|
• SELECTED MODERN FIRST EDITIONS • visit our search page for our complete inventory
SIGNED BY FROST; HALCYON HOUSE EDITION
FROST, Robert. COLLECTED POEMS OF ROBERT FROST. New York: Halcyon House, 1940. Third printing. Signed by Frost with the date "1942" on
title page. 436 pp. 8vo., green cloth, spine sunned to brown with
black title. Moderate shelfwear. Endpapers show paste action, offset
tanning. Owner's personal bookplate to front flyleaf. Light foxing to
b/w frontispiece and title page. $300.00 #84636 order or inquire
FROST, Robert. WEST-RUNNING BROOK. New York: Henry Holt and Company,1928. First edition, This copy states "first edition" - which is
presumed to be the second state, the first state lacking the first edition
statement. 64pp. 8vo., green cloth spine, dark green patterned
boards, title in gilt to spine, illustrated label to front board. A
fine copy. Bright dust-jacket shows just a hint of edgewear along
top-edge, with shallow chipping at crown, and a short closed tear just
beneath crown along rear joint. (Barrett A10). $200.00 #74440 order or inquire
FINE IN CUSTOM QUARTER RED MOROCCO SLIPCASE
NORRIS, Frank. THE PIT: A STORY OF CHICAGO. New York: Doubleday,
Page & Co., 1903. First edition, fourth printing. [4] + 421 pp.
8vo., red cloth stamped in gilt. In custom slipcase box with
quarter gilt red morocco, red cloth, raised bands, interior red
cloth chemise with ribbon pull. Fine, clean and bright. Book two in
the trilogy The Epic of the Wheat. BAL 15038. $175.00 #85522 order or inquire
AUSTIN, Mary. THE LAND OF
LITTLE RAIN. Boston and New York:
Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The Riverside Press, Cambridge.
1903. First edition. Four plates and numerous marginal
illustrations by E. Boyd Smith, 8vo. xvi,281 pp. Olive green
cloth with gilt-stamped title to upper board and spine, printed
decoration to upper board, t.e.g. Ink gift inscription to ffep.
Spine is slightly skewed and gently bumped at crown; cloth shows
just a touch of wear at heel, crown and corners. This is a clean
and fresh copy of a beautifully designed book. Near fine. $325.00 #65347 order or inquire
 KEROUAC, Jack. ON THE
ROAD. New York: The Viking Press, 1957.
Second printing (September 1957) in second printing dust jacket.
310 pp. 8vo., black cloth stamped in white. Light dampstaining,
hardly noticeable, to cloth at bottom of spine and rear board at
spine, not affecting interior. Bottom corners gently bumped. Very
good in a good black/color pictorial dust jacket with Kerouac
portrait on rear flap, a few creases and small scrapes, two closed
tears, shallowly chipped spine and corners with no text loss.
Interior clean and tight. $475.00 #85480 order or inquire
GREEN, Henry. LIVING. New York:
E.P. Dutton, 1929. First
American edition. 8vo., purple cloth. A very good copy that shows
only some light sunning at the spine, in a dust jacket that shows
some sunning at the spine, a bit of soiling, a small chip at the
top edge of the front panel and some rubbing at the folds.
Bookplate at the front pastedown. Quite scarce. $750.00 #49952 order or inquire
YEATS, W. B. A FULL MOON IN MARCH. London: Macmillan and Co. Ltd.,
1935. First edition. viii, 70pp. 8vo., green cloth, lettered in
gilt to spine. The text is clean and very fresh; the cloth is sunned
at the spine, with a small puncture (1/4 inch) at the base of the
spine, and showing wear to one corner. Ink ownership to front free
endpaper. Overall very good. $100.00 #54758 order or inquire
INSCRIBED; THE '49ERS AND GOLD FEVER
WHITE, Stewart Edward. GOLD. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page and
Co., 1913. First edition. 437 pp. + [1] + 13 pp. 8vo., green
pictorial cloth with gilt spine and cover lettering, and cover
scene in red, gilt and black. Presentation copy inscribed by the
author on reverse of color frontispiece (not affecting image).
