JAMES Catalogue 130
CUMMINS Holiday 2015
bookseller
Give a Unique Gift
W
e’ve curated a selection of books for the discerning, thoughtful gift-giver.
The books and art chosen for this catalogue were selected to bring joy
and delight to both the receiver and the bestower.
Within these pages, you will discover the humor of Jerry Seinfeld’s handwritten monologues, the friendship between a playwright convict and Samuel
Beckett, and the delicate palette of Warwick Goble’s illustrations lushly bound
by Rivière and Son, using varied hues of morocco leather, green silk, and mother-of-pearl.
If you don’t see what you’re looking for here, our staff would be happy to
assist you to find the perfect gift.
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JAMES
CUMMINS
bookseller
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tel: (212) 688-6441
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JAMES CUMMINS bookseller
Catalogue 130
Holiday 2015
To place your order, call, write, e-mail or fax:
james cummins bookseller
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Telephone (212) 688-6441
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hours: Monday – Friday 10:00 – 6:00, Saturday 10:00 – 5:00
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front cover: item 10
inside rear cover: item 107
rear cover: item 52
photography by nicole neenan
terms of payment: All items, as usual, are guaranteed as described and are returnable within 10 days for any reason.
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We accept American Express, Master Card, and Visa.
Holiday 2105
1]
Charles Addams’ Monster Rally
Charles ADDAMS
With a Foreword by John O’Hara. Illustrated by Charles Addams. 4to, New York: Simon & Schuster, 1950. Later printing. White
cloth spine over yellow boards in dust-jacket.
with a sketch of Gomez adams
Signed and inscribed on the first free end page in black felt tip “For Mrs. Schaefer, with happy memories, Chas. Addams, 1970,”
beside a fantastic full-length sketch of Gomez Addams.
$2,200
2]
The New York Trilogy: City of Glass; Ghosts; The
Locked Room
Paul AUSTER
3 vols. 8vo. Los Angeles: Sun & Moon Press, (1985; 1986; 1986). First
editions. Publisher’s blue cloth. A fine set in near fine dust-jackets (with
logo printed on spine of all three volumes).
Signed by auster
The complete New York Trilogy, Paul Auster’s classic meta-fictional
detective story, signed by Auster in volumes 2 and 3.
This was Auster’s second work and his signature theme of the
search for identity and his brand of American existentialism appear
fully formed here. The trilogy is not only set in New York, it uses
Manhattan’s grid layout as an integral part of the story. It established
him as a writer to watch, and indeed Auster has since published another
fourteen novels, as well as poetry, memoirs and screenplays.
$1,750
3]
Auto-Cars. Car, Tramcars, and Small Cars
(AUTOMOBILES) D. FARMAN
Translated from the French by Lucien Seraillier. With Preface by Barpon
de Ziylen de Nyevelt, President of the Automobile Club of France. With
112 illustrations. 241 pp. 8vo. London: Whittaker & Co, 1896. First edition
in English. Original red cloth, spine a little darkened, else very good.
Dibner 184.
One of the Earliest Books on the Automobile
First published in French the same year. Highly technical and illustrated
with many diagrams and tables, it deals in detail with the history of the
infant industry — discusses petroleum, steam and electric engines and
every aspect of the auto-car, tires, springs, axles, etc.
$1,750
4]
En attendant Godot. Pièce en deux actes
Samuel BECKETT
134, [2] pp. 12mo. [Paris]: Les Editions de Minuit, [1986]. Original
printed wrappers, tiny speck on rear wrapper, else fine. With a
black cloth box.
significant association copy
A lovely association copy to a significant Beckett collaborator in
the last years of his life. The presentation reads: “For Rick with
love from Sam Sept 88.”
Waiting for Godot was the play that secured Beckett’s lasting
fame. No matter that he’d been publishing since the 1920s or was
Joyce’s amanuensis. This play in which “nothing happens” set him
on a course that led to the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1969.
Rick Cluchey is a playwright, actor and director, who co-founded
the San Quentin Drama Workshop in the mid-1950s at San
Quentin State Prison while serving a life sentence for robbery and
kidnapping. Cluchey
and Beckett met in the
1970s (once Clucheys
sentence had been
commuted) and he
toured Europe with his play The Cage.
We are all born mad.
Some remain so.
Their relationship was especially productive in the last seven
years of Beckett’s life. Cluchey served as the assistant director on
a production of Godot in Berlin and Beckett later directed him in
productions of Krapp’s Last Tape and Endgame. It comes as no
small surprise that the San Quentin Drama Workshop became
Beckett’s American theatre of choice. Indeed, Cluchey wrote and
performed the play Rick and Sam, which was a testament to his
relationship with Beckett.
$3,000
2 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
5]
Krapp’s Last Tape, and Other Dramatic Pieces
Samuel BECKETT
141 pp. 8vo. New York: Grove Press, 1960. Evergreen edition. Original printed wrappers. Fine in a custom grey cloth box.
Author’s presentation copy & fine association
Beckett’s inscription reads: “For Teresita with love from Sam.
London, 1.3.84.”
A one act play, with nothing but the title character and a tape
recorder on stage, Krapp’s Last Tape was written for the Irish actor
Patrick Magee in 1958. It was originally performed as a curtainraiser for Endgame, though continues to be performed as a standalone feature to this day.
‘Perhaps my best years are gone.
When there was a chance of happiness. But I wouldn’t want them
back. Not with the fire in me now.
No, I wouldn’t want them back.’
Teresita Garcia-Suro, costume designer and actress who worked
with Rick Cluchey as part of the San Quentin Drama Workshop.
She worked with Beckett when he directed performances of
Krapp’s Last Tape and Endgame staged at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago in 1980. She married Rick Cluchey, founder of the
San Quentin Drama Workshop, who has also cheekily added his ownership inscription.
In March 1984, both Garcia-Suro and Cluchey were in London with Beckett, who was overseeing a staging of Godot directed by
Walter Asmus that was due to feature at the Adelaide Festival in Australia that year. Cluchey played Pozzo.
$2,500
Catalogue 130 | 3
6]
Thomas Hardy (“Standing, hands in trouser
pockets, in front of bookcase”)
Max BEERBOHM
Gouache and wash over pencil, titled and signed “Max
1926” (lower right). 12-¼ x 6-¼ in., 1926. Matted and framed.
Provenance: Sir Hugh Walpole (1945 exhibition label); W.J.
Armytage; John Arlott Esq. Exhibited: Leicester Galleries,
1928; Sotheby’s 15 December 1971; Piccadilly Gallery,
September 1972. Literature: Hart-Davis, no. 704.
max beerbohm portrait of thomas hardy
Beerbohm’s portrait of Thomas Hardy is one of what might
be considered a series for which he is best remembered.
“Many of the people Max drew he knew personally, and,
with a few exceptions — Kipling for one — those he knew he
liked, and they liked him. His subjects, or ‘targets,’ included
many well-known figures: Oscar Wilde, Thomas Hardy,
Henry James, G. B. Shaw, W. B. Yeats, Joseph Conrad, Lytton
Strachey, J. A. M. Whistler, Aubrey Beardsley, John Singer
Sargent, Augustus John” (ODNB).
Beerbohm (1872-1956) was a key figure in turn-of-the-century
English letters. His career as an artist began when he was
just twenty in 1892 and he soon started contributing to
The Yellow Book. He was a long-time Drama Critic for the
Saturday Review, though left the post when he moved to Italy
where he spent (war years aside) the rest of his life.
$16,500
7]
Zuleika Dobson or, An Oxford Love Story
Max BEERBOHM
[viii], 350. 8vo. London: William Heinemann, 1911. First
edition. Brown cloth, paper label. In buff dust-jacket with
price “7/6.” Joints show minor cracking. In custom half calf
slipcase.
First edition, in Rare Dust-Jacket
The first edition of Beerbohm’s only novel in a later dustjacket, priced 7/6 (the first jacket was priced 6 shillings).
Beerbohm is best known as an artist and regarded as “the
prince of essayists” by Virginia Woolf. Here he gives us the
story of the eponymous heroine who enters Judas College,
Oxford and wreaks havoc among the all male student body,
many of whom fall in love with her immediately. The book
culminates in a mass-suicide at the Eight Week regatta. A
comic masterpiece.
$1,250
4 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
8]
Madeline with the Gypsies
Ludwig BEMELMANS
Study in watercolor, black ink and pencil on paper, signed “Bemelmans” (lower right), additionally inscribed “Try on a lion”
and “Madeline with the Gypsies.” With an incomplete drawing in black crayon on the verso. 18-½ x 13 in., ca. 1959. Framed.
Bemelmans, Madeline and the Gypsies (New York, 1959), p. 32.
Bemelmen’s original artwork from the Madeline series is very rare
indeed.
Like most of the Madeline books, Madeline and the Gypsies
commences: “In an old house in Paris that was covered with vines,
Lived twelve little girls in two straight lines.” Here she and Pepito, the
son of the Spanish consul who lives next door, visit the carnival and
spend a few days with the local gypsies.
“For gypsies do not like to stay
They only come to go away.”
$15,000
Catalogue 130 | 5
10]
The Water-Babies. A Fairy Tale for a LandBaby
(BINDING, RIVIÈRE) Charles
KINGSLEY
32 mounted color plates by Warwick Goble. 4to. London:
Macmillan and Co, 1909. First edition with illustrations by
Goble. Full blue morocco, covers inlaid with green morocco
frames, richly gilt, surrounding central pictorial panels made
up of multi-colored morocco and mother-of pearl onlays and
gilt tools, tan morocco doublures surrounded by richly gilt
green morocco frames with onlayed blue morocco borders,
doublures with with molded tinted morocco and motherof-pearl pictorial onlays, green silk endpapers, a.e.g., by
Rivière and Son. Fine, in original custom velvet-lined brown
morocco box.
In an Extraordinary Rivière Binding
9]
Libri Iehosuah, Iudicum, Samuelis et Regum,
Hebraice: Cum interlineari versione Xantis
Pagnini; Ben. Ariae Montani, & aliorum
collato studio ad Hebraicam dictionem
diligentissimè expensa
(BINDING, HEBREW BIBLE)
583, [1] pp. Text in Hebrew with interlinear translations
in Latin by Santes Pagnino. 8vo. [Leiden]: Ex. Officina
Plantiniana Raphelengii, 1611. Contemporary French (?) full
olive-brown roan, covers tooled in gilt at center of each side
in repeating semicircle and star design, corners stamped in
gilt with small floral tools, center of each cover with later
fleur-de-lys tool stamped in gilt, smooth spine similarly
tooled in gilt with small stars and flowers, all edges gilt and
gauffered. Light wear to extremities.
Finely Bound Plantin Press Printing of
4 Books of the Hebrew Bible
The first four books of the Prophets — Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, Kings — of the Hebrew Bible, printed by the heirs
of Franciscus Raphelengius, who ran the Leiden branch of
the press of his father-in-law, Christophe Plantin. The text is
edited by Benito Arias Montano, editor of the famed Plantin
Polyglot Bible, and includes an interlinear Latin translation
by Santes Pagnino.
$3,000
6 | James Cummins bookseller
An extraordinary pictorial Rivière binding, the covers
and doublures reproducing the following Warwick Goble
illustrations: front cover, “The most beautiful bird of
paradise” (p. 210); front doublure, “The fairies came flying
in at the window and brought her such a pretty pair of
wings” (p. 126); rear doublure, “Tom had never seen a lobster
before” (p. 113); “… a dragon fly … the king of all the flies”
(frontispiece, p. 74).
$20,000
“The most wonderful and the
strongest things in the world, you
know, are just the things which
no one can see”
Holiday 2105
Catalogue 130 | 7
11]
La Plante … d’après des détails très aggrandis
de formes végetales. Introduction de Charles
Nierendorf
Charles [Karl] BLOSSFELDT,
Illustrated with 120 plates in heliogravure. Folio. Paris:
Librairie des Arts Décoratifs, A. Calavas Éditeur, [n.d., ca.
1929]. French issue of Urformen der Kunst [1928]. Original
green cloth stamped in gilt. Fine in near fine dust-jacket.
Roth 101, pp. 48-49; Parr/Badger I, p. 96; Hasselblad, pp. 6667.
The French issue of Blossfeldt’s masterpiece in the scarce
photographically illustrated dust-jacket. A remarkable book
that traces a curious path from Art Nouveau to Modernism
and foreshadows Conceptual Art. In exceptionally fine
condition.
$3,500
12]
The English Gentleman
Richard BRATHWAIT[E]
Engraved frontispiece in compartments by Robert Vaughan,
followed by folding letterpress ‘Draft of the Frontispiece’
leaf. [xvi], 456, [6] pp., variant without “Three choice
characters of marriage” (p. [2], 459-487). Small 4to. London:
John Haviland for Robert Bostock, 1630. First edition.
Contemporary vellum with manuscript title on spine, later
string ties. Recased with new endpapers, frontispiece heavily
worn with loss and laid down, vertical tear across top third
of D2, scattered marginalia. ESTC S104636; Grolier, Wither
to Prior 66.
First edition of a classic courtesy book by this tireless
versifier. It was reprinted in 1641 and 1652. The chapter on
Recreation (pp. 165-226) contains discussion of almost every
form of sport and game conceivable, from fishing to gaming
(with stern admonitions concerning the latter).
$1,500
8 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
13]
Babar and Father Christmas
Jean de BRUNHOFF
Translated from the French by Merle Haas. Color-printed
pictorial title-page, illustrated throughout. Large folio (14 ¼ x
10 in.), New York: Random House, 1940. First English edition
and last of the Babar books by Jean de Brunhoff. Publisher’s
pictorial boards, yellow cloth spine, pictorial endpapers,
pictorial dust-jacket; losses at bottom margin of front of
dust-jacket restored. Grolier/Elliott 141.
Babar and Santa Claus
In this charming story, Babar visits Father Christmas and
suggests that he take a vacation in the elephants’ country.
In gratitude, Father Christmas gives Babar a magic Santa
suit which will enable him to fly through the air and
deliver presents on Christmas Eve to all the little elephants,
beginning yet another wonderful western tradtion in
Celesteville.
$750
14]
Zephir’s Holidays
Jean de BRUNHOFF
Translated from the French by Merle Haas. Introduction by
A.A. Milne Illustrated. Large 4to. New York: Random House,
(1937). First American edition. Original printed boards, cloth
spine. Minor wear, else a very nice copy.
