1st edition.Fine in gorgeous unrestored dustjacket, all you could ever hope for in a
1911 jacket, but just for due diligence we'll tell you the spine's faded a
shade and there's 1 small tear near the fold but copies in jacket are scarcer
than clocks in casinos.10,000Let's look both ways
before crossing and take a tenuous walk across the rarity thing for a few
comparisons.The golden age of classic,
English language genrenovels
(1885-1919), began with King Solomon's Mines and no copy is known to me in
jacket.The same is true for Jekyll
& Hyde (1886), She (1887), Sign of Four (1890) as well as Well's big four
of Time Machine (1895), Dr. Moreau (1896), Invisible Man (1897) and War of the
Worlds (1898).Having dispatched the
unknowns, 1 copy of Dracula in jacket (1897) survives, now residing forevermore
in the Rosenbach library, just where you might expect it to be.The next level (say, 20 copies or less known
in jacket) includes Dorian Gray (1891), Wizard of Oz (1900), First Men in the
Moon (1901), Kim (1901), Peter Rabbit (1902), The Virginian (1902), Hound of
the Baskervilles (1902), Secret Agent (1907), Wind in the Willows (1908),
Secret Garden (1911), Lost World (1912), Fu Manchu (1913), Valley of Fear
(1914), Tarzan of the Apes (1914), Princess of Mars (1917) and perhaps half a
dozen other similar titles that reign at or near the pinnacle.And by the way, they've all got legs, so get
any of them in jacket that you can, if you can, because you won't get many. real Beatles manuscript[The Beatles]Lovely Rita, Meter Maidby Paul McCartney(1967).McCartney’s handwritten,
working, manuscript (as Beatle) for Lovely Rita from the album Sgt. Pepper’s
Lonely Hearts Club Band.The first
draft, 10 lines in blue and black ink, all on a single side of an irregular
scrap of lined paper (7 1/2" X 5"), torn from a spiral notebook.7 lines are in black ink and these have the
appearance of being Paul’s first concept.3 lines of changes have been added later in blue ink, such as,
"...writing all the numbers in her little black book..." changed to
"...filling in a ticket with her little blue pen..." and still later
recorded as "...filling in a ticket in her little white
book...".Sumptuously matted,
glazed with UV, and framed (gilt) with a color proof photograph of the album
cover, nearly identical, to the published album except there are 2 extra faces
in the crowd (airbrushed out for the final cover), the band instruments have
been passed around, and Paul is down on one knee.And for those of you who are into the visual
thing, this item is seriously gorgeous.Icon Time.255,000"Lovely Rita, Meter Maid,
nothing can come between us,When it gets dark, I’ll tow your
heart away..."Only 1 other draft of
Lovely Rita manuscript is recorded, a later version mostly in the hand of Mal
Evans (assistant to The Beatles), however, this is McCartney's original draft
for this renowned song, and it’s from Sgt. Pepper, the most famous album and
most identifiable commercial product in the history of rock & roll.Rare.The current world record for a rock &
roll manuscript at auction is $1,150,000 for a later draft of All You Need is
Love, followed by $455,000 for a clean draft of Nowhere Man and $249,200 for a
late draft of Getting Better (Sotheby's, Sept. 14, 1995), the days of yore,
during the last wave of occasional availability and before the current
generation of new wave millionaires started thinking how cool (and prescient)
it would be to own an authentic Beatles manuscript.Bellow, Saul The Dangling Man(NY, 1944).1st edition, his first
book.Near fine in near fine jacket (1
tiny tear).Bellow won a Nobel Prize, a
Pulitzer and 3 National Book Awards (the record).Ex-James Dickey, a bearable association.3,750The original Bellow
anti-hero, tormented by the existential dilemma of trying to define himself
with dignity despite life's constant impediments.Now it's the 21st century and Bellow's
principal is a senior citizen, tormented daily and clinging to life solely for
the prospect of collecting all 50 U.S. state quarters.Bellow, SaulThe Adventures of Augie March(NY, 1953).1st edition, 1st
issue.The Nobel laureate's great work,
winner of the 1953 National Book Award.Fine in fine 1st state dustjacket.20 times rarer than an imperfect copy for 4 times the price, and the
$500 cheapie will only be perfect if you have a table with one leg an inch and
a half too short.2,000Augie wants no defining
life role so is swept along by circumstances, refusing any opportunity for a
settled existence.He laughs at himself
as he tells his story, making Augie a memorable hero who suffers some hard
knocks, but as he says, there's an animal in me, "the laughing creature
forever rising up."With Bellow's
Nobel Prize (1976), the Academy cited his, "...human understanding and
subtle analysis of contemporary culture," surely with this book in mind.ex-Arthur A. Houghton Jr.
