Our members list new acquisitions and recently cataloged items almost every day of the year. Below, you'll find a few highlights from these recent additions...
The Grapes of Wrath [Inscribed]
by John Steinbeck
New York: The Viking Press, 1939. First Edition. First edition, with "First Published in April 1939" on copyright page and first edition notice on front flap of dust jacket. 8vo., publisher's heavy grain decorated beige cloth. A near fine copy in like dustjacket, bright, clean and fresh. Housed in a tailor made leather spined case. Inscribed by the author to the front flyleaf: "For Jules and Joyce and also Joan with love John Steinbeck."
Beneath the signature is one of Steinbeck's irreverent flying pig sketches (or "Pigasus" if you prefer), generally an indication that the recipient of his presentation was a close and valued friend,or someone he held in high esteem. In this case it was Jules Buck, and Joyce Gates, with their young daughter, Joan. Jules Buck started out as John Huston's camerman for his wartime documentaries ("Winning Your Wings", "Let There Be Light" etc.) and then grew into an influential producer, both in the US and abroad. Although having a sketchy working relationship with Huston, they reportedly fell out over Huston's anti-Semitic behaviour (Huston later referred to Buck as "My body servant" which is obviously super healthy). He collaborated with Steinbeck on the screenplay of what would end up as Elia Kazan's "Viva Zapata", although uncredited, and later produced "The Killers", "The Naked City" etc. before shifting to Europe to escape the Hollywood witch hunts, founding a production company with Peter O'Toole (Keep Films) and producing such wonders as "Under Milk Wood", "The Day They Robbed The Bank of England", "Lord Jim" and "What's New Pussycat." Joyce Gates was an actress in various small, often uncredited, roles in movies like "Kismet", and their daughter Joan is a notable journalist, writer, and all round renaissance woman by all accounts; at one point the London correspondent for Warhol's "Interview" magazine, the only American to have been editor-in-chief of French Vogue, and the subject of Tom Wolfe's "The Life and Hard Times of a Teenage London Society Girl.", later published in "The Pump House Gang." She started studying acting in 2002, and appeared in Nora Ephron's "Julie and Julia", later writing about the experience of auditioning for Ephron. She fell from grace after Vogue published a decidedly lightweight and grievously ill timed interview with Asma al-Assad, wife of Bashar al-Assad. Frankly they seem fascinating, but basically the point is that Steinbeck knew them very well, and liked them, and inscribed his sad, slow, strange, dust-bowl novel to them. A really gorgeous and interesting association copy of an undeniably great book.
Offered by Lorne Bair Rare Books.
by FLANNERY O'CONNOR
New York: Farrar, Straus and Cudahy, 1960. Boards. Near Fine/Near Fine. A lovely, bright copy of the 1960 1st edition of Flannery O'Connor's 2nd published novel (and 3rd published book overall). Clean and Near Fine in an unsually crisp, price-intact, Near Fine dustjacket, with just the faintest trace of very light wear at the spine ends and one tiny closed tear to the rear panel's bottom-edge. Attractive and very presentable.
Offered by Appledore Books.
[4to (11¼x8½] appeared after the World War II, this seems to be the first of its kind issued during the war. Divided into sections with titles such as "Biological Warfare - Germany vs. Europe"; "Nazi Slaughter Pens for Europe"; and "Yugoslavia: Land of Corpses. " Johannes Steel is best known for his 1934 book "The Second World War", in which he predicted the war based on an assessment of Nazi intentions and historical parallels. Contents include early information on the numbers of Jews and Poles killed by the Nazis. Given the poor quality of the paper, it is unlikely there are many copies of this work still around.
Offered by Nicolas D. Riccio, Rare Books.
Biblia Sacra; Vulgatae Editionis
by [DALÍ, SALVADOR]
Milan: Rizzoli, 1967. Limited Edition. Full leather. Fine. Limited edition of the Biblia Sacra, an illustrated bible featuring 105 lithographs from original works by Salvador Dalí.. Folio, [five volumes]. Bound in publisher's original full brown morocco. Each volume with five raised bands, lightly rubbed, gilt compartments, and title in gilt along spines. Silk endpapers. Top edges gilt, other edges untrimmed. Solid text blocks, all vibrant and fine. Housed in original slipcases, all with matching brown morocco edges and silk covered boards. Cases with a few small scuffs and spots of toning, near fine condition. Signed by the publisher on the preface of Volume I. One of 1499 copies of the "edition luxus," this being number 974. Complete with 105 lithographs printed in color on heavy paper, each protected by a captioned tissue guard. All lithographs created from the original gouache, watercolor, ink, and pastel paintings by Salvador Dalí, which he completed in 1963 and 1964. Text pages feature Dalí's signature watermark in the corner. (Field 69.3) (Lopsinger 1600)
An incredible collectible, rarely seen on the market in its complete form. Spanish painter Salvador Dalí (1904-1989) had a complex relationship with religion throughout his life. He sites his upbringing in a devout Catholic family as a significant influence on his artistic style and world views, but did not carry traditional practices into adulthood. Religious themes are explored in a number of his paintings including "Christ of Saint John of the Cross," "The Crucifixion," and "The Madonna of Port Lligat," all created after his return to Spain in the postwar era. Longtime friends and art collectors Guiseppe and Mara Albaretto commissioned Dalí to create illustrations for a new edition of the Bible in the early 1960s in hopes that he would "meditate on the Catholic religion" and reconnect with his own faith. The resulting 105 images, vibrantly reproduced here, are matched with specific verses from the Latin Vulgate Bible, which was prepared by St. Jerome in the 4th century and used as the Authorized Version in the Roman Catholic Church. (Park West Gallery, 2019)
Offered by First Edition Rare Books.
by CHANDLER, RAYMOND; PHILIP DURHAM [INTRODUCTION]
London: Hamish Hamilton, 1964. First edition. First edition. xii, 332 pp. Bound in publisher's red cloth with gilt lettering. Very Good with spine lean, foxing to top and fore edges, slight waviness to pages, in a Very Good+ dust jacket, toned with age and lightly worn, unclipped (21s net). A posthumously-published collection of stories for Chandler's compatriots in the UK, many originally published in Black Mask.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books.
by PYNCHON, THOMAS
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott, 1966. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First edition. Fine in fine dust jacket with a short closed tear which is barely visible near the front fold at the crown. A very nice copy of the author's increasingly scarce second book, invariably found worn. This is a far nicer than usual copy.
Offered by Between the Covers Rare Books.
E.M. Forster (First Edition, signed by Lionel Trilling)
by Lionel Trilling
Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1943. First Edition. First Edition. INSCRIBED by Lionel Trilling on the front endpaper in the year of publication: "To Charles / With cheers for his book of next year / Lionel / 7-22-43."
Trilling's in-depth study of Forster, the third volume in New Directions' "Makers of Modern Literature" series.
Very Good plus in a Very Good dust jacket. Fraying and toning at the spine and extremities. Jacket lightly toned overall, with a few chips and short tears (with a small cello-tape repair on the verso).
Offered by Royal Books.
[Photographic Portrait]: African-American Cowboy
1890. Unbound. Near Fine. Gelatin silver portrait of an unidentified African-American cowboy. Measuring 3½" x 4¾". Rubbing in the margins and the margins a little irregularly cut, but the image is clear and near fine. The subject, photographer, and location of the photograph are all unidentified. Full-length portrait of a confident looking Black cowboy in brass-studded leather vest, sheepskin chaps, bandana, and cowboy hat with lariat in his left hand and the other hand on the grip of his pistol. A particularly bold and pleasing image.
