Rare Collections

London: Heinemann. Very Good+ in Very Good dust jacket. 1929. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A collection of short stories from one of the giants of the genre. A rare book to find on the market and exceptionally rare to find a copy with the original dust jacket. At time of listing no other copies with DJ available. VG+ or better book, some wear on the spine. Small dealer note on the front endpaper, but book is otherwise in fine condition Internally. VG or better dust jacket. Some chipping and pieces missing from the top and bottom of the spine. The original price 7/6 blacked out with a pen, but visible if looking from the inside of the jacket. Browning of the spine. Unclipped and rest of jacket in fine condition, now in a protective brodart cover. An exceptional collectors copy, almost impossible to find with dust jacket. .

New York: MacMillan. Very Good. 1916. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A very good or better book, missing the rare dust jacket. Some soiling and rubbing to the cloth and mild toning to the end papers. An association copy from Eliza London Shepard. Eliza was London's beloved stepsister and who acted as the ranch superintendent at the Jack London Ranch from 1910 until her death in 1939. Book includes Jack London's wolf head bookplate in the front pastedown. Also included is a signed check from London to Eliza for $500, dated Aug 30th 1915, tipped in on the front free endpaper. The book is signed and inscribed by Eliza on the front free endpaper: "Dearest Mummie & Nan, the same loving wish renewed each year, for a Merry Christmas and many happy new years - Eliza London Shepard. December 25th 1936, Jack London Ranch". ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 392 pages; Signed by Author .

New York: The Limited Editions Club. Fine. 1989. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Large Folio (17 3/4 x 22). One of LEC Livre d'Artiste editions celebrating to remarkable artist in their own fields. A selection of 13 poems by Frank O'Hara, 10 of which was published in 'The Collected Poems of Frank O'Hara" in 1971, and another 3 poems that were discovered later. On a tragic summer night in 1966, O'Hara was run over by a beach taxi. He was widely mourned as both a man of letters and as the curator at The Museum of Modern Art. He was honored with a memorial edition of his poetry illustrated by the artist who knew and loved him including the great Abstract Expressionist William de Kooning. De Kooning drawings were presented to NY Museum of Modern Art with a stipulation that they are not shown as finished work, but as a step towards the creation of original lithographs. This book came a quarter century later and these mylar drawings were transferred to lithographic plates and printed under supervision of the artist and the Museum of Modern Art, solely for the use in this edition. Seventeen of de Kooning 18 charcoal drawings are reproduced here for the first time. Each edition is signed with a facsimile signature authorized by de Kooning, who was already at an advance age suffering from Alzheimer's at the time. This copy being #176 of 550. Laid in is the original Monthly Letter booklet #561 and the original invoice from LEC for $8 000. The slipcase is in NF condition and the book in Fine Condition. This is an oversized book and additional shipping cost may apply ; Lithograph; Folio 13" - 23" tall; Signed by Illustrator .

New York: Simon & Schuster. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1959. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Psycho is a 1959 Horror novel and one of the most influential horror books of the 20th century. The book can probably claim to being the founder of serial killer fiction genre. Most famous off course for the 1960 film adaption by Alfred Hitchcock telling the story of Norman Bates, the caretaker of an isolated motel who struggles under his domineering mother. Based on real life murderer Ed Gein. A fine to very fine book, some toning to the pages, but much less so than normally found. A fine to very fine, unclipped jacket. No obvious defects. Now with a clear protective cover. The book comes with a custom cloth clamshell with a leather spine label. Provenance: From the remarkable collection of Theodore B Baum. This book qualifies for our free worldwide shipping using a tracked courier service. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall .

New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1981. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A beautiful collector's copy of the 4th Dune book signed by Frank Herbert for Marian. Jacket design by Brad Holland and the start of the 2nd trilogy. Difficult to find signed and rarely in this condition. A fine book with no obvious defects, seems to be unread. A fine, unclipped dust jacket, small closed tear at the bottom of the spine. Some slight aging and browning. Now with Brodart cover. Provenance: Acquired from the original owner, who bought it at a signing in NY (either Scribner's or Brentano's in Fifth Avenue). ; Signed by Author .

