CHARLES AGVENT
291 Linden Road
Mertztown, PA 19539
610-682-4750
[email protected]; www.charlesagvent.com
Antiquarian Booksellers Association of America (ABAA)
International League of Antiquarian Booksellers (ILAB)
WINTER MISCELLANY 2017
(SEE ITEM 18: T. S. ELIOT SIGNED CHRISTMAS CARD)
1.
ANGELOU, Maya. ON THE PULSE OF MORNING. New York: Random House,
(1993). First Edition. Printed maroon wraps. Uncommon true first of the
poem read by Angelou at Bill Clinton's first inauguration. SIGNED by her
on the half-title page "Joy!/Maya Angelou/Aug. '93." In a specially made
cloth clamshell box with marble paper edges and a gilt morocco leather
label on the front. Fine in a Fine clamshell box. (#018393)
SOLD
2.
ASHBERY, John. SUNRISE IN SUBURBIA. New York: The Phoenix Book
Shop, 1968. First Edition. Original string-tied decorated stiff wrappers
with a printed paper label on the front cover. Copy #9 of 100 numbered
copies (out of a total edition of 126) SIGNED by the author on the
colophon page. From the publisher's archives. Fine. (#018377)
$300.00
3.
BECKETT, Samuel. THE NORTH. London: Enitharmon Press, 1972. First
Edition. Folio (11-3/4" x 15") in wraps, loosely housed in a paper folder,
cloth chemise, and slipcase. Text printed by Will and Sebastian Carter on
J. Barcham Green paper. Of a total of 137 numbered copies illustrated with
3 ORIGINAL ETCHINGS by Avigdor Arikha, each SIGNED in pencil by the
artist, this is copy #121 and is one of only 12 "Ad personam" copies.
Rather than being signed on the colophon page as with the regular copies,
this is INSCRIBED and SIGNED by Beckett on the front of the folder: "for
Herbert Myron/from his friend/Sam. Beckett/Paris May/1973." The text of
THE NORTH comprises the penultimate paragraph of THE LOST ONES with minor
variants from the full edition in English. Fine. (#018362)
$2,500.00
Herbert Myron, a professor of French at Boston University, was a friend
who had a lengthy correspondence with Beckett. Myron introduced Beckett to
Lawrence Harvey who wrote SAMUEL BECKETT: POET AND CRITIC, focusing on
Beckett's least known writings.
4.
BEMELMANS, Ludwig. FATHER, DEAR FATHER. New York: Viking Press,
1953. First Edition. Copy #85 of 151 copies (of which 100 were for sale)
with an ORIGINAL DRAWING in color SIGNED of Little Bit in a cape, the dog
featured in the narrative and depicted on the front cover, at the top of
the contents page, and elsewhere. An inexpensive way to obtain an original
Bemelmans watercolor. Unopened, never read; spine sunned. Fine in lightly
worn glassine and a Good slipcase with splits. (#018162)
SOLD
BICKHAM, George. THE UNIVERSAL PENMAN; OR, THE ART OF
WRITING MADE USEFUL TO THE GENTLEMAN AND SCHOLAR, AS WELL AS THE
MAN OF BUSINESS. London: Printed by and sold for the Author, 1741. First
5.
Edition. Tall folio (10-1/4" x 16") bound in 19th-century full black
morocco leather with gilt floral decorations in the corners and on the
spine, raised bands, gilt-lettered red and green morocco spine labels.
Complete with engraved frontispiece by Hubert Gravelot, two engraved title
pages, and 212 fine plates of artistic and ornamental calligraphy, many of
which contain vignettes, all fully engraved. This work includes specimens
by 25 different writing masters--all engraved by Bickham. First issued to
subscribers in 52 parts between 1733 and 1741, it was heavily used by its
owners, making complete copies in fine condition very scarce.
Plates 34
and 131 misnumbered. Frontispiece rehinged. Minor marginal soiling to
first few and last few leaves, including frontispiece and title page. A
handsome, Near Fine example of this lovely book. (#018399)
$4,000.00
George Bickham the Elder (1684-1758) was the finest calligraphic engraver
of his day. He was also an excellent penman, as 18 of these plates show,
but he employed 25 leading writing masters to compose the bulk of this,
his best-known work, a collection of writing exemplars which helped to
popularize the English Round Hand script in the 18th century.
6.
BISHOP, Elizabeth. POEM. New York: The Phoenix Book Shop, 1973.
First Edition. Original string-tied marbled stiff wrappers with a printed
paper label on the front cover. Copy #88 of 100 numbered copies (out of a
total edition of 126) SIGNED by the author on the colophon page. From the
publisher's archives. Fine. (#018376)
$1,000.00
7.
(BOOKPLATES) GRAF, Heinrich (editor). GELEGENHEITSGRAPHIK.
Munich: Heinrich Graf, 1923 - 1925. First Edition. Four quarto (7-5/8" x
10") volumes consisting of 4 vellum-backed cloth folders with printed
paper labels on the front covers and each holding a paper folder
consisting of a color title page and a colophon page containing within
engraved bookplates, each SIGNED by the artist. There are a total of 40
SIGNED original engraved bookplates by artists such as Willy Geiger, Erich
Buttner, Rudolf Hesse, Hermann Bauer, Eduard Winkler, Richard Klein,
Seche, Karl Ritter, and others. Of a total of only 30 copies, this is
#VIII of 10 numbered copies SIGNED by Graf and is the Austrian painter and
graphic artist Leo Adler's copy with two of the colophons inscribed to him
by Graf and with the first three colophons incorporating Adler's engraved
bookplate as part of the page. The fourth portfolio does not have an
inscription or engraving and is marked #X instead of VIII. An extra signed
engraving is included. Occasional foxing. Near Fine and very scarce,
especially when complete. (#018388)
$3,500.00
8.
(BOOKPLATES) SAITO, Shozo (editor). BOOKPLATES IN JAPAN.
Tokyo: Meiji-Shobo, (1941). First Edition. Small quarto (7" x 8-3/8"),
(6), 7, (7) pages of text, illustrated with woodcuts and 2 mounted
bookplates in the preliminaries, plus 50 numbered leaves with mounted
original bookplates (most in color). Copy #103 of 300 numbered copies
(total printing of 350). SIGNED in Japanese by Saito on the limitation
leaf with his chop stamped in red. The text portion is stabbed and tied
with yellow string at the inner margin. The 50 numbered leaves with
mounted bookplates are each loose. All the elements are housed in the
publisher's rose-colored board portfolio. Contents fresh. Portfolio a bit
rubbed. Near Fine. (#018387)
$500.00
9.