Offered by Between the Covers Rare Books.
by MELVILLE, HERMAN
New York: Harper and Brothers, 1851. First Edition. Very Good. First American edition of Melville's epic novel, in first issue binding and completely unrestored. In original gray cloth with publisher's device stamped in blind. xxiii, 635, [6 ads]. Very Good. Cloth lightly soiled and worn at the extremities, spine toned. Pages heavily foxed as common, owner details to front free endpaper, ink owner name to title page with offsetting to adjacent pages as well. Light, sporadic pencil notations to text, old unobtrusive tidemark to bottom margins A difficult, linguistically-innovative fever dream of a novel, which has been hailed as America's greatest contribution to world literature. Uncommon in the original publisher's binding and without any restoration; a beautiful example, housed in a custom chemise case.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books.
Bugs Bunny and the Pink Panther Sketched together in graphite, Signed
by Friz Freleng
Freleng has drawn the faces of two of his most popular cartoon characters together on sketch board measuring , 6 1/2 x 10 1/2/ inches. The Pink Panther seems to appear between Bugs Bunny's ears. Freleng signed in full below a smiling Bugs Bunny. Autograph.
Offered by Schulson Autographs.
by [YEATS, JACK BUTLER, 1871-1957]
Churchtown: E, C. Yeats at the Cuala Press, Churchtown, Dundrum, County Dublin, 1915. Very Good. Jack W. Yeats. Each number consists of a single sheet folded to form four pages. The final page is blank on all issues. Issues generally feature three illustrations, with the smaller 2 usually hand-colored and the largest in black and white. The larger picture is one of the two handcolored in three of the numbers present. One issue has four small hand-colored illustrations and no large one, colored or uncolored. 28 cm. Tear in right margin and another in left margin on both leaves on one issue -- Fifth Year, No. 2 (July, 1912). Chipping and soiling in top margin one issue -- Seventh Year No. 5 issue (Oct., 1915). Also some other lesser soiling, browning and wear but overall a nice group of these highly collectible Cuala Press publications.
These were found by us in a worn portfolio in blue cloth, and lacking the ties, with a small (and now chipped) handcolored illustration (a pirate playing a mandolin) mounted on the front cover. This portfolio was apparently a Cuala Press production since Falvey Library at Villanova University displays an identical portfolio case (in much better condition) in their online material about Jack Butler Yeats and the first 84 issues of A Broadside. All of the illustrations in these issues were done by Jack B. Yeats. It is apparently unclear whether Jack or others at Cuala Press did the handcoloring of the illustrations. All issues were limited to 300 copies.
Elizabeth ("Lolly") Corbett Yeats, identified as E. C. Yeats on the first page of each issue, as publisher of these issues, was the sister of Jack and W. B. Yeats. The poetry and ballads, mostly about Ireland and the Irish, were selected by Jack from a variety of sources, perhaps sometimes from his own pen. This group of issues includes a few poems (or ballads) about America or Americans ("Jesse James," "The Old Chisholm Trail," "Fuller and Warren," and "The Banks of the Sacremento [sic]"). Jack ended his involvement with A Broadside in 1915. W. B. Yeats acted as editor of the Second and Third Series of "A Broadside."
Offered by McBlain Books.
by Margaret Millar
New York: Random House, 1962. First edition. First edition. Signed by Margaret Millar on the front free endpaper, inscribed to former owner. [viii], 279pp. Bound in publisher's black cloth, spine stamped in red, yellow, and purple, red topstain. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket with sunned spine panel, light wear, unclipped ($3.50). A signed copy of a mystery featuring P.I. Joe Quinn, who winds up in the fictional California desert town of Chicote dealing with a religious cult that presages the Manson family.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books.
Architecturales de Londres, Les
by LONDON; SHEPHERD, THOMAS HOSMER, ILLUS.; ACKERMAN, RUDOLPH, PUBLISHER; MANDEVILLE, H., PUBLISHERS
Paris [&] London: H. Mandeville, Ackerman & Co., & Read & Co., 1855. The Architectural Beauties of London - Published by Mandeville & Ackerman
With Thirty-Six Very Fine Hand Colored Plates
[LONDON]. SHEPHERD, Thomas Hosmer, and others, illustrators. Les Beautes Architecturales de Londres. [The Architectural Beauties of London] Edition Poliglotte. En Francais, Anglais et Allemand. Paris: H. Mandeville [&] London: Ackerman & Co., & Read & Co., [1855].
Oblong folio (10 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches; 273 x 368 mm.). Hand colored engraved vignette title-page. Thirty-five plates engraved on copper and finely colored by a contemporary hand, representing the main palaces, bridges and residences of London. All plates mounted on guards. The eighth plate with the blank margins cut short (10 1/8 x 13 1/8 inches; 257 x 333 mm.). This example bound without the text leaves.
Early twentieth century quarter green scored calf over green paper boards, spine ruled and lettered in gilt, all edges gilt.
A fine example of this rare colored view book of London at the time of the Great Exhibition of 1851.
The plates were engraved by or after Thomas H. Sheherd, W. Lacey, John Wrightson, Ed Chavanne, Rodney Clark, W.E. Abutt, Hopkins, T.H. Jones, Le Pettit, Allan, Samuel Owen, Edmund Patten, H.S. Barnard, J. Redaway, W. Wallace, & Williams. Many of the plates with "Engraved for "Mighty London Illustrated" Read & Co."
A superb series of illustrations, including Crystal Palace; the Globe and Monster's Wyld, the Royal Exchange, Kensington Palace, Trafalgar Square, Buckingham Palace, Zoological Gardens and many other historic buildings in London. Ten of the engravings show the interior and exterior the crystal palace erected in London for the first universal exhibition (1851).
Les Beautes Architecturales de Londres is a visually rich collection showcasing the architectural highlights of London.
In nearly sixty years we have handled just one other colored copy.
"Another edition, No. 252 (JA 2881), had been issued in oblong form, without text, and containing ninety coloured engravings..." Abbey, Scenery 253.
OCLC locates just six **examples in libraries and institutions worldwide: Indiana University (IN, US); University of Maryland (MD, US); Colonial Williamsburg Found Resource Library(VA, US); Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz Bibliothek (Germany); Free Library Berlin (Germany); Landesbibliothek Coburg (Germany). **Apparently not colored.
Thomas Hosmer Shepherd (1793-1864) was an English artist and topographical watercolorist known for his detailed and accurate depictions of urban landscapes and architectural scenes.
The Plates:
[Vignette title-page]. The Crystal Palace. West End.
1. The Crystal Palace. From the Serpentine.
2. Interior of the Great Exhibition. North Transept.
3. Interior of the Crystal Palace, Great Building for International Exhibition, Hyde Park.
4. Interior of the Great Exhibition. South Transept.
5. Interior of the Great Exhibition. American Department (East End)
6. Interior of the Great Exhibition. From the Transept looking West.
7. Interior of the Great Exhibition. From Transept looking East.
8. Interior of the Great Exhibition. British Department. (blank margins cut short)
9. Interior of the Great Exhibition. From Dantes Temple.
10. Interior of the Great Exhibition. Grand State Opening, May 1, 1851.
11. Residence of the late Sir Robert Peel, Bart, Whitehall Gardens.
12. Marlborough House. The Residence of the late Queen Dowager (now the Vernon Gallery).
13. The Royal Exchange.
14. The Tower of London.
15. The Horse Guards. Front facing St. James's Park.
16. The British Museum.
17. East India House. Leadenhall Street.
18. Buckingham Palace (New Front).
19. The Marble Arch. Hyde Park Corner, Oxford St.
20. Trafalgar Square.
21. Custom House & London Bridge.
22. Triumphal Arch & Duke of Wellington's Statue. Constitution Hill.
23. New Houses of Parliament.
24. Westminster Abbey.(from the West).
25. The Quadrant, Regent's Street.
26. Hungerford Suspension Bridge.
27. Carlton House Terrace & Duke of York's Column. From St. James's Park.
28. Zoological Gardens. Regent's Park.
29. Apsley House & Entrance to Hyde Park. Piccadilly.
30. Kensington Palace.
31. St. Paul's Cathedral. From Ludgate Hill.
32. Army & Navy Club. Pall Mall.
33. The Treasury Buildings. Whitehall.
34. Wyld's Monster Globe. Leicester Square.
35. The Banqueting House Whitehall. (Now used for a Chapel).
Abbey, Scenery of Great Britain and Ireland 253 (note referring to Abbey 252 (1854 edition with 90 colored plates); Bobins IV, 1432.