This is the fourth book of the Barbar series and the first
devoted soley to Zephir. The introduction by A.A. Milne only
adds to this cheerful tale.
$350
Catalogue 130 | 9
15]
A Descriptive Catalogue of the William S.
Burroughs Archives
(William BURROUGHS)
Illustrated from photos by Brion Gysin. [6], 349, [blank] pp.
8vo. London: Covent Garden Press in conjunction with Am
Here Books, 1973. First edition, Copy “J” of 26 lettered copies
(total edition 226 copies, all signed by Burroughs, Gysin,
and Miles), in full deluxe binding, upper cover with design
by Gysin in red and black. White calf, spine slightly sunned.
Near fine in slipcase.
“The Name is Burroughs” — A Page of Manuscript
A unique copy of this Burroughs rarity, with a one-page
original typescript of his autobiographical sketch, “The
Name is Burroughs,” laid in, signed by Burroughs, and
bearing several autograph corrections to the text.
The typescript page features most of Burroughs themes:
dope fiends, weenies, drugs and guns. He also says, “On this
set a [sic] unpublished novel called Queer was also written.
I remeber [sic] the head of Ace books who published Junkie
said he would go to jail if he published it … Thanks to Allen
Ginsberg and Carl Solomon Junkie was published by Ace
Books in 1953.”
The essay was first collected in The Adding Machine:
Selected Essays (1986), much altered from this manuscript
fragment.
$4,000
16]
Tarzan of the Apes
Edgar Rice BURROUGHS
[viii], 401 pp. 8vo. Chicago: A.C. McClurg & Co, 1914. First
edition, first state, with printer’s name set in two lines of
Old English type. Publisher’s crimson cloth, first state of the
binding, without acorn device on spine. Slight loss to spine
gilt lettering, spine ends restored, rear hinge repaired, faint
stain on textblock fore-edge, a bright copy. Previous owner’s
name in ink on ffep. Currey, p. 93; Zeuschner 696.
The first edition of the first Tarzan novel — a brighter than
usual copy.
The child of Lord and Lady Greystoke who were marooned
in West Africa, Tarzan (“White Skin” in ape language) was
adopted by the she-ape Kala after his parents passed away.
Immediately popular, Rice Burroughs’s hero featured in
more than two dozen sequels and was further immortalised
in film.
$4,500
10 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
17]
In Cold Blood
Truman CAPOTE
[viii], 343, [1] pp. 8vo. New York: Random House, 1965. First
trade edition. Original maroon cloth. Cellotape ghosts on
endpapers and inner flaps of dust-jacket, foot of spine faintly
bumped, else near fine in near fine dust-jacket. Jacket has
1/66 and $5.95 on the front flap.
CREATING A NEW GENRE
An excellent copy of the first non-fiction novel. Capote had
already established his reputation with the likes of Other
Voices, Other Rooms and Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Having
learned of the murder of the Clutter family in an article in
the New York Times, Capote travelled to Holcomb, Ka. and
spent months there with Nell Harper, whose novel To Kill
a Mockingbird was later published to international acclaim.
The book took six years to complete and first appeared in
serial form in four issues of the New Yorker, beginning in
September 1965.
$350
18]
The King in Yellow
Robert W. CHAMBERS
[ii], 316, [1, ad (verso blank)] pp. 12mo. Chicago & New York:
F. Tennyson Neely, 1895. First edition, first issue binding.
Green cloth titled in brown, upper board with lizard design,
t.e.g. Slightest traces of rubbing at foot. Fine, fresh copy.
Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 396; Locke, A
Spectrum of Fantasy, p. 49; Suvin, Victorian Science Fiction
in the UK, p. 59; Tymn (ed), Horror Literature, pp. 3-49;
Bleiler (1978), p. 41; Wright (III) 972.
A cornerstone of modern horror and fantasy and a book
that has fascinated authors from H.P. Lovecraft to James
Blish. Chambers (1865-1933) was a prolific and perennially
popular author of historical romances set in France during
the Franco-Prussian War and in rural New York during the
American Revolution. Profoundly influential, and effectively
his only contribution to the genre. Bleiler has called this book
“One of the most important works of supernatural horror
between Edgar Allan Poe and modern horror fiction.”
$2,000
Catalogue 130 | 11
19]
A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to You
[Henry COLE (pseud. “Felix Summerly”)]
Hand-colored lithographed card, triptych depicting a family gathered around a dinner
table toasting the recipient in the center panel, the side panels showing scenes of
Christmas charity. Addressed to “His old young friends Emma & Agnes” from the
designer of the card, “J. C. Horsley, Xmasse 1843.” (3-¼ x 5 in.; 83 x 127 mm). London:
[Joseph Cundall for] Summerly’s Home Treasury Office, [December 1843]. Lightly
soiled, creased across upper right corner, in custom cloth folding box. Grolier/Elliott
42; Elliott, Inventing Christmas, pp. 85-7; Buday, The History of the Christmas Card,
pp. 618; Kenneth Rowe, The Ephemerist (December 1997), p. 713.
The First Christmas Card, Signed by the Artist
“While Germany can claim credit for the custom of the Christmas tree, the prize for
the first Christmas card goes to England” (Elliott, Inventing Christmas, p. 85).
The first Christmas card, one of 20 or 21 known to exist. This card signed by its
creator, artist John Calcott Horsley and dated 1843
$22,500
12 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
Catalogue 130 | 13
20]
The Unexpected
(COMIC ART) George TUSKA
Appearing in vol. 22, no. 180, page 10. Splash Page
“Die Laughing!” 16 x 10 in., DC Comics Inc.,
August 1977. Fine.
The Unexpected was a continuation of Tales of
the Unexpected, running over 118 issues between
1968-1982. It was essentially an anthology and
included a variety of science fiction stories.
Included here is a fine copy of the original comic
in which it appeared. Die Laughing is a short,
brutal story of two brothers bound by disability,
greed and an inheritance. It’s an excellent
example of the genre.
George Tuska specialized in particularly intense
action scenes; he illustrated such series as Iron
Man, Green Lantern, Teen Titans, Justice League,
Infinity, and Power Man, as well as the newspaper
strip World’s Greatest Superheroes.
Tuska finished his studies at the National
Academy of Design at age 21. In 1939, he joined
the graphic studios of Jerry Iger and Will Eisner,
where he worked on several comic books,
like Jungle, Wings, Planet, Wonderworld, and
Mystery Men. In the 1940s, as a member of the
Chesler Studio, he drew several stories of Captain
Marvel, Golden Arrow, Uncle Sam and El Carim.
Tuska was mobilized during World War II, so he
had to postpone his comic activities. After the
war, he continued in the comic field with Crime
Does Not Pay, and as the illustrator on Scorchy
Smith. In 1959, he took over the daily and weekly
Buck Rogers pages, which he continued until
1967. In the late 1960s, Tuska started working for
Marvel, where he contributed to the series Ghost
Rider, Planet of the Apes, X-Men, Daredevil
and Iron Man. He continued drawing superhero
comics for DC, including Superman, Superboy and Challengers of the Unknown. In 1978, along with Marty Pasko and Vince
Colletta, Tuska started a new version of the daily Superman comic strip. Tuska worked on this series until 1982.
$2,550
Visit our Collections page to view more original comic art by George Tuska
www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/collections.php
14 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
22]
Autograph Letter, signed (“Frederick A. Cook”)
to the Arctic artist Albert Opertit
Frederick Albert COOK
1-½ pp., in ink, on personal stationery (Frederick A. Cook,
M.D., 687 Bushwick Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y.). 12mo.
Brooklyn, NY: Oct. 4, 1896. Slightly soiled, old folds,
docketed, presumably by Operti, “ans O/18/96.”
Cook Congratulates Operti, 1896
A charming letter between two Arctic veterans.
Frederick Cook, founding member of both the Arctic Club
and the Explorer’s Club, and future rival claimant to Robert
Peary as discoverer of the North Pole, writes to his old friend
Albert Operti. Both Cook and Operti had been with Peary
on an Arctic expedition in 1891 (Cook as surgeon, Operti as
artist), and Operti had just returned from a second Peary
expedition to Greenland, with sketches, notes, paintings,
and memorabilia which now form an important part of the
collections of the Explorer’s Club. The letter reads:
“My dear Operti, I am so glad that you succeeded. You must
have had a glorious time. Accept my hearty congratulations.
I am anxious to see your hard earned collection and have a
pleasant chat about our old Eskimo friends in the far North
… Yours cordially, Frederick A. Cook.”
$2,000
21]
Almayer’s Folly. A Story of an Eastern River
CONRAD, Joseph
8vo. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. First edition, first state,
with type dropped in bottom two lines on p. 110. Original
olive green cloth, t.e.g., others uncut. Almost fine, in slipcase.
Smith 1; Cagle A1a1.
conrad’s first book
Conrad’s first book, recording the experiences of Dutch
trader Kaspar Almayer who travels to Borneo in search of a
goldmine. Almayer’s Folly establishes many of the interests
and themes that would characterise Conrad’s great novels
of the early twentieth century, and must be considered an
important precursor.
$2,500
Catalogue 130 | 15
23]
The Deerslayer: or, The First War-Path. A Tale.
By the Author of “The Last of the Mohicans”
[James Fenimore COOPER]
2 vols. 12mo. Philadelphia: Lea & Blanchard, 1841. First
edition. Bound in blue morocco by Bennett, N.Y. Fine. BAL
3895; Spiller and Blackburn 32; Wright I 601.
Chingachgook & Deerslayer
The last of Cooper’s “Leatherstocking Tales” of Natty
Bumpo in the American wilderness, although it is the first in
terms of sequence. Set on Ostego Lake in upstate New York,
The Deerslayer depicts Natty Bumpo as a young man against
the practise of scalping. A very desirable copy of this classic
of American fiction.
$2,500
24]
Hunting and Fishing in Florida
Charles B. CORY
Profusely illustrated with drawings and photographs. 8vo.
Boston: Estes & Lauriat, 1896. Second edition. Original
pictorial brown cloth, showing a silver-embossed tarpon
being hooked. Cover slightly soiled, else fine. Bookplate.
Bruns C-168; Heller 2:835. Not in Callahan’s Tarpon
Bibliography.
Early Tarpon Fishing in Florida
An interesting account of the sport and ornithology of the
state, with some wonderful historic photographs. Included is
a chapter on Tarpon Fishing, with four photographs of the
contest.
$375
16 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
25]
The Divina Commedia of Dante Alighieri
(DANTE) Henry BOYD (trans.)
Engraved frontispiece portrait of Dante. vi, [2], 408; [4], 384; [4], 420 pp., with the half-titles in all three volumes. 3 vols. 8vo.
London: Cadell and Davies, 1802. First complete edition in English. Uniform contemporary plain calf, covers with the gilt arms
of the Society of Writers to the Signet in the center of each cover (neatly rebacked with a new spine and label, edges and corners
a little rubbed). A little foxed and spotted in places, title-page of first volume evenly browned, large hole through the blank foremargin of five leaves near the end of the first volume (not touching the text and possibly caused by a flaw in the paper before it
was printed). Provenance: The Society of Writers to the Signet, Edinburgh, with their gilt armorial stamp on the covers, label and
shelfmarks on the front pastedown.
The pinnacle of Italian literature, Dante’s Divine Comedy was completed a year before his death in 1321. Its significance and
influence cannnot be overstated.
“In 1802 Boyd issued three volumes of an English verse translation of the whole Divina commedia of Dante, with preliminary
essays, notes, and illustrations. The translation is important as the first English version of the complete Divine Comedy to be
published … The edition’s value was in assisting to re-establish an audience for Dante, whose reputation had suffered a decline
in the previous century. It was dedicated to Viscount Charleville, whose chaplain Boyd was until the Irish rising induced him to
resign his post” (ODNB). The work is of further interest as a record of early nineteenth century translation, as Boyd adheres to a
neo-classical system of six line stanzas.
Boyd was born into a farming family in Dromore, Co. Antrim and later educated at Trinity College, Dublin. His translation of the
first book of Dante’s Divine Comedy, the Inferno, was published in two volumes in 1785 with notes, a biography of Dante and a
“specimen of a new translation of the Orlando Furioso of Ariosto.”
$11,500
Catalogue 130 | 17
26]
Our Mutual Friend
Charles DICKENS
40 engraved plates by the Dalziel Brothers or W. T. Green after
illustrations by Marcus Stone, without publisher’s advertisements
at back as frequently occurs with bound copies. 320; 309, [1] pp.
8vo. London: Chapman and Hall, 1865. First edition in book form.
Contemporary half crimson morocco and marbled boards. Slight
wear to covers, some intermittent foxing, an attractive copy. Eckle, p.
94; Smith no. 15.
Commencing with the supposed death of John Harmon, who’s body
is found in the Thames, Dickens’ tale of hidden identities, greed and
love, is underpinned by the theme of wealth and its evils.
Our Mutual Friend is considered one of Dicken’s most sophisticated
works, and first appeared in parts as it was written in 1864-65. Here we
have it in book form published in the same year. Although Dickens
lived until 1870, this is his last completed novel.
$1,250
27]
The Christmas Books
Charles DICKENS
Illustrations throughout (hand-colored in A Christmas Carol). 5
vols. 8vo. London: Chapman & Hall; Bradbury & Evans, 18441848. Red calf gilt, spines gilt with contrasting lettering pieces,
a.e.g., for Lauriat. Original cloth covers bound in. Fine set (tiny
bump to head of spine of Battle of Life).
A Finely Bound Set of Dickens’ Christmas Books
Attractive set of Dickens’ immortal Christmas stories, finely
bound
Comprising:
(1) A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of
Christmas. London: Chapman & Hall, 1844. Title printed in red
and blue, half-title printed in blue. Fourth edition (statement
effaced from title-page).
(2) The Chimes: A Goblin Story of Some Bells That Rang an Old
Year Out and a New Year In. London: Chapman & Hall, 1845.
Twelfth edition.
(3) The Cricket on the Hearth. A Fairy Tale of Home. London:
Printed and Published for the Author by Bradbury and Evans,
1846. First edition, second state of ad leaf.
(4) The Battle of Life. A Love Story. London: Bradbury & Evans,
1846. Fourth state of pictorial title (Todd E1, Eckel 4).
(5) The Haunted Man and the Ghost’s Bargain. A Fancy for
Christmas-Time. London: Bradbury & Evans, 1848. First edition.