CAPOTE, Truman. IN COLD BLOOD. New York: Random House, (1965).
First Edition. Copy #78 of 500 SIGNED copies. Fine in glassine and a Fine
slipcase with a bit of sunning along the edges. (#018379)
$2,000.00
10.
CARSON, Rachel. SILENT SPRING. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company,
1962. First Edition. This book on the effects of pesticides is a landmark
in environmental writing inspiring the movement that led to the banning of
DDT and raising awareness of the important connection between humans and
their environment which hitherto had been generally taken for granted.
This copy is INSCRIBED "To Nell Mae/with best wishes" and SIGNED by the
author on the half-title page. Signed copies of this important book, one
of the most important of the century by many standards, are rather scarce
as, ironically, Carson died of cancer less than two years after its
publication. Bump to bottom right corner, otherwise Fine in a Near Fine
dustwrapper with moderate edgewear. (#018389)
$3,500.00
[CASTRO, Fidel] GOMEZ, Maximo. EL VIEJO EDUA. CRONICAS DE
GUERRA. Havana: Editora del Consejo Nacional de Cultura, 1965. First
11.
Edition. Original pictorial wraps bound in black morocco-backed giltlettered dark blue morocco leather; 97 pages. Lengthily INSCRIBED and
SIGNED on the half-title page by Fidel Castro to Lieutenant Pedro García
Pelaez sending him this book in acknowledgment of his birthday and the
wars that they have fought in together. The lieutenant would later become
General Pedro García Pelaez, a top military aide to Castro, the head of
the Cuban Military Mission in Angola, and the Chief of Combat Readiness.
In 1959 he was head of the personal escort of Commander in Chief Fidel
Castro. Though not dated, this was likely inscribed close to publication.
Books signed by Castro are scarce, and this is a specially interesting
example. Close to Fine. (#018400)
$3,500.00
Born in the Dominican Republic, Maximo Gomez was Cuba's military commander
in that country's War of Independence (1895-1898) and a hero of the
struggle which ended Spanish domination over Cuba. He refused the
presidential nomination offered to him in 1901, and which he was expected
to win unopposed, mainly because he always disliked politics, and after 40
years of living in Cuba he still felt that, being Dominican-born, he
should not be the civil leader of Cuba.
12.
CATHER, Willa. YOUTH AND THE BRIGHT MEDUSA. New York: Alfred
A. Knopf, 1920. First Edition. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the
half-title page: "For Eddie Wassermann/Willa Cather." There are many
references to Wassermann in the literary memoirs of Carl Van Vechten,
mostly dining with luminaries such as Gertrude Stein, Zora Hurston, James
Weldon Johnson, and many others. Scarce title to find signed. Owner
Christmas 1920 inscription on the front endpaper below a dark adhesive
stain. Light wear, lettering on the spine dulled. Very Good, lacking the
scarce dustwrapper. (#018366)
$2,000.00
13.
COPLAND,
Aaron. BILLY
THE
KID
BALLET-SUITE
Orchestral
Score. London: Boosey & Hawkes, n.d. [1964]. Folio (10" x 13-3/4") in
printed yellow wraps. INSCRIBED and SIGNED to the publisher Stuart Wright
in 1977 by the composer on the title page. Also SIGNED by conductor
William Steinberg. Small old ink price in red at top of title page. Small
tears at spine tips. Near Fine. (#018354)
$250.00
14.
COPLAND, Aaron. DANZON CUBANO for TWO PIANOS-FOUR HANDS.
New York: Boosey & Hawkes, n.d. Folio (9" x 12") without the decorated
yellow wraps but tucked inside another unsigned copy retaining the wraps.
SIGNED on the title page & dated 1977. Fine. (#018355)
SOLD
15.
DUMAS, Alexandre. THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO. London and New
York: George Routledge and Sons, 1888. First Illustrated Edition. Five
quarto (7-1/2" x 10-3/4") volumes bound in publisher's green cloth with
printed paper spine labels. According to the title page, "with nearly five
hundred illustrations from designs by G. Staal, J. A. Beauce and other
eminent French artists." All illustrations present, with some not noted in
the List of Illustrations. Contents clean and bright. Rubbing to covers,
corners bumped, paper spine labels with wear affecting legibility in some
cases. Overall a Very Good set, rather uncommon. (#018391)
SOLD
DURANT, John and BETTMANN, Otto. PICTORIAL HISTORY OF
AMERICAN SPORTS. FROM COLONIAL TIMES TO THE PRESENT. New York:
16.
A.S. Barnes and Co., (1952). First Edition. Quarto (8-1/4" x 11") bound in
full blue-green morocco leather with gilt rules and decorations, giltlettered and decorated spine, top edge gilt, and marbled paper endpapers.
Profusely illustrated in an attractive school binding with the Choate
School crest at the center of the front cover. School bookplate on the
front pastedown with a brief unsigned inscription dated 1955 on the front
blank. Minor rubbing. Near Fine. (#018345)
SOLD
(EISENHOWER, Dwight). DICTIONNAIRE MILITAIRE: ENCYCLOPEDIE
DES SCIENCES MILITAIRES REDIGEE PAR UN COMITE D'OFFICIERS DE
TOUTES ARMES. SUPPLEMENT GENERAL. METTANT ENTIEREMENT A JOUR LE
DICTIONNAIRE JUSQU'AU 1ER OCTOBRE 1911. Paris and Nancy: Librairie
17.
Militaire Berger-Levrault, 1911. First Edition. Quarto (7" x 11") bound in
full pebbled leather with blind-stamped ornamentation on the covers,
marbled endpapers; xvii, 404 pages. Eisenhower's copy of this World War I
French military dictionary SIGNED by him at the top of the half-title
page. Toning to the paper, Army library stamps to the endpaper and title
page. Chipping to the spine tips with some rubbing and wear along the
spine edges. Very Good and quite unusual. (#018397)
SOLD
ELIOT, T. S. (Barnett FREEDMAN). SIGNED CHRISTMAS AND NEW
YEAR CARD. (London): (Faber and Faber), [1945]. First Edition. One sheet
18.
folded into fours (8" x 10-1/4") drawn and lithographed by Barnett
Freedman "for directors and members of Messrs Faber & Faber to send to
their friends," each printed by the Curwen Press. SIGNED by T. S. Eliot.