Offered by David Brass Rare Books.
by Tenessee Williams
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New York: New Directions, 1947. First edition. Fine/Fine. A lovely copy of this theater and film highspot. A Fine copy of the book in like dust jacket. One small nick to the upper board and a short half-inch closed tear at the top of the front panel, but neither defect pushing this copy below Fine. Completely untoned and unfaded and exceptionally scarce as such. With a signed promo photo of Vivien Leigh laid in. Leigh won the Oscar for Best Actress for her role as Blanche in the 1951 film adaptation by Elia Kazan starring her, Marlon Brando and Kim Hunter. Exceptionally scarce in this condition. Housed in a custom clamshell case.
Tennessee Williams' 1947 masterpiece, a Pulitzer Prize winning work that remains one of the great plays of the American theatre. A Streetcar Named Desire follows Blanche DuBois as she moves to New Orleans to live with her sister, Stella, and Stella's husband Stanley. Like many of Williams' plays, some of the characters are thought to be inspired by members of Williams' own family.
A Streetcar Named Desire originally premiered on Broadway on December 3rd 1949, starring Marlon Brando and Jessica Tandy and directed by Eliza Kazan. The London production involved such theatrical luminaries as Vivian Leigh and Laurence Olivier. Of course, the play would be adapted in a classic film version in 1951, which would win four Academy Awards including Best Actress, and was chosen as the Library of Congress as ‘culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant.' "But Mr. Williams is entitled to his own independence. For he has not forgotten that human beings are the basic subject of art. Out of poetic imagination and ordinary compassion he has spun a poignant and luminous story." (Contemporary New York Times review). Fine in Fine dust jacket.
Offered by Whitmore Rare Books.
Miss Lonelyhearts [First Edition Library Facsimile]
by Nathaniel West
New York: First Edition Library / Collectors Reprints, 1990. Very Good/Very Good. New York: First Edition Library / Collectors Reprints, [1990]. Facsimile of the Liveright edition. Octavo; 213pp. Illustrated dust jacket over brown cloth with black and silver title to spine. Yellow topstain. Housed in gray slipcase with mounted graphic. FEL info card laid in. Jacket is clean and crisp, with some faint, sparse foxing to verso. Boards are square with some scattered surface spotting to cloth. Binding is sound and pages unmarked. Slipcase shows a bit of foxing and fading to cloth at top, with some light scuffs to illustrated panels, but is sturdy with no splits.
Facsimile reprint of the Liveright First Edition, whose own 2200-copy print run's release in 1933 was thwarted by the publisher's bankruptcy, resulting in only around 800 copies making it to the public.
Offered by Capitol Hill Books.
Life of Pi (Signed First Edition)
by Yann Martel
New York: Harcourt Inc, 2002. First British edition and first printing. Hardcover. 319 pages. Martel's powerful first novel which won the Booker Prize. The basis for a brilliant movie by Ang Lee. A clean and tight very near fine copy with some slight pushing to the top of the spine and in a fine dust jacket. Signed by Martel on the title page. A very fresh copy.
Offered by Jeff Hirsch Books.
Walter Camp, Revised by
New York: A.G. Spalding, 1891. Softcover. Very Good. First edition. Small octavo. Unpaginated. Illustrated. Stapled. Lacking front wrap? Small chips at the corners of a few pages, very good. Camp was the Coach of the Yale football team and probably did more than anyone else to popularize the game and to shape the rules as they now stand including cutting the number of players to 11 (from 15), instituting the quarterback position, creating a scrimmage to institute play (rather than a "scrum") and designing the "gridiron" pattern of the field. Additionally he was probably the first national figure to promote personal physical fitness, especially during the First World War.
Offered by Between the Covers Rare Books.
by BARNES, DJUNA AS A LADY OF FASHION
Paris: Printed for the Author, and Sold by Edward W. Titus, 1928. Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition. Illustrated wrappers. Some wear at the bottom of the spine else fine in unopened in a very good example of the original unprinted glassine sleeve with creases at the edges, tears at three corners and one small corner chip. Copy number 998 of 1000 numbered copies, with original folder card at the top with the limitation number. The early 20th Century's most notorious example of underground lesbian literature. The main character was based on Barnes' sometime-lover Natalie Barney, who encouraged her to publish the book. Most of the characters are based on other real lesbians and friends of the time: Mina Loy, Janet Flanner, Radclyffe Hall, Una Troubridge, and Oscar Wilde's niece, Dolly Wilde. A superior copy of a fragile book.
Offered by Between the Covers Rare Books.
Bride & Home [magazine] - Fall 1960 ("Special Budget Issue")
by (GUINAN, PATRICIA, ED.)
New York: The Hearst Corporation. Very Good+. 1960. (Number LXX). Magazine. [modest edgewear to covers and light handling wear, spine puckered and wrinkled a bit but undamaged; downgraded just a bit due to a slight musty odor]. (color/B&W photographs, ads, graphics, etc.) "The Bridal Magazine that is Different," declares the subhead, possibly due to the fact that its focus is at least as much on the "Home" part of its title as the "Bride," and its articles are firmly fixed on advising you how to do the whole wedding/honeymoon/settling-down-to-marriage thing without spending a small fortune. There are, unsurprisingly, oodles of ads in the magazine's 180 pages for lovely bridal gowns, bridesmaids' dresses, and all the expected accoutrements and paraphernalia -- but the contents are subdivided into very practical categories: "Bridal Fashions"; "Your First Home" (the largest section); and "Where to Go on Your Honeymoon." There's an additional (uncategorized) article entitled "How to Be an Angel after You're Married," and the issue's special feature is a piece called "How Two Can Live on $75 a Week." (Most of the articles in the "Your First Home" section, in fact, are in the same vein: "A Week's Good Eating for $13.95"; "20 Wonderful Chairs for under $50"; etc. And the $390 "Out-of-This-Country Honeymoon" promoted as one of the cover stories turns out to be all about Puerto Rico.) The magazine began publication in 1933, and while I can't say for sure that was how it always pitched itself (it's the only issue I've ever seen), it seems reasonable to assume that it understood its market niche to be definitely downscale from the more widely-distributed "Modern Bride." (One indicator of the relative popularity of these two titles is the OCLC record of the number of libraries worldwide with holdings: 529 for "Modern Bride," 4 for "Bride & Home.") .
Offered by ReadInk.
The Thin Man (Original herald for the 1934 film)
by MYRNA LOY, WILLIAM POWELL (STARRING); W.S. VAN DYKE (DIRECTOR); DASHIELL HAMMETT (NOVEL); ALBERT HACKETT, FRANCES GOODRICH (SCREENWRITERS)
Culver City, CA: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer [MGM], 1934. Vintage herald for the 1934 film.
