Fermor, Patrick Leigh

A Time To Keep Silence.

London : John Murray, 1957.

First edition of the author’s third book, detailing his experiences in various monasteries. Octavo, original cloth. Illustrated by John Craxton. Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket design by Peter Todd Mitchell.

Kelly, Scott with Margaret Lazarus Dean. [Chip Kidd]

Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery.

New York : Alfred A. Knopf, 2017.

First edition of the famed astronaut’s stunning memoir. Octavo, original cloth, with 24 pages of full-color photographs. Boldly signed by Scott Kelly on the title page. Additionally signed three times by dust jacket illustrator Chip Kidd on the front panel of the dust jacket, on the title page, and rear flap of the dust jacket.Continue reading "Endurance: A Year in Space, A Lifetime of Discovery."

Stowe, Harriet Beecher

Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands.

London : Sampson Low, Son, & Co, 1854.

First British author’s edition of this travel narrative that records Stowe’s observations during a tour of Europe in the wake of her international fame from Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Duodecimo, bound in three-quarters morocco with gilt titles to the spine in five compartments within gilt bands, engraved frontispiece, with black and white illustrations throughout. In veryContinue reading "Sunny Memories of Foreign Lands."

Michener, James A. and Jack Levine

Facing East.

New York : Maecenas Press/Random House, 1970.

Signed limited edition of this work by the award-winning author, signed by James Michener and illustrator Jack Levine. Folio, original cloth. lithographs and woodcuts by Jack Levine enclosed in a silk covered clamshell box with a large belt-like closure on the front cover. Fine in a near fine slipcase.

Glenn, John

Letters to John Glenn: “P.S. I Listened to Your Heartbeat”.

Houston, TX : World Book Encyclopedia Science Service, 1964.

First edition of the collected letters of the first American to orbit the Earth. Octavo, original boards, pictorial postmark endpapers, frontispiece of Glenn, illustrated throughout. Presentation copy, inscribed by John Glenn on the half-title page, “To Clifford – John Glenn.” Fine in a very good dust jacket.

Noyce, Wilfrid; Foreword by Sir John Hunt

South Col: One Man’s Adventure on the Ascent of Everest, 1953.

London : William Heinemann Ltd, 1954.

First edition of Noyce’s firsthand account of the ascent of South Col. Octavo, original cloth, pictorial endpapers, illustrated with photogravures and maps including frontispiece. Foreword by Sir John Hunt. Signed by 1953 Mount Everest British expedition member George Band on the title page. George Christopher Band George was the youngest climber on the 1953 BritishContinue reading "South Col: One Man’s Adventure on the Ascent of Everest, 1953."

Bonington, Chris

The Everest Years: A Climber’s Life.

London : Hodder & Stoughton, 1986.

First edition of this work by Bonington. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Chris Bonington on the title page. From the library of James Stephen “Steve” Fossett with his bookplate to the pastedown. American businessman and record-setting aviator Steve Fossett became the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world in 2002 in his 10-storyContinue reading "The Everest Years: A Climber’s Life."

Durrell, Gerald

Golden Bats and Pink Pigeons.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 1977.

First edition of this classic account. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by Gerald Durrell on the half-title page. Fine in a near fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Janet Halverson.

Borman, Frank

Frank Borman Signed “Apollo 8 Mission – Artist Conception” Photograph.

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Rare photograph of an artist’s conception of the Apollo 8 mission signed by Frank Borman. Black and white satin-finish photograph depicting an artist’s concept of the Apollo 8 spacecraft still attached to the third stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle. Boldly signed by Borman in black felt tip to the bottom center. In fineContinue reading "Frank Borman Signed “Apollo 8 Mission – Artist Conception” Photograph."

Symonds, John Addington

Sketches in Italy.

Leipzig : Bernhard Tauchnitz, 1883.

First edition of John Addington Symonds’ Italian sketches. Small octavo, bound in full vellum with gilt tooling to the spine, morocco spine labels lettered in gilt, marbled endpapers, all edges red, ribbon bound in. In near fine condition.

Irwin, James B. with William A. Emerson Jr

To Rule The Night: The Discovery Voyage of Astronaut Jim Irwin.

Philadelphia : A. J. Holman Company, 1973.

First edition of the autobiography of Jim Irwin, who served as the Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15. Octavo, original cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page, “To William Stanhope my very best wishes for your life in Him. James Irwin.” Near fine in a very good dust jacket. Jacket designContinue reading "To Rule The Night: The Discovery Voyage of Astronaut Jim Irwin."

Newcomb, Raymond Lee

Our Lost Explorers: The Narrative of the Jeannette Arctic Expedition as Related by the Survivors, and in the Records and Last Journals of Lieutenant De Long.