$3,000
18 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
28]
A Christmas Carol. In Prose. Being a Ghost Story of Christmas
Charles DICKENS
Title-page printed in red and green with wood-engraved holly vignette, half-title printed in green, hand-colored etched
frontispiece and 3 handcolored etched plates after and by John Leech, 4 wood-engraved text illustrations after Leech by W. J.
Linton, integral terminal leaf of publisher’s ads (“Works of Mr.
Charles Dickens”). 12mo, London: Chapman and Hall, 1843. First
edition, first issue, with all of Smith’s points and an unbroken
signature letter c; indeterminate and very rare variant state with
pink endpapers. Publisher’s cinnamon-brown rib-grain cloth, covers blocked in blind with decorative holly and ivy border, front
cover and spine gilt with author and title with a holly wreath, pink-coated endpapers, gilt edges (Todd’s first impression, first
issue of cover stamp); spine darkened, extremities a bit worn, inner hinges cracked, lightly shaken with two signatures sprung.
Half brown calf slipcase, chemise. Smith, Dickens in the Original Cloth 2:4; Todd, “A Christmas Carol,” in The Book Collector
10:449–54.
‘Bah,’ said Scrooge, ‘Humbug’
The First Issue, With Pink Endpapers
Ebenezer Scrooge’s dark night of the soul featuring the ghosts of Christmas Past, Present and Yet to Come is probably the most
famous of all Christmas stories. An interesting fact, it was published in December 1843 — within days of the printing of the very
first Christmas card.
$10,000
Catalogue 130 | 19
29]
30]
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
Alice’s Avonturen in het Wonderland. Naar het
Engelsch van Lewis Carroll [Translated by R.
Ten Raa] [Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland.]
Charles DICKENS
Engraved title-page and portrait (in part 6) and 12 engraved
plates (2 in each part). 8vo. London: Chapman & Hall, April,
1870 - September, 1870. First edition in parts. Full green
morocco, with the original printed wrappers bound in, with
ads. Part 2 lacks the very rare “Cork Hats” slip, as usual.
Bookplates of John A. Spoor and Peter A. Wick. Hatton &
Cleaver, pp. 373-384.
WITH A SIGNED CHECK TO AN EDITOR
AT HOUSEHOLD WORDS
Desirable set of Dickens’ last book as it originally appeared,
interrupted by his death on June 9, 1870, after three of the
parts had been issued.
With a check signed by Dickens, June 4, 1860, tipped in,
written to William Henry Wills, an important editor at
Household Words, and Dickens’ close friend, one that he
entrusted to forward his letters to Ellen Ternan during his
1867–8 American reading tour. Also laid in, an ALS from
Bryan Waller Procter (pseud. Barry Cornwall, 1787-1874)
to Thomas Hood (1799-1845) dated May 27, 1840, in which
Procter thanks Hood for a copy of his book and apologizes
for the delay in acknowledging the volume.
sold
20 | James Cummins bookseller
[DODGSON, Charles L.]
With 40 illustrations after Tenniel. [viii], 146, [6 ads] pp. 8vo.
Leiden: E.J. Brill, [1899]. First complete edition in Dutch.
Grey cloth titled in gilt. Endsheets toned, small tape residue
at foot of front flyleaf, else very good plus. Signed by the
original Alice on the pastedown, and by Mrs. Ffooks on
the flyleaf. Lovett 622. OCLC: 12310848 (4 U.S. locations).
Provenance: Alice P. Hargreaves, (née Liddell); Sotheby’s
(London) Alice sale, 5 June 2001, lot 99 (owner’s note on card
loosely inserted).
Alice’s Own Copy
The first complete Dutch edition, signed by Alice Pleasance
Hargreaves and also by Maude Ffooks (née Standen), another
of Dodgson’s child friends with whom he corresponded
while she was a governess in Russia.
An uncommon edition with no better provenance.
$2,250
Holiday 2105
31]
Pablo Escobar Gaviria en Caricaturas 1983-1991
(DRUGS) Pablo ESCOBAR
Numerous plates reproducing political cartoons and photographs and drawings of Escobar (4 of them in color). [2]-377, [1] ll.,
printed rectos only. 4to. [Medellin, Columbia: 1992]. Original calf with facsimile signature and fingerprint in gilt. Minor foxing on
a few leaves.
Proof of the law’s inability to constrain Escobar surely comes in no stranger format than this self-published collection of political
cartoons concerning the Colombian drug trade. It was published by Escobar while serving time in his luxury prison, La Catedral. Escobar is quite serious about the value of this work and states in the prologue: “El lengua figurativo de la caricatura representa
una opinion, un criterio, un punto de vista personal y es por eso que hemos querido recopilar todos los pensamientos graficos
y bajo este tema especifico de narrativa. Porque visualizar un concepto tan abstracto como un modo de pensar, va mas alla de
la simple ridiculizacion de un a personaje o la simple expocision de los razgos caracteristicos; es darle vida propia a una imagen
abstracta que reposa silenciosa en nuestra mentes.”
The book opens with a report on the Colombian government importing of cocaine and reprints a series of photographs of
Escobar, some with his family and even some in prison. From there the wide-ranging caricatures satirise everything from politics,
the mafia, religion, the United States, and even drug use in sport.
According to an Escobar family member, most of the copies of the book were burned after Escobar’s escape from the prison with
only a handful of copies surviving the fire. Rare. OCLC locates no copies, though the book does turn up now and again on a certain online auction site at predictably
ludicrous prices.
$9,500
Catalogue 130 | 21
32]
The Tempest Act I, Scene 2 (Caliban: “Wouldst give me Water with berries in’t”)
Edmund DULAC
Watercolor, pencil and ink on paper, signed “Edmund Dulac 08” (lower left), additionally inscribed on verso: “Caliban. Wouldst
give me water with berries in it … Act I Sc. II” and numbered 39. 15 x 9-⅞ in., 1908. Matted and framed. Exhibited: Leicester
Galleries. Literature: Shakespeare’s Comedy of the Tempest (Hodder & Stoughton, 1908), p. 26; Hughey, Edmund Dulac: His
Book Illustrations, no. 19.
original watercolor for Dulac’s
Tempest
A beautiful watercolor from Dulac’s second
major gift book commission for Hodder &
Stoughton. The Dulac Tempest was issued
as part of a projected series of Shakespeare
illustrated by contemporary artists that was
never completed. “Dulac can be considered
a perfect illustrator for Shakespeare because
of his tendency always to mix in with
serious pictures some humorous ones, just
as Shakespeare inserted scenes of comic
relief between his serious ones … Dulac
shows sensitivity to the nuances of the sea
with his beautiful greens and blues and
patterns of surf and rocks” (Hughey). Dulac
“showed greater human understanding
as the illustrations moved beyond stage
scenes and became mood pictures or
tone poems … Dulac’s greater assurance
in The Tempest was manifested in many
beautifully observed scenes … Caliban
looks like a benevolent Neanderthal man,
not very frightening, as befits an edition
for children … The publication of The
Tempest in November 1908 was again timed
to coincide with the Leicester Galleries’
exhibition of the original watercolors, and
both the art and book critics acclaimed his
work, particularly his treatment of the sea”
(White, Edmund Dulac, p. 36).
$40,000
22 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
33]
34]
Ash Wednesday
Invisible Man
T.S. ELIOT
Ralph ELLISON
12mo. New York & London: Fountain Press/ Faber &
Faber, 1930. First edition, limited issue. One of six hundred
numbered copies, printed on handmade paper at the Curwen
Press and signed by the author. Blue cloth, decorated and
lettered in gilt, t.e.g. Usual slight offset to endsheets, else
a fine copy in slightly chipped glassine, in slightly soiled
slipcase with short cracks at two joints. The whole enclosed
in custom cloth slipcase and chemise. Gallup A15; Modern
Movement 65; Untermeyer, Modern American Poetry, p. 396
(Harcourt Brace 1950).
[viii], 439, [1] pp. 8vo. New York: Random House, (1952). First
edition. Publisher’s black and tan cloth, top edge stained
black. Very slight spotting to textblock edge, else fine, in
the E. McKnight Kauffer dust-jacket with Gordon Parks
photograph of the author on the rear panel, unlcipped,
lightly edgeworn, with small closed tear and crease to rear
panel. Blockson 86.
the limited signed edition
Ellison’s National Book Award-winning first novel, the only
published in his lifetime. “Immediately acclaimed by critics,
it was recognized not merely as an excellent novel by a black
author, but as a great literary achievement” (ANB). Set in the
1930s, the novel’s hero is expelled from a college in the South
and moves to New York City where he becomes a member
of the Brotherhood. Engaging and dramatic, Invisible Man is
a landmark work registering the social, cultural and political
ideas and problems facing the black community in the midtwentienth century.
Based on Dante’s Purgatorio, Ash Wednesday is often
referred to as Eliot’s conversion poem. Eliot converted to
Anglicism in 1927, and this was published just three years
later. The poem was well-received and the poet Edwin Muir
insisted that “’Ash-Wednesday’ is one of the most moving
poems he [Eliot] has written, and perhaps the most perfect”
(Untermeyer).
$2,250
‘I am invisible, understand, simply because people
refuse to see me’
$3,000
Catalogue 130 | 23
35]
Emerson in Concord. A Memoir Written for the
“Social Circle” in Concord, Massachusetts
Edward Waldo EMERSON
Engraved frontispiece portrait. [iv], 266 pp., with tipped-in slip
(“With compliments of Edward W. Emerson”) and leaf (dated
December 20, 1888, requesting this early copy be withheld from
“general perusal” until publication in the fall of 1889). 8vo.
Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. The
Riverside Press, Cambridge, 1889. First edition, advance copy.
Publisher’s green cloth, spine titled in gilt, t.e.g. Covers rubbed.
BAL III, p. 69 (for the regularly published edition).
An advance copy of Edward Waldo Emerson’s memoir of
his father, inscribed to the English author Richard Garnett,
“Dr. Richard Garnett with the cordial regard of Edward
W. Emerson.” With two inserted autograph letters, signed
(“Edward W. Emerson”), to Garnett. In the first letter (Concord,
Massachusetts, December 30, [1888], 8 pp.), Emerson thanks
Garnett for a copy of his Life of Ralph Waldo Emerson (London,
1888) and praises the book while pointing out some if its errors.
Emerson notes that only two advance copies of his Memoir
have been sent to England. In the second letter (Concord,
[Massachusetts]. March 18, 1889, 3 pp.), Emerson thanks Garnett
for the “kindness and zeal you have shown on behalf of my
book” and discusses plans for an English edition.
$1,500
36]
The Sound and the Fury
William FAULKNER
401 pp. 8vo. New York: Jonathan Cape and Harrison Smith, [1929].
First edition, with the phrase “First published 1929” printed on
the copyright page. Original cloth-backed patterned boards.
Inner hinges repaired. Faintest toning and wear at edges, tiny
old cellotape repairs at corners. Very good plus copy, without
the scarce printed dust-jacket. Black half morocco dropbox with
velvet lining by Sangorski and Sutcliffe for Asprey. Petersen A6b.
A pioneering work of American modernism, Faulkner’s fourth
novel, which employed a stream-of-consciousness technique
and multiple narrators, was slow to find an audience. Set in
Faulkener’s fictional world, Yoknapatawpha County, it played
a significant role in Faulkner receiving the Nobel Prize for
Literature in 1949.The Modern Library ranked it sixth on its list
of 100 best English language novels of the twentieth century.
$2,000
24 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
37]
Costume design for Mia Farrow as Daisy
Buchanan in the 1974 film adaptation of The
Great Gatsby
(F. Scott FITZGERALD) Aldredge
Watercolor and charcoal over pencil outline on thin artist’s
board, signed by Aldredge at lower right. Verso with
delicate pencil sketch of the character in a variant pose. 18¼ x 14 in., [c. 1974]. Light finger soiling at margins, else fine.
Aldredge won the 1974 Academy Award for Outstanding
Costume Design for her work on The Great Gatsby.
In the New York Times review of the film, Vincent Canby,
wrote: “Mia Farrow is lovely, eccentric and unfathomable
as Daisy, which may be an impossible role.” She played
opposite Robert Redford in the titular role.
$3,500
38]
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott FITZGERALD
[vi], 218 pp. 8vo. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1925.
First edition, first issue. Original green cloth, spine titled in
gilt. Slight lean to spine, else a fine, bright copy. In a custom
half green morocco slipcase and green cloth chemise.
Bruccoli A 11.1.a. Provenance: George F. Tyler (ownership
signature to front free endpaper).
The celebrated classic of Twenties America. This copy
belonged to banker and sportsman George F. Tyler of
Bucks County, PA. The French-Norman Tyler estate is now
the campus of the Bucks County Community College.
Tyler, who was related by marriage to the oilman William
Lukens Elkins, founded with his wife the Stella Elkins Tyler
School of Art
at Temple
University.
$4,000
‘So we beat on, boats
against the current,
borne back ceaselessly
into the past’
Catalogue 130 | 25
39]
The complete Flashman Papers in first edition
George MacDonald FRASER
12 vols, comprising Flashman (1969); Royal Flash (1970); Flash
for Freedom! (1971); Flashman at the Charge (1973); Flashman
in the Great Game (1975); Flashman’s Lady (1977); Flashman
and the Redskins (1982); Flashman and the Dragon (1985);
Flashman and the Mountain of Light (1990); Flashman and
the Angel of the Lord (1994); Flashman and the Tiger (1999);
Flashman on the March (2005). 8vo, London: Harvill and
Harper Collins, 1969-2005. All first editions. Red boards (save
for Flashman and the Tiger, in black boards), most with map
endsheets. All fine in near fine pictorial dust-jackets.
The Flashman Papers in their entirity, documenting the
many adventures and great many loves of Sir Harry
Flashman VC KCB KCIE. For all his success, Fraser made it
clear that his hero remained “a scoundrel, a liar, a cheat, a
thief, a coward — and, oh yes, a toady.”
$2,800
26 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
40]
Come Christmas. A Selection of Christmas
Poetry, Song, Drama and Prose. Edited by
Lesley Frost
(Robert FROST) Lesley FROST, editor
Illustrated with a two-page facsimile manuscript poem by
Frost, “Good Relief ”, unpublished until then SIGNED AND
INSCRIBED BY FROST, “Robert Frost / second signature / for
Earl Bernheimer / April 5, 1936.” 8vo. New York: CowardMcCann, [1935]. Light blue cloth, spine lettered in gilt. Fine
copy in pictorial dust-jacket printed in silver, red, and green.