Based on the 1934 novel by Dashiell Hammett, a classic of pre-Code cinema. Followed by five sequels.
6 x 7 inches. Bifold. About Near Fine, with faint foxing affecting the first leaf. Uncommon.
Offered by Royal Books.
The Golden Mother Goose A.B.C. [ Cover title.]
by Walter Stranders
Cincinnati: Peter G. Thomson, 1885 First edition. Publisher's richly chromolithographed card wrappers. . 10 x 10 in. . Eight pages, each with four richly chromolithographed illustrations decorated in gilt, some with gilt letters that correspond with lines of verse (B for "Ba-Ba Black Sheep," L for "Little Miss Muffet"). The other pages are printed in black with Mother Goose rhymes. Some wear to edges. Reinforced at gutter with tape between a few leaves. Some toning to leaves. Still a very good, bright copy of a scarce item. Walter Stranders was an artist and draftsman who illustrated the Dean's Word Changing Chromo Picture Toy Books series from Dean & Son, along with other children's books. He also drew maps of Boston (a map of a proposed improvement of Back Bay) and New York (a map of the proposed site of the 1883 World's Fair in the Bronx).
Offered by Michael R. Thompson Rare Books.
by WELLS, CAROLYN
Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1936. First Edition. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition. 308 pp. Publisher's red cloth stamped in black. Near Fine with slight lean to spine, light wear, in Very Good unclipped dust jacket, small closed tear to bottom of front panel, a little dust-soiled and toned with slightly chipped edges., faint red staining to front panel. A nice copy of a classic bibliomystery featuring Detective Fleming Stone, with a beautifully designed pictorial jacket.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books.
by BARRIE, JAMES MATTHEW; BEDFORD, FRANCIS (ILLUSTRATOR)
London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1911. First edition of J.M. Barrie's tale of Peter Pan's boyhood adventures, the foundation of most future adaptations. Barrie's first account of Peter Pan, published in The Little White Bird (1902), featured Peter as a baby, inspiring Barrie's collaboration with Arthur Rackham in Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens (1906). Peter and Wendy is based on Barrie's subsequent play featuring Peter Pan as a boy, a major event on the London stage, introducing the iconic characters of Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, and Wendy Darling to the Peter Pan legend: "Wendy knew that she must grow up. You always know after you are two. Two is the beginning of the end." An exceptional copy, in the first-issue jacket. Single volume, measuring 7.75 x 5.25 inches: viii, 267, [1]. Original dark olive pictorial cloth stamped in gilt, original olive pictorial dust jacket printed in gilt. Frontispiece, pictorial title page, and eleven halftone plates throughout text. Small expert paper repair to verso of jacket; jacket faded to dark grey, as usual. Laid in publisher's advertisement for an illustrated edition of Barrie's A Window in Thrums, to be "issued this Autumn" (1911). Housed in a custom clamshell box.
Offered by Honey & Wax Booksellers.
1950s Harley Davidson Motorcycle Club from North Carolina Photo Archive
[Motorcycle Culture] Photo archive of a Harley Davidson Motorcycle Club in the 1950s-60s in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. A large Archive of 41 vintage photographs, including 39 silver gelatin black and white prints and 2 vintage color photographs.
US motorcycle clubs have their roots in the period following W.W.II, where there were a lot of young men who had been in the war, and who were looking for something that would give them that same sense of camaraderie, and also the adrenaline kink. The Cable Harley Davidson dealership is the nexus of this group of 50's and 60's young Harley enthusiasts. Some photos showing bikers sporting jackets with the club's name on it, and several feature the biker's name on the bottom margins or versos. One photo captioned "S/E MC", possibly means "Southeast Motorcycle Club." Most photos that depict individual bikers have the bikers name as a caption at the lower edge or sometimes on verso of the photograph. The Harley riders can be seen on a range of models, from touring Harley Davidson bikes to sportier varieties. One of the 2 color photos shows a street parade of the Harley riders. The men in this photo exemplify 1950s and 60s style, and many of them are seen wearing the black leather jackets, black leather caps of the early 50's and boots that have come to represent bikers worldwide. The leather caps were inspired by Marlon Brando's 1953 film, The Wild One, where he stars as a biker gang leader, and boasts a leather cap of the same style. Earlier images capture bikers in retro white helmets with prominent goggles attached, popularized in the 1930's and 40's. American bikers of the 50's often ride Harley Davidson motorcycles because of the brand's historical association with rebellion and nonconformity. Harley Davidson motorcycles have been popular among biker clubs due to their powerful engines, distinctive sound, and rugged image. In essence, Harley's look cool, sound cool, and feel cool. Additionally, Harley Davidson riders of that era like today also had the feeling of freedom and escaping those restraints of life, with their face literally in the wind. These early Harley photographs document the free spirit of these young riders. The photographs were largely taken from a photo album, with many still having the black album paper attached on verso. They have been sealed in protective tape and well preserved and form a coherent representation of Southern bikers in this time period. In very good condition overall.
Offered by Max Rambod, Inc.
Tar Baby (Signed; Larry McMurtry's Copy)
by Toni Morrison
First Trade Edition; First Printing; A Fine book in a Near Fine dust jacket, with the common color fading to the spine and light chipping to the spine head. SIGNED by the author to the front free paper. This volume came from the library of Larry McMurtry and has his personal bookplate affixed to the front pastedown. A unique association copy of a classic novel, from the Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning author. Not remaindered, not price clipped, not ex-library; in a protective Mylar sleeve and will ship carefully wrapped in a sturdy box.
Offered by Grayshelf Books.
[s.l.]: Marvel Comics, [April 12, 1977]., 1977 Publisher’s pictorial wrappers, with colorful illustration of heroes in front of Darth Vader and the Death Star by Howard Chaykin and Tom Palmer to front panel, Spalding advertisement to rear panel. With CGC grade of 9.8. Fine, with the CGC’s only note being “off-white to white pages.” Overall, a bright and beautiful copy of the first issue of Marvel Comics’ Star Wars series. Star Wars #1 is the first issue of a six-part adaptation of Star Wars (later retitled Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope), the first film in the original Star Wars trilogy. This issue recreates the beginning of the film, up until Luke Skywalker, tracking down R2D2, is attacked by a band of Sand People. George Lucas approached Marvel in 1975 with the idea of a comic book adaptation to help promote the upcoming film, and after some initial hesitation Stan Lee greenlit the project. In total, Marvel Comics published 108 Star Wars issues and 3 annuals from 1977 to 1986. The comics were very successful and helped Marvel Comics stay afloat financially during a difficult period for the company near the end of the 1970s. Notably, this first issue was released more than a month before the film - the comic was published on April 12, 1977 and Star Wars debuted in theaters on May 25, 1977. . First Edition. Original Wraps. Fine.
Offered by B&B Rare Books.
Collection of Original Woodblocks Used to Illustrate French Culinary Classics
France, 1880. One hundred eighty-seven (187) original woodblocks (see photos 1 - 4) for illustrations of various dishes, surtouts, kitchen equipment, etc., that appeared in works by Urbain Dubois (1818-1901). Information provided on back labels of single blocks (more on this below) identifies the following sources:
La Grand Livre des pâtissiers et des confiseurs
La Cuisine de tous le pays
La cuisine d'aujourd'hui
La Cuisine artistique, étude de l'école moderne
La Cuisine classique
Given that each of these titles typically contained hundreds of illustrations and that identification of all of the woodblocks has not been achieved, it is unlikely that this group constitutes a complete set for any single title. It is possible that some were used in multiple works, but that remains to be verified.
