Search Results: MODERN FIRSTS from Fine Editions Ltd

London: Neville Spearman, 1957. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine-/Fine-. First Impression of the author's first collection of short stories, one of only 2000 copies printed. 8vo: 251,[1]pp. Publisher's crimson paper-covered boards with simulated cloth grain, spine lettered in gilt; strikingly illustrated dust jacket printed in brown and red, priced 13s/6d. About Fine (offsetting to end papers), bright and tight without foxing, stains or inscriptions; about Fine jacket, very lightly rubbed to tips of spine panel. Yet another example of the value to be found in the graphically superior designs of most UK editions of American authors's works. Farmer A2.I.b.1. Originally published in New York, in 1955, as A Good Man is Hard to Find. O'Connor's "position with regard to race relations is a difficult and contentious one. Stories like 'The Artificial Nigger' and 'Everything that Rises Must Converge', which deal explicitly with race, can seem to moralize against racism while themselves rehearsing racist… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Advance Reading Copy. Stiff Wraps. As New. Uncorrected Proof, ARC. 8vo: [10],285,[1]. Publisher's stiff wraps, with cover design by Carol Devine Carson, with publisher's reply card laid in. Signed and dated ("June 2/01") by Bock on title page. As New and unread. Bock's first novel, following the 1998 release of Olympia, a collection of short stories. The Ash Garden follows the stories of three main characters affected by World War Two: Hiroshima bombing victim Emiko, German nuclear physicist Anton Böll, and Austrian-Jewish refugee Sophie Böll. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, carefully preserved in archival, removable polypropylene sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed.

London: William Heinemann, 1928. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine-. Second Impression of this archetype of the espionage novel, a precursor to the works of Ian Fleming, Len Deighton, John le Carre, and Robert Ludlum. Publisher's dark blue linen-grain cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gilt. Without the scarce just jacket. Inscribed twice by Maughan: upside down on the rear end paper (presumably, his first attempt) and on the front end paper, "For Jack From WM." Very slight bubbling of cloth (as often), pages lightly toned, else about Fine. Haycraft-Queen Cornerstone. Stott A37a. Hubin (IV), p.198. Barzun & Taylor 2461. Pronzini & Muller, pp. 567-68 (a "nostalgic glimpse into an intrigue-filled world"). Originally published as short stories, then in this single volume in the guise of a novel, based on Maugham's espionage experiences in the Great War. Alfred Hitchcock adapted two of the stories for his film The Secret Agent. "What is new here is the flat dull tone that later writers so… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1950. First Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Edition (so stated), one of 3,000 copies, of the poet's final collection before his 1954 Collected Poems. Demy 8vo (213 x 138mm): [10],193, [3] pp. Publisher's dark blue V cloth, spine stamped in gold, front cover tsampedn in blimnd with floral device, top edge stained navy blue, fore- and bottom edges rough-trimmed; pionk typographic dust jacket printed in blue-green and priced $3.00. A Fine copy, virtually pristine (jacket's spine panel lightened a degree), tight, square, and clean throughout, apparently unread. Edelstein A14.a.1. Collects 32 poems written between 1947 and 1950 (some previously published in periodicals), including the long title poem (240 lines divided into ten cantos), whose title refers to the Northern Lights; "The Owl in the Sarcophagus," an elegy for Stevens's best friend, Henry Church; "A Primitive Like an Orb," "An Ordinary Evening in New Haven," and "Angel Surrounded by Paysans." Winner of the… Read More