Cloth slipcase and chemise.
Inscribed by Frost and His Daughter
Lovely and choice copy of the delightful Christmas
anthology, edited by Frost’s eldest daughter, signed by her
illustrious father, and inscribed by her as well on the flyleaf:
“For George Mathew Adams / from Lesley Frost.”
Frost was much lauded in his career, winning the Pulitzer
Prize four times; he also received the Congressional Gold
Medal.
$2,000
41]
A Boy’s Will
Robert FROST
Small, thin 8vo. London: David Nutt, 1913. First edition,
second issue. Original tan printed wrappers (Binding D).
Fine. Cloth folding box. Clymer and Green p. 20; Crane A2.
The author’s first book, preceded only by the legendary
Twilight (1894) of which only one copy is known. Frost
has the distinction of being one of the few poets who was
successful throughout his entire lifetime, receiving four
Pulitzer prizes among his many awards.
$1,500
Catalogue 130 | 27
42]
Sand and Foam. A Book of Aphorisms
Kalil GIBRAN
Illustrated with 7 drawings by the author. 85 pp. 8vo. New
York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1926. First edition, no. 39 of 95 copies,
signed by the poet, on Borzoi Rag Paper. Quarter brown
cloth and silver decorated boards.
A lovely copy of the first edition. Sand and Foam includes
one of Gibran’s most famous lines: “Half of what I say is
meaningless, but I say it so that the other half may reach
you.”
Gibran, a Lebanese-American artist, poet and writer, is best
known for his 1923 work The Prophet. He is the third bestselling poet of all time after Shakespeare and the Chinese
philosopher and poet Lao-Tzu.
$4,500
43]
Little Ann and Other Poems
(Kate GREENAWAY) Jane and Ann
TAYLOR
Illustrated by Kate Greenaway. Printed in Colors by Edmund
Evans. 64 pp. 8vo. London: George Routledge & Sons, [n.d.].
First edition. Original green linen and pictorial paper over
boards. Fine in half red morocco dropbox. Provenance:
Alwin J. Scheuer. Engen, p. 231; Thomsen 168.
INSCRIBED by kate greenaway
Inscribed on the half-title “Mrs. H.(arry) J. Veitch, From Kate
Greenaway. 1893.” The Veitchs of 34 Radcliffe Gardens, South
Kensington, had a good collection of Greenaways. Sir Harry
James Veitch (1840-1924) was a horticulturist who ran the
family business in Chelsea, James Veitch & Sons Nurseies,
and helped start the Chelsea Flower Show.
Kate Greenaway (1846-1901) is one of the most beloved of
British book illustrators. She studied at the Royal College of
Art in London and her first book, Under the Window (1879),
was an immediate success and she was prolific in the twenty
years before her death. She is often compared with Walter
Crane and Randolph Caldecott and as such is regarded as
“one of the three great illustrators of children’s books in
the mid-Victorian period” (ODNB). The Kate Greenaway
medal, established in her honor, is awarded annually for
“distinguished illustrations in a book for children.”
$1,500
28 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
44]
45]
“Map of the Harvard Yale Regatta. And What
Does It Prove?”
A Farewell to Arms
John HELD Jr
8vo. New York: Scribners, 1929. First edition, first issue. Black
cloth. Front flyleaf removed, else fine in dust-jacket with
minor chipping and fading to spine.
Pen and ink on paper, signed beneath the caption “By John
Held Jr Who Is Not Intrigued At Boating.” 15-½ x 11-¼ in.
N.p. [New York?]: n.d. [ca. 1930]. Matted and framed.
$4,500
Ernest HEMINGWAY
Set in the Italian campaign during World War One, and based
in part on his own experiences, Hemingway’s novel is a love
story between American soldier, Frederic Henry, and the
nurse Catherine Barkley.
It was first serialised in Scribner’s Magazine in 1929 and
reviewed enthusiastically in the Times and by Gore Vidal.
Censors took a dimmer view of some of the language
employed, replacing certain words with dashes throughout
the text.
$2,500
‘Life isn’t hard to
manage when you’ve
nothing to lose’
Catalogue 130 | 29
46]
47]
The Torrents of Spring. A Romantic Novel in
Honor of the Passing of a Great Race
Typed Letter, signed (“Ernest Hemingway”),
to Mr. Grover Whelan
Ernest HEMINGWAY
Ernest HEMINGWAY
[iv], 143 pp. 8vo. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1926.
First edition, 1250 copies printed. Publisher’s cloth titled in
orange. Slight discoloration and rubbing to front board,
small dampstain at fore edge of flyleaf and pastedown, in
bright first-issue dust-jacket, spine completely unfaded (light
edgewear, professionally conserved on verso, small, faint
trace of stain on inside of front panel, tiny flaw in blank
space in back panel). Hanneman A4a; Grissom A.4.1.a.
One page, on personal letterhead of Finca Vigia. 4to. Finca
Vigia, San Francisco de Paula, Cuba: September 28, 1958.
Slight toning at edges, otherwise fine. Handsomely framed
and matted with a copy of the telegram of invitation from
Whelan (dated September 5, 1958) and with a copy of the
dust-jacket of the book.
A handsome copy in a bright example of the dust-jacket of
the first edition of Hemingway’s first novel. Written in just
a few days, The Torrents of Spring, named for the Turgenev
novel of the same title, is a parody of Sherwood Anderson’s
Dark Laughter. Anderson’s publisher, Boni & Liveright, were
contracted to publish Hemingway’s next work after having
issued the trade edition of In Our Time. Horace Liveright
rejected the manuscript, effectively voiding their contract.
The Torrents of Spring was published by Scribners, who
went on to publish all of Hemingway’s major works.
Whelan introduces himself as the Chairman of the Charity
Performance for the world premier of The Old Man and
the Sea, to take place on Tuesday, October 7, 8:00PM at the
Criterion Theatre on Times Square. Hemingway responds:
“Thank you very much for your invitation to the world
premiere of The Old Man and the Sea. Unfortunately it
is impossible for Mrs. Hemingway and me to attend this
opening, but I am enclosing my cheque for $100 to the New
York March of Dimes. Would you be so kind as to deliver
the two tickets you have reserved for Mrs. Hemingway and
myself to my friend, Mr. George Brown, who will call for
them …”
$5,500
$11,000
30 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
48]
Winner Take Nothing
HEMINGWAY, Ernest
244 pp. 8vo. New York and London: Charles Scribner’s Sons,
1933. First edition, with Scribner’s “A” and Scribner’s seal on
copyright page. Original black cloth with gold paper labels,
top edge red. A bright, near fine copy in original black,
white, and red dust-jacket. Fine with one closed tear on
front cover. Hanneman A12a.
Contains 14 short stories, including “A Clean, Well-Lighted
Place.” Published after A Farewell to Arms (1929), this was
Hemingway’s final collection of short stories.
$2,700
Catalogue 130 | 31
49]
Leviathan, or the Matter, Forme, & Power of a
Common-wealth Ecclesiasticall and Civill
Thomas HOBBES
Allegorical engraved title-page, one folding table at p. 40.
[vi], 396 pp. A-2Z4 3A-3D4. Folio. London: Printed [by Roger
Norton and Richard Cotes] for Andrew Crooke, 1651. First
edition (with the distinguishing title-page ornament of a
winged head). Full period calf, covers ruled in blind, red
morocco lettering piece. Engraved title-page tipped-in on
stub, likely supplied, printed title-page with loss at right
margin with repair to verso, small pieces from margin of
H4, a few small signs of worming, some sporadic foxing and
staining towards rear, 2Z2 and 2Z3 bound in reverse otherwise
a clean, crisp copy. Macdonald & Hargreaves 42; Wing (2nd
edition) H2246; Pforzheimer 491; Printing and the Mind of
Man 138; ESTC R17253. Provenance: George Ware Tracy (his
bookplate).
First edition of Hobbes’ Classic of Political
Theory
There were three separate editions (not “issues,” as they are
sometimes mistakenly referred to) of Hobbes’ classic, with
a title-page dated 1651. This is the true first, with the “head”
ornament on the title-page, and the errata uncorrected.
A second printing, actually produced abroad with a false
imprint, has a bear surrounded by foliage; and a third edition,
actually printed around 1680, has a triangle of type ornaments
on the title-page and modernized spelling.
Hobbes’ famous essay on the origin of the State created (and
still creates) a storm of controversy, since for Hobbes even the
most repugnant authoritarian government is to be preferred
over that notorious Hobbesian state of nature in which
anarchic life is “nasty, brutish and short.” For Hobbes “the
State … might be regarded as a great artificial monster made
up of individual men, with an existence which could be traced
from its generation through human reason under pressure of
human needs to its destruction through civil strife proceeding
from human passions. The
individual (except to save
his own life) should always
submit to the State, because
any government is better
than the anarchy of the
natural state” (Printing and
the Mind of Man).
$18,500
32 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
50]
Hockney’s Alphabet
David HOCKNEY
Drawings by David Hockney & written contributions (by 26 authors)
edited by Stephen Spender. 4to, London: Faber and Faber for the Aids
Crisis Trust, [1991]. One of 250 numbered copies signed by David
Hockney and Stephen Spender. Grey paper over boards, vellum spine
lettered in gilt. Fine in slipcase.
The Hockney drawings illustrate each of the 27 contributions by
various authors on a letter of the alphabet (a T.S Eliot piece is
included for ‘Q’, along with that of Anthony Burgess), with a final
piece by John Julius Norwich. 22 of these have also signed the book:
Doris Lessing, William Boyd, Margaret Drabble, Martin Amis,
William Golding, Patrick Leigh Fermor, Nigel Nicolson, Seamus
Heaney, Douglas Adams, Julian Barnes, Craig Raine, Kazuo Ishiguro,
Iris Murdoch, V.S. Pritchett, Erica Jong, Arthur Miller, John Julius
Norwich, Susan Sontag, Joyce Carol Oates, John Updike, Norman
Mailer, and Ian McEwan. (Not signing were Burgess and Eliot, of
course, Ted Hughes, and Gore Vidal). Published by the Aids Crisis
Trust to raise money for AIDS victims.
$2,250
51]
Illuminated border cutting from a service book of Pope Innocent VIII
(ILLUMINATED MS) [Attributed to Giuliano AMADEI]
Vertical strip of vellum, illuminated border comprised of a burnished gold bar decorated with leaves, flowers and scrolls, in
various colors and gold. 14-½ x 1-½ in. [Rome: ca. 1484-1492]. Evidence on verso of prior mounting, repair to upper portion of
right margin, some rubbing. Cf. British Library 21412, ff. 4, 45-65.
from the Sistene Chapel service book of Pope Innocent VIII
An illuminated border cutting from a Sistine Chapel service book of Pope Innocent VIII (1432-1492). The cutting — which
is related to pieces in the Fitwilliam Museum, Cambridge, the British Library, and the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm — was
likely removed from a service book looted by French troops who deposed Pope Pius VI in 1798. The other known cuttings bear
inscriptions “In[n]ocent” and “Papa VIII” as well as his emblem, the peacock.
$4,000
Catalogue 130 | 33
52]
Nativity with Beasts and Shepherds (Dum
Medium Silentium Tenerent Omnia)
David JONES
Wood engraving. One leaf. 10-½ x 8 in., 1928. One small
crease to upper corner, otherwise fine. Cleverdon E198.
Considered by T.S. Eliot and W.H. Auden to be one of the
early twentieth century’s significant poets, Jones was also a
painter and an engraver. This nativity scene, made around
the time Jones joined the Society of Wood Engravers, is from
a small edition of about 20 given to the artist’s friends.
$2,500
53]
Ulysses. With an Introduction by Stuart Gilbert
James JOYCE
Illustrated with 6 original soft-ground etchings and 20
reproductions of preliminary drawings by Henri Matisse. xvi,
[ii], 735 pp. 4to. New York: Limited Editions Club, 1935. First
edition thus. Number 1452 of 1500 copies, signed by Matisse.
Original brown cloth, spine and upper board blocked in
gilt. Fine in slightly rubbed slipcase. Slocum & Cahoon A22;
Quarto-Millenary 71; Garvey 197; Duthuit 235.
With six soft ground etchings by Matisse created for this
edition, with reproductions of his preliminary drawings. One
of the finest productions of the Limited Editions Club. It
unites one of the greatest writers of the twentienth century
with one of its greatest artists. Based loosely on Homer’s
Odyssey, Joyce sought to create a testament to Dublin so
complete that the city might be recreated from the novel.
$6,000
34 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
54]
55]
Endymion: A Poetic Romance
Profiles in Courage. [Foreword by Allan Nevins]
John KEATS
John F. KENNEDY
Half-title present; single line errata on a6r; bound without
advertisement leaves. ix, [3], 207, [1] pp. 8vo. London: Printed
for Taylor and Hessey, 1818. First edition, second issue
(with the printer’s imprint T. Miller, Printer, Noble street,
Cheapside); inserted five-line errata. Nineteenth century
quarter tan polished calf and green marbled paper over
boards. Rebacked, ffep detached, some light foxing, generally
a clean copy, very good overall. Half morocco slipcase.
MacGillivray 2.
xix, [iii], 266 pp. 8vo. New York: Harper & Brothers, [1956].
Later printing G-F ( July, 1956), same year as the first. Cloth.
Very good copy in slightly worn dust-jacket.
‘… a joy forever’ : First edition of Keats’
Endymion
Attractive copy of Keats’ second book, his immortal
poem whose first line is “A thing of beauty is a joy forever
…” So savage and malevolent were the reviews of this
poem by Blackwoods and the Quarterly (“Lockhart found
it exquisitely funny that an apothecary, a fellow who
confessedly knew no Greek, who had to read Homer
in a translation, should venture on a classic theme” —
MacGillivray), that Keats’ supporters thereafter blamed the
reviewers for the poet’s early death.
robert McNamara’s Copy
Signed on the flyleaf in pencil: “Robert S. McNamara.”
McNamara (1916-2009) was president of Ford Motor
Company, U.S. Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and
Johnson administrations, and later president of the World
Bank.
Kennedy, who was the junior senator from Massachusetts at
the time, won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize for biography for this
work, which highlights the bravery of eight US senators.