Dubois is a pivotal figure in the history of French cuisine and certainly one of the most prolific culinary authors of the Belle Epoque. He is credited with introducing service à la russe to Western Europe, and some scholars attribute the usage of the term chef, as we intend it today, to his publications. Some of his works were translated into English, initiating an important cross-channel exchange of culinary methods.
The general condition of the blocks is quite good. Only three present damage (photo 5), perhaps due to the wear and tear of printing many editions. Many present traces of the solution of zinc white in gum Arabic that provided the ground for the artist's design before sculpting (photos 6 - 7). In these cases, the image is clearly visible. Others bear heavy traces of ink, making it more difficult to discern the carved image (photo 8).
A few of the blocks bear the trademark of the company that provided the boxwood: W. Güldenstein - Brandenburgstr 55 - Berlin or [Gül]denstein Fabrik fur Buxbaumpiatten - Berlin S - Brandenburgstr - 35 (photos 9 and 10)
Many (but not all) of the blocks bear back labels that appear to be recycled bits of stationery from the historic Librairie Salet in Paris (subsequently Salet & Soete and finally Flachard). These labels, applied with cello tape, are hand-written and contain the following information with some variations: title, date, and edition of the book where the illustration appeared as well as the name of the particular dish. Many also contain numbers written in various hands (Photos 11, 12, 13). Calligraphic numerals also appear on some blocks, peeking out from below the paper labels.
My tally is 136 blocks with labels and 51 without.
The woodblocks offer a unique view of a particular printing period and of gastronomical history. A motivated researcher could take this material in many different directions. How many times were the blocks reused? What impact did such a rich iconographic apparatus have on the price of the books at the time they were issued? Why were the woodblocks imported from Prussia? Perhaps it was due to the author's connection to the crown. For a time, Dubois was chef de cuisine to Wilhelm I, Emperor of Germany.
What was the relationship between Dubois and the artist (unidentified as far as I know) who carved the blocks? Catherine Slessor has examined Dubois' works in relation to architectural history:
Dubois's fame spread through his widely disseminated culinary manuals, featuring an immense repertoire of designs with precise instructions for their manufacture. He was familiar with every style of architectural ornament down to its smallest detail and insistent on the correct application of various styles, scrupulously categorizing them according to the demands of particular materials. 'It is the unquestionable truth that ornaments in icing sugar are best compatible with the Gothic style of architecture', he writes, while 'designs in fat' are recommended for Classical subjects. He provided detailed drawings of the various architectural orders which could be formed into porticoes 'used for monuments and fancy buildings and applied indifferently to ornament cold meats or pastry'.
Offered by De Simone Company.
An illustrated calligraphic manuscript
by GUJER, HANS RUDOLF
Wermatswil, Switzerland, 1750. Folio (335 x 210 mm). [37] leaves, complete. Calligraphic manuscript on paper, in German, written on rectos only, in landscape format, in variously colored inks and watercolor, with occasional use of gouache, including seven large original drawings, of which one in pen-and-ink and six in ink and watercolor; three pages of alphabets (fols. [1], [35] and [36]), most pages with 3 compartments including ornately decorated capital initials, floral, figurative and abstract ornamental borders and infills throughout, one page with music (a hymn in 4 parts), and one with micrography. Watermark of shield framed by fleur-de-lis containing the initial J or I (134 x 105 mm.). Condition: 2 leaves with drawings smudged by waterstaining, marginal fraying, about 10 leaves with short closed mostly marginal tears, a few small internal tears or holes from acidic black ink, small adhesions at edge of fol. [8] (Samson drawings), 4 leaves with old patches on versos (fol. [1]v patched with a 19th- or early 20th-century newspaper fragment), some chipping to edges, occasional spotting & fingersoiling. Bound in contemporary laminated boards covered with two different floral wallpapers, except for a portion of front cover, showing old speckled calf or roan, one of the papers used for turn-ins, edges untrimmed, 3 blank flyleaves (including free endleaf) at front and back; covers very rubbed. Provenance: full-page colophon of the calligrapher on last leaf: Von Mir geschriben / Hans Rudolf guier / Zu Wermet-schweil: / 1750, with marginal calligraphic addition noting his age at the time of writing: mein alter war 20 Jahr.***
A colorful, inventive and masterfully executed calligraphic display book by a 20-year old artist from rural Switzerland, combining striking layouts with an imaginative use of letterforms and whimsical and delicately colored drawings.
Exuberantly naive, this captivating folk art manuscript was signed and dated by the artist-calligrapher, Hans Rudolf Gujer, of Wetterswill (approx. 20 km east of Zürich). Gujer was a relative, perhaps a son, of the celebrated "philosopher farmer" Jacob Gujer, who became famous for successfully applying modern agricultural discoveries to rescue an indebted family farm. He was portrayed in 1761 as the archetypal wise peasant in Die Wirtschaft eines philosophischen Bauer by the Zürich city physician Hans Caspar Hirzel. Although Jacob welcomed the likes of Goethe, Lavater, and Mirabeau, the Gujers were a peasant family, although a well-off one (Dictionnaire Historique de Suisse, art. "Gujer"), and they remained farmers for a few more generations.
The German texts of the album are religious: biblical quotations, prayers, and other devotional texts. The spelling varies and does not always reflect modern usage. Other than the opening leaf, containing two simple ornamental alphabets in ink, and fol. [11], containing text only, every page is filled with color and unbridled (though carefully planned) ornamentation. 24 pages have a similar layout, with the main text in a large compartment filling the right-hand side of the page, and a large ornamental Fraktur initial at top left (or, in fol. [5], a drawing), usually with dense pen-and-ink work, and a small compartment containing a prayer at bottom left. Within this layout the styles and colors of the initials and the borders vary widely. The ornamental borders include stylized plants, animals, angels, and abstract motifs. One page is entirely in red, and one in red and black, while the others use multiple colors. For the main texts Gujer used a chancery cursive (Kanzleischrift), a neat Kurrentschrift or a rounded gothic script, with the first or first and second lines in flourished or ornamented gothic or Fraktur lettering. There are several instances of literally fractured letters, in which different parts of the letters are drawn with a different vertical axis, creating a step-like pattern.
Offered by Musinsky Rare Books.
by DOYLE, ARTHUR CONAN
London: Ward, Lock & Co, 1888. Very good plus.. First edition in book form, second impression, of the novel that introduced Sherlock Holmes to the world - this copy once owned by Lord Donegall, former editor of the London SHERLOCK HOLMES JOURNAL. This novel features the famous first meeting of Holmes and his chronicler John Watson, when Holmes remarks after only a greeting and a handshake, "You have been in Afghanistan, I perceive." Doyle first began writing stories to pass the time while waiting on appointments for his budding optometrist business. Drawing inspiration from Joseph Bell, one of his professors at the University of Edinburgh's medical school, Doyle created a difficult genius whose deductive reasoning skills could solve crimes that remained mysterious to the officers of the Scotland Yard. First published in the ephemeral 1887 Beeton's Christmas Annual, this extravagant story of Mormon polygamy, terror, and chase is now nearly unobtainable in its original form in wrappers. This edition is noteworthy also for the illustrations, executed by the author's father: Charles Doyle was a well-known artist who had been committed to an asylum for mental health problems a few years earlier. The illustrations depict a Sherlock Holmes very different from the one we know today, capturing the world's only consulting private detective before his immense popularity on paper, stage, and screen turned him into the deerstalker-wearing, pipe-smoking icon. 7'' x 4.5''. Early blue cloth, red spine label. Bound without wrappers or ads. 6 full-page black-and-white illustrations by Charles Doyle, the author's father. Typo "youunger" to publisher's preface (ref. Green & Gibson). [6], 169, [1] pages. Bookplates of Gilbert C. Elliot, the 6th Marquis of Donegall, and S.L. Courtland to endpapers. Housed in a custom blue cloth slipcase. Spine lightly toned, with touch of fraying to front joint, some rubbing to spine label. Offsetting to endpapers, else interior clean.