The first Christmas card commissioned by Faber & Faber in a series that
was carried through until 1965, the first five being by their leading
illustrator, Barnett Freedman. Fine. (#018378)
SOLD
This card was sent to Peter Mayer, a scholar who was a published author
with Faber & Faber.
19.
FITZGERALD, Edward [Arthur SZYK]. RUBAIYAT OF OMAR KHAYYAM.
New York: The Heritage Club, 1940. First Heritage Edition. Decorated white
cloth (8-1/4" x 11") printed and made in Great Britain on paper folded
double in Japanese fashion. Illustrated with 8 multi-colored plates by
Arthur Szyk. Heritage Club Sandglass laid in. Fine. (#018357)
SOLD
20.
FRANKFURTER, Felix. TYPED LETTER SIGNED (TLS). Washington,
D.C., 12 February 1952. A Typed Letter SIGNED "Felix" on Frankfurter's
Chamber's Supreme Court stationery (5-3/4" x 8-3/4") to historian Samuel
Eliot Morison on mostly personal matters. In part: "You did all that was
appropriate to do in writing to our Ambassador at Vienna. I had such a
good time, and I now enter Priscilla on my roll of the less than a handful
of people who are masters at mixing a cocktail." With a Supreme Court
envelope addressed to Morison but a slightly earlier postmark. Normal
creases from mailing. Fine. (#018374)
$300.00
21.
FROST, Robert. COMPLETE POEMS OF ROBERT FROST. New York:
Holt, Rinehart & Winston, (1967). Reprint. Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/4"), 666
pages, nicely bound by Morrell in full maroon morocco leather with five
raised bands, gilt rules, a gilt-decorated and lettered spine, gilt
dentelles,
marble
endpapers,
top
edge
gilt.
Illustrated
with
a
photographic portrait of Frost by Clara Sipprell. Slight rubbing to
joints. Near Fine in an attractive binding. (#018372)
SOLD
GENTRY, Thomas. NESTS AND EGGS OF BIRDS OF THE UNITED
STATES. Philadelphia: J. A. Wagenseller, 1882. First Edition. Quarto (822.
1/2" x 11-1/2") bound in recent 3/4 green morocco leather and marbled
boards. Illustrated with a detailed chromolithographic title page and 54
gorgeous chromolithographs of birds and their nests with eggs, all
protected with tissue guards. Bennett (p. 44): "Drawings done chiefly by
Mr. Edwin Sheppard of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia,
acknowledged as the best ornithological artist in America." Fine.
(#018147)
$2,000.00
HOLMES, Oliver Wendell, Jr. DEAD, YET LIVING. AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED AT KEENE, N.H. MEMORIAL DAY, MAY 30, 1884. Boston: Ginn,
23.
Heath, and Company, 10 March 1922. First Edition. Reprinted from the
Boston Daily Advertiser, by the Author's permission. First Separate
Edition in self-printed stitched wraps (5" x 7-1/2"), 12 pages, of Oliver
Wendell Holmes Jr.'s first printed speech, a celebration of his comrades,
Union and Confederate, who gave their lives in the War Between the States,
interwoven with themes of conciliation and high moral purpose, as well as
the shadow the war still cast upon those who survived it. INSCRIBED to
Mrs. Lockwood and SIGNED by the future Supreme Court Justice at the top of
the front with "DEAD, YET LIVING" crossed out twice by Holmes. "Such
hearts--ah me, how many!--were stilled twenty years ago; and to us who
remain behind is left this day of memories. Every year--in the full tide
of spring, at the height of the symphony of flowers and love and life-there comes a pause, and through the silence we hear the lonely pipe of
death. Year after year lovers wandering under the apple trees and through
the clover and deep grass are surprised with sudden tears as they see
black veiled figures stealing through the morning to a soldier’s grave.
Year after year the comrades of the dead follow, with public honor,
procession and commemorative flags and funeral march--honor and grief from
us who stand almost alone, and have seen the best and noblest of our
generation pass away." Holmes had recently been appointed to the
Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. This speech would make him a
spokesman for the Union veterans of the Civil War, indeed for veterans of
all American wars. Browning to the paper, wear to the very upper right
corner. Very Good, important, and scarce. (#018373)
$3,500.00
Mrs. Lockwood is undoubtedly Belva Lockwood, one of the first female
lawyers in the United States. In 1879, she successfully petitioned
Congress to be allowed to practice before the United States Supreme Court,
becoming the first woman attorney given this privilege. In 1906, with
Holmes sitting on the bench, Lockwood won an appeal for her client, the
Cherokee nation, before the Supreme Court. Lockwood ran for president of
the United States in 1884, the very year this speech was published, and in
1888 on the ticket of the National Equal Rights Party, becoming the first
woman to appear on official ballots.
24.
HOLMES, Oliver Wendell, Jr. SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH. Washington,
D.C., 10 March 1922. An 8" x 11" photograph of a painted portrait in his
judicial robe laid down on a 11" x 16" mat in a slightly larger frame with
the glass no longer present. SIGNED "Oliver Wendell Holmes" by the Justice
at the lower left of the mat and dated April 25, 1922. Additionally signed
by the photographer at the lower right. Holmes was appointed to the U.S.
Supreme Court in 1902 by President Theodore Roosevelt, a position he held
until his retirement in 1932. Holmes became famous for his liberal
interpretations of the U.S. Constitution and was known as the "Great
Dissenter" because of his disagreement with the views of his colleagues on
the Court. His lectures on common law at the Lowell Institute in Boston,
collected as THE COMMON LAW (1881), are considered a classic of legal
writing. Fine. (#018370)
$1,500.00
25.