$1,250
$6,500
Catalogue 130 | 35
56]
The General Theory of Employment, Interest and Money
John Maynard KEYNES
xii, 403 pp. 8vo, London: Macmillan and Co, 1936. First edition. Original blue-green publisher’s cloth, spine gilt, some light foxing
spots to the first few leaves. The printed jacket is unclipped and in very good condition with two small stains at the foot of the
front cover of the jacket and another on the bottom corner of the lower panel of the jacket, close to the fore-edge, 2 millimeter
closed tear at the bottom of the spine of the jacket and a little wrinkling close to the crown. PMM 423.
From the moment of publication to the current day, it’s difficult to overstate the impact Keynes and his General Theory has had
on the field of macroeconomics.
“The world-wide slump after 1929 prompted Keynes to attempt an explanation of, and new methods for controlling, the vagaries
of the trade cycle … [h]e subjected the definitions and theories of the classical school of economists to a penetrating scrutiny and
found them seriously inadequate and inaccurate” (PMM). Controversial and divisive, it was received with enthusiasm by some
and dismissed as a recipe for inflation by others. Put briefly, his analysis demonstrated that “[e]conomic policy should [ultimately]
provide for the management of demand as a means of controlling the level of output and seek to ensure the fullest possible use
of available resources” (ODNB).
Keynes’s General Theory provides an invaluable critique and thus is a sort of companion volume of the likes of Adam Smith.
Indeed, this and The Wealth of Nations should be considered the two pillars of any serious collection of books on economics.
$14,000
36 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
57]
Carrie. Screenplay … adapted from the novel by
Steven King. Revised First Draft
(Stephen KING) D. Lawrence COHEN
Mimeographed typescript. Ff. [1], [1]-5, 5A, 5B, 6-107. 4to. A
Paul Monash Production, [1976]. Grey card wrappers bound
with brads. Superficial exterior soiling, else fine. In custom
half morocco slipcase and inner chemise.
The uncommon screenplay for the film of Stephen King’s
first novel, published by Doubleday in 1974. Directed by Brian
De Palma, the film proved a box office success, established
the reputations of King and De Palma, and made a star
of Sissy Spacek. Carrie was also the screen debut of John
Travolta, Nancy Allen, Amy Irving, and William Katt.
Provenance: Colleen Dewhurst & George C. Scott Estate.
$1,500
58]
Sex
MADONNA, with Glenn O’BRIEN
Photography by Stephen Meisel, with the art direction by
Fabien Baron. Edited by Glenn O’Brien. 4to. New York:
Warner Books, October 1992. First edition. Spiral bound,
aluminum stamped and die cut sheets. Fine condition,
opened in original pictorial mylar envelope.
“Sex is not love. Love is not sex”
Sex was published at the beginning of the second phase
of Madonna’s career. The first finished with the release of
1990’s Immaculate Collection and this book was published
around the same time as the establishment of her Maverick
production company and the culmination of the Blond
Ambition tour.
According to BookFinder.com’s annual survey, Sex remains
the most highly sought-for out-of-print book. This copy
includes the “Erotica” CD in its sealed mylar envelope.
$500
Catalogue 130 | 37
59]
Principles of Political Economy
T[homas] R[obert] MALTHUS
vi, 601 pp. 8vo. London: John Murray, 1820. First edition.
Bound in later half cloth and marbled boards, paper label.
Very good. Goldsmith 22767; Lowndes, 1459; Kress C577.
First edition of this important classic of economic theory.
“There can be no doubt that [Malthus’] importance for
economists today rests mainly on his Principles of Political
Economy. It was because of this latter work that J. M.
Keynes (1933) reinstated Malthus as a major figure in modern
economic thought” (New Palgrave). “One of the founders of
modern economics,” Malthus was credited by Keynes with
framing the theory “that a lack of effective demand can cause
economic crises” (PMM 251). “In his Principles of Political
Economy, Malthus was proposing investment in public works
and private luxury as a means of increasing effective demand,
and hence as a palliative to economic distress. The nation, he
thought, must balance the power to produce and the will to
consume” (DSB IX:70).
$3,500
60]
An Essay on the Principle of Population
Thomas MALTHUS
3 vols. 8vo (9 x 5-¾ inches). London: Printed for J. Johnson
in St. Paul’s Church Yard, by T. Bensley, 1807. Fourth edition,
with half-title in each volume. Original blue boards, modern
simple tan calf spines, completely uncut. Signed on each
front pastedown “Josh. Martin, 23 Old Buildgs. Lincoln’s Inn,
Decr. 16 1809.” PMM 251 (first edition); Kress 5219.
In Boards, Uncut
[With:] Additions to the Fourth and Former editions of An
Essay on the Principle of Population, &c. &c. Bound in
full mottled calf. Very good. Kress B.6973; Goldsmith 21762.
Issued in conformity with, but separately from, the fifth
edition - the penultimate edition before the sixth and final
one in his lifetime.
Malthus is as controversial as he is influential. “The central
idea of the essay … was a simple one. The population of a
community … increases geometrically, while food supplies
increase only arithmetically. If the natural increase in
population occurs the food supply becomes insufficient and
the size of the population is checked by ‘misery’” (PMM).
$2,500
38 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
61]
[Quotations from Chairman Mao or the Little
Red Book]
MAO ZEDONG
Portrait frontispiece. [iv], 250 pp. 12mo. General Political
Department of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army, [1964].
First edition. Original printed wrappers, slightly soiled, but
a very good copy. Schiller, Quotations of Chairman Mao,
Grolier Club, 2014, p. 3.
THE FIRST EDITION of mao’s little red book
720 million copies of Mao’s Little Red Book were printed
over a four-year period beginning in 1964 — only the Bible
has a larger print run. The first edition was published in
wrappers rather than the famous red vinyl covers and is
distinguished by its size — five inches tall which was later
reduced to four — and has thirty rather than the thirty-three
chapters of later editions.
“Its idea was originally conceived by Lin Bao (1907-71) as
a book of inspirational reading … For several years Lin
promoted a campaign that everyone should study Chairman
Mao’s thoughts, and the PLA [People’s Liberation Army]
newspaper printed daily extracts from his selected texts that
often formed topics for evening discussion groups” (Schiller).
There were several proto-type versions issued in small
numbers before this edition went to press with a preface
dated May 1964.
$3,000
62]
Of Human Bondage
Somerset MAUGHAM
8vo. New York: Doran, [1915]. First edition, first issue with
misprint on line 4 of page 257. Green cloth. Fine. Rothschild
V, 83; Stott A21a.
Maugham’s best-known, and loosely autobiographical novel,
was initially poorly reviewed. The novel follows the tortuous
relationship between Philip Carey, a failed artist studying
medicine, and a waitress, Mildred. It was only through
the praise of Theodore Dreiser that it has rightfully been
recognised as a masterpiece and never been out of print.
$1,000
Catalogue 130 | 39
63]
Outer Dark
Cormac McCARTHY
242, [1] pp. 8vo. New York: Random House, [1968]. First
edition. Blue cloth and black paper over boards. Fine in almost
fine clipped dust-jacket marked “9/68” with some rubbing at
head and tail of spine.
McCarthy’s second novel, set in the South at the turn of the
twentieth century. Outer Dark is a chilling tale of incest and
appalling violence; it follows a brother and sister who set
out on separate journeys after the abandonment of the child
they conceived together. It was with these early novels, The
Orchard Keeper and Outer Dark, that McCarthy honed his
rich, apocalyptic language.
$1,500
64]
Complete set of first editions of the Pooh books
A.A. MILNE
Comprising When We Were Very Young (1924); Winnie-the-Pooh (1926); Now We Are Six (1927); The House at Pooh Corner
(1928). Illustrated by E.H. Shephard. 4 vols. 8vo. London: Methuen, 1924-1928. First editions. When We were Very Young is
the second issue with page ix numbered. Publisher’s gilt-stamped cloth, t.e.g. Light shelfwear to covers, some fraying to spine
ends and tips of Winnie the Pooh, all but When We Were Very Young in original illustrated dust-jackets (spines darkened,
some chipping and wear, closed tear to front panel of Winnie-the-Pooh, rear panel separated on The House at Pooh Corner),
contemporary owner’s signature
on ffep of When We Were Very
Young. In custom blue half morocco
slipcase and chemise. Payne I.A-IV.A.
Cutler & Stiles, 115-16.
Winnie-the-Pooh and his pals Piglet, Rabbit, Eeyore, Tigger
and Owl - and their adventures in
Hundred Acre Wood (100 Aker
Wood) have amused adults and
children alike since they were first
published.
Milne attended Trinity College,
Cambridge, where he was an
active contributor to, and editor
of, the student magazine Granta.
Upon graduation, he joined Punch
Magazine and published plays,
screenplays, poems and 18 novels.
However, it is for the work written
for his son Christopher Milne, and
illustrated by E.H. Shepard, that his
fames endures.
$7,500
40 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
65]
Original printing plates for a double-page illustration in The Silver Princess in Oz
John R. NEILL
Two engraved zinc plates, each 9-¼ x 7 in. Reilly & Britton, 1913. Fine, housed in a custom half green morocco clam-shell box.
A gorgeous image from The Silver Princess in Oz. Originally created by L. Frank Baum, the Oz series was continued after his
death by Ruth Plumly Thompson (as here) and long-time illustrator John R. Neill. This was the thirty-second installment of the
Oz series.
Lyman Frank Baum’s tales of the land of Oz and the colorful characters inhabiting such a magical place have touched the lives of
children and adults since its conception in 1900 with his first Oz book, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Following The Wonderful
Wizard of Oz, Baum and illustrator Wallace Denslow had a falling-out, which subsequently required a new illustrator for Baum’s
12 sequels. John R. Neill was hired in his place and illustrated the remaining books of the series, along the way earning the
distinction as one of the greatest American illustrators of children’s literature. The illustrations were a charming complement to
the series and gave a visual identity to the characters that led them to become widely recognizable staples of American literature.
Since December 2013, it was believed that the entire set of original printing plates for the Oz books were destroyed either by the
World War II scrap metal drives or thrown away when Henry Regnery purchased the publishing house The Reilly & Lee Co.
(formerly Reilly & Britton). However, a significant number of John R. Neill’s designed zinc plates were discovered as part of
Richard Manney’s collection of rare books, making this the only collection of Oz plates believed to be extant. On discovery of
this collection, James Cummins Bookseller and Lou Weinstein purchased and professionally set each plate in an emerald green
display box with a proof professionally pulled off of each plate.
The majority of the zinc plates held in the collection are of Neill’s illustrations of Baum’s seventh book of the series, The
Patchwork Girl of Oz (1913). Forty-five plates are available for purchase, thirty-seven individual page plates and eight double-page.
Each is housed in a custom morocco clam-shell box, includes a same size proof of the plate itself, and a signed copy of Michael
Patrick Hearn’s essay, John R. Neill: Imperial Illustrator of Oz. (Printed by the Ascensius Press in a limited edition) .
$3,500
Visit our Collections page to view more original printing plates from the Oz series
www.jamescumminsbookseller.com/collections.php
Catalogue 130 | 41
66]
67]
La Divina Commedia, or The Divine Vision of
Dante Alighieri in Italian and English
The Knave of Hearts
(NONESUCH PRESS) DANTE
Pictures by Maxfield Parrish. Folio. New York: Charles
Scribner’s Sons, 1925. First edition. Original black cloth,
pictorial paper onlay to upper board. Faint rubbing at head
of spine, two minor scuffs to paper onlay, else a fine, brighter
than usual copy. In custom half morocco slipcase with
chemise. Ludwig, Maxfield Parrish, p. 48.
The Italian text edited by Mario Casella … with the English
version of H.F. Cary. 42 illustrations after the drawings of
Sandro Botticelli. 324, [325-328] pp. Folio. [London]: Nonesuch
Press, 1928. No. 839 of 1,475 copies. Original full orangestained vellum, double gilt rule borders on upper and lower
cover. Central gilt ornament on both covers, spine with gilt
rules, t.e.g. Some very minor soiling to spine, a fine copy in
custom cloth slipcase. McKitterick 50; Dreyfus 50.
Botticelli’s drawings for Dante had never been reproduced
with the text of the Divine Comedy. They were printed
in collotype in sepia by Daniel Jacomet in Paris and the 34
double-page plates were carefully mounted on stubs so there
could be no loss of the image in the gutter.
The Nonesuch Press was founded by Francis Meynell, his
wife, Vera, and David Garnett in 1922 where it operated
out of the basement of Garnett’s bookshop in Soho. They
published over 140 books through to the 1960s, although their
most productive period - when this edition of Dante was
printed — was during the 1920s and 30s.
$1,750
42 | James Cummins bookseller
(Maxfield PARRISH) Louise SAUNDERS
A lavishly illustrated work, characteristic of Parrish’s style.
Parrish executed the twenty-six paintings for The Knave
of Hearts “within three years, and the book, a sumptuous
production, was published on October 2, 1925. The large
format … that Parrish had originally suggested was used,
and the illustrations, printed in rich colors on heavy, coated
paper, were the highest-quality reproductions that could be
had” (Ludwig).
$3,850
Holiday 2105
68]
A Voyage towards the North Pole undertaken by his Majesty’s Command 1773
Constantine John PHIPPS, later Baron Mulgrave
3 folding maps, 12 folding views and diagrams and 11 letterpress folding tables. viii, 253, [2] pp. 4to (284 x 223 mm). London: Printed
by W. Boyer and J. Nichols for J. Nourse, 1774. First edition, special issue with the maps on thin paper and the plates proofs
before letters. Contemporary sprinkled calf, morocco label, spine gilt, edges blue. Frontispiece map loose, small tear neatly
repaired without loss. A beautiful copy. Hill, p. 207; Sabin 62572; NMM 805; Lande Supplement S 1788. Provenance: Mrs. Howe
(presentation inscription); with Westport House (County, Mayo, Ireland) bookplate Case E Shelf 3; bookplate of Marvyn Carton.
