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  • Topic: Early 20th Century Literature
Matches 1-20 of 25
A Very Good or better copy of Enid Blyton's first book, 24 pages in pumpkin-colored stapled wrappers. Tiny split to the spine's bottom and light handling soil. The staples have, of course, rusted, but the rust has had almost no effect on the pages. Prior owner's name to upper front wrapper and prior seller's pencil notes on the first page. The debut book of one of the Twentieth Century's most popular and successful children's story tellers, and one of the world's most translated authors (into 90 or more languages) whose books have sold over a half-billion copies. A "must-have" for the Enid Blyton or children's book collector. A very nice copy of ENID BLYTON'S SCARCE FIRST BOOK.
Child Whispers [Enid Blyton's First Book]
Blyton, Enid
London: J. Saville & Co., 1922.
Price: $1,750.00
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A Very Good or better copy (light fading to the spine, minor shelf wear, prior owner's bookplate and evidence of removal of another item to the ffep, hinges solid and uncracked) of the First American edition of George Orwell's debut book, lacking the rare dust jacket. Autobiographical in nature, the book describes Orwell's own experiences in Paris and London, where he held low wage jobs and often lived as a tramp, and presents the poverty in the great capitals of France and England. At least twice rejected by British publishers (including by T. S. Eliot who was then an editorial director at Faber & Faber), the book was finally accepted for publication by Gollancz, subject to the removal of a bit of bad language and some identifiable individual names. Gollancz published the book in January, 1933 and Harper & Brothers published it in June of that year. A Very Good copy of the First American Edition of George Orwell's relatively uncommon debut book.
Down and Out in Paris and London
Orwell, George
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1933.
Price: $450.00
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First edition. Very Good plus (with a bit of sunning to the edges of, and a few light areas on, the red cloth and with some light shelf wear) in near fine dustwrapper [lined-with a single piece of tape fixing the lining to the dustjacket] that is rather lightly soiled and which has some chipping at the head of the spine and several minor nicks and tears. There is some residue/staining on the inside edges of the dustjacket and on the free endpapers. There is also a stamp and handwrittten note indicating that this copy was once in a library, but there are no card pockets, stamps or other ex-library indicia. All in all, this is a nicer than usual copy of this Pulitzer Prize winner (an installment in Upton Sinclair's Lanny Budd series). Copies with their dustjackets are becoming increasingly scarce and this dustjacket is more vibrant (and has less fading) than others. Photos available upon request.
Dragon's Teeth
Sinclair, Upton
New York: Viking Press, 1942.
Price: $1,075.00
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THIS ITEM IS AVAILABLE AT A 30% DISCOUNT. A Very Good or better copy (minor age toning, three horizontal fold lines-from having been folded twice, minor edge wear, just a bit of foxing) of the first printing (8 7/16" x 6") of this Jack London Broadside wherein Jack London sets forth the great factors of his literary success. A facsimile signature of London is printed at the bottom. A nice copy of an extremely scarce Jack London item, and, to the best of our knowledge, Jack London's only Broadside. SCARCE.
Eight Great Factors of Literary Success
London, Jack
(1916).
Price: $1,850.00
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A Near Fine book in a Very Good and uncommon dust wrapper. Second state of the binding. A very nice copy of this book about a scoundrel of a preacher which, decades after the book was published, was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Burt Lancaster. This is a rare copy SIGNED on the ffep by Lewis (below which someone apparently has erased some prior writing). The covers have very minimal wear and hinges are uncracked. The orange on the cover and spine is complete and has only the slightest wear (in a couple of places the orange overlaps small portions of the lettering). The uncommon and unsophisticated dust wrapper (corners clipped, apparently by the publisher, but not price clipped) has some chipping and folds (with a large chip to the upper left corner of the rear side) and some white spots (cause unknown) to most of the length of the spine's center. A title not usually found SIGNED by Lewis.
Elmer Gantry
Lewis, Sinclair
New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1927.
Price: $2,500.00
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A Very Good or better copy (spots of edge wear, light marking and a small indentation to the front board, prior owners name seemingly reverse embossed to ffep with shadow indentation to half title) in a Near Fine dust jacket (minor soiling, one flap corner clipped and with a small blue stamp, but the jacket is not price clipped). The book is difficult to find in jacket and this is quite simply the brightest and most vibrant dust jacket that we have ever seen on this title. This unsophisticated dust jacket is, in spite of a little soil, bright and unchipped. The lettering is crisp and the front panel has not fallen prey to the surface rubbing often seen (when the dust jacket is seen at all). A quite attractive copy.
Hearts of Three
London, Jack
New York: Macmillan, 1920.
Price: $3,950.00
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A Fine copy of the first American edition of this famed Virginia Woolf novel, lacking the rare dust jacket. This copy has only minute rubbing to the board corners and spine tail and is virtually unsoiled and unworn, with only a bit of age darkening to the top of the page block, prior owner's signature to the ffep. The spine is, perhaps, a little lightened, but, if so, then hardly so at all. The variant spine label has two tiny rubs. Altogether a beautiful, fresh copy of a book not often found in this condition.