HOWE, Julia Ward. REMINISCENCES 1819-1899. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, (1899). Gilt-lettered and ruled green cloth. Illustrated with
portraits, photographs, and a facsimile of the first draft of "The Battle
Hymn of the Republic." With chapters on the Women's Suffrage Movement, the
Anti-Slavery Movement, Cuba, etc. Exceptional Association Copy of Howe's
memoir INSCRIBED on the second blank: "Mrs. Mary A. Livermore/with cordial
regards of/the author./Dec. 13th 1899." Below that Livermore has written
and SIGNED the following: "A Christmas gift to/my dear granddaughter,/To
Marion Norris,/Mary A. Livermore/1899." Laid in the front is a silk
souvenir
ribbon
from
the
Grand
Fair
Army
Nurse
Association
of
Massachusetts depicting Livermore. Browning to front pastedown and
endpaper from the souvenir ribbon. Bright, Fine copy with a superb
association. (#018363)
$2,500.00
Mary Livermore (December 19, 1820 - May 23, 1905) was an American
journalist, abolitionist, and advocate of women's rights. During the Civil
War, she volunteered as an associate member of the United States Sanitary
Commission where she organized many aid societies. After the war she
devoted herself to the promotion of women's suffrage (along with Lucy
Stone and Julia Ward Howe) and the temperance movement.
JOHNSON, Samuel. A DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE: IN
WHICH THE WORDS ARE DEDUCED FROM THEIR ORIGINALS, EXPLAINED IN
THEIR DIFFERENT MEANINGS, AND AUTHORIZED BY THE NAMES OF THE
WRITERS IN WHOSE WORKS THEY ARE FOUND. ABRACTED FROM THE FOLIO
EDITION..., TO WHICH IS PREFIXED A GRAMMAR OF THE ENGLISH
LANGUAGE. London: J. Knapton et. al, 1756. First Abridged Octavo Edition.
26.
Two 5" x 7-1/2" volumes in later polished 1/2 calf leather and marbled
boards with leather corners and gilt-lettered tan morocco spine labels,
with new endpapers but retaining the old. The variant with "by the author"
on the title pages. This Abridged edition of Johnson's monumental work was
published only one year after the First Edition and includes a new twopage preface by Johnson explaining the purpose of the present volume. Of
some importance, and much more affordable than the 1755 folio edition.
Early armorial bookplate on the pastedown of the first volume and pencil
names on the original endpapers. Margins trimmed close but text is quite
clean. Near Fine in an attractive binding. (#018394)
SOLD
In the concluding paragraph of the preface, Johnson claims that "The words
of this dictionary, as opposed to others, are more diligently collected,
more accurately spelled, more faithfully explained, and more authentically
ascertained. Of an abstract it is not necessary to say more; and I hope,
it will not be found that truth requires me to say less."
27.
KAFKA, Franz. A COUNTRY DOCTOR/EIN LANDZART. Philadelphia:
The Janus Press, 1962. First Edition. Thin quarto (8-1/2" x 12") bound in
brown cloth. Illustrated with 12 relief etchings done from the original
plates by Claire Van Vliet. Copy #156 of 250 numbered copies SIGNED by the
artist on the colophon page. A handsomely illustrated edition of Kafka's
classic story. Slight sunning to the spine. Fine in a Fine slipcase.
(#018358)
$500.00
28.
KELLER, Helen. SIGNATURE with Greeting. On an 8-1/2" x 10"
sheet of heavy graph paper Keller has written "very sincerely yours" and
SIGNED her name, adding the date "Washington/Jan' 16, 1926," all beneath a
small (2-1/2" x 4") photographic reproduction of Keller. Along with a 4page program from the Washington Committee for The American Foundation for
the Blind presenting Keller and Anne Sullivan Macy on 13 January 1926.
Fine, attractive combination of Keller items. (#018386)
$850.00
LAMBERT, John. TRAVELS THROUGH CANADA, AND THE UNITED
STATES OF NORTH AMERICA, IN THE YEARS 1806, 1807, & 1808. TO
WHICH ARE ADDED, BIOGRAPHICAL NOTICES AND ANECDOTES OF SOME OF
THE LEADING CHARACTERS IN THE UNITED STATES. London: C. Cradock and
29.
W. Joy, 1813. Second Edition. Corrected and Improved. Two octavo (5-1/4" x
8-1/4") volumes in period diced calf leather with later rebacked leather
with gilt morocco spine labels; xxxiv, [2], 544;
viii, 532 pages.
Illustrated with 18 engraved plates including a large hand-colored folding
map frontispiece, a full-page hand-colored map of Quebec, 6 hand-colored
costume engravings, and 10 engravings of views tinted by hand with a sepia
wash. Lambert "admired the easy independence and happiness of the
Canadians, and the rising prosperity and freedom of the Americans." He
traveled through New York, South Carolina (in Charleston he admired the
beautiful women, tasteful homes, and treatment of slaves), Georgia (he was
taken with the health and homes of the inhabitants of Savannah), Boston,
Quebec, and Montreal. Later bookplates to blank endpapers of second
volume. Large map with a few closed tears and tape repairs, some offsetting from plates, one leaf with small archival tape repair, some
occasional small stains, overall Very Good. (#018395)
SOLD
Clark II-157: "written in a chatty and informal style"; Howes L-40; Lande
506; Sabin 38734.
30.
[LEAR, Edward] TENNYSON, Alfred Lord. POEMS. London & New
York: Boussod, Valadon & Co., 1889. First Edition. Small folio (9-1/2" x
12-1/2") bound in original half brown morocco by Zaehnsdorf with leather
corners, gilt-titled spine, and "To E.L." in gilt on the front cover.
Contents consist of three poems by Tennyson ("To Edward Lear on His
Travels in Greece, "The Palace of Art," and "The Daisy") illustrated with
portraits of Tennyson and Lear as well as 6 vignette and 16 full-page
photogravures with captioned tissue-guards after Lear. Copy #77 of only
100 numbered proof copies SIGNED by Tennyson. Some rubbing and wear, but a
very attractive copy. Near Fine. (#018360)
$2,000.00
31.
MANN, Thomas. NOCTURNES. NY: Equinox Cooperative Press, 1934.
First Edition in English of these 3 stories. Illustrated with lithographs
by Lynd Ward. Copy #76 of 1000 numbered copies SIGNED by Mann. Fine in
slipcase lacking back edge and much of bottom edge. (#018392)
$350.00
32.
