literary critic Thomas Walsh, “To...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-92792
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    Altneuland.

    Herzl, Theodor

    Altneuland.

    Leipzig: Hermann Seemann Nachfolger, 1902.

    Second edition of Herzl‘s Utopian novel in which he envisioned the social and cultural climate of a new Hebrew Nation. Octavo, original cloth. In good condition. Rare.
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-101406
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    Missale Romanum.

    Missale Romanum.

    Madrid: Typis Societatis, 1799.

    Rare 18th century Spanish printing of the Roman Missal. Folio, bound in full velvet with silver cornerpieces and central ornament bearing the Sacred Heart, silver clasps, ribbons bound in, printed in...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-149607
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    The Prime Minister.

    Trollope, Anthony

    The Prime Minister.

    London: Chapman and Hall, 1876.

    First edition of this classic work, which examines one of the most enduring questions in government; whether a morally scrupulous gentleman can make an effective leader. Octavo, original cloth, four v...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-131836
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    The Art of Seeing.

    Huxley, Aldous

    The Art of Seeing.

    New York: Harper & Brothers, 1942.

    First edition, early printing of this classic work which details Huxley’s experience with and views on the controversial Bates method, which according to him improved his eyesight. Octavo, origi...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-139661
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    One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

    Solzhenitsyn, Alexander. [Solzhentizyn]

    One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich.

    London: Victor Gollancz, 1963.

    First British edition of the Nobel Prize-winner’s first published work. Octavo, bound in full morocco, gilt titles to the spine, titles to the front panel, all edges gilt. Housed in a custom clamshell...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-142203
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    The Fire Next Time. [with] James Baldwin Signed Postcard.

    Baldwin, James

    The Fire Next Time. [with] James Baldwin Signed Postcard.

    New York: The Dial Press, 1963.

    First edition of one of the most influential works on race relations published in the twentieth century. Octavo, original cloth, top stain red. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by P...
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    $2,500.00 Item Number: RRB-149213
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