Boccaccio, Giovanni
The Decameron,Containing An Hundred Pleasant Novels(London, 1620, 1620).
2 vols.1st edition in English of the first work of
modern fiction (not the 1625 reprint with vol. I titled “The Modell”).A wonderful copy, complete with the errata
leaf.Late 19th century full red
morocco, gilt.2 trifling natural paper
flaws and a single small tear repaired, some red underlining removed (invisibly
and without a trace) from a few pages, else fine condition throughout, with
every letter of text absolutely genuine. 32,500Bowles, PaulThe Sheltering Sky(London, 1949).1st edition, his first
book, hotter than a core melt-down.Fine
in a near fine, fresh dustjacket.7,500Before Kerouac could
drive, Ginsberg could howl and Burroughs could write about his junk, Bowles
uncovered Beat Literature with this phenomenal 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 grab a stool for amateur night at the blow-fish bar.Back on the streets, the robust branch of the
beats evolved into the rebellious youth of the 1950s, launched by Brando in The
Wild One, where when asked what he was rebelling against, he answered,
"Whatta ya got?"the greatest set of Tarzan 1st editions ever assembled
Burroughs, Edgar Rice
Complete collection of the Tarzan books,all are 1st editions, all are in dustjacket,all are
signed and inscribed(Chicago, NY and Tarzana, 1914-1947).
An unbroken, 22 volume
run of the Tarzan 1st editions in dustjacket.Each is a signed, presentation copy of estimable association, including
copies inscribed to his publishers, his wife, and more than half to his son,
the person of whom he most often thought while writing these books.Herein Burroughs invents the first
super-hero, an archetypal creation of nobility, strength and
self-reliance.And lying underneath it
all, there’s a reminder, that it’s going to be fun to see how long the meek can
keep the Earth after they inherit it.The individual
inscriptions prove how heavy this is.Tarzan of the Apes is inscribed to his first publisher, Return of Tarzan
is inscribed to his wife, Beasts of Tarzan is to his third publisher, Son of
Tarzan is to his son, Tarzan and the Jewels of Opar is to his wife, Jungle
Tales of Tarzan, Tarzan the Untamed and Tarzan the Terrible are all to his son,
Tarzan and the Golden Lion is his own copy with his bookplate, his ownership
signature and a note, "Do Not Remove From Study," Tarzan and the
Antmen is to his son, Tarzan Lord of the Jungle is to his wife, Tarzan and the
Lost Empire is to A. G. Criswell Smith Jr. a young fan, Tarzan at the Earth's
Core, Tarzan the Invincible, Tarzan Triumphant, Tarzan and the City of Gold and
Tarzan and the Lion Man are all to his son, Tarzan and the Leopard Men is to
Carole Lombard (with Clark Gable's bookplate) and finally, Tarzan's Quest,
Tarzan and the Forbidden City, Tarzan the Magnificent and Tarzan and the
Foreign Legion, are 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 (left out by the publisher and hastily
corrected), and this is the dedication copy, inscribed to his son.Rarity flows deep and condition is
satisfying throughout, including 22 striking dustjackets, all of them the
earliest state, excepting only Return.Some inner paper hinges invisibly strengthened and a few dustjackets
with small tears or chips skillfully restored.Still, it is neither jackets nor completeness but rather meaningful
inscriptions and the closest of associations that set these books apart.Never fully embraced by the academics,
Burroughs created an immortal figure who’s held world wide popularity for 5
generations, as well as a conglomerate to license his perpetuation.No other collection of this stature has ever
been amassed and such a collection is never to be seen again, but 21st century
reincarnations for the cinema will be plentiful, just like those in the 20th
century, as new filmmakers revisit Burroughs' creation of the most famous
fictional character in the entire panorama of American literature.Together:22 vols.250,000the best copy in the worldBurroughs, Edgar
RiceThe Outlaw of Torn(Chicago, 1927).1st edition, revealing