McCARTHY, Cormac. THE ORCHARD KEEPER. New York: Random House,
(1965). First Edition. A particularly attractive copy of McCarthy's first
book, now quite uncommon in this condition. Small red ink remainder mark
to bottom bulked edge of text. Close to Fine in a complete, close to Fine
dustwrapper with just minor darkening to spine. (#018347)
$3,500.00
MICHENER, James [BUCK, Pearl]. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED from
Michener to Pearl Buck. Tinicum, PA, 23 June 1954. Superb handwritten
33.
letter SIGNED on Michener's personal 6" x 7" stationery to fellow Pulitzer
Prize-winning Pennsylvanian author Pearl Buck. In full: "Dear Pearl Buck,
I was delighted when Richard [Walsh, Buck's husband] told me that your
biographical summary [her autobiography, MY SEVERAL WORLDS] was to be a
Book of the Month. We need such a book. [Michener's first book, TALES OF
THE SOUTH PACIFIC, was a Book of the Month in 1947]. I have just been
reading Lafcadio Hearn and realize with a violent start how much he saw
back in 1904. Common sense and honest observation do count for something,
and I think yours is of his quality. Sincerely, Jim Michener." Horizontal
crease at center from mailing. Fine. (#018369)
$850.00
From The Charles E. Sigety Collection of Fine Printed Books and Americana
sold at Christie’s in 2015.
34.
MILNE, A. A. WHEN I WAS VERY YOUNG. New
1930. First Edition. Bound in publisher's pictorial
plain brown slipcase with printed paper spine label.
Shepard. This is copy #458 of 842 SIGNED by Milne.
tears and a close to Fine slipcase. (#018367)
York: Fountain Press,
cloth and housed in a
Illustrated by Ernest
Fine in glassine with
$750.00
35.
MURASAKI, Lady. THE TALE OF GENJI. London: George Allen & Unwin
Ltd, (1926). Octavo (5-1/2" x 8-1/4") bound by Frost in lovely light blue
full polished calf leather with gilt rules, a gilt-decorated spine with
gilt matching red morocco spine labels, gilt dentelles, marble endpapers,
and all edges gilt. The first of six volumes translated from the Japanese
by Arthur Waley of this monumental work. Spine pleasantly sunned. Fine,
handsomely bound in a Fine cloth slipcase. (#018371)
$250.00
36.
NIGHTINGALE, Florence. AUTOGRAPH MANUSCRIPT SIGNED (AMS).
On one side of an 8-7/8" x 7" sheet of paper, a note of sympathy to the
parents of her friend Elizabeth Holmes, dated and SIGNED in ink by the
world's most famous nurse at the conclusion and incorporating what appears
to be an original poem by Nightingale. In full: "This cross is offered to
the sorrowing parents of my dear friend Lizzie Holmes. Accepted as the
Good Shepherd's beloved thro' long pain in whom & in her dear Mother dwelt
our almighty Father with whom God was always first, & to serve Him & our
neighbours for His love their life now carried home in her saviour's arms
to joy and peace for ever. By the bright waters now her lot is cast. Joy
to the happy soul thy bark hath past. The rough sea's foam. Now the long
yearnings of thy soul are stilled Home, home, thy peace is won, thy heart
is filled. Thou art gone home." According to an old note on the verso,
Holmes was a friend, co-worker, and neighbor. Includes postcard of
Nightingale's home. Laid down on slightly larger piece of paper, creasing
and wrinkling, toned. Good and quite unusual. (#018383)
$2,500.00
(NIGHTINGALE, Florence). (IN HONOUR & REMEMBRANCE OF
FLORENCE NIGHTINGALE). An attractive 15" x 19" framed presentation of a
37.
9-1/2" x 10" printed card in honor and remembrance of Nightingale with an
inset photographic portrait of her and another of her home.
Fine, not
examined out of frame. (#018396)
$250.00
38.
PARKER, Dorothy. NOT SO DEEP AS A WELL. New York: The Viking
Press, 1936. First Edition. Cloth-backed decorated boards. Decorations by
Valenti Angelo. Copy #43 of 485 copies SIGNED by Parker of her Collected
Poems containing all of her classic gems including the two-liner that
helped to bring about the contact lens industry. Darkening to gutters, as
often the case, but much less than usual. Bright, Fine copy in a Very Good
slipcase with splitting along the rear edge. (#018352)
SOLD
39.
(PICASSO, Pablo) ARISTOPHANES. LYSISTRATA. New York: Limited
Editions Club, 1934. Tall thin quarto (9-1/2" x 11-3/4") bound by Bayntun
Riviere in full gilt-decorated and lettered red morocco leather with gilt
dentelles, marble endpapers, and all edges gilt. The original pattern
paper boards in three colors designed after Picasso's drawings are bound
at the rear. Introduction and translation by Gilbert Seldes. Illustrated
by Pablo Picasso including 30 sepia-tinted lithographs after drawings and
6 ORIGINAL ETCHINGS printed by hand. Copy #1197 of 1500 SIGNED in pencil
by Picasso on the colophon page. ARTIST AND THE BOOK 226: "the only
American publication with original Picasso etchings, which are among his
most important in the classical style." Owner blindstamp on front blank.
Some foxing, soiling internally, the etchings about Fine in a beautiful,
Fine binding housed in a Fine custom cloth slipcase. (#018381) $7,500.00
PLATTES, Gabriel. A DISCOVERY OF INFINITE TREASURE, HIDDEN
SINCE THE WORLDS BEGINNING. WHEREUNTO ALL MEN, OF WHAT DEGREE
SOEVER, ARE FRIENDLY INVITED TO BE SHARERS WITH THE DISCOVERER
G.P. London: J[ohn] L[egat] to be sold by George Hutton, 1639. First
40.
Edition. Small quarto (5-1/8" x 7") in later polished blue morocco
leather-backed boards;
A4, a4, B-P4, Q2. [2, blank], 33, [1], 92, [1
errata], [1 blank] pages. Complete with the original first blank. Woodcut
initials and head-pieces. An important early treatise on agriculture by
one of the earliest advocates in England of an improved system of
husbandry who devoted much time and money to practical experiments. Among
his references are mention of the newly founded plantations in America and
new agricultural machines. This copy has the cancel title page with "ver."
in the Biblical quote and with the errata leaf. It is occasionally listed
as a variant edition of his DISCOVERY OF SUBTERRANEALL TREASURE, but that
is an error. Ferguson notes that this is a completely different work of
"an original genius in husbandry who began his observations in the latter
end of Queen Elizabeth's reign.... As great a genius as this writer was,
the public allowed him to drop down dead in London streets with hunger
only; nor had he a shirt upon his back when he died." Quite scarce. Small
catalog sticker on spine, trimmed along fore-edge with minor loss to title
page, some soiling, else Very Good. (#018365)
$4,500.00
STC 19998. Ferguson, II, 207-208 (not in Young Collection). Ferguson,
Glasgow, II, 567. Wellcome I, 5100. Partington II, 103. Sotheran 907, 31.
