Austen, Jane Sense and Sensibility (London, 1811).
1st edition. 3 vols. 1000 printed. A fine set, both inside and out, with all 3 half-titles absolutely genuine and authentic 1st edition half-titles are what set apart the usual from the rare with this book. 19th century 3/4 brown morocco, sumptuously gilt. Fine full morocco case. Bookplates of 2 significant women collectors of high taste, Dorothy Stewart and Pamela Kingzett. ` 55,000

Austen reshaped fiction forever with this evolutionary first novel. It is filled with satirical wit, complex and subtle views of human nature, exquisite moral discrimination and an unobtrusive perfection of style. When Jane Austen puts these elements to work, her little world of struggling families, husband hunting mothers and daughters, eligible clergymen and landowners, country fools and snobs, is elevated into a perfect, enduring and timeless microcosm of the wide world.

Baldwin, James Tell Me How Long the Train's Been Gone (NY, 1968).
1st edition. Signed and inscribed presentation to David Leeming (1 of 3 dedicates). White cloth, a bit soiled, gilt oxidized and a little dull, in a near fine jacket. That said, this is a James Baldwin dedication copy, the only one I've seen in 25 years of looking and though not fine, the condition is acceptable. 6500

A novel about the rich, the vain, the lonely and the childless or is that the Westminster Dog Show?

Baum, L. Frank The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (Chicago, 1900).
1st edition, 1st printing. A beautiful copy in original cloth of the most famous American children's book. From the inside out, the text is entirely 1st state, the plates are 1st state, the title page is the first state with no copyright notice, an error that could not be tolerated by either Baum or his publishers and was hurriedly corrected with a rubber stamped copyright notice shortly after publication, the binding is also 1st state with no outlining of the emerald's rays on the back and though the publisher's imprint is in red (not green), it's in the first state with the "C" next to (not encircling) the "O". The condition, is not technically "fine," but it is nearly so, quite exceptional for this book, despite minor aging to the spine and slight strengthening to the extreme tips and perfect copies are like witches and wizards. Everybody's heard about them but nobody's been able to take one home. Half morocco case. 37,500

Not much deeper than the kiddie pool but there are plenty of heavy and literate novels that no one reads or collects and the Wiz is among the most tenacious of American classics. It's set in the fantastic realm of happiness which Baum invented and it's populated with a galaxy of bizarre figures that seem less like characters and more like what happens when circus trains collide.

Beckett, Samuel Waiting For Godot (London, 1958).
1st English edition. Nobel Prize in 1969. Fine in fine black dustjacket. The most important serious play written in the 20th century, but the humble price unmasks "important" as a word that should blink red lights and fly the skull and bones if you're going to guess at which books to buy. 1000

"Vladimir: 'Suppose we repented.'
Estragon: ' Repented what?'
Vladimir: 'Oh ... We wouldn't have to go into the details." - page 11

Bellow, Saul The Dangling Man (NY, 1944).
1st edition of the Nobel Laureates first book. Near fine in near fine dustjacket with a 1/4" tear at the edge of the back panel. Ex-James Dickey (his bookplate). Fine half morocco case. 3750

The original Bellow anti-hero, tormented by the existential dilemma of trying to define himself with dignity despite the constant impediments of objective and subjective circumstances in a world that is "too much of everything." Contrast the dull who are always satisfied because they instinctively understand that the fastest path to happiness is lowering your standards.

Bowles, Paul The Sheltering Sky (London, 1949).
1st edition. Fine in fine dustjacket, bright and beautiful. Scarce, desirable, soon to be more so. Fine full morocco case. 8500

Before Kerouac could drive, Ginsberg could howl and Burroughs could write about his junk, Bowles invented Beat Literature with this amazing first novel in which a man and his peripherally reluctant wife flee from the West to Morocco, rattling their chains to prove that they are free. Despite the prominence of this pair, the primary character is the interminably vast desert and the isolation it provides. Bowles prose is consistently even in tone and after a while resembles the desert itself. The title is a hoax as the sky provides only minimal shelter and the plotline suggests that rather then dragging your culture halfway across the world, just close the garage door and start the car.

Burke, James Lee The Convict
(Baton Rouge, 1985).
1st edition. Burke's scarcest book, published by Louisiana State University Press in a tiny edition of only 500 copies. Contemporary signed and inscribed presentation copy to Elizabeth and Bob, old friends from Missouri and Mack's and the very best neighbors and friends one could have. All the best, Jim Burke" (not inscribed to the Doles, but you can pretend it is). Fine in fine, untouched and unfaded dustjacket (a beamer). Fine full morocco case. 3750

Burroughs, Edgar Rice Complete inscribed Tarzan collection,
all 1st editions, all in dustjacket (Chicago, NY and Tarzana, 1914-1947).

An unbroken, 22 volume run of the Tarzan 1st editions. All are in dustjacket. Each is a signed presentation copy of estimable association, including his publisher, his wife and more than half to his younger son of whom he often thought while writing these books. Apes is inscribed to his first publisher, Return to his wife, Beasts to his third publisher, Son to his son, Opar to his wife, Jungle Tales, Untamed and Terrible all to his son, Golden Lion to himself, Antmen to his son, Lord to his wife, Lost Empire to nobody (still reading?), Earth's Core, Invincible, Triumphant, City of Gold and Lion Man all to his son, Leopard Men to Carole Lombard (with Gable's bookplate) and finally, Quest, Forbidden City, Magnificent and Foreign Legion, all to his son. Only Son of Tarzan is a 2nd issue, varying from the 1st issue solely by the addition of a printed dedication to his son, and this is the dedication copy inscribed to him. Rarity flows deep and condition is satisfying throughout including a striking run of 22 dustjackets, all of them the earliest state, excepting only Return. Some inner paper hinges strengthened and a few jackets with a small tear or chip very skillfully restored. Still, it is neither dustjackets nor completeness but rather meaningful inscriptions and the closest of associations that set these books apart. No other assembly of this stature has ever been amassed. In herds, smarter animals stay near the center exposing dumb ones to predators. Some of these plotlines are on the edge of the herd, but Burroughs was clever enough to create the most worldly renowned figure in all of American literature and a conglomerate for his perpetuation. Tarzan say, "Scoreboard." Such a collection is never to be seen again but 21st century film versions will be plentiful, just like those in the 20th century, as new filmmakers revisit the first super-hero, American fiction's most famous fictional character. Together: 22 vols. 260,000

Camus, Albert La Peste [The Plague] (Paris, 1947).