that mortal danger is an effective antidote for fixed ideas.Fine in a flash of a jacket (light edgewear
restored).Signed presentation (half a
page) "To my dear wife..." dated March 4, 1927, 2 weeks after
publication, but he always gave her the first copy he received, remembering
that men know the game, but women keep the score.5,500Historical adventure set
in 13th century Britain, the days of low technology before the invention of
electricity, when real men shaved with a rusty arrowhead and real women filled
their vibrators with angry bees.a flawless copyBurroughs, Edgar Rice The Monster Men(Chicago, 1929).1st edition.Fine in fine dustjacket (looks new).Presentation copy, inscribed to his wife, "To Emma with love from
The Monster Man, Tarzana March 24, 1929,"9 days after publication (the earliest inscribed copy of the few
known).A slickly plotted science
fiction thriller, that revisits the Frankenstein/Doctor Moreau theme, but a new
incarnation of it that's scarier than the beer line at a Raiders game, though
it’s not as scary as Winona Ryder checking out your collection armed with a
shopping bag.9,000Burroughs, William SJunkie(London, 1973).1st hardbound edition of
his first book, preceded by the more common (and overpriced) Ace
paperback.Inscribed to bookseller
Albert Newgarden with a cipher below Burroughs' signature and date.Fine in fine black jacket, prone to wear and
rubbing.2,000The prototype modern
narcotics story but the authors who followed Burroughs (they who got high
sniffing drywall), were not as artistic and seldom as riveting.In a transition that's way too easy, Utah
Park Rangers report they have cut down a 65 foot Oak tree that died last
winter, harvesting the largest collection of dead leaves since the last drug
novel.And if there's any upside to
drugs it's that they've taught 2 generations of American kids the metric
system.Carter, AngelaNights
at the Circus(NY, 1984).1st American
edition.Review copy (printed slip and
hype).Fine in fine jacket.Signed presentation copy to Doris Grumbach,
"For Doris with love from Angela."Carter has additionally signed in full on the title page and Grumbach
has signed the endpaper.Doris Grumbach
was a novelist, professor, essayist, bookseller, editor and reviewer (NY Times
Book Review, Mademoiselle, New Republic, Saturday Review, NPR).350A tribute to young woman
as goddess, but this lively book is no little girl in her mother's pearls.Carter combines realism and surrealism in a
twist of the historical novel wherein magic mocks 19th century events.Fevvers, a baby, is found in a basket of egg
shells and straw on Ma Nelson's doorstep.She is raised as the common daughter of 6 mothers until, at age 14, the
constant itching in her shoulders heralds the breaking out of her wings
(Carter's symbol of female liberty and volition).She matures, working herself through a series
of persecuted employments where she is exploited as a freak and develops some
of the qualities of a confidence woman, finally landing at the Cirque d'Hiver
as "the aerialiste."Here she
becomes the new living myth, applauded around the world by the rich and
powerful.She takes up (but doesn't
consummate with) Walser, a journalist who joins the cirque as a clown to be
near her.A train wreck, between Russian
engagements, separates them in Siberia.He is saved by Olga, an escapee from a grotesque women's prison (a
subplot with another completely original Carter feminist take).Fevvers, hampered by a broken wing, is herself
saved by a wandering male radical whose political group is in league with
Olga's feminist society.In the end,
Fevvers and Walser are reunited. Cervantes, Miguel deDon
Quixote(London, 1755).2 vols.1st edition of Tobias Smollett's
translation.[iv], xxviii, 403 [404];
viii, 466 [467 Errata, 468].Contemporary full calf, deftly rebacked with original spines laid
down.28 engraved plates.Near fine, a beauty, but a common book.Ex-Admiral Duff.3,000remarkably saturated and pointed TLsChandler, RaymondTyped letter, signed(La Jolla, Nov. 1, 1951).2 pages, rectos only, 85
single spaced lines on his personal stationary, 8 1/2" X 11", to Mr.
