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Dickens, Charles
A Child's History of EnglandLondon: Bradbury and Evans, 1852-53-54. First editions, first issues. Three small volumes (squarish 12mos, roughly 6 by 5 inches). Engraved frontispiece in each volume, marbled edges and endpapers.
Volume I: England from the Ancient Times, to the Death of King John.
Volume II: England from the Reign of Henry the Third, to the Reign of Richard the Third.
Volume III: England from the Reign of Henry the Seventh to the Revolution of 1688.
A brief history of England written by Dickens in the early 1850s and originally published between 1851 and 1853 in Household Words, one of the many publications he edited. The three volumes were first issued one per year about Christmastime in 1851, 1852, and 1853 (with copyright dates for the following year, as was usually the case for December publications) and reprinted several times. Complete sets of all three books in their first edition, first issue are relatively uncommon as a result of the staggered publication.
$2,750
Twain, Mark [pseudonym of Samuel Clemens].
New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, 1885. First printing, earliest cloth issue. A lovely first edition of what is arguably one of the greatest American novels of the 19th century. Huckleberry Finn has a rather complicated printing history and is found in a variety of states.
Three issue points are now considered as definitively identifying the first printing of the first edition, and this copy includes all three: on page [9], the second subheading of Chapter VI reads "Huck decided," which was later changed to "Huck decides"; on page 13, the illustration "Him and another man" is erroneously listed as being on page 88 (it is actually in page 87), and page 57 reads "with the was" instead of "with the saw."
SOLD
Thackeray, William Makepeace
Vanity FairLondon: Bradbury and Evans, 1848. First edition, first issue.
A lovely copy of the first edition, first issue of Thackeray's most famous novel, illustrated by the author. This copy has all the first issue points: the ad for Thackeray's "The Great Hoggarty Diamond", the engraved and printed title pages both bear an 1848 date, the dedication is set in small type, the heading "Vanity Fair" at the beginning of Chapter One is in rustic type, the illustration of Lord Steyne is present on page 336 (it was removed from later printings), and Sir Pitt is incorrectly referred to as "Mr" on page 453.
This copy is further enhanced with an 1857 autograph letter signed by Thackeray to A. Edmonton of the Scottish publishers Edmonton and Douglass regarding financial terms for a lecture. The letter is mounted on paper with the original envelope affixed to the reverse and laid into the front of the book. Fine in a full burgundy morocco binding by Zaehnsdorf with a gilt spine, gilt board edges and turn-ins, brilliant marbled endpapers, and all edges gilt.
$2,400
[More pictures after the jump]
Doyle, Arthur Conan
The Hound of the Baskervilles
London: George Newnes, 1902. First edition. 359 pages.
The first edition of this classic mystery novel featuring the most famous detective in the English language, Sherlock Holmes.
On the black leaf opposite the half-title, a previous owner has tipped in a sheet with Doyle's signature clipped from a letter. The autograph is most certainly a secretarial signature.
A good copy showing wear to the covers, particularly at the lower edge. The cloth is just starting to split at the top hinge and the spine is slightly cocked. A bookplate is on the front paste-down..
$1,250
Seuss, Dr. [pseudonym of Theodor Geisel]
How the Grinch Stole ChristmasNew York: Random House, (1957). First edition in first issue dust jacket.
A scarce first printing of one of the great Christmas books of our time, made into a beloved holiday television special narrated to great effect by Boris Karloff.
This copy has all of the first printing points described in Younger and Hirsh's detailed Dr. Seuss bibliography: a list of 13 Dr. Seuss titles on the last text page of the book, an advertisement for "The Cat in the Hat" on the back cover, and a dust jacket listing 14 titles on the rear panel.
Very good in illustrated boards, with some minor wear to the edges and a small previous owner's name that has been inked out on the half-title page. in The dust jacket is generally very good with some creasing to the edges and a small bit of loss to at the bottom of the spine. The jacket is price-clipped, but fortunately, this is one of Dr. Seuss books where the price is not the determinant of the first issue jacket. This copy has the correct list of 14 titles on the rear flap. dust-jacket.
$1,500
Clarke, Arthur C.
Interplanetary Flight: An Introduction to AstronauticsLondon: Temple Press, (1950). First edition. Small 8vo. 164 pages.
First edition of the first book by the author of 2001: A Space Odyssey, inscribed to a noted rocket scientist: "To Fred, with all best wishes and many happy memories of London, 1951 / Arthur Clarke."
$2,000
[Scan of inscription follows after the jump]
Whitman, Walt
New York: Aventine Press, (1931). First edition thus. 580 pages. Index. Octavo.
Including Sands at Seventy, First Annex, Good-by My Fancy, Second Annex, A Backward Glance O'er Travel'd Roads, and Portrait from Life. An attractive edition of Whitman's poems, a book first published in 1855, and continuously expanded virtually until the author's death in 1892.
Printed on laid paper and bound in full morocco gilt, with decorated edges and spine, and marbled endpapers.
This appears to be a deluxe publisher's binding signed "Maurin" and bound by the "Department of Limited Editions of J. J. Little and Ives Company." Fine, with just the slightest wear to the extremities.
$350
Joyce, James
Ulysses
New York: Random House, 1934. First American edition. 768 pages. Octavo.
This great modernist novel was first published in Paris in 1922, but it was declared obscene in the United States, although the copies of the Paris edition slipped through customs and bootleg editions circulated in literary circles, despite the ban. On December 6, 1933, Judge John M. Woolsey issued a ruling allowing the sale of Ulysses, declaring the book to be "a sincere and serious attempt to devise a new literary method for the observation and description of mankind." As soon as the Woolsey decision was published, Random House pushed its long-planned edition of Ulysses into production.
At the beginning of the book, the publisher appended a short foreword by the attorney who successfully argued the obscenity case, Judge Woolsey's landmark decision easing censorship rules in the U.S. (the Ulysses precedent would apply to other literary works), and a letter from Joyce explaining his difficulties finding a publisher for his novel. These useful historic preliminaries have been dropped from modern editions of Ulysses. A fine copy rebound in three-quarter morocco and marbled paper-covered boards, with a spine in six compartments stamped and decorated in gold.
$800
Chappell, W [illiam].
Popular Music of the Olden Time; a Collection of Ancient Songs, Ballads, and Dance Tunes Illustrative of the National Music of England...
London: Cramer, Beale, & Chappell, (n.d. but late 1850s). First edition.
[Title continues] "...with short introductions to the different reigns, and notices of the airs from writers of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Also a short account of the minstrels."
Two volumes: xx, 384, five plates (one in color); i, [385]-822, errata leaf.
Chappell (1809-88) came from a family of music publishers and had a life-long interest in English folk songs. His Popular Music of the Olden Time begins with the Saxon period and continues through the era of George II (late 18th century), providing historical analysis along with printed music and lyrics to many songs. Of particular interest are his chapters devoted to Robin Hood and Christmas songs. According to the finding aide notes for Harvard University's collection of Chappell's manuscript song transcriptions, the "modern revival of interest in English folk-songs owes much to the work of William Chappell." The book was re-edited in 1893 and republished twice in the 1960s.
This is a lovely set in three-quarter red morocco and marbled paper binding, marbled endpapers, and marbled edges. The volumes are in very good condition, with wear to the marbled-paper boards and shelf wear to the bottom edges. The hinges are sound and the pages show little or no foxing. An exceptional copy of an important work.
$500
2) The name of a rough-and-tumble saloon for loggers located in the building that is now Eureka Books.
3) A monthly list of highlights, oddities, and nefarious findings lifted from Eureka Books' ever-changing inventory.