Inscribed to the Honorable Mrs. Richard Howe
The Phipps-Lutwidge expedition of the Racehorse and Carcass was to try and determine how far navigation towards the North
Pole was possible. They sailed as far north as 80°48°N and journeyed along the ice barrier from Spitsbergen to Novaya Zemlya
without finding further northern passage through the ice. While not attaining as much as they had hoped, Phipps did include
important details of Spitsberg’s natural history and resources. It is an “important addition to early nautical science” (Hill). Horatio
Nelson, at fourteen, was Captain Lutwidge’s coxswain on the Carcass during this voyage. Nelson and another slipped out one
night to shoot a bear for the skin — Nelson wanted to give it to his father — they ran out of ammunition and were only rescued
from their difficulties when the Carcass fired its gun and scared the bear away. Richard Westall’s painting of Nelson attacking the
bear is in the National Maritime Museum.
A superb contemporary binding, with a
significant presentation, inscribed on the
half-title, “To the Honble Mrs. Howe, from
her obedient servant, The Author.”
Mrs. Howe was the wife of Richard Howe,
British naval officer and politician. Westport,
the Howe residence, is one of the great
houses of western Ireland. Howe, whose
ship the Dunkirk fired the first shots of the
Seven Years’ War, was MP for Dartmouth
for 30 years, and in the late 1760s a member
of the Board of Admiralty (hence the
connection with Phipps, whose uncle
Augustus Hervey was also a member).
The early period of the “American War of
Independence when Howe was commanderin-chief in North America, was then and
is still the most controversial of his long
career. For most of his command his
younger brother Major-General Sir William
Howe commanded the army in the colonies.
Much has been written of their combined
approach to hostilities, torn between
conciliation and aggression, and the
extent to which they exceeded or ignored
instructions” (DNB). Phipps was later a
member of the Admiralty board and a key
adviser to Sandwich in the unsuccessful
British strategy to retain the American
colonies.
A beautiful copy.
$12,500
Catalogue 130 | 43
70]
Dragoon Campaigns to the Rocky Mountains
(POKER) [James HILDRETH]
69]
The Complete Poker-Player
(POKER) John BLACKBRIDGE
x, [11]-142, [2, catalogue] pp. 12mo. New York: Dick &
Fitzgerald Publishers, (1880). Second edition, later printing.
Publisher’s green cloth with gilt-stamped title and illustration
of hand holding four aces. Some light surface scuffing to
front cover, else a fine copy with bright gilt. Jessel 122; Horr
167; All In 13.
One of the Earliest Poker Manuals
A fine copy of the second edition of this foundational work
on poker. The rare first edition of 1875 — with only one copy
located on OCLC — is, along with Winterblossom’s The
Game of Draw Poker, the earliest published work dedicated
solely to poker. Blackbridge attempts to legitimize poker,
and gambling and gaming in general, harmonizing it with
Christian values and drawing comparisons to generally
respected professions that trade in risk, such as that of
banker and insurance provider. Beyond the moralizing tone,
Blackbridge’s work provides a technical and probabilistic
discussion of the game, and includes a section on
“Probabilities at Draw-Poker” by Dr. Pole. The rules printed
in Chapter XIX are adapted from The American Hoyle. A
third edition was published by Dick & Fitzgerald in 1884.
$1,850
44 | James Cummins bookseller
288 pp. 8vo. New York: Wiley & Long, No. 161 Broadway. D.
Fanshaw, Printer, 1836. First edition. Original purple cloth,
spine lettered in gold. Faded, some spotting to text, very
good plus. Ownership signature of A.T. Edwards and 1840s
label of “E.C.” Fraternity, Franklin, N.Y. on front pastedown.
All In 56; The Doctrine of Chances: Probabilistic Aspects
of Gambling Note 22.5; Howes H471; cf. Catlin, Letters and
Notes, vol. 2, letter 37.
THE FIRST PUBLISHED ACCOUNT OF A POKER GAME
The first book ever to mention a poker game, in print, in
English.
Hildreth’s regiment was sent from Jefferson Barracks to
Fort Gibson in the Arkansas Territory, and among the party
on the march from Fort Gibson to a Pawnee village was
the “eminent artist” George Catlin, one of whose letters
Hildreth prints as Letter XIV (corresponding to letter No.
37 in Catlin’s Letters and Notes, 1841). Letter XV, entitled
Two stories and a half, recounts the poker game (at pp. 128130). While sneaking out to buy an illicit quart of whiskey,
Hildreth witnesses a poker game, whose players included
Major and the Captain of the regiment.
“The M[ajor] lost some cool hundreds last night at poker*
[footnote: ‘A favorite game of cards at the south and west’],
in camp … at last he struck his fist upon the table and roared
at the top of his voice, ‘I’ll stake you another hundred.’
‘Done,’ said the Captain. The M[ajor] dared not risk more,
and throwing down his cards exclaimed, ‘There’s four kings!
What have you got?’ ‘Only four aces!’” (George Catlin must
already have folded.)
$3,500
Holiday 2105
71]
The Compleat Angler
(Arthur RACKHAM) Izaac WALTON
Illustrated title-page in green and black, 12 colored plates,
numerous black and white illustrations in text, pictorial
endpapers by Rackham. 4to. London: George G. Harrap,
[1931]. First Rackham edition, one of 775 numbered and
signed by Rackham. Full white parchment, lettered and
ruled in gilt, t.e.g., fore- and lower edges uncut. Fine copy in
custom cloth slipcase. Latimore and Haskell, p. 66; Coigney
312.
A Superb Copy of Rackham’s ‘Angler’
Of all the Rackham books, one of the most delightful
and sought after, and a gem for any Walton collector.
Rackham was a key figure in the Golden Age of Birish
book illustration. This is a much nicer copy than ordinarily
encountered.
$2,500
72]
The Arthur Rackham Fairy Book. A Book of
Old Favourites with New Illustrations
Arthur RACKHAM
8 color plates, and numerous illustrations in the text, some
full page. 8vo. London: George C. Harrap & Co. Ltd, [1933].
First edition. One of 460 copies signed. Original vellum.
Spine slightly darkened. In original slipcase, worn and split.
Latimore and Haskell, p. 69. Derek Hudon, Arthur Rackham,
p. 134. Riall, p. 182.
$2,500
Catalogue 130 | 45
73]
Addresses of the President of the United States on the Occasion of His Visit to South America,
November & December 1936
Franklin D. ROOSEVELT
97, [3] pp. 4to. [Washington, D.C.]: United States Printing Office, 1937. First edition, one of 75 (but probably one of only 7 in this
binding). Bound in full light bown pigskin, with metallic plaque of the Seal of the United States inset into the upper cover, now
with a fine patina, pigskin doublures and silk endpapers. Fine. In quarter leather and marbled boards pull-off slipcase.
A sumptously produced White House Christmas book, commemorating FDR’s nearly month-long diplomatic mission to
promote “hemispheric solidarity” with South America. The book was issued in an uncertain, though undoubtedly strictly limited,
number, with two issues — in full pigskin, as seen here, and half pigskin and marbled boards. The colophon calls for 75 copies,
with the more desirable full pigskin binding scheduled to run to 50 copies for distribution to South American dignitaries and
the half-leather issue of a planned 25 copies reserved for FDR’s personal use and distribution at the holidays. Documents at the
Library at Hyde Park suggest that the full edition of 75 copies was not achieved (cf. Horowitz, “Carmichael Collection”) and that
as few as seven were ever bound in full pigskin.
This copy, one of the “foreign” issues, was nonetheless INSCRIBED to FDR’s Sectretary of the Treasury Henry Morgenthau on a
specially printed leaf: “To the Honorable Henry Morgenthau, Jr Secretary of the Treasury of the United States” (printed) and
inscribed below in the President’s hand, “From his old friend, Franklin D. Roosevelt.”
$20,000
46 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
74]
Inaugural Address of Franklin D. Roosevelt President of the United States. Delivered at the Capital,
Washington, D.C. March 4, 1933
Franklin D. ROOSEVELT
9 pp. Small 4to (7 x 10 in.), Washington, D.C: Government Printing Office, 1933. Advance copy, printed on large paper. “Only a
very few copies of the address were published in this format” (Halter). Bound in full blue cloth by the GPO. Signed on the ffep
by Eleanor [Hall] R[oosevelt] Roach (Mrs. George Roach, daughter of G. Hall Roosevelt). ONLY COPY SEEN IN CLOTH. In a custom
chemise and morocco-backed slipcase. Halter T544.
FIRST INAUGURAL: “The Only Thing We Have to Fear Is Fear Itself.” SIGNED. ONLY COPY IN CLOTH
An advance copy of FDR’s first inaugural address printed on large paper, likely issued just the day before his swearing-in, and
intended as a reading copy. FDR’s 20-minute speech, delivered on March 4, 1933 and broadcast to the nation over radio, was
eagerly awaited by an electorate in the grips of the Great Depression. FDR had intended to read his address from a printed
advance copy — at the last minute he changed his mind and instead read from his typescript which he had corrected in his
own hand (cf. Halter). All subsequent printed copies incorporate FDR’s changes, making this advance copy bibliographically
significant, as well as rare — only one copy of the address has appeared at auction in the last 30 years.
FDR opens the address with his immortal pep talk, “So, first of all, let me assert my firm belief that the only thing we have to fear
is fear itself — nameless, unreasoning, unjustified terror which paralyzes needed efforts to convert retreat into advance. In every
dark hour of our national life a leadership of frankness and of vigor has met with that understanding and support of the people
themselves which is essential to victory. And
I am convinced that you will again give that
support to leadership in these critical days.”
Roosevelt goes on to place the blame for the
economic crisis on the greed of bankers and
businessmen who have placed profit over
their social duties, “The money changers
have fled from their high seats in the temple
of our civilization. We may now restore that
temple to the ancient truths. The measure
of the restoration lies in the extent to which
we apply social values more noble than mere
monetary profit.” With unemployment at
25% at the time of his inauguration, FDR
addresses the pressing need to get people
back to work. He ends with a promise to use
the full extent of his powers as President, a
foreshadowing of the remarkable series of
New Deal programs unveiled during his first
100 days in office, “I shall ask the Congress
for the one remaining instrument to meet
the crisis — broad Executive power to wage
a war against the emergency, as great as the
power that would be given to me if we were
in fact invaded by a foreign foe.”
An incredibly important piece of Presidential
Americana, marking the start of one of
the nation’s greatest presidencies and the
country’s rise from the depths of the Great
Depression.
$22,500
Catalogue 130 | 47
75]
Abraham Lincoln: The War Years
Carl SANDBURG
Illustrated with 414 half-tones from photographs and 249 cuts
of cartoons, letters and documents. 4 vols. Large, thick 8vo.
Harcourt, Brace, [1939]. First edition, one of 525 copies on
rag paper, numbered and signed by the author. Gilt buckram,
leather spine labels, t.e.g., others untrimmed. Bookplate in
each volume on front pastedown, pencil erasure from corner
of each free endsheet, a few minor scuffs to labels, but a very
good or better set, without slipcases.
The Pulitzer Prize-winning sequel
to The Prarie Years
In his long and distinguished career as a historian and poet,
Sandburg won three Pulitzer Prizes, in 1919, 1940 and 1951. He
also received the Robert Frost medal in 1952 and a Grammy
for Best Performance in the Documentary or Spoken Word
category in 1959.
$1,750
76]
Seabiscuit. The Story of a Great
Champion
(SEABISCUIT) B.K. BECKWITH
Color frontispiece of Seabiscuit from a painting by
F.B. Voss. Drawings by Howard Brodie. Foreword by
Grantland Rice. Oblong 4to. Wilfred Crowell, Inc,
1940. First edition, no. 121 of 300 copies. Padded red
morocco, some wear. With the gold-stamped name
of owner James R. Fitzsimmons (undoubtedly James
E. “Sunny Fitz” Fitzsimmons, famous horse trainer).
Seabiscuit trainer SUNNY FITZ’S COPY
Signed by Charles Stewart Howard at the bottom
of his short introduction, for presentation to the
friends, family and business associates of Charles
Howard, the owner of Seabiscuit. From the library
of “Sunny Fitz” ( James E. Fitzsimmons), Seabiscuit’s
first trainer.
Seabiscuit was a champion thoroughbred racehorse,
whose success through the Great Depression years
was an inspiration for America.
$2,500
48 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
[77]
[78]
‘Good Deed’
‘Mall Directory’
Jerry SEINFELD
Jerry SEINFELD
1 pp. manuscript on yellow legal paper. [1991].
1 pp. manuscript on yellow legal paper, [1991].
Manuscript Draft of Seinfeld Monologue
Manuscript Draft of Seinfeld Monologue
Jerry’s final monologue to The Cafe episode (season 3,
episode 7). A working copy with numerous corrections.
Jerry’s opening monologue to The Parking Garage episode
(season 3, episode 6). A working copy with corrections.
“Good Deed. It’s not a simple thing to do a good deed.
You look at your professional good-deed doers: Your Lone
Rangers, your Supermen. Masks over their faces, costumes,
secret identities. They don’t want people to know who they
are. Too much aggravation. ‘Yea, Superman I appreciate you
saving me and everything but did you have to break through
my wall? I’m renting here. They’ve got a security deposit.
What am I supposed to do?’”
“Have those Mall directory maps ever helped you find
anything? Even if you can figure out where you are and
where you want to go you still can’t figure out which way to
walk. What you need are suction cup feet so you can stand
right on the face of the thing. And then you could figure out
which way you want to head. ‘The GAP is this way.’
$2,750
“And they always have that little thing, ‘you are here.’
“I always think when you walk away it switches to ‘you are
gone.’
“You go past again ‘you are back.’
“Two weeks later ‘where have you been?’”
$2,750
Catalogue 130 | 49
[79]
Manuscript in Jerry Seinfeld’s hand for the
episode The Pez Dispenser
Jerry SEINFELD
[Season 3, Episode 14; series episode 30; air date January
15, 1992]. 42 pp. rectos only. On yellow ruled legal folio,
corrections throughout, paginated in pen and again
in black marker “1-42” at upper left with insertions
on verso of three sheets, bound with paperclips into
four groups, horizontal folding crease at center, some
wrinkling.
Full Draft for The Pez Dispenser Episode in
Jerry Seinfeld’s Hand
The hand-written script by Seinfeld is for the beloved
Pez Dispenser episode, in which Elaine ruins the piano
concert of George’s girlfriend by bursting into laughter
when Jerry places a Pez dispenser in her lap. It is also
the episode in which Kramer joins the polar bear club,
creates a brand of cologne called “The Beach” and
everyone participates in an intervention for a former
softball team-mate who was traumatized by Kramer’s
suggestion during their final game.