ESTC s114836. Neville II, 310. Not in Duveen, Hoover.
(POE, Edgar Allan). "The Mask of the Red Death," "Life in
Death," and four other pieces in GRAHAM'S MAGAZINE. Vols. XX &
XXI: Jan. 1842-Dec. 1842. Philadelphia: George R. Graham, 1842. First
41.
Edition. Two volumes bound in one, publisher's gilt-lettered black morocco
leather and dark brown cloth with matching leather corners. Illustrated
with numerous steel engravings and 7 color plates (5 fashion plates).
First appearance in print of these six Poe works: The Mask Of The Red
Death; Life In Death; An Appendix Of Autographs; A Few Words About
Brainard; To One Departed; The Poetry Of Rufus Dawes. Also with
contributions by James Fennimore Cooper, Henry Longfellow, James Russell
Lowell, and others. Moderately foxed throughout, as usually the case;
hinges cracked but binding firm. Very Good. (#018390)
$750.00
42.
REAGAN, Ronald. AN AMERICAN LIFE. New York: Simon & Schuster,
(1990). First Edition. Cloth-backed boards. Reagan's autobiography,
illustrated with photographs. This copy INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the former
President on the page with the publisher's logo preceding the title page:
"To Jim Harty - With Best Wishes,/Ronald Reagan/April 23 - '93." Jim Harty
was a talent agent who represented First Lady Nancy Reagan. Small dent to
the bottom edge of the front cover, minor foxing to the top of the text
block. Near Fine in a Fine dustwrapper. (#018340)
$2,000.00
ROBERTS, David. THE HOLY LAND, SYRIA, IDUMEA, ARABIA, EGYPT
& NUBIA. / AFTER LITHOGRAPHS BY LOUIS HAGHE FROM DRAWINGS MADE
ON THE SPOT. London: Day & Son, 1855. First Quarto Edition. With
43.
Historical Descriptions by The Revd. George Croly. Six quarto (8-1/4" x
12") volumes bound in three in later half red morocco leather with
matching corners and gilt-lettered and decorated spines. Complete with 250
tinted lithographs including the frontispiece portrait of David Roberts in
the first volume, a frontispiece of the temple at Abu Simbel and the map
of his tour in the second, as well as all 6 lithographed title pages and
print lists at the opening of each volume. In 1838 Roberts traveled to
Egypt, which had grown popular both as a travel destination for the
adventurous antiquarian, and as the subject of highly valued artworks. The
journey became an extensive tour of the region, including Jerusalem, Petra
(in modern Jordan), Giza, Thebes and various sites along the Nile. During
this trip, he constantly sketched stunning views of colossal ruins,
ancient temples of the Egyptian and Persian empires, and particularly
biblical sites in and around Jerusalem. His sketches also depicted the
local customs, clothes and contemporary dwellings, markets and palaces,
and the third published volume (the first half of the second volume in
this set) includes a scene depicting his meeting with Muhammad Ali Pasha
in Alexandria, which he did not sketch at the time but is reputed to have
produced from memory. Upon his return to Britain, after he was fêted by
high society in Scotland, he worked with the engraver Louis Haghe to
produce the collection in book form, funded by subscriber which he
personally solicited. Thanks to the popularity of the subject matter, and
the relative absence of British art on the same subject, he was quite
successful, with Queen Victoria as subscriber number one (her large paper
folio copy is still in the Royal Collection.) Louis Haghe, along with
William Day, was a Lithographer to the Queen and innovator in the process
of color lithography, and the lithographs in this volume benefit from his
skill. Some foxing, heaviest on the titles and initial leaves,
occasionally to the margins of the plates but rarely affecting the images.
Public library bookplate with small ink stamps at various places
throughout, sometimes in the margins of the plates but never on the
images. Hinges repaired with new paste-downs, general scuffing, wear along
spine edges but bindings still tight. Very Good. (#018398)
$6,500.00
44.
ROETHKE, Theodore. WORDS FOR THE WIND. London: Secker and
Warburg, 1957. First Edition. Precedes the American edition. INSCRIBED and
SIGNED by Roethke to a student "with affection (and respect)." Student's
name on the front endpaper with his small ink stamp below and on one text
page. About Fine in a Fine dustwrapper. (#018359)
$750.00
45.
ROOSEVELT, Eleanor. AUTOGRAPH LIMERICK SIGNED. A four-line
poem, a limerick, completely in Eleanor Roosevelt's hand on 6" x 3-1/2"
Executive Mansion stationery, dated and SIGNED by her. Apparently given to
an employee. "There was a young fellow called Joe,/Who thought he was
coming too slow,/But he made up his mind to be the whole show/And now
there's a corporal named Joe--." Mrs. Roosevelt's understanding and feel
for politics was greater than that for poetry. A rare form of the First
Lady's autograph. We are aware of only one other example of a poem in her
hand which sold for $1000 plus premium at auction, nearly 25 years ago. We
sold this piece 16 years ago and offer it now at the same price we sold it
for then. Fine. (#018349)
$1,500.00
ROOSEVELT, Theodore (Teddy); TWAIN, MARK [Samuel Clemens];
et. al. LIBER SCRIPTORUM. THE FIRST BOOK OF THE AUTHORS CLUB.
46.
New York: The Authors Club, 1893. First Edition. Thick folio (10" x 13")
in publisher's full dark brown morocco leather with ornately blind- and
gilt-tooled spines and boards, top edge gilt, uncut. Copy #96 of only 251
copies SIGNED by each of the 109 contributors, all noted American authors
of the time, the most prominent being Mark Twain ("The Californian's
Tale," the first appearance in print of this story), Theodore Roosevelt
("A Shot at a Bull Elk,"), and Andrew Carnegie ("Genius Illustrated from
Burns"). This book was created as a means to raise money for a permanent
home for the Author's Club, organized in 1882. Each member contributed an
original essay, story, or poem that was intended never to be published
elsewhere (Twain's story was included in THE $30,000 BEQUEST in 1906). The
book was printed by club member Theodore Low De Vinne on hand-made paper
with wood-block engravings and fine typography. It sold for $100, more
than $2000 in today's currency. Other contributors include William Dean
Howells, Henry Van Dyke, John Hay, Percival Lowell, Charles Warner, F.