Jacob's Room
Woolf, Virginia
New York: Harcourt Brace and Company, 1923.
Price: $550.00
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A 20% DISCOUNT IS AVAILABLE ON THIS BOOK. PLEASE INQUIRE FOR DETAILS. A Very Good + copy (common darkening to spine cloth and to gilt at top of page block, slight rubbing to front board medallion, spots of foxing to page block, pages age toned with light foxing) in a Near Fine (some minor edgewear and chipping, spine darkened with tiny hole and lettering and decoration faded but legible) EXTREMELY RARE DUST JACKET. A remarkable find. Only 3 other copies in the dust jacket have appeared at auction over the last 40 years, none with a dust jacket nearly as nice as this one. Copies of Kipling's best works in the dust jacket are rather uncommon. Copies of "Kim", his masterpiece, in the dust jacket are rare indeed. A nice copy of Kipling's great work, in the wonderful and EXTREMELY RARE DUST JACKET. A remarkable survival and a collection-distinguishing copy for the Kipling collector as well as for any collector of 20th Century Literature. RARE.
KIM [IN THE RARE DUST JACKET][Discount Available. See description below.]
Kipling, Rudyard
London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1901.
Price: $6,625.00
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A nice photograph of Jack London, presumably at Beauty Ranch, fencing with Spiro Orfans. Orfans, a Greek immigrant, was a painter and a socialist friend of Jack London's who turned to carpentry to earn a living, without great results. Charmian viewed him as a hanger-on at the Ranch, one of many which Jack London allowed there, whose presence Charmian resented and Jack defended. The photograph measures approximately 61/2 inches x 5 inches. On the back is written in pencil, in a small, neat hand "Spiro Orfans-Jack London" and the back of the photo is also stamped "Not to be reproduced / without permission of / The Jack London Estate. A very nice photograph of Jack London, not a mere portrait photograph, but a photograph showing London at play and living the sort of life he lived.
Original Photograph
London, Jack [Photograph]
No Date.
Price: $275.00
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First UK Edition in the publisher's original blue cloth with painted lettering to the front board and spine and in better than very good condition. The book has 12 full-page illustrations from drawings by T. M. R Whitwell. There is some minor spotting to the page edges and the extremities are very lightly rubbed. The front board also has some bubbling. The cover and spine illustrations have only a bit of scratching and are quite nice and complete. All in all, this is a very nice copy of this book.
Psmith Journalist
Wodehouse, P. G.
London: A. & C. Black, 1915.
Price: $1,000.00
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A difficult to find complete set of Proust's epic for which he is considered a pioneer of the modern novel. Eleven volumes published by Chatto & Windus and by Alfred A. Knopf, London. All but Time Regained were translated by Scott-Montcrief (Time Regained having been translated by Stephen Hudson). These first English translations were published from 1922 through 1931, inclusive, and complete sets of the 11 volumes (considered by Proust to be eight Parts) are difficult to find. Each volume is bound in the publisher's blue cloth (with some slight variation in hue) with gilt printing to the spine, and all are in Very Good ++ to Near Fine condition. The Sweet Cheat Gone has a black line on a portion of the spine and Volume One of The Guermantes Way has a dark spot to the spine. Other than that, the volumes have very litter wear and are in Near Fine condition. (No dust jackets.) Specifically, the seven titles in eleven volumes were first published thusly: Swann's Way, two volumes, Chatto & Windus, 1922; Within a Budding Grove, two volumes, Chatto & Windus, 1924; The Guermantes Way, two volumes, Chatto & Windus, 1925; Cities of the Plain, two volumes, Alfred A. Knopf, 1929; The Captive, one volume, Alfred A. Knopf, 1929; The Sweet Cheat Gone, one volume, Alfred A. Knopf, 1930; and Time Regained, one volume, Chatto & Windus, 1931.
Remembrance of Things Past: Swann's Way; Within a Budding Grove; The Guermantes Way; Cities of the Plain; The Captive; The Sweet Cheat Gone; Time Regained
Proust, Marcel
London: Chatto & Windus; Alfred A. Knopf, 1922-1931.
Price: $2,000.00
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A Very Good copy (some wear to the spine ends and board corners), INSCRIBED BY LONDON: "Dear Lora: - / you are a brick! / affectionately yours, / Jack London / Glen Ellen Calif., / Oct. 3, 1912." (We have not been able to identify the "Lora" of the inscription.) The inscription may have preceeded the acutal availability of the book to the public and, at a minimum, is contemporary with the issuance of the book. Tipped to the front pastedown is an original photograph (with one tear) of London with his beloved step-sister Eliza London Shepherd in nearby Glen Ellen, California. (Eliza superintended London's treasured ranch and her son, Irving, inherited the ranch upon London's death.) The book contains a series of stories joined into a novel format and connected by the reappearing protagonist, Kit Bellew who goes to Alsaka to look for gold and seeks to prove himself to the girl he loves. ("In the beginning he was Christopher Bellew. By the time he was at college he had become Chris Bellew. Later, in the Bohemian crowd of San Francisco, he was called Kit Bellew. And in the end he has known by no other name than Smoke Bellew. And this history of the evolution of his name is the history of his evolution.") A unique copy INSCRIBED BY THE AUTHOR and with the AUTHOR'S PHOTOGRAPH with an important family member.