Although the writing of the episode is credited to
both Jerry Seinfeld and Larry David, this is an early
(first?) draft attempt by Seinfeld. It includes substantial
amounts of dialogue that were omitted in subsequent
drafts. There are also many revisions, crossing outs,
insertions and the like – all typical of a working draft
and all in Seinfled’s hand. The episode aired on January
15, 1992.
Seinfeld is routinely regarded as one of the best
television series ever produced. During its first run it
was awarded the Emmy for Outstanding Comendy
series in 1993, it received the Golden Globe Award
for Best TV-series (comedy) in 1994 and in 1995, 1997
and 1998 it won the Screen Actors Guild Award
for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a
Comedy Series. Since it finished production, TV Guide
awarded it the greatest TV show of all time in both
2002 and 2013.
Original Seinfeld material is scarce on the open market.
Furthermore, we have not been able to locate any
manuscript drafts such as this.
$25,000
50 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
[80]
Autograph Draft, signed, of a letter
to George Burns
Jerry SEINFELD
2 pp. First page on small yellow legal paper.
Second on Seinfeld’s personal stationary. n.d.
“Dear George, You have always been an
idol and role model for me. We met a few
times at restaurants and shows. The first
time was at the Concord Hotel in the late
seventies. I snuck backstage after your show
and said hello. I had only been doing comedy a
few years at the time. I’ve sent you a birthday
card every year since then and have been
looking forward to celebrating this birthday
of yours even though we don’t actually know
each other. I’m sorry you’re not feeling well
today but just wanted to wish you a happy
birthday and let you know how much I admire
your work and how you’ve lived. You will
always be one of my favorite people. With
great affection. Jerry Seinfeld.”
$4,000
Catalogue 130 | 51
81]
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice SENDAK
Oblong 4to. New York: Harpers, 1963. First edition,
in second issue dust-jacket. Publisher’s cloth-backed
boards. Light sunning and shelfwear to covers, in
very good second issue dust-jacket (priced $3.50, with
Caldecott gold medallion and reviews on front inner
flap, dated 40-80 1163), browned, chips and wear to
edges, small hole to front panel. Hanrahan A58, note
2.
Signed by Sendak on the half-title
Although it won the 1964 Caldecott medal, the book
gained popularity slowly. This beloved children’s
classic, featuring Max, a wolf-suit and an island full
of monsters has sold nearly 20 million copies since
and was recently filmed by Spike Jonz with a script by
Dave Eggers.
$2,500
‘Let the wild
rumpus start!’
82]
The Cat in the Hat Comes Back
Dr. SEUSS (pseud. of Theodor Seuss
Geisel)
Illustrated by the author. 61, [2] pp. 8-⅞ x 6-⅜ in.
New York: Beginner Books, 1958. First edition.
Original pictorial boards. Fine copy in a very good
plus first issue dust-jacket (matching the upper cover
of binding, Cat’s tie white, etc.) with light edgewear,
creasing, and chipping to extremities. Younger &
Hirsch 11.
“He plays lots of bad tricks. Don’t you let him come
near. You know what he did the last time he was
here.”
A lovely copy of this Dr. Seuss classic. Sally and her
brother are left at home with a single task to complete
— clearing the path of snow. But the cat in the hat has
other ideas.
$750
52 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
83]
The Sneetches and Other Stories
Dr. SEUSS (pseud. of Theodore Seuss
Geisel)
Illustrated by the author. 11-¼ x 8-¼ in. New York: Random
House, [1961]. First edition, first printing. Original pictorial
glossy boards. A near fine copy (faintest trace of rubbing
at extremities) in very good, bright first issue dust-jacket
(295/295 on front flap, correct ads on rear flap), with small
chip from head and foot of spine, creasing mostly to rear
panel, small nick at lower edge of upper panel. Younger &
Hirsch 73.
Star-Bellied vs Plain-Bellied
In addition to the title story, this work contains “The Zax,”
“Too Many Daves,” and “What Was I Scared Of ?”
The Sneetches is Seuss’s ever-popular tale satirising
discrimination and anti-semitism in particular. As the
Sneetches go to inordinate lengths to establish whether they
might be star-bellied or plain-bellied, it turns out you can
teach a sneetch.
$750
84]
Through the Dark Continent Or The Sources of the
Nile, Around the Great Lakes of Equatorial Africa
and Down the Livingstone River to the Atlantic
Ocean
Henry M. STANLEY
With 10 maps and 150 woodcuts. With map in pocket at back of
each volume which together form a detailed map of Equatorial
Africa (82 x 128 cm). 2 vols. Thick 8vo. New York: Harper &
Brothers, Publishers, 1878. First American edition (same year as
first). Original green decorated cloth, stamped in gilt and red.
Extremities slightly rubbed. Vol. I slightly bowed, with hinges
starting and a few gatherings loosened, lower inner hinge of vol.
II starting. Map of Western Half of Equatorial Africa repaired
with archival tape. Generally bright copies. Howgego IV, S59.
Stanley’s marvellous retelling of his expedition which finally
solved the riddle of the Great African Lakes. It was on this
expedition that he at last confirmed that Lake Victoria was the
source of the Nile. He also followed the course of the Congo
River to the Atlantic coast. The journey was one of terrible
hardship and when Stanley returned his face was deeply lined and
his hair nearly white. A cornerstone of African exploration.
$750
Catalogue 130 | 53
85]
Autograph Note, signed
Henry M. STANLEY
Manuscript in ink. 4-¾ x 3 inches. Aden: 7 June 1879. Laid
down on thick gray card.
Signed in Aden
This autograph patriotic sentiment reads: “God bless our
country, Aden Arabia, June 7th 1879. Henry M Stanley.”
Written while Stanley was en route to Africa for his third
expedition, seven years after he gained international fame
in locating Livingstone. Stanley’s objective was to establish
a series of stations along the Congo to promote commerce,
and, tacitly, the colonial agenda of King Leopold II of
Belgium. Stanley recounted the five-year-long trip in The
Congo and the Founding of its Free State (1885).
$500
86]
Original drawing for a New Yorker magazine
cartoon, pen and wash
William STEIG
Pen and ink and wash, signed “Wm. Steig” (lower left). 7 x 6
in. [New York]: Ca. 1940s. Matted and framed. Fine.
A husband seated on his bed of nails imperiously summons
his stubborn wife to join him on hers.
“William Steig is the doyen of New Yorker artists, having
contributed to the magazine since 1930. He is the author of
more than forty books, including many beloved children’s
books. His drawings and watercolors are in the permanent
collections of numerous museums …” (The New Yorker,
Dec. 15, 1997). This is a vintage example of the work of one
of the magazine’s most beloved artists, whose popularity has
never waned.
$2,500
54 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
87]
88]
The Grapes of Wrath
Of Mice and Men
John STEINBECK
John STEINBECK
619 pp. 8vo, New York: The Viking Press, [1939]. First edition.
Original cloth, pictorial dust-jacket. Fine copy in custom
morocco backed slipcase and chemise. Goldstone & Payne
A12a.
186 pp. 8vo. New York: Covici-Friede, [1937]. First edition, first
issue, with the nine words present on p. 9 and with “bullet”
on page 88. Publisher’s beige cloth. Near fine, with just a
touch of toning at head of spine. In a near fine, unclipped
dust-jacket, with sunning to spine and light wear to head of
spine. Goldstone and Payne A7a.
Very attractive copy of this 20th-century American highspot.
The tale of the Joad family as they travel across the country
from Oklahoma to California in the midst of the Great
Depression is one of the most influential novels of the
twentieth century. It is Steinbeck’s masterpiece.
The Grapes of Wrath won the National Book Award and the
Pulitzer and was central in the awarding of Steinbeck the
Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962.
$10,000
Loosely based on Steinbeck’s own experiences, the story of
George and Lenny, itinerant workers in California, ranks
alongside The Grapes of Wrath as Steinbeck’s two landmark
works of the Great Depression. The first edition was a small
run of 2,500 copies. By the time the first British edition
appeared (in the same year) over 137,000 copies had been sold.
$3,000
Catalogue 130 | 55
89]
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll
and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis
STEVENSON
Design and layout by Didier Mutel. 10
engraved plates. 114 pp. Oblong folio.
Paris: Ateliers Leblanc, December 4,
1994. Colophon on the spine, no. 47
of 61 copies, signed. Original paper
wrappers and cloth slipcase.
A beautiful copy of Stevenson’s classic
tale. Didier Mutel has been producing
artist’s books since 1991. This is an
excellent example.
$1,500
90]
Raoul Dufy. A Note
Wallace STEVENS
[4] pp. Oblong 4to. [New York: Pierre
Bères, 1953]. First edition, no. 6 of
200 copies on handmade Arnold
paper printed by the Ram Press.
Publisher’s blue printed wrappers.
Some light edgewear and toning, small
tape-repaired tear on verso of front
wrapper. Edelstein A20.
A short essay by Wallace Stevens
on Dufy’s mural for the electricity
pavillion at the 1937 International
Exposition at Paris. The essay was
commissioned to accompany the
portfolio “La Fée Electricité,” a
portfolio of Dufy’s lithographic
reworking of the mural published by
Pierre Bères in 1953. Stevens’s essay was
not included in the portfolio and was
only printed in the present form.
$1,000
56 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
91]
Souvenir of the New York Stock Exchange
(STOCK MARKET)
Title page printed in red and black. Illustrated with photographs. Unpaginated, [99] pp. 4to. New York: J.B. Gibson Company, 1893.
Full brown morocco over bevelled boards in period style, silk doublures, a.e.g. Professional conservation to a few paper flaws,
mostly in margins (old dampstain to first leaves; one leaf with old tear costing a small portion of text); half title and frontispiece
inlaid. Fine. Not in OCLC or in any of the customary catalogues and references.
UNRECORDED CENTENNIAL HISTORY: ‘A Bulwark against Panic’
Centennial publication comprising a list of officers and committee members, a 9-page list of members, an anonymous 30-page
illustrated “History of the New York Stock Exchange” from its origins in 1792 (with list of past presidents), with the balance of
the volume being illustrated advertisements. These include brokerage firms such as Drexel, Morgan, Spencer Trask, and August
Belmont, as well as banks (Manhattan Company, Chemical National Bank, Bank of America) and other companies (such as
Manning’s Yacht Agency).
The anonymous author of the “History of the New York Stock Exchange” observes, “The New York Stock Exchange is indeed
one of the greatest bulwarks against panics that the business community could have.”
$6,000
Catalogue 130 | 57
92]
The Art of Wave Riding
(SURFING) Ron[ald Blake] DRUMMOND
12 photographic illustrations to text. 26 pp. 8vo. Hollywood: The
Cloister Press, 1931. First edition. Staple bound, original printed
pictorial wrappers. A fine copy. De La Vega, B55; Hayes, Early
Surfing Books, pp. 5-6.
THE FIRST BOOK ON SURFING
“The landmark bodysurfing primer” (De La Vega). Described
by Mark Hayes in his checklist of Early Surfing Books as
“beyond rare,” this self-published work is widely considered to
be the first book on surfing. It preceded Tom Blake’s Hawaiian
Surf board by some four years and its delicate format meant that
very few have survived.
The Art of Wave Riding is not only instructive but a love-letter
to the sport: “[O]ne feels sorry for those who have not learned
to enjoy surf swimming,” and “To spend a day in the sand …
developing a ‘beautiful tan’ is pleasant; but the real pleasure of
a trip to the beach is derived from playing in the breakers.” The
bulk of the work is a step by step guide, as well as distinguishing
between “glide waves” and “sand busters.” It’s beautifully
illustrated with photographs of Venice beach that ably capture
the spirit of surf culture in its infancy.
Drummond (1907-96) was born in Los Angeles, raised in
Hollywood, and spent his summers on Hermosa Beach. It was
here that he first learned to surf, and began to experiment with
taking his canoe into the waves. He became a legend in surfing circles, appearing in the 1961 surfing classic Big Wednesday, and he
was featured in a 1967 issue of Surfer magazine. He attended UCLA and ran on the track team, though surfing was his first love
and he continued this pursuit into his eighties.
Surfing was first reported by members of Cook’s third voyage when arriving in Hawaii in 1779. It has since become a vital part of
beach culture in the Pacific.
$3,250
93]
Thurber’s Dogs
James THURBER
Illustrated by James Thurber. 8vo. New York: Simon and
Schuster, 1955. Original cloth-backed boards, original
illustrated dust-jacket. Fine.
Inscribed “Happy Days James Thurber.”
A wonderful example of Thurber’s work. A regular
contributor to the New Yorker, Thurber was an American
cartoonist, author and playwright. He is perhaps best
known for his short story, The Secret Life of Walter Mitty.
$2,000
58 | James Cummins booksell-
er
Holiday 2105
94]
La Sainte Bible (Ancien Testament)
( James TISSOT)
40 plates, each in two states (sepia and color), captioned tissue guards, 360 illustrations to text, by James Tissot. 2 vols. Folio.
Paris: M. de Brunoff & Cie, 1904. No. 158 of 500 copies (of 560) on Marais grand vélin with plates in two states. Loose as issued,
housed in a modern cloth portfolio. Tape-repaired tears to margins of vol. I title-page and following few leaves, small, discreet
embossed library stamp to vol. II half-title, large tape-repaired tear across corner of vol. II pp. 247-8, affecting text, some tears
along gathering folds throughout.
The masterpiece of Tissot’s late career, following a revival of his Catholic faith in 1885. Tissot traveled extensively in the Middle
East to study and prepare for his Biblical illustrations. He first produced a series of watercolors on the life of Christ before turning
to the stories of the Old Testament. Tissot died in 1902, and this work was completed by his six assistants.
$2,250
Catalogue 130 | 59
95]
“Updike the Writer”
John UPDIKE
Original self-portrait drawing in purple magic marker,
initialed “j.u.” by Updike, 10 x 8 inches. Faint toning to one
edge, else fine.
After graduating at the top of his class at Harvard (1954),
Updike studied art at the Ruskin School of Drawing and
Fine Art at Oxford. This early self-portrait shows Updike’s
competence as a visual artist and remind us of Updike’s early
fascination with both the stories and the cartoons of the
New Yorker magazine. A handsome portrait of an American
literary giant.
$950
96]
Rabbit, Run; Rabbit Redux; Rabbit is
Rich; Rabbit at Rest
John UPDIKE
4 vols. 8vo. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1960,
1971, 1981, 1990. First editions. Publisher’s cloth.