There is light foxing to the signed page, but the other three plates
are fine. Original publisher's one-page ad laid in. About fine in
a very good pictorial dust jacket, with some light rubbing and
faint soil. Novel of the gold-seekers if the nineteenth century;
partially set in Panama. Scarce in dust jacket. $675.00 #80282 order or inquire
MAUGHAM, W. Somerset. OF HUMAN BONDAGE. With an Intoduction by
Theodore Dreiser & Sixteen Etchings by John Sloan. In two volumes.
Printed for the Members of the Limited Editions Club at the
Printing-Office of the Yale University Press, New Haven, 1938.
This copy is no. 1221, from an edition of 1500, signed by the
artist John Sloan. 16 Original etchings. Two octavo volumes:
xiv,406;[2],407-805 pp. Tan cloth, gilt-stamped spine lables.
Both volumes are faded and foxed on spines, else clean and very
good. Originally issued with a slipcase, which this set lacks. $175.00 #77700 order or inquire
AGEE, James. PERMIT ME
VOYAGE. With a foreword by Archibald
MacLeish. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934. Volume 33 of
the Yale Series of Younger Poets, edited by Stephen Vincent Benét.
First edition of Agee's first book. Slim octavo. 59 pp. Green
cloth, lettered in dark green at spine. The paper is very lightly
age-browned at perimeters, and the cloth is sunned a bit at spine
and along the top-edge of boards, else fine. In a very good green
dust jacket which is sunned at spine and shows light wear along the
top-edge, with a few closed tears. $700.00 #71101 order or inquire
AGEE, James. PERMIT ME
VOYAGE. With a foreword by Archibald
MacLeish. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1934. Volume 33 of
the Yale Series of Younger Poets, edited by Stephen Vincent Benét.
First edition of Agee's first book. Slim octavo. 59 pp. Green
cloth, lettered in dark green at spine. This is a near-fine copy.
The paper is very lightly age-browned at perimeters, and the
endpapers are lightly foxed; the cloth is sunned a bit at spine and
along the top-edge of boards. In a near-fine green dust jacket
which is sunned at spine and shows light wear along the top-edge,
with a couple of small damp spots at spine. $550.00 #71102 order or inquire
WILDER, Thornton. OUR TOWN. A
play in three acts. New York: Coward McCann, (1938). First edition.
Olive cloth. A fine copy with a hint of fading around the perimeters in a dust
jacket with a little edge
wear and a small nick. $500.00 #84631 order or inquire
BECKETT, Samuel. MURPHY. (Paris): Bordas, (1947, [but issued in
late 1951 by Les Éditions de Minuit]). First French edition,
second issue, in wrappers by Les Éditions de Minuit. Translated by
the author. Octavo, largely unopened. 206 pp. White paper
wrappers printed in blue and black. Spine is lightly sunned and
wrappers show general, very light dust-soiling. Text leaves are
lightly age-browned. It is a very good copy overall. First issued
by Bordas in 1947, only about 95 of the 3,000 copies printed had
sold after a four-year period when Éditions de Minuit took over the
contract and unsold stock at the end of 1951. (Federman & Fletcher
145.01). $500.00 order or inquire
BIGGERS, Earl Derr. THE HOUSE WITHOUT A
KEY. [By the] Author of
Seven Keys to Baldpate, etc...New York: Grosset & Dunlap, [c.
1930]. First Grosset and Dunlap Edition from first edition sheets.
8vo., red cloth, lettered in black, top-edge stained green.
Slightly darkened just along the joints, with two negligible spots
of faint soil to front board; minor offsetting to endpapers.