1st edition (in French). One of 220 deluxe copies on velin pur fil, from a total 1st printing of 2,360. Fine in wrappers and fine glassine jacket. An unopened and unread copy, square, tight and completely unworn, the covers are whiter than a marshmallow, the lettering is redder than a baboon's butt. Camus won his Nobel Prize in 1957. Fine half morocco case. 5000

Heavyweight impressionistic realism set in Algeria in the 1940s. As the bubonic plague sweeps through an Algerian port town, Camus' characters get placed like ducks on the pond in a scene of widespread death and horror so as to record their answers to the question, "Why are we here?" The main figure is Dr. Rieux who consciously (and hopelessly) does what he can to alleviate human suffering, if only for a few moments, by focusing on the possibility of some abstract future joy.

In the years following World War II, Camus was the West's major artistic voice of affirmation for strength, direction and human dignity in the face of the absurd. He wrote about this concept beginning in his earlier work (The Stranger, The Myth of Sisyphus, etc.) but The Plague remains the most thorough presentation of his mature thinking. "Man is absurd because he has neither metaphysical justification nor essential connection to the universe. He is part of no divine scheme and, since he is mortal, all of his actions, individual and collective, eventually come to nothing. The only question, then, is how can man generally, as well as man the individual, deal with this absurdity?" His answer is revolt against humanity's condition, a labor to create one's own meaning. "Man struggles in spite of &endash; even because of &endash; the fact that, ultimately, he must lose. If the idea of the absurd denies man's cosmic meaning, it affirms his common bond. Since all men must die, all are brothers, and mutual cooperation, not self-indulgence, is the logical ethic."

Carter, Jimmy The Blood of Abraham (Boston, 1984).
Original long galley proofs of the 1st edition. 133 sheets, rectos only. Dated December 11, 1984 (the book was published in 1985). A complete set of proofs corrected in his own handwriting by President Carter. Additionally there are some marginal notes in the hand of a proofreader. Holograph notation at the top of the first sheet, "Author's set to be returned to HMC" (Houghton Mifflin Company). Carter was U. S. President at a crucial moment that fit his talent in at least one way and he was able to bring together the leaders of Egypt and Israel at Camp David for the first Middle East Peace, ending 30 years of recurring Presidential descent from political pro to dancing bear. The Blood of Abraham is Carter's book about the history of the region leading up to and including his great success. A highly consequential literary text. Corrected Presidential galleys are rarely offered for sale and this is an important book about an important event in modern world history contrasted against the usual Presidential book which is little more than a pathetic struggle to remain relevant. Fine condition. A copy of the uncorrected, bound page proofs (1985) is included. Fine half morocco case. 15,000

Chopin, Kate The Awakening (Chicago, 1899).
1st edition. 500 or so copies, issued without a printed dustjacket. The first feminist novel, despised at the time by threatened critics. An unanticipatibly fine copy, like looking in the haystack for a needle and finding the farmer's daughter instead. 12,500

Free speech hypocrites ruined Chopin's career with objections to the independence of the heroine in this novel. Contrast today when the only apparent limit to free speech is that you can't yell "money" in a Buddhist Temple.

Clark, Walter Van Tilburg The Ox-Bow Incident (NY, 1940).
1st edition of a seminal western. Fastidiously preserved advance reading copy, fine in wrappers and fine pictorial dustjacket. Cloth case. 1500

Colder than an ice cream headache with Judge Colt's jury of six, in days passe, before hangin' meant having nothing to do and facing the music was worse than exercising to it.

(Comics) Classics Illustrated [Classic Comics] (NY, 1941-1969).
171 vols. total. Each title is a 1st edition, 1st printing. The complete run (numbers 1-169), plus both states of The Woman in White and folio galley proofs for The Arabian Nights. Numbers 1-34 are titled "Classic Comics," as originally published before the name was changed to "Classics Illustrated." Fine condition, no restoration. Complete sets of unrestored 1st printings, in this condition, will soon be unbuyable at any price. Most were read to dust, then replaced with a reprint ordered from the publisher because this was the only series of golden age comics that were continuously reissued and long available in reprint by mail. Many titles had 10 or more editions, most were sold for years, and each later printing is bibliographically distinguishable, creating over 1000 variations of covers, ads, price and text, but our set is the 1st state of each title, and perfect on every single point. Don Quixote, Musketeers, Jane Eyre, Tom Sawyer, Cleopatra, Moby-Dick, Ivanhoe, Christmas Carol, Call of the Wild, Robin Hood, Pathfinder, War of the Worlds, Wuthering Heights, King Solomon's Mines, Uncle Tom, Poe's Tales, Monte-Cristo, Tale of Two Cities, Treasure Island, Rip Van Winkle, Black Beauty, 20,000 Leagues, Red Badge, Scarlet Letter, Frankenstein, Copperfield, Crusoe, Moonstone, Mohicans, Hunchback, Huck, Holmes and 137 others. 35,000

Crumb, Robert Original Unpublished Manuscript (1962).
Complete manuscript, signed in ink, "R. C." Written like a letter to his roommate to be, Marty Pahls, the first person Crumb lived with after leaving his parent's house. Crumb then bound the text as a hand made book with a full color pictorial cover which he inked and painted. 22 tightly typed pages (8,500 words) written as an 18 year old aspiring comic artist about everything going on in his life, including his dreams, his obsession with girls, his pain with living at home and his prescient plans for the future. An all you could want revelation, like nothing else known to exist, delivering a hefty dose of astonishing insights. Fine condition. Ownership and title are clear beyond question but Mr. Crumb still holds the copyright so don't ask me to photocopy it for you and don't do anything stupid like buy it and try to publish it. Rare. Fine full morocco case. 16,500

Dick, Philip K. Ubick (Garden City, 1969).
1st edition. Fine in fine dustjacket, a stunning copy. 2000

The reactivation of the dead into a kind of half life leaves them competing with one another in a world of ideas and will in which psychological adaption is consistently difficult. This is much the most tightly plotted of Dick's novels and is steadily emerging as a science fiction classic and copies in this condition are not always available, in this life or the afterlife.