L Inglis (Aberdeen, Scotland), signed at the end, in ink, "Raymond
Chandler."Accompanied by the
original envelope (stamp removed, flap detached) postmarked La Jolla, Nov. 5th
and Aberdeen, Nov. 8th.The letter fine,
the envelope somewhat worn and stained.5,000On the first page he
writes revealingly about Philip Marlowe and touches on the detective's
psychology."I don't think ...Philip Marlowe, is very much concerned about whether or no he has a
mature mind ... If being in revolt against a corrupt society constitutes being
immature then Philip Marlowe is extremely immature.If seeing dirt where there is dirt
constitutes an inadequate social adjustment, then Philip Marlowe has an
inadequate social adjustment.Of course
Marlowe is a failure and he knows it.He
is a failure because he hasn't any money ... But you must remember that Marlowe
is not a real person.He is a creature
of fantasy.He is in a false position
because I have put him there.In real life
a man of his type would no more be a private detective than he would be a
university don.Your private detective
in real life is usually either an ex-policeman with a lot of hard, practical
experience and the brains of a turtle, or else a shabby little hack who runs
around trying to find out where people have moved to ... the more highly
organized police work becomes, the leaner are the pickings left for the private
operator."Chandler then answers
some of Inglis' questions."You are not annoying me or I would not be writing
to you.""... I wanted to be a barrister but I didn't have
enough money.""So far as I know the cops read my stories and don't
resent them in the least ... I have never been in police business properly
speaking, although at one time I worked ... on an embezzlement case."In turning to Hollywood
he calls the film productions of his books,"... as good as could be expected.My stories are about a man, and no one can
satisfactorily recreate another man's character.I worked on THE LADY IN THE LAKE myself, although
I refused screen credit because I didn't like the final script ... I was almost
entirely indifferent to the story ... and ... the producer ... kept telling me,
and not me him, 'Look, stick to the book a little more.'Practically all the screen work I've done has
been for other films ... but you don't always get your name on the picture and
you don't always want your name on the picture."Near the end he mentions
Dashiell Hammett."... Dashiell Hammett was once a Pinkerton agent,
and I certainly owe a great deal to him, which I have admitted very
publicly.... I can't say that I'm a
friend of his.I only met him once.He had at that time a shocking capacity for
liquor, which I am frank to say I envied as I was never much of a drinker
myself."So here in one fantastic
letter are reflections about the psychological makeup of, musings on, and
defense of Marlowe, his account of his time in Hollywood, thoughts about the
police, as well as alternate careers for both him and Marlowe and a mention of
Dashiell Hammett, on whose shoulders he admittedly stood.Chandler, RaymondThe Lady in the Lake(NY, 1943).1st edition, proving that
some women lick before they bite.Fine
in fine dustjacket marred only by a single 3/8” scratch on the spine (no nicks,
no chips, no tears and no repair).9,500Clancy, TomHunt For Red October(Annapolis, 1984).1st edition of his first
novel.Fine in fine jacket.A book with quite a little history in the
world of hyper-modern 1st editions, being the first of the era, to spike on
publication in a manner that's now an everyday dose of vertigo.Of more lasting significance, Red October is
rare in at leastone way, being that the
film was actually better than the book.This summer Clancy will be honored for his contributions to
literature.That leaves him just 5
months to make a contribution to literature.850among the very rarest classicsof children's literatureCollodi, CarloLe Avventure di Pinocchio(Florence, 1883).1st edition.The most worldly famous fictional work in
Italian literature (with apologies to Dante and Boccaccio).1/4 French calf, marbled boards, bound
without the last page of ads, intermittent foxing or stains, 2 marginal tears,
former owner’s stamp a few times.Frontispiece and 61 other illustrations by Mazzanti.Rare, OCLC and RLIN locate just 7 copies in
institutions, no copy has sold at auction in the last 10 years, few remain in
private hands and copies are seldom in the trade.75,000Psychoanalytical
comparisons of Pinocchio’s wooden nose (that grows when he lies) to male
erections were unintentional by the author, are passé when posed by academics,