Overall, a near fine, bright, tight copy, in a dust jacket with the
same illustrations as the first printing, mildly darkened at the
spine, and which bears a few small spots of damp, a two inch tear
at the rear fold, and a small scuffed lacuna at mid-point;
otherwise, the jacket shows minor chipping, nicking to the edges,
with just slight soil & rubbing overall; the front panel
illustration is still quite fresh and pleasing. The first edition
of this title is almost impossible to obtain in collector's
condition. $325.00 #69801 order or
inquire
BESTON, Henry. THE BOOK OF GALLANT VAGABONDS. New York: George H.
Doran Co., 1925. First edition. 231 pp. 8vo., dark red cloth
stamped in gilt, in original color illustrated dust jacket with
publisher's ads on reverse. Very good, a few bumps to corners,
front board edges, minor shelfwear, cloth and gilt bright. Blue and
white map endpapers. Tipped-in b/w frontispiece and plates.
Interior clean and tight. Jacket has moderate dampstaining, light
soil, a few small chips to front flap joint, a few abrasions and
tiny closed tears to rear panel, and closed tears/chips to rear
flap joint. John Ledyard, Trelawney, Thomas Morton, James Bruce,
and Rimbaud. $275.00 #84665 order or inquire
WILLIAMS, Tennessee. CAT ON A HOT TIN ROOF. New
York: New Directions
Books/James Laughlin. First edition, with $3.00 jacket price, no New
York Times blurb following copyright. xiv + 197 pp. 8vo., pale terra
cotta colored cloth with black spine lettering. Very good, corners
gently bumped, and text block at top corner through about p. xii.
Owner's inkstamp on front flyleaf. B/w plate facing p. xiii (Jo
Mielziner's set design). In good dust jacket, corners slightly
chipped, a few small closed tears, light rubbing to rear panel. $200.00 #80327 order or inquire
PECK, Bradford. THE WORLD A
DEPARTMENT STORE. A Story of Life Under
a Co-operative System. Illustrations by Harry C. Wilkinson.
Lewiston, ME: Bradford Peck, (1900). First edition, inscribed by the
author. 8vo., grey cloth. Touch of foxing at front endpapers, top
and fore-edge. Else, near fine. A utopian novel. $175.00 #45769 order or inquire

SIGNED BY THE BLIND
BORGES
BORGES, Jorge Luis, ed. Donald A. YATES & James E. IRBY; preface by
Andre Maurois. LABYRINTHS: SELECTED STORIES AND OTHER
WRITINGS.
(New York:) New Directions (13th printing of 1964 edition). Trade
paperback, black and white wrappers. Fine. Signed by Borges on
title page after his battle with cataracts had cost him his
sight. $150.00 #82183 order or
inquire

BERGER, Thomas. LITTLE BIG
MAN. New York: The Dial Press, 1964.
First edition. 8vo., quarter black cloth, brown patterned paper
sides, gilt spine title. Slight lean to spine, with very light
shelfwear to fore-corners. Near fine, in a bright and very lightly
rubbed dust jacket. $150.00 #76762 order
or inquire
INSCRIBED; INCLUDES THE COMPLETE REVISED
TEXT OF 'SWEENEY ASTRAY'
HEANEY, Seamus. SWEENEY'S FLIGHT: BASED ON THE
REVISED TEXT OF 'SWEENEY ASTRAY.' With photographs by
Rachel Giese. London: Faber
and Faber, 1992. First edition. Presentation copy inscribed by
Heaney on front flyleaf. unpag. 4to., green cloth with gilt spine
lettering. Fine in near fine dust jacket, b/w pictorial cover,
minor scratches can be seen in certain light on front cover. Rachel
Giese's photographs of the Northern Irish landscape of Buile
Suibhne/Sweeney Astray, have inspired Heaney's new version of the
poem. $350.00 #82679

HEMINGWAY, Ernest. A FAREWELL TO ARMS. New York: Charles Scribner's
Sons, 1929. First edition, second printing, (with disclaimer). Just
about a fine copy in a first issue dust jacket, slightly rubbed and
edgeworn, with a few nicks and edge tears. The second printing was
the only printing to include the disclaimer and is often referred to
as the second issue. (Hanneman A8a: note). $1,350.00 #84942

GREENE, Graham. RUMOUR AT NIGHTFALL. Garden City, NY: Doubleday,
Doran & Company, 1932. First American edition. Octavo, red cloth
spine printed in black, black cloth sides, red endpapers, top-edge
stained red. A fine copy in a very good dust-jacket, which shows some
edgewear and nicks, and light soiling all over. Scarce in the
dust-jacket. $2,500.00 #76930
KEROUAC, Jack. THE TOWN AND THE CITY. New York: Harcourt, Brace and
Company, (1950). First edition, Review Copy with slip tipped in.