Dickens, Charles A Christmas Carol (London, 1843).
1st edition, 1st printing with all text points uncorrected, 1st binding (Todd's "1st impression, 1st issue"). Fine, looks fresh enough to eat. Full morocco case. Timeless revelation by fable that a good scare is worth more than good advice and a not so subtle reminder that that fastest way to change your life is to change your attitude. Matchless condition, without qualifiers, crisp, glowing, tighter than Bert and Ernie, and no more need be said. 50,000

Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities (London, 1859).
1st edition. A superior copy, perilously near the epitome. The cloth covers are crisp and unrestored, the pages are white as the polar caps and the plates are clean, elusive qualities in any Dickens 1st edition. Publisher's green cloth, marginally scarcer than the primary binding of red (Eckel called the green cloth "very scarce" 60 years ago). Fine full morocco case. 37,500

It has long been established that some 1859 1st editions were bound from left over monthly parts and some (like ours) were bound directly from the press, the former usually identified by stab holes remaining in the margins, the latter by a lack of them. One explanation for the relative scarcity of press printed copies with the 1859 title page, is that publication was November 21, 1859 and when it was reprinted, the title page was redated 1860 (Smith notes an 1860 title page in a green cloth copy). This belies any idea of either press printed or green cloth copies being a later issue than those bound from parts, as 1859 had only 5 weeks left when the 1st edition was issued, a narrow window for any kind of priority. In actuality, the converse may be true and some 1st editions bound from parts may have been sold with their original 1859 title pages well into 1860. Smith's description is precise but his conclusions about priority should be wrapped in crime scene tape. The misprint (page 213) and the signature mark (b) are meaningless for determining priority of issue in cloth copies as both occurred during the parts press run, well before hardbound publication and they appear uncorrected in only some of the left over parts sets that were bound in cloth and corrected sets were also available, bound randomly and issued simultaneously with press printed copies and with each other. I haven't seen enough 1st editions to write a tale of two colors insisting that more parts copies were bound in red and more press copies were bound in green but I do know that any 1st edition, in this condition, is a treasure. The last comparable Tale of Two Cities at auction was Dick Manney's (a little worn, hinges cracked, Sotheby's, $15,400 in 1991) and some serious collections have been sold since.

Dickens, Charles A Tale of Two Cities (London, 1859).
1st edition. 8 monthly parts in 7 as published. Some wear and repair, parts 3 and 6 are fine, parts 1, 2 and 3 are mostly unopened. Text and plates are 1st issue, all 7 front wraps are 1st issue as are 5 of the 7 rear wraps (2 are earlier), all the preliminary pages are correct, the list of plates is the 1st issue and a modest majority of the slips, ads and advertisers are present and correct. A nice set without any pretense to aristocracy, in a Spartan half morocco case. Dickens tries the historical novel in the hallowed footsteps of Ivanhoe (1820), Mohicans (1826), Notre Dame (1831), Musketeers (1844) and Scarlet Letter (1850). It was the best of times, it was the worst of times. 6500

Doyle, Conan His Last Bow (London, 1917).
1st edition. The fourth collection of Holmes and Watson stories. 10,684 copies were printed, about the same number as for The Adventures or Memoirs. Tiny bump at the edge on the back but a fine copy of a very fragile book. To the inexperienced eye, our price may look wildly high but "not fine" 1st editions are more common than the word "bitch" in rap music and copies described as "near fine" these days are typically very good copies from booksellers slumming along with a 75% tolerance policy. Old cloth case, faded but it did the job. The last time we had a fine copy of this title was in 1992 and when I looked at the endpaper of this one I saw my old pencil codes indicating that it was the same copy. 30 times scarcer than the usual 1st edition of His Last Bow for 5 times the price, the equation that keeps the rich rich. 2500

Doyle, Conan The Casebook of Sherlock Holmes (London, 1927).
1st edition. The 5th and last collection of Holmes stories. A single 1/8" nick else a fine, fresh copy of an extremely fragile 1st edition, often seen but rarely seen fine. Half morocco case, the only reason that this fragile and delicate little orchid survives in such well preserved condition. 1250

Dumas, Alexandre Le Comte de Monte-Christo
[The Count of Monte-Cristo] (Brussels, 1845-1846).
8 vols. (in French), the first 5 volumes dated 1845 and the last 3 volumes dated 1846, as first issued. Essentially, this is the 1st trade edition, preceded only by the serialization in Journal des Debats and the 1844-1845 Paris 1st edition in 18 volumes, a rare, deluxe, large margined, fine paper issue of perhaps 500 sets, surviving in only a handful of copies and now unobtainable. This Brussels edition precedes the 2nd Paris edition (12 vols. 1846) as well as all of the translations which began appearing later the same year. The misprint in the title ("Christo" for "Cristo") is only found in the 1st edition and in the earliest copies of this edition and was corrected for the 2nd Paris edition and all other editions thereafter. A sensational set of what is widely revered as the greatest novel ever written and what is, without challenge, the greatest tale of revenge in the entire panorama of world literature. Contemporary (original?) sky blue paper covered boards, complete and perfect with all 8 half-titles. The fragile bindings are a little dusty and rubbed but have no repair and this book is seldom seen in any condition and is beyond good fortune in contemporary boards. 2 fine, French, full morocco cases. 8000

You say you like your books unthinkably rare? A thorough search of OCLC and RLIN reveals that no copy of this edition abides in any English or American library. No copy appears in the auction record and no copy was either seen or listed by Reed (A Bibliography of Alexandre Dumas Pere, 1974). I've been paying attention for 25 years and have only seen one other set and it was rebound. Ex-Donaueschingen Library (Germany), to which it was sent in 1846, likely as a deposit copy and where it remained, unread, until the mid 1990s, the explanation for its survival as well as the condition. The purchaser will be only the second owner.

Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man (NY, 1952).

Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man (NY, 1952).
1st edition. Signed. Fine in a dustjacket with some tape removed from the inside, light edgewear and the usual rubbing. 6500

Ellison, Ralph Invisible Man (1952).
One page of handwritten manuscript, in blue ink, on his personal stationary, titled and signed in full. 120 moving words from the last 2 pages of his classic novel. A clean and fair copy with a handwritten presentation inscription at the bottom. Fine condition. Rare. Only the second piece of manuscript from Invisible Man I've seen. The manuscript is accompanied by a typed letter from Ellison, signed in ink with initials, Sept. 10, 1975, authenticating and, again, presenting the manuscript and (adding substantially to the luster of this item) transcribing it in full. 2500

(Film Scripts) The Wizard of Oz.
Screenplay by Noel Langley (M. G. M. 1939).
Complete, original, shooting script. 122 mimeographed pages (rectos only), likely held as a master by the research department. Various dates beginning October 10, 1938 (2 days before shooting began) and continuing through March 3, 1939 with all the changes incorporated during the film's progress, each and every change dated and notated and each group of changed pages with holograph or rubber stamped dates noting when they were received. Yellow/orange title page with script department number stamped in blue, "84160" and holograph date "10/10/38". White cast page, "Foreword" page and original text pages as well as pink rewrite pages. Minor wear to front cover else near fine. Rare. Not to be confused with the numerous pre-production scripts (pale blue title page), each a progressive attempt to adapt the novel to the screen, all of them much less connected to the actual film). And especially not to be confused with the barely desirable cutting and continuity scripts which were not created until months later (little more than a process to create a hard copy after the film was finished). And neither the pre-production nor post-production scripts compare to this shooting script in rarity as they were never subjected to the attrition encountered by scripts like this one that were actually used during the making of the film and taken apart and put back together (read: mishandled) with each change that was made. Want more? A heretofore unknown and rather amazing log, in pencil, on the inside cover, contemporaneously tracks each page that was changed throughout the principle shooting. A few of the pages that were meant to be discarded remain here uncanceled. A relic from the pinnacle of American popular culture and a screenplay of matchless significance, singular quality, legendary rarity and undeniable charisma. Fine half morocco case. 20,000

Original shooting began on October 12, 1938 with director Richard Thorpe filming the immense scenes in the witch's castle that appear near the end of the film, with much energy devoted to Toto's escape. 2 weeks later he was fired by the producer, Mervyn LeRoy, who said that Thorpe didn't think enough like a kid. The first replacement was George Cukor who contributed his take on numerous important elements but only lasted 4 days. Cukor was replaced by Victor Fleming on November 3, who brought in John Mahin to rewrite Langley's opening scenes, changed Dorothy's hair from blonde to brown and re-shot Thorpe's scenes in the witch's castle. Near the end of shooting Fleming himself was replaced by King Vidor who finished the picture. The actors were dismissed a week into March, principle photography was completed on March 16, 1939 (5 months and 3 days), the last matte shots were finished by May and The Wizard of Oz premiered in Hollywood, at the Chinese Theater, on August 15, followed by the New York premier in August 17.

Collation: Title, A1-2, 1-35, 35a, 36, [37-38], 39-40, 40a, 40b, 40b2, 41-42, [43-44], 45-50, 50a, 51-60, 60a, 61, [62-63], 64-80. [81-82], 83-84, 84a, 85-92, 92a, 92b, 93-97, 97a, 97b, 98-111, [112-113].

Only in 20th century America could a children's fantasy like The Wizard of Oz rise through popular culture to become the de facto American epic. You say you think I'm hyping you? Let's hold hands and look both ways while checking comparisons to, for example, The Odyssey. The central figure comes from the heartland (Kansas), travels (in this case unwittingly) to a far away place and then engages in the vicissitudes and recoveries of a dangerous journey home, finding allies and overcoming incredible perils, subtle temptations and supernatural enemies along the way. Though the hero here is a teenage girl (not a heroic warrior), the parallels are unmistakable and until someone writes a story that is even more authentically American and captures the public spirit in a way that transcends this one, The Wizard of Oz will stand as the nearly unique American novel that it is and the film as its nearly perfect cinematic realization.

Fitzgerald, F. Scott Tender is the Night (NY, 1934).
1st edition. 7600 were printed. Fine in a near fine dustjacket with 2 small edgetears. Vertically ribbed cloth, one of two bindings without priority. 1st state jacket with praise on the dustjacket flap by Eliot, Mencken and Rosenfeld and this is bright and unfaded example of it. Fine full morocco case. 22,500

Fleming, Ian Moonraker (London, 1955).
1st edition. Fine in fine dustjacket. The rarest Bond in this condition. 11,000

Fleming, Ian From Russia With Love (London, 1957).
1st edition. Fine in fine dustjacket. The archetypal Bond thriller. The coolest novel. Deceptively scarce in this condition (darkening of the spine seemingly the inevitable fault). 10 times as rare as a near fine copy for twice the price, ultimately the moment of truth for all collectors. 5500

Conspiracy, collusion, entanglements, murder, entrapment, cipher machines, intricate plots and counter plots, assassins, chases and sex, and this is 50s style Bond sex. Contrast today's spy masters when the word "sex" should rightfully be followed by the word "addict" without the distinction that the term implies some interaction with living human partners.

Fleming, Ian Dr. No (London, 1958).