Offered by Type Punch Matrix.
by UNITED STATES, GENERAL LAND OFFICE - C. ROESER, PRINCIPAL DRAUGHTSMAN, G.L.O.
Washington, D.C.: General Land Office [printed in New York by Julius Bien, lithographer], 1879. Color-lithographed map. A very detailed colour-coded map of Missouri showing towns, rivers, roads, railroads, among other landmarks.
The General Land Office was founded in 1812 as an independent government agency responsible for the surveying and disposition of land in the public domain. Prior to the Civil War, much of the attention of the GLO was fixed on the settlement of such land east of the Mississippi which had resulted from military bounties and cessations by the original thirteen states. The end of the Civil War, the Homestead Act, the completion of the Trans-Continental Railroad and the military campaigns against Native Americans in the West (with resulting treaties that "transferred" land ownership to the United States), together engendered an incredible increase in westward settement and expansion. Newly-admitted states and newly-created territories west of the Mississippi were primed for settlement. Between 1866 and 1876, the GLO surveyed over 200,000,000 acres of land in the public domain for settlement in New Mexico, Idaho, Dakota, Nebraska, Montana, Colorado, Wyoming and elsewhere. As the official surveyors of these remote areas, and with access to military information, the maps of the General Land Office were far and away the most accurate and detailed of the western states and territories published to that time. Indeed, these large-scale official maps became the basis for future maps of those regions by commercial cartographers. In 1876, the GLO, headed by S.S. Burdett, published an atlas containing 18 maps (on 19 sheets, California being on two sheets), showing the regions of the United States with newly surveyed and plotted public lands. Although the GLO had issued individual maps of the United States to accompany their annual report in 1866 and 1868, the 1876 Geographical and Political Atlas of the States and Territories (sometimes referred to as The Centennial Atlas) was the first atlas to be published by the department. The incredible growth of settlement in the west, coupled with new exploration and surveying in the short time following the 1876 atlas, engendered a second atlas to be published by the General Land Office between 1878 and 1879 [i.e. where the present example is from]. Like the Centennial Atlas, the maps were composed by the chief draughtsman in the GLO, Charles Roeser, Jr. The maps were done on a large scale and are consequently very detailed. Chromolithographed by Julius Bien, each map is colour coded to clearly depict land plotted for settlement, the locations of the general land offices, Indian territories, county divisions, towns, rivers, roads, railroads, etc. Furthermore, like The Centennial Atlas, the Atlas of the States and Territories over which Land Surveys have been Extended was produced for official purposes and distributed to members of Congress, government agencies, each land office, the post office, the railroads, and other large entities and was not available for public distribution. The limited distribution of this atlas, coupled with its large size, accounts for its great rarity today; very few copies are known to be in private hands and no copies were in the famed collections of Rumsey, Streeter or Graff.
Offered by Donald A. Heald Rare Books.
Dune (First British Edition, Inscribed)
by Frank Herbert
London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1965. First British edition. First British edition, first printing. Signed by Frank Herbert on the title page, inscribed "For John[,] 9 June '81[,] Frank Herbert" with the author's printed name crossed out. viii, 430 pp. Bound in publisher's brown cloth with black spine lettering. Very Good, with some foxing to boards and edges, a few reading smudges, hinges starting with small crack in front gutter near head. In a Very Good dust jacket, typical laminate bubbling along gutters, small closed tear to front panel near upper outer corner, small chip at head, scratch to back panel, unclipped (30/- net). A signed copy of the bestselling, award-winning science-fiction epic inspired by the Oregon dunes. The novel in turn inspired multiple films as well as a series of novels by Herbert and his son.
Offered by Burnside Rare Books.
Ham on Rye (Signed limited edition)
by Charles Bukowski
Santa Barbara: Black Sparrow Press, 1982. First edition. Near Fine/Near Fine. Number 134 of 351 copies, signed with a doodle by Bukowski on the limitation page. Near Fine copy in Nearly Fine publisher's acetate. Boards clean and vivid with yellow cloth backstrip retaining the delicate paper label to the spine. Faint staining to spine cloth at lower front joint, and spotting to the closed top edge of the text block. Bright blue endpapers, appearing unread. Publisher's acetate with expected minor scuffs and residue to upper front panel from removed label, else exceptionally preserved.
Ham on Rye (1982), Bukowski's semi-autobiographical novel is an intimate, unabashed look at the author's childhood and the youthful exploits that shaped him into a prolific and notorious author. Here a young Bukowski (called Henry Chinaski), raised in a lower-middle class family and abused by his draconian father, struggles with feelings of alienation. The novel looks unflinchingly at post-war America and a young man's desire for escapism be it through library books or cheap booze.
Krumhansl 74. Near Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.
Offered by Whitmore Rare Books.
by CHURCH, RUTH ELLEN; "MARY MEADE" (PSEUDONYM)
Chicago: Rand McNally & Company, 1962. Octavo (21.5 x 15.5 cm.), 176 pages. Illustrated. Index. FIRST EDITION. A compendium of pancake recipes from Ruth Ellen Church, the food editor of the Chicago Tribune. Her column there and most her books were written under the pseudonym Mary Meade. While at the Tribune, she established the first newspaper test kitchen, and she has been called the first American to have a regular wine column. In publisher's pale blue cloth, with some light spotting to top edge. In color-printed dust jacket, with some light wear to edges, and a bit of spotting to same. Near very good.
Offered by Rabelais: Fine Books on Food & Drink.
The Princess Bride: S. Morgenstern's Classic Tale of True Love and High Adventure
by William Goldman
New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc, 1973. First Edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Basis for the classic 1987 film of the same name direced by Rob Reiner and starring Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, Christopher Guest, Peter Falk, Fred Savage, and Andre the Giant. Second Printing, Harcourt "A" missing on copyright page. 308 pp. 8vo. Light scuffing to dust jacket from shelf wear, 1" closed tear at base of rear panel, 1" tear 1/3 of the way down from the top of the rear dust jacket flap, some creasing directly above, very slight sunning to spine, now in mylar cover. Gray cloth boards with a hint of bumping to corners, dust staining to foredges of text block, black remainder mark at base of text block. Clean within.
Offered by Craig Olson Books.
by JONI MITCHELL (ARTIST); NORMAN SEEF (PHOTOGRAPHER)
Ontario: Wilfrid Laurier University, 1974. Vintage Joni Mitchell concert poster for a performance at Wilfrid Laurier University, February 9, 1974, in support of her classic 1974 album, "Court and Spark." Featuring a striking one-color tiger orange graphic of the Norman Seef photograph featured on the verso of the "Court and Spark" album sleeve. The only example of this poster we have ever seen.
A fan review from the Joni Mitchell website: "People were buzzing, saying 'Joni's got an electric band now!' No reserved seating for this show. [When] the doors were opened...a crowd swarmed past the head of the line, pushing their way in.
"The LA Express came on immediately to play a warm up set. None of us had heard Court and Spark yet and had no idea what to expect. After a set of cool and funky jazz by Tom Scott and [company], Joni came on and played an acoustic set on piano and alternating between two acoustic guitars, changing tunings quickly and chatting candidly between songs, at ease and intimate.
"After her solo set there was a break and when [Joni] came back she was joined by the band, Robben Ford on Guitar, Max Bennet, bass and John Guerin doing a fine job on the drums, lifting the whole concert to a new height. The show closed with "Raised on Robbery. ... It was...a happy kick in the head and heart!"