and juvenile when imagined by readers, as Pinocchio is as wholesome as a bowl
of cornflakes and somewhat less sexy. historic run of 1st editions(Comics)Classics Illustrated [Classic Comics](NY, 1941- 1969).171 vols. total.1st edition, 1st issue of each title.A complete run (numbers 1-169), plus both
states of Woman in White and folio galley proofs for Arabian Nights.Numbers 1-34 are titled "Classic Comics,"
as originally published before the name was changed to "Classics
Illustrated."Minor corner wear or
specks of rubbing but fine condition no repair.Complete, unrepaired sets of 1st printings in this state of
preservation, have always been rare, and unbuyable at any price in recent
years.In their time, kids read these to
dust, used them for book reports, then replaced them with a reprint ordered
from the publisher, because this was the only series of golden age comics that
were continuously reprinted, and long available by mail.Many titles had 10 or more editions, and were
sold in reprint for 25 years, and each later printing is bibliographically
distinguishable, creating over 1,000 variations of covers, ads, price and text,
but this set is the first state of each title, and perfect on every single
point.Meticulously assembled with care,
and an eye to pride of ownership, by your Octopus, one title at a time over 6
years in the 1980s when such an effort was still possible.The literary establishment hated these from
day one (chickens always dismiss chicken soup), but don’t be distracted.It’s better for your collection to deserve
honor and not have it, than to have honor and not deserve it, and these were a
well conceived trick that actually worked, and a street wise segment of (at
least) 2 generations, were legitimately turned-on to those classics of
fiction.Don Quixote, Jane Eyre,
Treasure Island, Crime and Punishment, Tom Sawyer, Three Musketeers, Christmas
Carol, Moby-Dick, Jekyll and Hyde, Sea Wolf, King Solomon’s Mines, Uncle Tom’s Cabin,
Wuthering Heights, Twenty Thousand Leagues, Count of Monte-Cristo, Call of the
Wild, War of the Worlds, Last of the Mohicans, Poe’s Tales, Scarlet Letter,
Robin Hood, Red Badge, Frankenstein, Ivanhoe, Copperfield, Crusoe, Alice,
Gulliver, Hunchback, Huck, Hamlet, Holmes and 137 others.35,000 Mohican in publisher's boards,uncut and complete with all blanksCooper, James FThe Last of the Mohicans(Philadelphia, 1826).2 vols.1st edition, earliest state with none of the
dropped folios in vol. I mentioned by BAL.Original boards, uncut, rebacked with matching paper spines, a near
fine, intact set, a little foxing but unusually clean, a copy that'll make you
happier than a monkey watching the banana channel.50,000Cooper wrote the first
novel in this Leatherstocking series (The Pioneers) in 1823, but Mohican is the
best of the five, a fundamental classic with a preponderant claim as the
earliest American novel still widely read for recreation.It's set in 1757, during the French and
Indian War, and the historical battles and fictional pursuits that drive the
heroic plotline are enhanced with Native American lore and earnest descriptions
of our now lost wilderness.And there's
call for praise on at least one other level here, as Cooper’s noble savages,
with their deductive analysis of clues during tracking, set a primitive but
essential foundation for Poe's invention of the detective story 15 years later,
and Doyle's creation of Sherlock Holmes in 1887.That said, the literary history of this novel
is a trail littered with sour grapes, even the most respected detractors
withering in their own hostility, ever envious that Mohican is unmatched in the
new world for the length of its enduring popularity (the objective test of a
novel's greatness) among readers willing to suspend their disbelief and modify
their critical objections for a time machine ticket to the northeastern wild of
pre-revolutionary America and 571 pages of rapid action, transcending the
cynics, skeptics, analysts, academics and even other authors who nit pick the
first American thrill ride instead of just giving themselves over to it.in jacketCrane, StephenThe Red Badge of Courage(NY, 1895).1st edition.Fine in near fine (unrepaired)
dustjacket.Crane assaults the notion
that murder is a crime unless it’s done on a massive scale accompanied by the
charge of trumpets.He merges realism,
naturalism, symbolism and impressionism for a psychological portrayal of fear,
tosses out a character that represents all untried men, writes the first modern
war novel, and instigates a pervasive projection into a generation of novelists
that were just being born in 189530,000Crichton, MichaelJurassic Park(NY, 1990).