1st edition, 1st binding with plain covers and no embossed girl. Signed in full on the endpaper. Fine in fine dustjacket, scarce in such an exemplary dustjacket, and signed 1st editions in this binding are rarely seen. Fine half morocco case. 12,500

The plain binding is usual for Cape though not for their Bond books and the girl, once added to the front cover, remained there through later Cape editions of Dr. No. Whether the dies for the design were not ready when the book was published or were an afterthought is not known but the reverse theory of the girl being on the first copies, then being removed, then being added back again with no alterations, is an unsustainable scenario.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel One Hundred Years of Solitude
(NY, 1970).
Publisher's long galley proofs of the 1st edition in English (24" X 7 1/2"). Rare. Only half a dozen or so sets were printed with none distributed. Fine. Complete. 6500

Garcia-Marquez discovered magical realism, a term borrowed from German art but in its literary form originally invented by Alejo Carpentier (The Kingdom of this World, 1949). He fused the mundane and mythic, won the Nobel Prize for Literature, launched a revival in Latin American fiction in the U. S. and used the amplified fame and money to preach animal farm propaganda not knowing, ironically, that the fatal flaw of communism was that there wasn't any money in it. That said, the roots of his politics are intelligible. His wife had to pawn their household possessions to finance the writing of this book. The mortgaged items included their television and radio and near the end, even their eggbeater. When Garcia-Marquez got to the post office with the finished manuscript, he couldn't afford the full postage and had to mail the publisher only half the novel. He scrambled around for hours to beg the few cents needed and later that day mailed the other half. With his family $10,000 in debt his wife worried, "What if, after all this, it's a bad novel?" She needn't have distressed. The book succeeded wildly and in 1980, the editors of The NY Times Book Review voted it as the best novel published in the previous decade and the book most likely to have one hundred years of legs.

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel One Hundred Years of Solitude
(NY, 1970).
1st edition in English. Nobel Laureate. Fine in fine 1st state dustjacket (with an exclamation point ending the first paragraph on the front flap). All reprints of the jacket end the flap paragraph with a period and in addition to being later are geometrically more common. A brilliant copy, pure eye candy. Expensive but worth it or will be soon enough. 6000

Garcia Marquez, Gabriel One Hundred Years of Solitude
(NY, 1970).
1st edition in English. Fine in a gorgeous and fresh, 1st state dustjacket, fine but for 3 tiny tears invisibly mended. 3000

Greene, Graham The Man Within (London, 1929).
1st edition. Fine in fine, white dustjacket, crisp and unsoiled. An intricately plotted tour de force about 19th century smugglers working off the Sussex coast and though not technically one of Greene's famous "entertainments" (the first was 1932), this novel contains all the seeds of his moral and psychological complexities. Fine half morocco case. 5000

Hammett, Dashiell Red Harvest (NY, 1929).
1st edition. His first book. Signed and inscribed to Katheryn (Dufour) "with suitable gestures". The first modern detective novel. Powerful, hard-art binding, coming right at you, by Don Glaister, the first on an American novel by the master American binder, an encounter that is not to be dismissed. Fine condition. Original cloth bound in. Fine full morocco case. 17,500

Hammett, Dashiell The Dain Curse (NY, 1929).

1st edition. His second book. The dedication copy inscribed to Albert Samuels "...for all the reasons in the world..." Near fine in dustjacket with some old tape removed form the inside and the small chips and tears underneath strengthened with the lightest touch. 2 small spots have been invisibly and undetectably cleaned from the cloth on my watch, but I'm being fussy hear. This is the greatest copy of The Dain Curse in the world, the only Hammett dedication copy I've seen and withal, the cloth is fresh, the 1st state dustjacket is bright, clean and plenty rare, the inscription is neat and tidy and the association was as meaningful to Hammett as any he ever had. Fine full, morocco case. 135,000

Still in his twenties, Hammett retired from the Pinkertons in 1921 with consumption. He took a few jobs writing ad copy then looking for steady work, answered an ad for an in house advertisement copy writer. He was hired for the job by Albert Samuels, proprietor of Samuels Jewelers of San Francisco. Their practice was to take large, chatty, newspaper ads aimed at enticing would be buyers. Drawing on his Pinkerton experiences, some of Hammett's ad copy contained brief mystery sketches. Samuels soon became a father figure to Hammett. When Hammett would moonlight writing short stories, Samuels loaned him money and became his most enthusiastic supporter. When he wanted to try a novel, Samuels became his patron. The characters in The Dain Curse are modeled on Hammett's fellow employees at Samuels Jewelers, all except the villain who was modeled after another writer, one that Hammett particularly didn't like.

Heinlein, Robert Rocket Ship Galileo (NY, 1947).
1st edition. His first novel. Fine in fine, price clipped jacket, the clipped corner often called 2nd state by mindless bibliographers (often in error, never in doubt) ignoring that the 2nd printing jacket had the same price, so the corner confirms nothing. 1750

Hemingway, Ernest The Torrents of Spring (NY, 1925).
1st edition. A fine copy in a scintillating dustjacket marred only by 2 tiny edgetears. Just 1250 copies published making this much the smallest print run for any of Hemingway's novels. 13,000

Torrents of Spring has long been misunderstood. The handy point of view is Hemingway's own. On March 31, 1925 he signed a contract for Boni and Liveright to publish 3 of his books (they already had his manuscript for In Our Time in hand). The contract stipulated that each book had to be published within 60 days of their receiving the manuscript and failure to publish would cause the loss of their option on future books. A week or so later Hemingway received a letter from Maxwell Perkins at Scribners offering to publish him. Hemingway was tempted, believing that Scribners would better promote him. Indeed, Boni and Liveright ultimately did a poor job selling In Our Time and the reviews were spotty and Hemingway was pissed about both weak promotion and ignorant reviews. In a dark mood he sat down to write The Torrents of Spring with the concentrated force of a literary warrior at the height of his powers and the prose shines from the effort. In October he sent it to Boni and Liveright hoping that they could not publish it. The novel was a brilliant satire parodying Sherwood Anderson, a friend of Hemingway's though not one he especially respected as an author and Anderson's success made Hemingway bitter. As Anderson was the reigning literary talent at Boni and Liveright and they were squeezed hard, not wanting to risk losing best selling Anderson to keep hardly selling Hemingway. Hemingway never said whether he wrote the novel intentionally to break his contract or whether he just wrote it thinking, "Who gives a shit?" But there is no doubt he knew what the result would be. In either case B&L refused the book setting Hemingway free and he signed with Scribners who published The Torrents of Spring in 1926 and continued to publish him for the rest of his career.