London: W Pickering. Very Good. 1840. First Edition. Hardcover. First Edition, First Issue, folio (572 x 400mm). Hand-coloured lithographic title page, followed by a printed title page, both dated 1840. 30 lithographic plates drawn on stone by Frank Howard and printed on large Columbier paper with lithographed tail pieces. Bound in contemporary half dark red Morocco and marbled boards. Gilt edges and spine gilt in compartments with wildlife motif. Some wear to the edges and spine. List of subscribers in the back. Ex Libris for John Knox Agnew with a gift inscription in pen, Patrick Agnew, with Love dad; . Title page partly separated from spine. Scattered foxing throughout on the text pages, but the lithographic plates are generally clean. The first book to be entirely dedicated to big game hunting in Africa, which subsequently influence a great number of hunters to travel to South Africa. Harris was the consummate hunter's hunter, shooting animals in quantities never seen before and never matched since, partly due to the fact that most of the game was gone in later years. The book is inspired by his hunting expedition from the Cape Colony going as far as the Tropic of Capricorn in 1836; 1837.One of the most important and valuable of the large folio works on South African fauna; .. In addition to the beautiful coloured engravings (sic) which render this work almost the most highly prized of the books relating to South African animals, every plate is accompanied by an exhaustive chapter upon the characteristics of the animal represented, as well as by a short sketch of its personal appearance. ; Mendelssohn, (S. ) South African Bibliography, volume 1, page 688-9.'One of the rarest of all books dealing with African big game and sport, this monumental presentation depicts wild game of southern Africa as encountered and studied by Harris. The tinted lithographs highlighted in colour by hand are especially lovely and make this volume exceptionally desirable. Included among the portraits are elephant, buffalo, rhinoceros, lion, leopard, kudu, roan, eland, and quagga, among others. Each of the illustrations is also enlivened by scenic backgrounds of the habitat. The portraits are highlighted with Harris' detailed descriptions of the game, habitat, and with occasional mention of his hunting adventures.' Kenneth Czech - Bibliography of African Big Game Hunting Books 1785 -1999, page 119.Abbey (J. R. ) Travel in Aquatint and Lithography 1779 - 1860, number 335, pages 287 - 290. ; Published in five parts at 2. 2s. Each part, on large (Columbier) paper, with tail-pieces, or at 1. 1s. Each part of ordinary (Imperial) paper without tail-pieces. The book was finally published in volume form in 1843 ; Elephant Folio 23" tall .

Kingston Upon Hill: Allen Publishing Company. Fine. 1988. Hardcover. "The Monographs of the Pheasants by Daniel Giraud Elliot (1872) is among the finest of all illustrated bird books. This is a facsimile reproduction of the 95 original drawings and the 79 colour plates from Elliots Pheasant. The 95 charcoal field sketches and 79 colour plates are reproduced here by offset lithography. Preface by Elanor Maclean the Head Librarian of the Blacker-Wood Library of McGill University, Montreal. Introduction by David M Lank. Half bound in fine leather with raised bands and tooled in gold leaf, enclosed in a slipcase and placed in a custom wooden box. Columbier folio (17 ¼ x 24 inches) the colour plates are Royal quarto (10 x 13 inches). Limited to 275 copies and 10 proof copies. This being 119 of 275 copies. Published in Spring 1988 at £ 950. Book and slipcase in fine condition, original prospectus laid in. Bookplate of Steve Bales in the front. Wooden display case in near fine or better condition, with a photo of Joseph Wolf, some features and the below description: In 1872 there appeared a two volume folio, A Monograph of the Phasianidae, or Family of the Pheasants. It had been written and financially underwritten by an extraordinary American Naturalist, Daniel Giraud Elliot. Of the 81 lithographed plates, 79 had been hand-coloured after the original sketches of Joseph Wolf, acknowledged as the greatest animal painter of his age. The true joy of Elliots Pheasants, starts and ends with Wolf's sketches, drawn not with hesitant strokes and brittle twigs of charcoal, but with boldness and genius, and with what Palmer, in his Life of Joseph Wolf, called good sturdy stakes that fill the fingers and will not snap under the strain of sudden inspiration; . Palmer understood the importance of the sketches: It is unfortunate that the finest of these (charcoal drawings) have not been seen are not likely to be seen by the public, for it is on them that his fame as an artist should indisputably rest. Upon the best of them, any competent art critic would doubtless agree that it would rest securely for all times; . This facsimile reproduction of those very sketches in part redresses the wrong Palmer so rightly pointed out. Elliot recognized fully what Wolf meant to the book when he chose to dedicate the ; Pheasants; : To my friend, Joseph Wolf Esq. F. Z. S. Etc. , whose unrivalled talent had graced this work with its chief attraction, and whose marvelous power of delineating animal life renders him unequalled in our times; David M Lank"; Elephant Folio 23" tall; Signed by Illustrator .