Hartford, Conn. : American Publishing Company, 1882.

First edition of  Newcomb’s account of the Jeannette Arctic Exploration. Octavo, original illustrated cloth, tissue-guarded frontispiece, illustrated with maps, portraits, and numerous engravings. Introduction by Rev. W. L. Gage. In good condition.

Kipling, Rudyard

Rudyard Kipling with The British Fleet.

Boston : For the Boston American, 1915.

The Boston American’s complimentary reprint of Kipling’s Fringes of the Fleet which first appeared in England in The Daily Telegraph, and in the United States in the Hearst newspapers. Octavo, original pictorial wrappers. In near fine condition. Housed in a custom half morocco and chemise case. Rare.

Baker, Charles H

The Esquire Culinary Companion: Being an Exotic Cookery Book Or, Around Europe with Knife, Fork, and Spoon.

New York : Crown Publishers, Inc., 1959.

First edition of Baker’s famed Esquire Culinary Companion. Octavo, original cloth. Signed by the author on the front free endpaper, “Charles H. Baker Jr.” Near fine in the original slipcase which is in very good condition.

Jerome, Jerome K

Three Men in a Boat (To Say Nothing of the Dog).

Bristol : J. W. Arrowsmith, 1889.

First edition, second state of Jerome’s humorous account of a two-week boating holiday on the Thames. Octavo, original cloth, illustrated by A. Frederics. Second state with ’11 Quay Street’ (first state is without the 11) to the title page. In good condition. Period ownership inscription.

Peters, James Punnett

Nippur or Explorations and Adventures on the Euphrates: The Narrative of the University of Pennsylvania Expedition to Babylonia in the Years 1888-1890.

New York and London : G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1897.

First edition of this detailed account of the University of Pennsylvania’s 1888–1890 expedition to Babylonia. Octavo, two volumes, original publisher’s red cloth with gilt titles to the spine, front panel vignette of an Egyptian hieroglyph stamped in gilt, top edges gilt, tissue-guarded frontispieces, illustrated with maps, including folding and a pocket map in the rearContinue reading "Nippur or Explorations and Adventures on the Euphrates: The Narrative of the University of Pennsylvania Expedition to Babylonia in the Years 1888-1890."

Roach, Mary

Packing For Mars: The Curious Science of Life in the Void.

New York : W. W. Norton & Company, 2010.

First edition of the author’s best-selling fourth book. Octavo, original boards. Signed by Mary Roach on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket. Jacket design by Keenan.

Thesiger, Wilfred

My Kenya Days.

London : Harper Collins, 1994.

First edition of Wilfred Thesiger’s memoir, the famous explorer’s account of living among the Northern tribes of Kenya. Octavo, original publisher’s cloth, illustrated with black and white photographs. Boldly signed by Wilfred Thesiger on the title page. Fine in a fine dust jacket.

Church, Albert Cook

Whale Ships and Whaling.

New York : W. W. Norton & Co., 1938.

First edition of Church’s work on the history of whaling. Octavo, bound in full gilt-decorated morocco, illustrated with numerous photographs of whaling operations at sea and whaleship plans, pictorial endpapers reproducing two facing pages from the logbook of whaler Royal William dated 1834. In fine condition.

Miami Bayfront Park Panorama.

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Rare panoramic view of Miami Bayfront Park. One page, folded, the panorama measures 28.5 inches by 7 inches with an advertisement for the City of Miami to the verso. In near fine condition. A bright and desirable piece.

Baedeker, Karl

The Rhine From Rotterdam to Constance: Handbook for Travellers.

Leipsic : Karl Baedeker, Publishers, 1900.

Revised edition of Baedeker’s classic standard guidebook to the Rhine Valley. Octavo, original boards, ribbon bound in, all edges marbled, illustrated with numerous folding maps. Fine in the scarce original dust jacket which is in very good condition.

Naipaul, Shiva

North of South: An African Journey.

New York : Simon & Schuster, 1979.

First edition of the author’s most well-known work. Octavo, original half cloth. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the half-title page in the year of publication. Additionally signed by the author on the title page. Fine in a near fine price-clipped dust jacket.

Saramago, Jose

Cadernos de Lanzarote Diario IV.

Lisbon : Caminho, 1997.

First Portugese edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s commentaries on Lanzarote, one of Spain’s volcanic Canary Islands. Octavo, original wrappers as issued. Signed and dated by Jose Saramago on the title page in 2006.

Saramago, Jose

Cadernos de Lanzarote Diario III.

Lisbon : Caminho, 1996.

First Portugese edition of the Nobel Prize-winning author’s commentaries on Lanzarote, one of Spain’s volcanic Canary Islands. Octavo, original wrappers as issued. Signed by Jose Saramago on the title page.