Smoke Bellew
London, Jack
New York: The Century Company, 1912.
Price: $2,650.00
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Tales of the Fish Patrol (A run of seven issues of Youth's Companion Magazine containing the complete Tales of the Fish Patrol)
London, Jack
1905.
Price: $150.00
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A Near Fine copy (tiny rubs to corners, very light rubs at spine extremities), SIGNED BY JAMES LANE ALLEN. A fine work by this Kentucky-born author.
The Bride of the Mistletoe
Allen, James Lane
New York: The Macmillan Company, 1909.
Price: $75.00
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A Near Fine to Fine copy (prior owner's name neatly penned to front pastedown, two stray marks to ffep, page block a little dust soiled, pages clean and nice) of this important Edith Wharton novel, in a Very Good dust jacket. The book is not common in this condition and the dust jacket is quite scarce, especially in a condition this nice. (The dust jacket is age toned, and has some edge wear, small chips, and short tears, with loss of the "The" at the spine head and a touch of the publisher's name at the spine tail.) Born to wealth and upper-crust society, Wharton wrote of it expertly. "The Custom of the Country" (which borrows its name from the like-named play by John Fletcher and Philip Massinger) tells the story of Undine Spragg (perhaps the worst character name conceived either before or since this novel) whose family, having made money in the West from shady financial dealings, is persuaded by Undine to move New York where she seeks to climb into High Society. An excellent copy in a very good copy of the rare dust jacket. Quite scarce.
The Custom of the Country
Wharton, Edith
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1913.
Price: $3,500.00
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A Very Good copy (gentle wear at extremities, spine ends bumped, lower corner of front board bumped inward, bubbling and a spot of soil to rear board, small impression to edge of front board and corresponding edge of spine-apparently the result of a rubber band or something of the sort, light offsetting to free endpapers from dust jacket as is common) in an about Very Good dust jacket (spine toned, a little handling soil, some small tears, a longer tear to fold of at junction of spine and rear board, small open tear to rear panel at flap fold, some wrinkling to rear panel). The dust jacket has retained its coloring quite well. A nice copy (we've made it sound worse than it is) of the fourth and and final book in Milne's iconic Pooh series.
The House at Pooh Corner
Milne, A. A.
London: Methuen & Co. Ltd., 1928.
Price: $1,150.00
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The Mirror of the Sea
Conrad, Joseph
New York: Harper & Brothers, 1906.
Price: $175.00
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A Very Good (or somewhat better) copy of the first American edition (spine ends pushed, light shelf wear, modest corner bumping) in an about Very Good dust jacket (spine darkened with some chipping at the head and tail and panel edges, a few small spots to front panel, modest rubbing to panel/spine joinder -- please note: the dark spots seen at the base of the spine panel are of the book showing through the chips there), SIGNED BY SIGRID UNDSET on the title page. The book was originally published as "Husfrue" ("The Wife") and is the second installment in Sigrid Undset's famed "Kristin Lavransdatter" trilogy, the work which led to her being awarded the 1928 Nobel Prize in Literature "principally for her powerful descriptions of Northern life during the Middle Ages". Set in 14th Century Norway, the trilogy follows the life of the fictional Kristin Lavransdatter. Though fictional, the trilogy is known for its historical and ethnological accuracy. Signed copies of this work are quite scarce. A Very Good copy, SIGNED BY SIGRID UNDSET.
The Mistress of Husaby
Undset, Sigrid
New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1925.
Price: $600.00
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A Very Good or better copy (mildly canted, some handling soil to the boards, very little shelf wear, and the inevitable scratching to the cover paint) of this high-seas drama, London's protest against the way the American Merchant Marine was being left to founder. London, a lover of the sea, drew on his own experiences in writing this novel. A highly unusual copy which retains virtually all of the spine paint and thus has a much nicer than usual shelf presence. Most copies have lost all of their spine paint and, at best, carry only traces of it. Internally, the hinges are in excellent condition and the frontispiece and other pages are rather bright and clean. All in all, a rather nice copy and in better condition than usually found, retaining virtually all of the spine paint.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
London, Jack
New York: Macmillan and Company, 1914.
Price: $275.00
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A Very Good or better copy (some handling soil to the boards, very little shelf wear) of this high-seas drama, London's protest against the way the American Merchant Marine was being left to founder. London, a lover of the sea, drew on his own experiences in writing this novel. A highly unusual variant copy with brown lettering, and no decoration, to the spine and without either decoration or lettering to the front board. A highly unusual variant copy.
The Mutiny of the Elsinore
London, Jack
New York: Macmillan and Company, 1914.
Price: $375.00
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Matches 1-20 of 25
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