New York: The Limited Editions Club. Fine. 1989. Limited Edition. Hardcover. The 1st book of the 50th Series of the LEC and the 557th publication by the club. One of 550 copies, this being #485 and signed by Samuel Beckett and Robert Ryman. The typeset in English Monotype Bodoni at Golgonooza Letter Foundry with new decending characters from punches cut by Daniel Carr. Text printed at The Shagbark Press on paper made by Cartiere Enrico Magnani. The etchings were printed on arches at Wingate Studio and Renaissance Press and book design by Benjamin Shiff. One of the best books coming from the LEC. A fine book with original ML laid in, in a NEar Fine clamshell case. ; 4to 11" - 13" tall; Signed by Author & Illustrator .

London: Eveleigh Nash. Very Good. 1907. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A rare copy of Algernon 2nd collection of supernatural fiction and considered to be among his best work and include the short story "The Willows" considered one of the best short stories in the genre. 350 pages with 34 + 2 page publisher catalogues in the back. Book is about VG or better. Fading of the gilt on the spine. Some minor foxing to the first couple of pages, but otherwise internally clean. A beautiful collectors copy. ; 350 pages .

New York: Simon & Schuster. Fine in Fine dust jacket. 1953. First Edition; First Printing. 2128. The absolute classic story of love and two dogs. Foreword by Walt Disney and illustrated by Joe G Rinaldi. Made into a full length animated movie by Walt Disney in 1955, with the classic spaghetti scene that ends up in a kiss. An uncommon book on the market and in particular in this condition. A fine to very fine book. Contemporary owner name in the front, book is otherwise internally clean. Tight binding and feels unread. A fine to very fine dust jacket, unclipped, now in a clear protective cover. Provenance: From the remarkable collection of Theodore B Baum. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 140 pages .

Boston: American Stationers Co. Very Good. 1837. Hardcover. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Twice-Told Tales, 1st edition in exceptional condition. With the fifth story listed on the contents page as starting on p. 78, although it actually starts on p. 77: thus the first state of the first edition. This copy is exceptionally square and straight in the original binding, with the gilded printing on the spine still easy to read. Hawthorne's breakthrough book, and it is very difficult to find copies in such nice shape. Condition: some mild spotting and discoloration on the exterior cloth, as if from handling. Only very slight occasional foxing and stains, but generally remarkably well preserved. Two older collector's bookplates on inside front board. Most notably from the collection of Frank Brewer Bemis (1861 - 1935). Bemis was a Boston banker bibliophile who amassed one of the finest collections of American and British works, including all four Shakespeare folios. Very slight turning-in at the tips of the boards. Close to Near Fine overall, I think. Now housed in a custom clamshell box. ; 8vo 8" - 9" tall .

London: Heinemann. Very Good+ in Very Good dust jacket. 1929. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. A collection of short stories from one of the giants of the genre. A rare book to find on the market and exceptionally rare to find a copy with the original dust jacket. At time of listing no other copies with DJ available. VG+ or better book, some wear on the spine. Small dealer note on the front endpaper, but book is otherwise in fine condition Internally. VG or better dust jacket. Some chipping and pieces missing from the top and bottom of the spine. The original price 7/6 blacked out with a pen, but visible if looking from the inside of the jacket. Browning of the spine. Unclipped and rest of jacket in fine condition, now in a protective brodart cover. An exceptional collectors copy, almost impossible to find with dust jacket. .