Boston: Marshall Jones Company, 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A superb First Printing of Bligh Bond's prophesies of the Great War, "gathered from automatic writings obtained between 1909 and 1912, and also in 1918, through the hand of John Alleyne." Crown 8vo (195 x 130mm): 134pp. Publisher's grey speckled paper-covered boards elaborately paneled, decorated, and lettered in green repeating design of dust jacket (which is unpriced, with flap corners clipped, as issued). Tightly bound and virtually pristine (likely unread). Somewhat scarce, with Library Hub Discover listing only nine holdings and few copies in commerce. In addition to his practice as an architect and archaeologist, Bligh Bond was a psychical researcher. He joined the Freemasons in 1889, the Theosophical Society in 1895, the Society for Psychical Research in 1902, the Societas Rosicruciana in Anglia in 1909, and the Ghost Club in 1925, and from 1921 to 1926 he was editor of Psychic Science (then named Quarterly… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1931. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine-. First printing (with "A" and Scribner's seal on copyright page) of Wilson's first collection of critical essays, charting the influence of the French Symbolist poets on such revolutionary twentieth-century texts as Joyce's Ulysses and T. S. Eliot's The Waste Land. Crown 8vo (203 x 136mm): [12],319,[1]pp. Publisher's finely woven navy blue cloth, paper spine label printed in black, fore-edge untrimmed; putty grey typographic dust jacket printed in black and priced $2.50. Clamshell case. A truly spectacular example, tightly bound (lightly read, if at all) and spotless throughout. Jacket spine panel darkened a degree or two, else virtually pristine. Modern Movement 71 ("ends with a capital and little known account of the Dada movement by Tristan Tzara"). The introductory essay on Symbolism (tracing its origins in the works of Poe, first translated into French by Baudelaire) is followed by chapters on W. B. Yeats, Paul… Read More

London: Secker & Warburg, 1957. First UK Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Impression of the script for Williams's first original screenplay. Small 8vo: 140pp, with black-and-white stills from the film. Publisher's scarlet V cloth, spine lettered in silver, illustrated dust jacket priced 12s/6d. A Very Fine copy. Crandell A17.I.c. "For a number of years Elia Kazan, the director of several of Tennessee Williams's play on Broadway as well as films, had been urging Mr. Williams to weld into an original film story two of his early one-act plays which were, roughly, concerned with the same characters and situation. And in the summer of 1955, while he was traveling in Europe, Mr. Williams wrote and dispatched to Mr. Kazan a proposed script, quite different from the two short plays. With some changes this was filmed the following winter mainly in the Mississippi rural area which had been the original setting of the two short plays." (from the Publisher's Note). The film, Baby Doll, is the story of a… Read More

New York: Frederick A. Stokes, 1933. First Edition. Pictorial Cloth. Fine. First Printing of this scarce cocktail manual, with chapters describing manners and behavior around drinking, as well as chapter descriptions of cocktails, whisky, gin, brandy, Champagne, beer, etc. 8vo (206 x 136mm): [8],140pp. Publisher's art-deco style salmon-pink and glossy blue pictorial boards, fore-edge rough-cut, top edge stained pink, matching pink end papers. Laid in is a charming bookmark ("Nice girls don't swear") cut in the silhouette of a primly dressed debutante. Virtually pristine example (apparently unread), tightly bound, clean and bright throughout, with no visible flaws. Gabler G41270. Whitaker was the Liz Smith of her day (though she may have demurred), a Los Angeles Times gossip columnist with entrée into Holywood society. This witty guide (Whitaker scorns the home bar,"one of the most deplorable customs that won favor during the Prohibition") was was written to reintroduce post-Prohibition Americans to… Read More

London: The Bodley Head, 1972. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. First Impression of the Irish author's second collection, including "A Choice of Butchers" and "O Fat White Woman." 8vo: 269,[1]pp. Publisher's olive-brown boards, spine lettered in gilt, price-clipped illustrated dust jacket. An excellent example (apparently unread) in a virtually pristine jacket. William Trevor was one of the most acclaimed writers in English of the twentieth century, above all in the short story form (he published eleven volumes). "The Ballroom of Romance" shows Trevor's art "at its most characteristic and best. It concerns Bridie, a woman in rural Ireland, a feature of whose monotonous life is the regular dances at the ballroom, places that were once a familiar part of the country. The night in question will be the last, as Bridie realises in a moment of epiphany that the man she has been waiting for can never be hers. . . . Resignation is seen through the eyes of someone ordinary and left behind by life,… Read More