Hopkinson Smith, Will Carleton, and Frank R. Stockton. BAL 3438. In his
bibliography of Mark Twain, Merle Johnson notes that though "there are
presumed to be 251 copies of the book; actually, over 30 of these were not
bound but were sold as separate articles." Many copies have also been
broken up over the years so that the autographs could be sold separately.
Most intact copies now reside in institutions. Early bookplate dated 25
April 1894 presenting the book to The Library of the Bar Association of
New York by Albert Mathews, Esq. Bar Association Library ink stamp on the
title page with an ink number on the copyright page; two other apparently
nonrelated small ink stamps on the rear endpaper and pastedown. Rebacked
some time ago with nearly all of the original spine laid down and the
hinges reinforced with tape. Some rubbing to the binding. Contents clean
and in overall Very Good condition. (#018368)
$8,500.00
47.
SANDBURG, Carl. BRONZE WOOD. San Francisco: (Grabhorn Press for
Gelber, Lilienthal, Inc.), 1941. First Edition. Thin quarto (8-3/4" x 111/2") in orange cloth-backed wood veneer boards with a printed paper spine
label. With an original photograph frontispiece by Henry Flannery. Copy #9
of only 50 SIGNED by both the poet and the photographer. Though one
frequently sees one of the edition of 195 unsigned copies with a
photographic reproduction in orange boards, this issue of the book, signed
and with the original photograph, is quite scarce. Photograph once tipped
in is now loose but present. Slight wear to bottom corners. Near Fine.
(#018385)
$450.00
48.
SANDBURG, Carl. A LINCOLN AND WHITMAN MISCELLANY. Chicago:
Holiday Press, 1938. First Edition. One of 250 copies bound in marbled
paper-covered boards with a black cloth spine and a gilt-lettered black
leather label that wraps around both covers; 33 pages plus several
illustrations including reproductions of letters, documents, broadsides,
and photographs of Carl Sandburg and Walt Whitman as well as Lincoln's
death mask. Some rubbing to the covers with light wear at the corners.
Very Good. (#018348)
SOLD
(SANGER, Margaret) LADER, Lawrence. THE MARGARET SANGER
STORY AND THE FIGHT FOR BIRTH CONTROL. Garden City: Doubleday &
49.
Company, 1955. First Edition. SIGNED by Sanger and dated 29 May 1956.
Very Good in a worn Very Good dustwrapper. (#018346)
$500.00
Margaret Sanger, the originator of the phrase "birth control" and its
best-known advocate, sought to create equality between the sexes by
freeing women from what she saw as sexual servitude. She survived Federal
indictments, a brief jail term, numerous lawsuits, and hundreds of streetcorner rallies and raids on her clinics to live to see much of the world
accept her view that family planning is a basic human right.
50.
SANTAYANA, George. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED (ALS). Rome, 12
May 1937. AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED as "G. Santayana" by this Spanish-born
American poet and philosopher who is thought to be the originator of the
oft-used expression: "Those who forget the past are condemned to repeat
it." In part: "I have no reason to think that 'goodwill' is not still
characteristic of the American character. Having profited by this
goodwill, I naturally feel it to be a virtue, and it is accepted as a
compliment to the nation: but is it? You identify it with peace; and that
gives it away. Peace means that you have nothing to live for, or die for,
except to avoid conflicts and help everything up to the point where
something else interferes, and no further. This is the sentiment of a
retreating civilization and morality: and if nothing else animated
Americans, I should predict with Bernard Shaw that whoever had something
positive to fight for will get the better of them." A transcript of the
reply is typed at the end of the letter. Accompanied by a transcript and
folder from the longtime autograph dealer Walter Benjamin.
Crease from
mailing with a short split. Near Fine. (#018375)
SOLD
51.
STANTON, Elizabeth Cady. AUTOGRAPH QUOTATION SIGNED (AQS).
One page, 8-1/2" x 5". Stanton's large, bold writing, a take on Genesis,
fills the paper: "Man & woman a simultaneous creation with an equal title
deed to Man's green earth & all that dwells therein." SIGNED "Elizabeth
Cady Stanton." Mounting remnants on the verso. Jagged tear with paper loss
along the right edge obscures the date but does not affect the text.
(#018384)
$1,500.00
52.
STENDHAL (BEYLE, Marie-Henri). THE RED AND THE BLACK. New
York: The Heritage Press, (1954). Large octavo (6-3/4" x 10-1/4") bound in
1/2 red morocco leather with matching corners, gilt rules, five raised
bands, marble endpapers, and top edge gilt. Reproduces the Limited
Editions Club edition designed by Richard Ellis and illustrated by
Rafaello Busoni. Fine and handsomely bound. (#018350)
$150.00
53.
THOREAU, Henry David. WALDEN OR LIFE IN THE WOODS. Chicago:
Lakeside Press, 1930. Decorated boards. One of 1000 copies illustrated by
Rudolph Ruzicka with introduction by Raymond Adams. Light adhesive remnant
on front pastedown from removed bookplate, slight browning to gutters.
Spine darkened. Very Good in a Very Good slipcase. (#018344)
$150.00
TOMBLESON, W[illiam] & FEARNSIDE, W.G. (editor). TOMBLESON'S
VIEWS OF THE RHINE. London: Tombleson & Company, 1832. First Edition.
54.
Two small quarto (5-3/4" x 9-1/2") volumes bound in gilt-decorated and
blind-stamped full black morocco. Illustrated with 2 engraved title pages
and 137 fine steel-engraved views with a long folding panoramic map of the
Rhine from Cologne to Mainz in the first volume and a large folding color
map of the Upper Rhine in the second volume. Owner name dated 1835 on the
front blank and an armorial bookplate on the front endpaper of each
volume. Plates bright and clean. Some rubbing to the hinges which are just
a little tender. Near Fine. (#018364)
$750.00
55.