17 x 23 inches. Faint creasing to the far bottom corners, else Near Fine.
Offered by Royal Books.
POEMS, CHIEFLY IN THE SCOTTISH DIALECTby BURNS, ROBERT. (BINDINGS - COSWAY-STYLE)
Edinburgh: Printed for the Author, and Sold by William Creech, 1787. First Edinburgh Edition. 210 x 123 mm. (8 1/4 x 4 3/4"). xlviii, 3[9]-68 pp. Without the half title but with the list of subscribers.
ELEGANT EMERALD GREEN CRUSHED MOROCCO, GILT AND ONLAID, BY SANGORSKI & SUTCLIFFE (stamp-signed on rear doublure), covers framed by floral chain roll between two sets of gilt fillets, central panel with lobed fillet frame, oblique thistle tools at corners, upper cover with central medallion of lavender morocco with Burns' monogram in gilt, this surrounded by a wreath of gilt thistles with onlaid lavender morocco blooms, raised bands, spine compartments with French fillet frame, triad of onlaid purple morocco thistle blossoms at center, leafy fronds at corners, gilt lettering, RUSSET BROWN MOROCCO DOUBLURES framed by green morocco with ribbon roll border and quotes from "To a Mouse" and "Auld Lang Syne" lettered in gothic majuscules, at center of front doublure AN EXTREMELY FINE OVAL MINIATURE PAINTED ON IVORINE AND INSET UNDER GLASS IN A RECESSED COMPARTMENT, THIS SURROUNDED BY A LAUREL WREATH SET WITH TWO YELLOW TOPAZ AND TWO AMETHYSTS, apricot moiré silk free endleaves, all edges gilt. In a later very fine green morocco-backed clamshell box by Zaehnsdorf. With frontispiece portrait engraved aby John Beugo after a portrait painted for this edition by Alexander Nasmyth, with tissue guard. Verso of front free endpaper with morocco bookplate of Paul Edward Chevalier. Gibson, p. 5; Rothschild 556.
Text lightly washed and pressed (in keeping with the bibliophilic fashion at the time of binding), but the leaves still fresh as well as remarkably clean; A FINE COPY IN A GLITTERING BINDING WITH NO SIGNS OF WEAR.
This is an exquisitely bound copy of the second printing (after the extremely rare Kilmarnock first edition of 1786) of one of the most famous poetic publications in history. Burns issued the poems at the age of 27 in order to raise passage money for a voyage to Jamaica, where he had been offered an agricultural post on a plantation. At a time when his contemporaries were searching for the "natural bard" and, in the process, had unearthed poetical threshers, poetical milk maidens, poetical cobblers, and more, the charming plowman Burns delivered his simple and beautiful lyrics with most propitious timing. He found himself famous almost at once, and his fame has not faltered over time, even though, after the appearance of the present work, he did little during the rest of his life except write songs and drink. The so-called "Cosway" binding, featuring handsome morocco inset with one or more painted miniatures, apparently originated with the London bookselling firm of Henry Sotheran about 1909. It was in that year that G. C. Williamson's book entitled "Richard Cosway" (dealing with the British miniature painter of that name, 1742-1821) was remaindered by Sotheran and presumably given this special decorative treatment to encourage sales. The name "Cosway" was then used to describe any book so treated, whoever its author. Although the artist of our miniature is unidentified, the work here is remarkably well done and clearly inspired by the engraved portrait of Burns in the book. The quality of the painting suggests that it could possibly have been done by Caroline Billin Currie, best known for her role in producing Cosway bindings of the sort seen here. Collaborating mostly with Riviere, she produced about 1,000 such bindings by the time she died in 1940. The present example is the work of Riviere's great rival. Francis Sangorski and George Sutcliffe trained with Douglas Cockerell before founding their own bindery in 1901. They continued in a successful partnership until 1912, when Francis drowned. Despite this loss, the firm grew and prospered, employing a staff of 80 by the mid-1920s and becoming perhaps the most successful English bindery of the 20th century. Though our binding dates from the first quarter of the 20th century, its extraordinarily fine condition could easily lead one to believe that it is brand new. It should be no surprise that this beautiful volume has an illustrious provenance: it comes from the collection of 20th century English bindings put together by Paul Chevalier, whose library of beautiful volumes was uniformly characterized by outstanding workmanship and superb condition. The sale of his books at Christie's in 1990 represented one of the best collections of British bindings brought to auction in the past half century (this was lot #81, which sold for $3,300 all in).
Offered by Phillip J. Pirages Fine Books & Manuscripts.
A complete run of the Doves Press vellum books and a complete run of the Hammersmith Publishing Society, plus archive
by COBDEN-SANDERSON, THOMAS JAMES (1840-1922, PUBLISHER, BINDER), COBDEN-SANDERSON, ANNE (1853-1926, PUBLISHER), JOHNSTON, EDWARD (1872-1944, CALLIGRAPHER), MASON, JOHN H. (1875-1951, COMPOSITOR), PRINCE, EDWARD (1846-1923, PUNCHCUTTER), WALKER, EMERY (1851-
London: Doves Press, No. 1 The Terrace Hammersmith; No. 15 Upper Mall Hammersmith W., 1917. 43 4to vols., 6 pamphlet letters, 61 pieces of paper ephemera. Various sizes, largest (13 1/4 x 9 1/4 inches). 33 vols. in full limp vellum with gilt lettering on spines with [THE DOVES BINDERY] stamp at foot of rear pastedowns. 10 vols. in boards, 8 of which are quarter-bound in vellum. The 6 paper pamphlet letters laid into original heavy brown handmade paper wrappers. Nearly all the paper ephemera on Doves Press paper.
Provenance: Nathan Todd Porter, Jr. (1867-1947), a collector. His collection of Edwin Davis French bookplates now at Yale.
A complete run of the Doves Press vellum titles (37 of 40 total Doves Press books), a complete run of the Cobden-Sandersons' Hammersmith Publishing Society books, an unmatched collection of Doves Press ephemera, and two pieces of ink manuscript correspondence from T. J. Cobden-Sanderson. An impressive readymade research archive of one of the most important private presses, with all materials in remarkable condition. "When it is said that [Doves Press books] approach dangerously near to absolute perfection [.] everything has been said." (Ransom, p.56)
"The Doves Press books were not merely printing; they were symbols of 'a vision of Cosmic Order, Order wrought in rhythm and touched with Beauty and Delight.'" (Ransom quoting Cobden-Sanderson, p.52)
This unheralded collection of Doves Press materials includes the iconic Doves Press Bible; all three books of Milton; Emerson's Essays, which was the only Doves Press book by an American author; and the first Doves Press book, Tacitus's Agricola. The books are complemented by a wealth of ephemera including two pieces of ink manuscript correspondence from publisher Cobden-Sanderson, 26 receipts for Doves Press books on Doves paper, 26 paper press notices, catalogues, advertisements, and prospectuses, and all 6 Hammersmith Publishing Society titles printed by the Chiswick Press. Hammersmith was a publishing line edited by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson and his wife Anne, who wrote that Hammersmith, "was my husband and myself, in those days of enthusiasm at the end of the last century when we set out to convert the world to Socialism." (Tidcombe, p.233) All of the Doves Press books besides the Bible were issued in print-runs of 150 to 300 copies, making any individual copy scarce, and a collection of this size rarely encountered.
The only three Doves Press books not present in this collection are those which were not published in vellum, which were instead issued in brick-red native-dyed niger goatskin.