Kerouac's first book. 499pp. 8vo., red cloth, lettered in gold to
spine and upper board, top edge stained grey, fore edge untrimmed.
There is a little spotting on the top edge, else the book is fine in
the dust jacket, with the famous author photograph by Arni, which is
rather edgeworn with a few small nicks and tiny tears. (Charters
A1.a). $1,250.00 #53941
GREEN, Henry. BLINDNESS. New York: E.P. Dutton & Company, (1926).
First U.S. edition. 286pp. Small 8vo., light blue cloth, title
stamped in black ink to spine and front board. Sunning to board
perimeters with light shelfwear to bottom-edge. Three very small
spots of soil to top-edge of bookblock. There is some offsetting
to the front endpapers as well as the last 2 leaves of the volume
(where back jacket flap has been held), else clean and fresh
within. The dust jacket is bright but shows some edgewear: chipped
at crown and heel. Overall, this is a very good copy of the
author's first book, scarce in a dust jacket. $1,750.00 #76102
BENCHLEY, Robert. AFTER 1903 WHAT? With drawings by Gluyas Williams. New York and London: Harper and Brothers, 1938. First edition, inscribed presentation copy from the author. 8vo., black illustrated cloth. A very good copy that shows just a tiny bit of wear at the spine ends in a lightly soiled and edgeworn dust jacket that shows some small chips and short tears at the spine ends and extremities, short tears at the front fold. Uncommon signed. $650.00 #48828 click image for more details, pictures
JOYCE, James.
ULYSSES. New York: Random House, 1934. Review
copy
with slip laid in. Stated second printing of the first U.S.
authorized edition. "How to Enjoy James Joyce's Ulysses" foldout
pamphlet (from Random House) also laid in. 768pp. 8vo., white
cloth, black and red ink-stamped title to spine and front board,
top-edge stained red. Sunning to spine and a few minor spots of
exterior soiling. There are a few nicks to the heel and a half-
inch closed tear to cloth at front upper joint. Front hinge
starting, else clean and fresh within. About very good, with dust
jacket remnants (spine panel missing). $1,000.00 #76339
SCARCE LITTLE THEATRE FIRST EDITION
BROOKE, Rupert. LITHUANIA, a drama in one act. The Chicago Little Theatre, 1915. First edition. Cover design and tail-piece by C. Raymond Johnson. 48 pp. 8vo., brown paper wrappers, pictorial design printed in grey and black on upper cover, device on the lower cover, wire saddle stitch; one free endpaper, pale brown, at each end. The staples have oxidized, and the wrappers are no longer attached to the text; otherwise, this is a fine fresh copy, showing just a touch of edgewear and one negligible crease to front wrapper. Keynes notes that only 200 copies of the book are said to have been printed. (Keynes 38). $500.00 #60918 click image for more details, pictures
MANN, Thomas. THE
TRANSPOSED HEADS, A Legend of India.
(Kentfield, CA): Printed by Hand [at] The Allen Press, 1977.
Translated by H. T. Porter-Lowe. Introduction by Raghavan Iyer.