TWAIN,
Mark
[CLEMENS,
Samuel]. THE
ADVENTURES
OF
TOM
SAWYER. Cambridge: Limited Editions Club, 1939. Octavo (6-1/4" x 9-1/2")
in full blue denim with a paper spine label. Edited with an introduction
by Bernard DeVoto. Designed by C. P. Rollins. Illustrated with 70 drawings
by Thomas Hart Benton. Copy #142 of 1500 copies SIGNED by Benton on the
colophon page. Spine a touch sunned, much less than usual for this title.
Fine in a Very Good slipcase with splits along edges. (#018351) $600.00
56.
VERY, Lydia L[ouisa Anna]. RED RIDING HOOD. (Boston): (L.
Prang & Co.), (1863). First Edition. Shape book: 6-5/8" x 2-3/8", [16]
pages; stiff chromolithographed wrappers (sewn). Charming toy book in the
shape of a standing Little Red Riding Hood, the wolf crouched around her
ankles. L. Prang & Company issued a series of "Doll" books in 1863 which,
along with other juveniles, toy books, and games, were among its first
publications. Katherine McLinton in THE CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS OF LOUIS PRANG
notes: "The tiny Doll books are some of the most interesting and
fascinating items Prang published." In addition to "Red Riding Hood,"
Prang also issued "Robinson Crusoe," "Goody Two-Shoes" (also written by
Lydia Very), "Cinderella," and "King Winter." They sold for 25 cents each
or they could be purchased in "'an elegant fancy box,'" three to a box, as
a Christmas gift. A few years later, a Prang catalogue declared that 'the
style of these books originated with us' and "Red Riding Hood" may well
have been the first American shape book. Mild overall wear with a few
small chips to edges; covers darkened with one or two creases. Scattered
small, mild staining to some leaves. Very Good. (#018356)
$300.00
Lydia Very (1823-1901), sister of Transcendentalist poet Jones Very, both
designed and wrote the verse which tells the story. Red Riding Hood's
adventure is turned into a morality tale in which the little girl disobeys
her mother. After her encounter with her would-be devourer, Red Riding
Hood "said the fright had taught her/To mind her mother dear." McClinton,
Katharine M., THE CHROMOLITHOGRAPHS OF LOUIS PRANG, pp. 45-46 (RED RIDING
HOOD pictured at page 46).
57.
WILDE, Oscar (Frans MASEREEL). THE BALLAD OF READING GAOL.
(Munich): (Drei Masken Verlag), (1923). First Edition. Quarto (7" x 11")
bound in full gilt-ruled and lettered vellum with marbled endpapers by
Hübel & Denck, with the original plain paper dustwrapper and cloth
clamshell box. Illustrated with 37 woodcuts including 7 striking full-page
woodcuts by Frans Masereel. Of a total of 320 copies SIGNED by the artist
on the colophon page, this is copy #59 of only 70 of the "A" Edition with
each woodcut SIGNED in pencil by Masereel. Slight foxing to endpapers, a
couple of pages roughly opened. Fine in a close to Fine dustwrapper and
clamshell box. (#018361)
$3,500.00
According to Masereel scholar and bookseller Abraham Horodisch, "The
typographical design of the book is exquisite... Of all illustrated
editions of the Ballad, the Masereel edition seems to me to have the
highest artistic importance. This is necessarily a subjective appraisal,
but I must confess that, both in conception and execution, Masereel's
woodcuts have made the deepest impression on me. Surely there can be few
who will remain unmoved by their suggestive power."
58.
WILLIAMS, Garth. ORIGINAL ART FOR A CHRISTMAS CARD. n.p.,
n.d. [1940s]. Original mock-up watercolor art on a piece of paper folded
into fours (4-3/8" x 6") by the illustrator of CHARLOTTE'S WEB, STUART
LITTLE, the LITTLE HOUSE series of Laura Ingalls Wilder, and many other
children's books. The front of the card is an illustration of a place for
text with a cutout in the shape of a window with a ribbon tied to form the
shape of a bell revealing the inside of the card which shows a snowy town
scene with a church. Both the front cover and the inside are INITIALED by
Williams. Along with a photocopy of a rejection letter for this and other
designs by Williams from a greeting card publisher. Fine. (#018382)
SOLD
59.
WILLIAMS, Ted. MY TURN AT BAT: THE STORY OF MY LIFE. New
York: Simon & Schuster, (1969). First Edition. Third Printing. Illustrated
with photographs. INSCRIBED and SIGNED by the author on the front
endpaper: "To -----/Ted Williams." Recipient's name stamped in red below
inscription and on both pastedowns, foxing to text edges. Very Good in a
Very Good dustwrapper. (#018341)
SOLD
WILSON, Woodrow. ADDRESS OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED
STATES DELIVERED AT A JOINT SESSION OF THE HOUSES OF CONGRESS
APRIL 2, 1917. Garden City, NY: Doubleday, Page & Company, 1917. First
60.
Edition. Publisher's flexible green leather with gilt title on the front
cover, [4], 30 pages. The text of Wilson's Declaration of War against
Germany, SIGNED by the President and dated 1922 on the front free end
paper. Wilson had been reelected just a few months before this speech in
large part for his having kept America out of the European war, but
Germany’s unrestricted submarine warfare could no longer be ignored. In
this speech Wilson made a profound break with traditional American foreign
policy by presenting a Progressive view of foreign policy that national
interest alone cannot guide American policy, that “The world must be made
safe for democracy.” Fraying to the head of the spine with about a halfinch loss of leather, light edgewear. Very Good. (#018353)
$7,500.00
WORNUM, Ralph Nicholson. THE TURNER GALLERY: A SERIES OF
SIXTY ENGRAVINGS FROM THE PRINCIPAL WORKS OF JOSEPH MALLORD
WILLIAM TURNER. London: James S. Virtue, n.d. (@1870). First Edition.
61.
Large folio (12-3/4" x 17-3/4") bound by Stikeman in 3/4 dark purple
morocco leather with five raised bands, a gilt-lettered and decorated
spine, marble endpapers, top edge gilt. Illustrated with 60 handsome steel
engravings by Turner with tissue guards and explanatory text. Clean,
lovely copy in an attractive binding. Fine. (#018380)
SOLD