Hemingway, Ernest The Sun Also Rises (NY, 1926).
1st edition, 1st printing. 5090 printed. Near fine in near fine 1st state dustjacket with small edgetears, tiny nicks at the corners but a sharp and rare jacket, still awfully pretty and it's never been repaired or restored. 70,000

One of the 2 dominating modern American 1st editions (Gatsby's the other) that show up on virtually every 20th century want list.

Hesse, Herman Das Glasperlenspiel [The Bead Game] (Zurich, 1943).
1st edition of Magister Ludi (in German). 2 vols. There are 2 states of the 1st edition on thicker and thinner paper of which this is the former with no priority known to me. Fine in near fine dustjackets and most sets are like a well chewed pen top. A wartime production of Hesse's final novel, an overpowering performance in futuristic fiction acknowledged with a Nobel Prize for Literature in 1947. A consciousness expanding read, intellectually thrilling in both concept and implementation, but you should probably read it in English and definitely skip the introduction. 1000

Huxley, Aldous Brave New World (London, 1932).
1st edition. Deluxe, limited issue one of 324 numbered copies signed by Huxley. Fine, clean, unfaded and unworn, and the yellow cloth is particularly prone to soiling and fading. Ordinary copies are always around at half our price but ordinary copies are more common than extra packets of ketchup. 6,500

The prototype dystopia. Huxley knew that there had always been and always would be two dangers for the world, order and disorder and he stated that the original idea for Brave New World was to challenge H. G. Wells' utopian vision. The ironic title is from Shakespeare's The Tempest. The setting is 600 or so years in the future. Genetic engineering, reinforced by lifelong conditioning, makes people accept their inescapable social destiny. Physical pain and old age have been abolished and the Freudian dangers of family life are eradicated by the abolition of all emotional attachment, love reduced to sex and passion to drugs. Babies are bred in bottles in uniform batches, each equipped for their part, no more, no less, in the industrial structure. The threat comes from the necessary intelligence of the upper caste, a final elitist revolt against order and inevitable expulsion from Eden. It takes time to ruin a world but time is all it takes.

An amalgamation of the major "Books of the Century" lists, finds Brave New World ranked as the 6th most important novel published in the last hundred years, behind only, Ulysses, Gatsby, Grapes of Wrath, 1984 and Catch-22. a guarantee of legs.

"But I like the inconveniences."
"We don't," said the Controller. "We prefer to do things comfortably."
"But I don't want comfort. I want God, I want poetry, I want real danger, I want freedom, I want goodness, I want sin."
"In fact," said Mustapha Mond, "you're claiming the right to be unhappy."
"All right then," said the Savage defiantly, "I'm claiming the right to be unhappy." -page 283

Irving, Washington The Sketch Book Vol.I (London, 1820).
1st edition, preceded only by a serialization in parts (no complete 1st state set of the parts at auction in the 20th century). The equivalent American book edition was not published until 1824 and bound copies of the American parts offered as 1st editions are unlikely to be the 1st printing as the parts were reprinted many times between 1819 and 1824 with the distinctions between the editions being in the wrappers and ads and correct wrappers and ads are precisely what is missing from rebound copies. Contains 16 tales including Rip Van Winkle, the oldest of all American stories still being read for fun (the only objective test for greatness in a work of fiction). A beautiful, tall, widely margined copy, complete with both blanks and all 12 half-titles. Contemporary straight grain morocco, esthetically blind tooled, gilt titled, silk endpapers, a few spots on back cover, the spine neatly and harmoniously rebacked, but a handsome binding of high quality with a clean text, unusual for this vintage. There were 2 sequels, The Sketch Book Vol. II, a few month later (which included The Legend of Sleepy Hollow) and Tales of a Traveler, 1824, but this is the original collection of the author's purely American stories and this is the very book that was the first from the new world to find wide popularity in Europe. And besides importance and exceptional, contemporary, condition, this edition is a scarce one with no copy, in any condition, at auction in the last 10 years. 2000

Jordan, Michael His Own Air Jordans (Nike, 1992).
His Airness', game flown, black Nike basketball shoes from his 1992 MVP Championship Playoffs (he wore white Nikes during the regular season). Both shoes are neatly signed in silver ink. Fine condition. Talk about your jerseys and jockstraps all you want, this guy's famous for his shoes and this venerable pair were worn in a victorious playoff run to his second N. B. A. championship. 7500

Lewis, Sinclair Babbitt (NY, 1922).
1st edition, 1st printing. A novel defining "hope" as the feeling you have that the feeling you have isn't permanent. Contemporary signed and inscribed presentation copy. The book is fine. The fragile 1st state dustjacket (printed on unusually thin paper) is bright and crisp and has never been repaired and this is a nearly fine jacket marred only by 1 small chip, 1 short tear and light shelfwear at the extremities. Fine full morocco case. 11,000

Madonna Cry Baby by Madonna Ciccone.
Madonna's holograph manuscript of Cry Baby from the album I'm Breathless and the film Dick Tracy. The complete lyrics, 35 lines in black ink, with 4 corrections, crowded onto a single side of a 8" X 17" sheet assembled by taping 2 pieces of paper together. A working or concert draft. Fabulously and archivally framed with an equally fabulous printed color photo, autographed in blue ink, "Love, Madonna." How do you define Goddess? The Material Girl is America's dominant independent businesswoman selling more albums, cassettes and CDs than any female artist in the history of music (that does it for me). 6000

"My guy is such a wet noodle, he's always teary eyed,
He acts like a real cock-a-doodle, can't even tell you why,
If you just play him a sappy song, he acts like his doggie just died,
He's just a cry baby guy."