"Based in Hammersmith, London, the Doves Press was founded by T. J. Cobden-Sanderson who was a friend of William Morris and a staunch supporter of Arts and Crafts ideology. The press was established with funds from Cobden-Sanderson's wife Anne and by 1900, Emery Walker was asked to join as a partner. A distinguishing feature of the Dove Press books was a specially-devised typeface, known variously as the Doves Roman, the Doves Press Fount of Type, or simply the Doves Type." (The Economist)
The Doves Press Books Included with Tidcombe Reference Numbers:
DP1 Publius Cornelius Tacitus, Agricola
DP2 Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, The Ideal Book
DP3 William Morris, An Address Delivered the XITH November MDCCCC , by J. W. MacKail (NP Bookplate)
DP4 Alfred Lord Tennyson, Seven Poems & Two Translations
DP5 John Milton, Paradise Lost
DP6 The Bible Vols. I-V (NP bookplate in I-IV, few leaves foxed)
DP7 John Milton, Paradise Regain'd (Damp-staining. NP Bookplate)
DP8 Ralph Waldo Emerson, Essays
DP9 Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, London: A Paper Read at a Meeting of the Art Workers Guild, March 6 1891
DP10 Goethe, Faust
DP11 John Ruskin, Unto This Last: Four Essays on the First Principles of Political Economy
DP12 John Milton, Areopagitica
DP13 Thomas Carlyle, Sartor Resartus
DP14 Catalogue Raisonné of Books Printed and Published at the Doves Press, May 1908
DP15 Robert Browning, Men and Women Vol. 1 / Vol. 2 (back board of vol. 2 creased)
DP17 William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet Prince of Denmarke
DP18 William Shakespeare, Shake-speare's Sonnets Tercentenary Edition
DP19 William Caxton: A Paper Read at a Meeting of the Club of Odd Volumes, by George Parker Winship
DP20 Goethe, Faust: Zweiter Theil
DP21 ed. J. W. Mackail, Pervigilium Veneris
DP22 Robert Browning, Dramatis Personae
DP24 Goethe, Die Leiden des Jungen Werther
DP25 William Wordsworth, A Decade of Years, 1798-1807
DP27 Catalogue Raisonné of Books Printed and Published at the Doves Press, 1900-1911
DP28 Goethe, Iphigenie auf Tauris ein Schauspiel
DP29 William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Anthony and Cleopatra
DP30 William Shakespeare, Venus and Adonis
DP31 Goethe, Torquato Tasso
DP32 William Shakespeare, The Tragedie of Jvlivs Caesar
DP33 Thomas James Cobden-Sanderson, Amantium Irae
DP34 William Shakespeare, The Tragedy of Coriolanus
DP35 Percy Bysshe Shelley, [Selections]
DP36 John Keats, [Selections]
DP37 William Shakespeare, The Rape of Lvcrece
DP38 William Wordsworth, The Prelude
DP39 Goethe, Auserlesene Lieder Gedichte und Balladen Ein Strauss
DP40 Catalogue Raisonne of Books Printed & Published at the Doves Press, 1900-1916
The Included Doves Press Letters:
DPL1 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "The City Planned Reprinted from the Westminster Gazette," (Annotated by Cobden-Sanderson)
DPL3 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "Shakespearian Punctuation: A Letter Addressed to the Editor of 'The Times.". (2 copies)
DPL4 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "On a Passage in Julius Casesar: A Letter Addressed to the Editor of 'The Times'."
DPL6 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "The New Science Museum: A Letter, with Additions, Addressed to the Editor of 'The Times."
DPL7 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "Note on a Passage in Shelley's Ode to Liberty."
DPL8 T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, "Wordsworth's Cosmic Poetry: Reprinted from The Westminster Gazette."
The Included Doves Press Ephemera:
DPE 14: Notice, April 1902, Supplementary Subscription (2 pp annotated)
DPE 36 Announcement, Recent Publications 1907-1909 (2 pp annotated)
DPE 40 Advertisement, October 1910: In preparation: Browning's Dramatis Personae (4 pp) [3 copies, 1 annotated]
DPE 41 Announcement and Order Form, October 1910. Notice to Subscriber (Dramatis Personae) (2 pp)
DPE 43 Announcement, 1910: Early in January: Dramatis Personae, Previgilium Veneris (4 pp)
DPE 44 Announcement, March 1911: In preparation: In Principio, Werther (4 pp)
DPE 45 Catalogue, May 1911: Catalogue of Books Printed and Published, 1900-1911 (8 pp)
DPE 46 List, 1911-1912: List of Books in Preparation by Mr. Cobden-Sanderson (4 pp)
DPE 47 Announcement, November 1911: Decade of Years, In Principio (4 pp)
DPE 49 Announcement, 1912: Iphigenie to be published in spring (2 pp)
DPE 50 Announcement, 1912: On May the first will be published Iphigenie (2 pp)
DPE 52 Announcement, July 1912: Notice: Anthony and Cleopatra, Venus and Adonis (4 pp)
DPE 54 Announcement, 1912: Shakespeare's Plays and Poems (4 pp)
DPE 55 Announcement, 1912: Tragedie of Anthony and Cleopatra,Venus and Adonis (4 pp)
DPE 57 Announcement, January 1913: Torquato Tasso to be published in March (4 pp)
DPE 58 Announcement, March 1913: The Doves Press Prospice (4 pp)
DPE 59 Catalogue Raisonné, April 1913: Books Printed & Projected, 1900-1913 (12 pp)
DPE 60: Announcement, 1913: Coriolanus - Postponement of Publication (2 pp)
DPE 61: Catalogue Raisonne, 1914: Catalogue Raisonne, 1900-1915 (16 pp)
DPE 62: Announcement, 1914: To the Subscribers to the Dovers Press: Apologia (2 pp)
DPE 63 Announcement, 1914: In June or July will publish Shelley (2 pp)
DPE 64 Advertisement, December 14th, Delaying printing Goethe due to WWI (2 pp)
DPE 65 Announcement, April 1915: Explanation for printing Goethe's Lieder (4 pp)
DPE 67 Announcement, October 1915, To be published: The Prelude in November (4 pp)
DPE 68 Announcement, March 1916, To be published: Goethe's Lieder (4 pp)
DPE 70 Announcement, June 1916: To be published in September: Goethe's Lieder (4 pp)
DPE 75 Stationery: Receipts, No. 1 The Terrace Hammersmith, Bought of the Doves Press (1 receipt for 1 book in 10.23.01)
DPE 76 Stationery: Receipts, No. 15 The Terrace Hammersmith, Bought of the Doves Press (13 receipts for 20 books)
DPE 77 Stationery: Receipts, No. 1 Terrace Hammersmith (Red text) (15 receipts for 18 books from 5.12.03 to 4.27.09)
DPE 79 Letterhead, The Doves Press: No. 1 The Terrace Hammersmith W. (2 pp. TJCS letter)
The Included Hammersmith Publishing Society Titles Printed by the Chiswick Press:
T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, Ecce Mundus, or Industrial Ideals and the Book Beautiful, October 1902. J. W. Mackail, Socialism and Politics, October 1903.
J. W. Mackail, The Parting of the Ways, October 1903.
T. J. Cobden-Sanderson, The Arts and Crafts Movement, 1905.
J. W. Mackail, William Morris, 1905. J. W. Mackail, Homer, 1905.
Cave, The Private Press. The Economist,"The Fight Over the Doves: A Legendary Typeface Gets a Second Life," December 19, 2013. Franklin, The Private Presses, 105-120. Ransom, Private Presses and Their Books, 51-60. Tidcombe, The Doves Bindery. Tidcombe, The Doves Press. Tomkinson, A Select Bibliography of the Principal Modern Presses
Offered by Donald A. Heald Rare Books.
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