A Pale View of the Hills

London: Faber & Faber, 1982

FIRST EDITION of Ishiguro's highly acclaimed first novel. Winner of the 1982 Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize. LONDON: FABER & FABER, 1982. Octavo, original cloth, original dust jacket; custom half-morocco box. Book fine, a touch of fading to dust jacket spine, otherwise fine. A beautiful copy.

$1,500

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A Dictionary of the English Language

The sixth edition and first (authorized) quarto edition. The text is based on Johnson's revised fourth edition of 1773. “The [1785] quarto is set in three columns, with rather heavy column rules. The original folio design is followed, except that all the illustrative quotations are set in small type, and the differentiation of verse from prose quotations by the use of a deeper indent is not observed... the 1785 design combines clarity with relative compactness.” –Paul Luna, Anniversary Essays on Johnson’s Dictionary Two volumes. Quarto, contemporary tree calf expertly rebacked preserving the original spine; spine elaborately gilt (in six compartments with red and black leather labels), marbled endpapers. Some foxing to portrait and title of volume I, some occasional spotting, generally clean.

$2,500

The Bluest Eye

FIRST EDITION, SIGNED AND INSCRIBED on front free endpaper: "To John / Love, gratitude - all of that. / Toni / 11.5.70". Inscribed to and from the library of John A. Williams, with his signed card laid-in. The recipient, John Alfred Williams, is a noted African-American writer and academic. Octavo, original half-cloth over boards, original dust jacket.; custom half-morocco box. Book fine, some toning to edges and spine of dust jacket. An outstanding inscribed association copy of the rare first edition.

$7,200

Hudibras. The First and Second Parts

FIRST COMBINED EDITION. "Its distinctive octosyllabic couplets and MOCK-HEROIC style gave rise to the term 'Hudibrastics'. It was immensely popular in its time for its satire (partly inspired by Cervantes and Rabelais) against Puratinism and the tyranny of the Commonwealth." – The Cambridge Guide to Literature in EnglishOctavo. Perfunctory calf binding, title remargined at inner hinge, cropped somewhat close at top of text block, scattered early and elegant marginal annotations in ink. A sound copy.

$250

I, Claudius

FIRST EDITION of Graves' remarkable work of historical fiction. "In the present work, I swear by the Gods, I am my own mere secretary, and my own official annalist: I am writing with my own hand, and what favour can I hope to win from myself by flattery?" –I, ClaudiusOctavo, original cloth, original dust jacket.

$450

Der Tod in Venedig [Death in Venice]

FIRST TRADE EDITION, one of only 2000 copies.In 1912, Mann "returned to the tragic dilemma of the artist with Death in Venice, a sombre masterpiece. In this story, the main character, a distinguished writer whose nervous and 'decadent' sensibility is controlled by the discipline of style and composition, seeks relaxation from overstrain in Venice, where, as disease creeps over the city, he succumbs to an infatuation and the wish for death. Symbols of eros and death weave a subtle pattern in the sensuous opulence of this tale, which closes an epoch in Mann’s work" (Roy Pascal, Britannica).Preceded by the extremely rare deluxe limited edition of 100 copies from 1912.Octavo, publisher's half-vellum binding with blue paper spine label lettered in gilt; marbled paper-covered boards, top edge gilt. Toning and soiling to spine; small stain to outer edge of text block.

$3,200

La Septieme face du de

FIRST EDITION. “In Hugnet’s photocollages, and notably in his book La Septième Face du dé, composed of twenty poèmes-découpages, truncated limbs proliferate – female legs detached, crossed, spread-eagled, legs juxtaposed with large breasts or seashells, or multiple legs forming a rosace shape… The mechanism of duplication (or multiplication), characteristic of Hugnet’s collages, does in fact transform the body into fetishistic fragments, which are explicitly encoded as simulacra in the schematic outline which reduces the body to a flat disembodied sign of femininity” –Elza Adamowicz, Surrealist Collage in Text and Image: Dissecting the Exquisite CorpseFolio. 20 black and white photo-collages, some with colour, printed on white paper. Original pale-green card covers, designed by Marcel Duchamp, sewn in Japanese style with black thread. Near-fine, slightest rubbing at extremeties. Custom box.

$15,000

Poems Chosen out of the Works

FIRST KELMSCOTT PRESS EDITION, ONE OF ONLY 250 COPIES ON PAPER (from an edition of 258). The Kelmscott Press "was far and away the most splendid of all private presses... quite without a peer." -Colin Franklin, The Private Presses Beautifully printed in red and black in Golden type. Exquisitely illustrated by William Morris with woodcut title page, first page (borders), and decorated initials throughout. Hammersmith: Kelmscott Press, 1895 [issued 1896]. Small quarto, original limp vellum, yapp edges, gilt spine title, green silk ties; uncut. One tie loose, else fine.

$3,500

Letters of T.E. Lawrence of Arabia

First edition, first state with "T.E.L." at p. 495 and "Baltic" at p. 182. With 16 photographs and illustrations including 4 maps of which two are folding.Octavo. Original fawn polished buckram in publishers original dust jacket. A very good copy; dust jacket bright and well preserved with light soiling at spine folds. A very attractive copy.

Dr. Seuss's ABC

"Aunt Annie's alligator. . . . . . . A . . a . . A"FIRST EDITION, FIRST ISSUE. Near fine or better in an exceptionally bright, unclipped dust jacket. A superb copy.

$400

Romanarum historiarum [Greek]

EDITIO PRINCEPS of Appian's histories of the various Roman wars from the earliest times to the campaigns of Trajan. Folio. 18th-century calf recently rebacked. Title leaf laid down and repaired; lower blank corners of last four leaves repaired (not affecting text). Greek type; Estienne's basilisk device as Royal Greek Printer on title; foliated and grotesque Greek initials with matching headpieces. An attractive copy.

$4,500

The Twenty-Seventh City

FIRST EDITION, SIGNED BY FRANZEN on front free endpaper. Jonathan Franzen’s first novel has been compared to Richard Powers, David Foster Wallace, and Don DeLillo “for its labyrinthine plot, its manipulation of multiple viewpoints, and its use of systems theory” (ibid.). Octavo, original half-cloth over boards. original dust jacket. Book near-fine with slight lean, dust jacket fine.

$250

Blood for a Stranger

FIRST EDITION of Jarrell's first book, SIGNED and INSCRIBED BY JARRELL.Octavo. Original red cloth, original dust jacket. Cloth clean, dust jacket very good with minor wear at spine heel and slight toning at spine. Signed and inscribed by Jarrell on the front free endpaper. Custom cloth clamshell box.

$1,200

Ishiguro, Kazuo