Malory, Thomas The Boys' King Arthur (London, 1880).
1st English edition of what is essentially the modern King Arthur. 1st issue with verso of title page blank and April, 1880 ads. 12 illustrations by Alfred Kappes. Probably preceded by Scribners' edition the same year. That said, this London edition is 10 times scarcer. Fine electric blue cloth, elaborately decorated in black and gilt, edges gilt, a thick and heavy octovo destined to die and copies are now seldom seen, almost never in fine condition. The title, indicating an edition for children, is an inaccuracy. The 1634 edition (the 6th and earliest available) was modernized to Jacobean standards but the next editions (the 7th and 8th) were not until 1816 and they, like the subsequent 19th century editions before this one, faithfully followed the text of the 1634. The editing here (by American poet Sidney Lanier) addresses modernization of the language but little of the original is removed and this is the telling that has persevered and the edition that is now most widely read, often reprinted and frequently quoted.750

Melville, Herman Moby-Dick (NY, 1851).
1st American edition, 1st binding of Melville's twisted and layered epic novel. Gray-green cloth (no priority for cloth color). A sharp, bright, attractive and clean copy and perfect Moby-Dicks seem not to exist. A few tiny specks of wear at the extreme edges ever so carefully strengthened with the lightest touch, front endpaper skillfully restored closing the inner paper hinge from underneath, foxing to preliminary pages but the text has only an occasional spot, remarkable for Moby-Dick as heavily foxed copies are more common than Starbucks (the coffee houses not the sailor) and owning a foxed copy will annoy you like an ingrown toenail. The auction record provides a dose of American realism. The best in the last 25 years was Parsons-Garden (black cloth), sharp enough and clean inside but marred by a tear to the top of the spine and splits along the joints at the time of Parson's sale ($5500 in 1976), these faults combining to create a hefty chip during the Garden preview, that is, after the catalog description was written and the photograph taken ($17,600 in 1987). More sound externally, was Bradley Martin's (purple cloth), unworn but severely faded on the spine, and generously foxed throughout ($30,800 in 1990) and none comparable have sold since. Melville wrote Moby-Dick but Moby didn't write back. The slow selling American 1st printing was less than 3000 copies A publisher's warehouse fire in 1853 destroyed those that were unsold, and the public seems not to have missed them. "Write down to your readers," said his publishers. The failure harpooned Melville. Faced with pandering to the masses or failing as a commercial author, he sailed to his genius. His career waned and he died in obscurity, impoverished, alone, bitter and forgotten. And he stayed forgotten until he was rediscovered in the 1920s, surely the major rediscovery in the history of American Literature. Ex-Beaumont, possibly William Beaumont (1785-1853), the American surgeon, who wrote Experiments and Observations on the Gastric Juices and the Psychology of Digestion (1833), the most significant contribution to the study of gastric digestion in the history of medicine. Fine full morocco case. 40,000

(Mozart, Wolfgang Amadeus) The Abduction from the Seraglio (Mainz, 1785).
Handwritten musical manuscript in German. The complete opera, 202 folio pages (both sides), in ink. The copyist is not identified but this is a very early example, in a fine late 18th century calligraphy, probably copied out from the 1st printing for one of the initial performances. Cues for the dialogue are included suggesting that this was a singer's score. Mozart (1756-1791) was 27 years old and at the absolute height of his powers when he finished the Seraglio (the Turkish Harem) in 1782. It was the consequence of a personal longing to write an opera in German and it has always been acclaimed as one of his great feats. Original gray boards (worn but sound), holograph title page and text, blanks and endpapers, a bit soiled, minor marginal tears but a thrilling survivor in its original unrestored state. Rare. Contemporary, complete Mozart opera manuscripts are seldom for sale. You say you want one written in his own handwriting? The last piece from this opera at auction actually in Mozart's hand was a tiny fragment (2 pages from the libretto) and sold for £94,000 ($190,000 with the buyers premium) at Sotheby's London, Dec. 6, 1991, the days of yore before the current generation of dot com millionaires were around to bid up prices. Ex-Richard Wagner the German composer (bookplate) a reassuring provenance. Low hanging fruit, waiting to be picked. 27,500

(Picasso, Pablo) Faunes et Nymphes (Geneva, 1952).
1st edition, 1st issue. No. 2 of only 25 signed by Picasso. Fine in fine, original glassine dustjacket. Andre Verdet's study of the sculptures by Picasso that he never sold and kept for himself in his garden. The signed issue is rare with no copy at auction in the last 20 years. Need more? No copy was known to, or listed in, Cramer (the bibliography of Picasso's books). 4500

Sewell, Anna Black Beauty (Boston, 1890).

1st American edition, 1st state with the 1890 Preface. 2nd binding of printed wrappers preceded by copies in boards and followed by copies in cloth, some of which were issued well into 1891. A fine copy, without any faults. The binding could hardly be more fragile and the condition could hardly be more flawless. 1500

A monumental classic but more importantly, a prototypical piece of propaganda that influenced (and continues to influence) a softer attitude towards horses in particular and animals in general.

Steinbeck, John Tortilla Flat (NY, 1935).
1st edition, 1st printing. The Nobel Prize winner's fourth book and first success. Wrappers bound into the pictorial dustjacket, probably the 1st issue as well as the 1st binding, though the extrapolated facts and bibliographical references are less than convincing about whether this is an advance issue of 1st edition sheets primarily for review or a published issue actually sold to the public. What is sure is that there were just 500 copies in wrappers and jacket from a total 1st printing of 4,500. Fine, with none of the usual spine tanning or fading. Not a rare book (despite the small printing), but it is so in this condition. 6500

Stevenson, Robert L. A Child's Garden of Verses (London, 1886).
1st edition. Many times the rarest of 2 bindings, this one with an apostrophe that actually looks like an apostrophe rather than a "7". A fine, bright copy in original cloth, untouched, unrubbed, unmarked, unfaded and unworn. 1000 printed. Nice but not fine copies are always out there at half our price but those in this condition are 10 times as rare and copies in this binding are themselves, an additional 10 times as rare so you're getting as much as can be expected for the 2 times price premium. 7500