Limited edition; this is one of an edition limited to 140 copies
printed on paper hand-made at St. Cuthbert's mill in England. Text
decorations by early Indian artists are printed in black on yellow
rectangles within orange borders. Running title, in Sanskrit,
printed in purple. 108 pp. Folio, bound in brightly colored cloth
which was hand-blocked in India, paper label to spine. This is a
very fine and fresh copy. $500.00 #61112
KNICKERBOCKER KNOWLEDGE, ILLUSTRATED BY PARRISH
IRVING, Washington. A HISTORY OF NEW YORK FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD TO THE END OF THE DUTCH DYNASTY ... BY DIEDRICH KNICKERBOCKER. Illustrated by Maxfield PARRISH. New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1915. Second edition. xxxi + 299 pp. 4to., pale buckram with paper pastedown boards, front cover with Parrish illustration in sepia and gilt. Light soil and edgewear to spine, boards edgeworn, corners slightly bumped/paper chipped at lower corners. Ink gift inscription to owner on front flyleaf; slight offset pp. 26-7. Eight tipped in sepia tone illustrations by Parrish. "After all, gentle reader, cities of themselves, and in fact empires of themselves, are nothing without an historian." $450.00 #81959 click image for more details, pictures

TAKE YOUR PICK
UPDIKE, John. RABBIT IS RICH. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1981. First edition. Signed on the front flyleaf by Updike three times in
three different color inks with a notation "take your pick." This is
a fine copy in a fine dust jacket. $375.00 #85006
SIGNED LIMITED EDITION
O'NEILL, Eugene.STRANGE INTERLUDE. New York: Boni and Liveright, 1928. No. 9 of 775 copies on all-rag watermarked paper signed by the playwright. 298 pp. 4to., vellum with gilt leather spine label, deckle fore-edge. Some toning to vellum, label slightly chipped at right edge not affecting text. Minor shelfwear to beveled boards. Interior fine, some pages unopened. Very good plus overall. An O'Neill masterwork. $300.00 #82145 click image for more details, pictures
WITH SIGNED NOTE OF THANKS LAID IN
SARTON, May. IN TIME LIKE AIR. Poems. New York: Rinehart & Company, (1958). First edition. Signed on the front flyleaf, with a thank you note in Sarton's hand laid in. Fine in the dust jacket. Includes the poems Islands and Wells, On Being Given Time, The Metaphysical Garden, Lady with a Falcon and others. $275.00 #48833 click image for more details, pictures
TALE OF THE SOUTH
PETERKIN, Julia. BRIGHT SKIN. Indianapolis: Bobbs-Merrill, 1932. Limited edition, no. 62 of 250 copies signed by the author on limitation page. With note on Peterkin's personal stationery responding to request for an autographed book, probably a different title, dated 1942. Owner's bookplate on front pastedown, else fine. Julia Peterkin (1880-1961), mistress of Lang Syne, a South Carolina plantation, rejected the racial stereotypes common in much of Southern literature at the time and achieved success through her pioneering, realistic portrayals of African Americans in literature. She was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for literature in 1929 for her book Scarlet Sister Mary (1928). $650.00 #80120 click image for more details, pictures

HAZZARD, Shirley. CLIFFS OF FALL. NY; Knopf, 1963. First edition. 8vo., boards. Very good, a little sun and spotting and a sunned and
slightly nicked dust jacket. Hazzard's first book with a warm
personal inscription (29 October 1963). "For....who took the kindest
interest/in these stories when they/ were newborn with love/from
Shirley." $650.00 #85158
THE BITTER WORLD OF SPRING
Williams, William Carlos. THE CLOUDS, Aigeltinger, Russia, &c. Published jointly by the Wells College Press and The Cummington Press, 1948. First edition, limited to 310 copies, of which this is number 258. 64 pp. 8vo., grey cloth, paper label at spine. Internally clean; externally, the edges of the bookblock are lightly foxed. The spine label is slightly sunned and the bottom corners are gently bumped. Very good plus overall. (Wallace A26). Includes "The Bitter World of Spring," "Franklin Square" and other poems suitable for the season in New York. $400.00 #71169 click image for more details, pictures
|