Rabbit, Run has some rubbing to upper board,
and some light shelf-wear and creasing to dustjacket (first state, with 16-line blurb on front
flap). Others fine, in fine dust-jackets.
A complete first edition set of the Rabbit
Angstrom tetralogy. This is Updike’s most
famous work and follows Harry “Rabbit”
Angstrom from early adulthood to his death.
While doing so Updike provides a fascinating
commentary on America in the second half
of the twentieth century. The final two novels
in the series both won the Pulitzer Prize for
Fiction.
$1,500
60 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
97]
98]
Jumanji
The Polar Express
Chris VAN ALLSBURG
Chris VAN ALLSBURG
Full-page color illustrations by the author. [31], [1, blank]
pp. Oblong 4to. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981.
First edition. Green cloth blocked in gold. Fine in very good
unclipped pictorial dust-jacket, with a closed tear and some
edgewear to rear panel.
Full page colour illustrations by the author. Oblong 4to.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, [1985]. First edition.
Crimson cloth blocked in silver. Fine in very good unclipped
dust-jacket, front panel and spine faded.
This Caldecott Award winner was later adapted to a film
starring Robin Williams.
$450
A Caldecott award winner and New York Times bestseller.
The story of a young boy who takes the train to the North
Pole and meets Santa and his elves. This classic Christmas
tale has enchanted children for the last 30 years.
$300
“Though I’ve grown old, the bell still
rings for me, as it does for all who truly
believe”
Catalogue 130 | 61
99]
Cat’s Cradle
Kurt VONNEGUT Jr
[iv], 233, [1] pp. 8vo. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston,
1963. First edition. Publisher’s green cloth and blue paper
boards. Near fine in lightly rubbed and worn dust-jacket,
lower third of front jacket panel with two closed tears and
creases.
One of Vonnegut’s most beloved novels, ranking alongside
Slaughterhouse Five and Breakfast of Champions.
This was Vonnegut’s fourth novel and concerns the
development of ice-nine, a substance that turns water into a
solid at room temperature. Although addressing concerns of
technology, it’s perhaps better known as a satire of religion.
Entirely in keeping with the novel’s spirit, The University
of Chicago, which had rejected Vonnegut’s 1947 thesis for a
Masters of Anthropology, accepted this work for the degree
in 1971. It was also nominated for the 1964 Hugo award for
best novel.
$2,250
100]
Base-Ball: How to Become a Player; With the
Origin, History, and Expansion of the Game
John Montgomery WARD
Frontispiece portrait. viii, [9]-149 pp. 12mo. Philadelphia: The
Athletic Publishing Company No. 1124 Arch Street, 1888.
First edition. Original tan cloth, stamped in gold and black.
Fine. With contemporary inscription “Beverley & Sherman
Robinson Newport August-1888”; in brown morocco-backed
drop box. Smith 7017 (dated 1889).
Rare and Important Early Baseball Book
“Booklet of history and technique by a noted player and
force behind the formation of ‘The Brotherhood.’” (Smith)
Ward rose to fame as a pitcher and later played shortstop
after suffering an elbow injury. While playing professional
baseball he earned a law degree at Columbia which served
him well as first President of the Brotherhood of Professional
Baseball Players which was the first players’ Union. A truly
remarkable figure in the early days of baseball.
$7,500
62 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
101]
Andy Warhol’s Index (Book)
Andy WARHOL
Profusely illustrated from “Factory Fotos,” and with the following inserted items, as issued 1) castle pop-up 2) red accordion (still
squeaks) 3) bi-plane pop-up 4) Chelsea Girls disk on a spring 5) polyhedron, detached from the string 6) Lou Reed record, still
attached 7) the triple-page fold-out nose 8) Hunt’s Tomato Paste can pop-up 9) Andy Warhol tabs 10) ballon, melted and partially
sealing together facing pages, as usual. 4to. New York: Random House, 1967. First edition, wrappered issue. Original pictorial
silver and black wrappers, lightly scratched; with Warhol’s original price sticker still attached; a near fine, complete copy. Roth 101,
pp. 188-9; Parr/Badger II, pp. 144-5.
“… one of the most important and exuberant Pop art objects ever published” (Parr/Badger). A great jumble-bag of sixties pop-art
including much ephemera produced at Warhol’s Factory.
Warhol is probably the most famous American artist of the second half of the twentieth century. Perhaps best known for his
paintings of Campbell’s soup cans and images of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe, Elvis Presley and Elizabeth Taylor; he also
produced a number of books and founded Interview Magazine. Warhol’s influence on popular culture and art today shows no
sign of receding.
$1,250
Catalogue 130 | 63
102]
105]
Interview Magazine, vol. IX, no. 11. Lacey
Neuhaus by Richard Bernstein.
Interview Magazine, vol. XI, no. 2. Diane Lane
by Richard Bernstein
Andy WARHOL
WARHOL, Andy
Folio. New York: November 1979. Faintly toned, very good.
Folio. New York: February 1981. Faintly toned. Very good.
Signed by Andy Warhol on cover
Inscribed by ANDY Warhol ON COVER
Interview Magazine was founded in 1969 by Andy Warhol
and the British artist, John Wilcock. Featuring articles on art,
music, fashion and celebrity, it continues to this day.
$1,500
$1,500
103]
Interview Magazine, vol. IX, no. 9. Deborah
Harry by Richard Bernstein
106]
Interview Magazine, vol. XI, no. 8. Mick Jagger
by Richard Bernstein
Andy WARHOL
Andy WARHOL
Cover portrait of Mick Jagger by Richard Bernstein after
photograph by Peter Strongwater. Folio. New York: August
1981. Faintly toned. Very good.
Folio. New York: June 1979. Toned. About very good.
Signed by Andy Warhol on cover
Signed by Andy Warhol on cover
$1,500
$1,500
107]
104]
Interview Magazine, vol. X, no. 12. Diana
Vreeland by Richard Bernstein
Andy WARHOL
Interview Magazine, vol. XIV, no. 2. Mick Jagger
by Richard Bernstein
Andy WARHOL
Folio. New York: December 1980. Toned, small loss at top of
cover, faint drink ring at bottom left. Very good.
Cover portrait of Mick Jagger by Richard Bernstein after
photograph by Albert Watson. Folio. New York: February
1985. Faintly toned. Very good plus.
Signed by Andy Warhol on cover
Inscribed by Warhol & Jagger
$1,500
Inscribed by Andy Warhol on cover in pen “To Whitney,
Andy Warhol XOX” and signed by Mick Jagger, with a heart
pierced by an arrow
$2,500
64 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
Catalogue 130 | 65
108]
Exploring and Travelling Three Thousand Miles
through Brazil from Rio de Janeiro to Maranhão
James Williams WELLS
2 folding colored maps (both with some minor creasing,
the first with a repaired tear), 6 uncolored plates and maps,
numerous uncolored illustrations. 2 vols. 8vo. Philadelphia:
[printed in London by Gilbert & Rivington Ltd. for] J.B.
Lippincott, 1886. First edition. Original light green cloth, the
upper covers elaborately blocked in gilt and brown, spines
lettered in gilt, black glazed endpapers (spines somewhat
faded and lightly soiled). Provenance: N. W. Lothrop
(signatures, dated 23 Oct 1886).
A lovely copy of this series of travels through Brazil, including
Rio de Janeiro, Bahia and Maranhão. Brimming with
confidence, Wells states in the preface: “these many years …
necessitated residence in all the chief coastal cities north of
Rio de Janeiro, and brought me into intimate relations with all
phases of life in Brazil.”
$450
109]
Leaves of Grass
[Walt WHITMAN]
Tinted frontispiece portrait after Hine by Schoff (BAL state
1). iv, 456 pp. 8vo. Boston: Thayer & Eldridge, 1860 - 61.
Third edition, first printing. Publisher’s orange pebbled
cloth, bevelled covers, covers stamped in blind with title and
illustrations of earth and clouds and sunset, spine stamped in
gilt with title and butterfly alighting on a hand (BAL binding
B). Some light rubbing and soiling to covers, heavy offsetting
at gutter to pp. 404-5, a handsome copy. BAL 21397; Myerson
A2.3.a1.
the first regularly published edition
of leaves of grass
The first printing of the third edition of Whitman’s Leaves of
Grass — BAL records four distinct printings of this edition.
This was the first edition of Whitman’s book to be issued by
a publisher. Thayer and Eldrige had approached the poet with
a letter, that in part read, “We are young men. We ‘celebrate’
ourselves by acts. Try us. You can do us good. We can do you
good — pecuniarily.”
$1,500
66 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
110]
A Woman of No Importance
Oscar WILDE
154, [1] pp. Printed by T. and A. Constable, Edinburgh. 4to.
London: John Lane at the Sign of the Bodley Head in Vigo
Street, 1894. First edition, one of 50 large paper copies.
Original buckram gilt. Spine and extremities darkened,
endleaves with some paste darkening, else fine, in a custom
purple half-morocco slipcase and chemise. Mason 365.
Provenance: Arthur Chester Rhodes.
Large Paper Copy, One of 50
An attractive large paper copy. Wilde’s witty and urbane
satire of the English upper class. This was written and
produced in 1893 near the height of Wilde’s career, between
Salome (1891) and his masterpiece The Importance of Being
Ernest (1895).
$10,000
111]
The Importance of Being Ernest. A Trivial
Comedy for Serious People by the Author of
Lady Windermere’s Fan
Oscar WILDE
Small 4vo. London: Leonard Smithers, 1899. First edition,
trade issue. One of 1000 copies (this copy not numbered).
Mauve cloth, decorated in gilt. Cloth somewhat soiled and
smudged, spine a bit dulled, text block very slightly toned,
and spine tips slightly rubbed, but a good, solid copy. Mason
381.
Very good copy of Wilde’s most popular and enduring work,
one of the crown jewels of the English theater. This comedy
of switched identities was first performed at St. James’s
theatre on Valentine’s Day 1895. Just four days later the
Marquess of Queensberry dropped off a note at Wilde’s club,
the Albemarle, accusing him of somdomy.
$3,000
Catalogue 130 | 67
112]
Stoner
John WILLIAMS
[vi], 277, [1] pp. 8vo. New York: The Viking Press, (1965). First
edition. Publisher’s brown boards and orange cloth spine.
Foxing to textblock edges and endpapers, previous owner’s
stamp to ffep and bottom edge, in very good, unclipped dustjacket (light foxing to rear panel, fading to spine, small closed
tears) designed by Ellen Raskin.
“One of the great forgotten novels of the past century”
(Colm Toibin).
Scarce first edition of John Williams’s Stoner, a novel
rediscovered by a new generation of readers after its
reissue by the New York Review of Books in 2006 and now
acknowledged as a masterpiece of twentieth-century fiction.
$2,250
113]
Tennessee Williams Letters to Donald
Windham 1940-1965
Tennessee WILLIAMS
Edited and with Comments by Donald Windham. xiii, [i],
333, [3]pp. Printed by Martino Mardersteig at Stamperia
Valdonega. 8vo. Verona: 1976. First edition, Copy “D” on 26
on blue Fabriano paper, signed by Williams and Windham.
Pictorial wrappers, top edge blue, in slipcase. Fine. Crandell
A43.1.a.
ONE OF 26 signed by williams and windham
Windham (1920-2010) collaborated with Williams in 1946
on the play You Touched Me! and the two enjoyed a close
friendship for many years. Their relationship had soured by
the time Williams published his memoirs in 1975. Windham,
who was clearly offended by Williams book, retaliated by
publishing his correspondence with Williams the following
year. It contains some of Williams’s most revealing letters.
In 1989 Windham published a brutal look at Williams’s later
years, Lost Friendships.
This deluxe copy signed by both Williams and Windham.
$1,650
68 | James Cummins bookseller
Holiday 2105
114]
Three Guineas
Virginia WOOLF
Illustrated with 5 half-tone plates. 329 pp. 8vo. London: The
Hogarth Press, 1938. First edition. Original yellow cloth.
Spine faintly toned, else fine in near fine dust-jacket by
Vanessa Bell (slight toning to spine panel, small marginal chip
at head). Kirkpatrick A23.
Virginia Woolf ’s “novel-essay” was written in response
to three enquiries she received: 1. How should war be
prevented? 2. Why does the government not support
education for women? And 3. Why are women not allowed
to engage in professional work? Woolf being Woolf, the book
as a whole may be read as a sequel of sorts to A Room of
One’s Own.
$750
115]
The Caine Mutiny. A Novel of World War II
Herman WOUK
494 pp. 8vo. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday & Company, 1951.
First edition, first issue dust-jacket with “The City Boy.”
Blue cloth stamped in silver. Fine copy in original dust-jacket
(about very good minus, some rubbing and chipping at
extremities, repair to verso). Eighty-nine Good Novels of the
Sea, p. [15].
Inscribed to the Chief of Naval Psychiatry
The classic novel of life at sea during World War II and the
stresses of command. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize in 1952
and the source for the 1954 film starring Humphrey Bogart;
he was nominated for an Oscar for best actor for his role as
Captain Queeg.
Inscribed by the author on the half-title to a retired Navy
medical officer, “For Dr. A.A. Marsteller, with many thanks
for your help, Herman Wouk. March 1951.”
Marsteller was a career naval officer, serving from 1917 to
1950. He was chief of Naval psychiatry in Washington before
World War II. During the war he ran hospitals devoted to
war neuroses in the Pacific theater (in New Zealand, the
New Hebrides, and California). An evocative association.
$3,500
Catalogue 130 | 69
116]
Poems
W.B. YEATS
xi, [i], 285, [3] pp. 8vo. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. First edition, trade issue. One of 750 copies printed, in addition to the deluxe
issue on vellum, and an unknown number of copies for U.S. distribution. Tan cloth, elaborately stamped in gilt after a design by
H.G. Fell, edges untrimmed. Light wear to head of spine, cloth lightly finger-soiled. Wade 15.
A very good copy of Yeat’s first collected poems, which includes The Wanderings of Usheen, The Countess Cathleen and Land of
the Heart’s Desire. He states that “This book includes all the writer cares to preserve out of his previous volumes of verse.”
It’s hard to truly summarise Yeats’s significance: he ranks not only at the top tier of Irish writers but is regarded as one of the
most significant twentieth century poets. He was awarded the 1923 Nobel Prize for literature.
$2,500
70 | James Cummins bookseller
JAMES CUMMINS bookseller
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