Stowe, Harriet B. Uncle Tom's Cabin (Boston, 1852).
1st edition 2 vols. A superlative set in original cloth, rare enough in such condition but there's more. This set is in olive green cloth, the rarest of 4 colors in which the trade binding was issued, 100 times rarer than the usual brown. 1st printing with only Hobart & Robbins imprint on the copyright page (Rand's imprint was added for the 2nd printing), Jewett's imprint on the spines and all 18 text points as per BAL 19343. The 1st printing was 5000 copies all of which were sold in 4 days and quickly read to death. 300,000 more were sold within a year. The condition is optimum for Uncle Tom and despite a few, minute, specks of wear at the extreme spine tips, this set is unmarked, unchipped, unbumped, unsoiled, neither mishandled nor abused, internally as clean as new fallen snow with perfect endpapers, no foxing and it has never been touched by the restorer. Fine copies are stubbornly elusive and not even a single set in olive green was seen by B.A.L. who, despite an exhaustive search of American institutional libraries, notes only copies in printed tan wrappers, trade cloth of brown, black and purple and deluxe cloth of black and light blue for the 1st edition. No olive green copy recorded at auction, ever, and I've not seen another set in the trade or in a private collection. Fine full morocco case. 22,000

Arguably, the most important of all American novels, certainly the only one that changed history. 140 years ago, President Lincoln called Stowe, "The little lady who started the war." Printing and the Mind of Man #332 noting, "The social impact of Uncle Tom's Cabin on the United States was greater than that of any book before or since." And it's the only American novel included, in P. M. M. an unavoidable choice despite the selection committee's goofy Eurocentric prejudice against American books in particular and fiction in general (drug-test these elitists). Add it up. A novel of potent significance in its rarest binding and earliest issue and despite its fragility, it's even in beautiful, unrestored condition.

Tolkien, J. R. R. Farmer Giles of Ham (London, 1949).
1st edition. Signed in full. Fine in fine dustjacket. 3500

Twain, Mark The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (London, 1876).
1st edition, preceding the American edition by 6 months and many times more rare. A fine copy. To be fastidious, there are tiny points of rubbing at the corners and spine tips but this is a transcendent copy, the cloth is bright and beautiful, the hinges are sound the text is pristine and it's never been touched by the restorer. Copies show up at auction about once every 25 years (the last one, a half dead copy with a full complement of faults, brought $12,000). Fine full morocco case. The gift of a genius to the American centennial and 6 months priority is enough to secure the status of this edition forever.

The American edition has recently become a very scarce book, the London edition has always been rare and known to precede. Comes with the Huck Finn below but Tom Sawyer is 90% of the value.

[with]

Twain, Mark The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (London, 1884).
1st edition, preceding the American edition (1885) by 3 months. A fine copy. Fine full morocco case.

The sequel to Tom Sawyer and the greatness of Mark Twain is that the follow-up was even better than the original and this in a world where two leaps per chasm is always fatal.

Together: 2 vols. 50,000

The finest set I've seen. Ownership will be a triumph.

Voltaire, Francois Candide (Geneva, 1759).
1st edition (in French), the impossibly rare 1st issue preceding the 16 other editions published in 1759. A fine copy, bound with Tableau du Siecle, also Geneva, 1759, in contemporary (original?) full French calf, spine elaborately decorated in gilt, a spectacular survivor that's not been rebacked. Small tear to corner of A4 and margin of D7 and a bit of shelfwear to the base of the spine all strengthened but these are the only faults and the binding's gorgeous and the text fresh beyond reason and complete as issued, save for the instructions to the binder and blank (meant to be discarded). This is way the finest copy of the genuine Candide from among the 2 or 3 that have been sold in the last 20 years. P . M . M . #204, one of only a dozen or so novels cataloged with the greatest books from the mind of man. 60,000

Candide, in its authentic 1st edition is among the very rarest of all the major classics and a copy this fine is once in a lifetime. Analysis of the various 1759 editions (including numerous editions in French that look very much like the 1st) has only recently determined that this one, published by the Cramers in Geneva, is indeed the 1st and this copy has all the myriad of correct points necessary to identify and distinguish it.

The model tour de force, a timeless satire on the follies and vices of men and women, particularly those who would believe that "all is for the best in this best of all possible worlds." Through the outrageous misadventures of his hero, Voltaire first undermines, then explicitly disproves this naive theory utterly, shedding a sharp light on man's grossness, his cupidity and his stupidity as well as taking to task all of man's most prized institutions: science, philosophy, religion, government and romance. And though Candide is an attack on philosophical optimism, it is not a pessimistic novel. At the end it just implies that work is both preferable to vain speculation and the antidote to man's unhappy lot or as Chekhov observed a century later, if everyone did all he was capable of, on his own plot of land, it would be a wonderful world.

Woolf, Virginia To the Lighthouse (London, 1927).
1st edition. Fine in a fresh and beautiful dustjacket with invisible strengthening at the folds and edges and your hallucination of another copy, this nice at this price, has been left by the 1st edition fairy under your pillow at book collector fantasy camp. 12,000

Cited on Connolly's 100 Key Books in the Modern Movement. Stephen Spender said of it, "She was trying to do something different, especially with time …a new way of writing a book was simply a new way of looking at life." He compared the quality of her writing with that achieved by musicians in exploring varying harmonies of a primary melody, the initial strain sometimes seeming lost while "depths far beyond the character of the original theme" are explored. Whatever the aim, the result was a novel built up through a subtle network of perceptions and haunted ethereal beauty, and filled with well defined characters culled from her childhood, a plot dominated by absence, a ghostlike narrator who simply watches time pass, mysterious creations of love and death, exploration of the conflict between the male and female principles, a delicate balance between formal elaborations and narrative continuity, imagery at its most assured, and immediate impact on both the critics and the public as well as lasting impact on her fellow writers and those of three generations that followed.

Woolf, Virginia To the Lighthouse (NY, 1927).
1st edition of 4,000 copies, published the same day as the London edition of 3,000 copies. Near fine, some foxing to the first and last few pages in a near fine dustjacket that has a pair of 3/8" edgetears. 5500

Wouk, Herman The Caine Mutiny (Garden City, 1951).
1st edition. Pulitzer Prize winning WW II classic. Fine in fine, bright, unworn, 1st issue dustjacket. 2000