Boston / New York: Benj. R. Tucker / Thomas Crowell, 1899. Card Covers. Fine-. First American Edition (later printing) of this translation of Tolstoy's fictional account of imagined infidelity followed by brutal murder "that amounts to a tendentious diatribe against sexual passion of any kind." (Literary Encyclopedia) Offered with the sequel [epilogue], published in 1899. Sonata: Foolscap 8vo (168 x 116mm): 143,[1,advertisement for The Rag-Picker by Felix Pyat] pp. Publisher's orange card covers stamped in black. A rare survival of the less common wrappers issue, about Fine, tightly bound and clean throughout. Sequel: First separate American edition. Crown 8vo (188 x 125mm): 155-160pp. Tan stapled card covers printed in black. Absolutely pristine and quite scarce. Line 72. After the Russian censors forbade publication of this novella in 1889, at least three mimeographed versions circulated. The New York Times reported from Russia, "The Kreutzer Sonata is copied and recopied from manuscript by… Read More

London: Jonathan Cape, 1952. First Impression. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A virtually flawless example of the first UK edition of the author's second book, in the stunning red, white, and black wraparound dust jacket, illustrated by Laterka and priced 12s/6d. Fine (and apparently unread) publisher's blue cloth stamped in silver on the spine and upper cover; Fine (hint of rubbing to one end of spine and front flap corners) pictorial jacket. Yet another example of the value to be found in the graphically superior designs of most UK editions of American authors' works (our specialty). N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers Association, and we subscribe to its codes of ethics.).

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons [from 1880], 1887. First Edition. Pictorial Cloth. Fine-. Seldom seen Second Printing (no copy appears in auction records) of this cornerstone of baseball literature. Binding and text duplicate the first printing, excepting date on title page and advertisements (eight pages vs. six in first printing). Crown 8vo (178 x 112mm): viii,[2],188,[8]pp, with tissue-guarded wood-engraved frontispiece. Publisher's pictorial green cloth, front cover stamped in gilt and black with gilt vignette of pitcher framed by baseball diamond, spine lettered and decorated with crossed bats in black and gilt vignette of hitter at bat. An excellent example, securely bound (lightly shelf-rubbed) and clean throughout. Grobani 12-2A and McCue, p. 24 (for first edition and 1889 revised edition only). Not in Smith. Originally serialized in St. Nicholas Magazine, from May to October, 1880, then published in book form that same year. Sometimes credited as the first baseball novel, but according to… Read More

Chicago: Forbes & Co, 1912. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine-. First Printing of this charming paean to America's pastime, featuring 24 lighthearted and impertinent poems. Small, slim 8vo: 88pp, with baseball-themed spot illustrations from drawings in lower margin of each page. Publisher's pictorial paper-covered boards (showing two hands gripping a baseball bat), mid-brown end papers, pages printed in lime green and black; without the scarce dust jacket. Very minor wear and soiling, but a sound, firmly bound example and clean and bright throughout. From an early review in Baseball Magazine (vol. 9, issue 3, July 1912): "The book contains upward of twenty-five [sic] breezy ballads of the diamond which embrace a widespread field, including many of the leading characters and most stirring events in the recent annals of the game. The book is carefully edited and very artistically illustrated. . . . Whoever spends the price of a seat on the bleachers for this little volume will find himself well rewarded… Read More

New York: Penguin Books, 1977. Stiff Wrappers. Fine. Rare unrevised proof, signed by Burroughs on title-page, of the "first complete and unexpurgated edition" (cover) of this classic novel of addiction. Laid in is the original printed invitation to the publication party at Gotham Book Mart to meet the author. With an Introduction by Allen Ginsberg, recounting his role in the original paperback publication. Small 8vo: xvi,166pp (final published edition was xviii,158pp). Publisher's original printed buff textured wrappers perfectly bound ("Galley: no. 38, Pub. date: 3/77, Price: 1.95t"). A pristine copy, bright, tight, and square copy. From the Donald Kaufmann Collection of Modern Literature, sold at Heritage Auctions, Lot 45345, March 8, 2017. The first complete and unexpurgated edition, originally published as Junkie: Confessions of an Unredeemed Drug Addict (1953) under the pen name William Lee. Publication of Junkie, Burroughs's first book, marked one of the opening salvos of the Beat Generation's… Read More

New York: Reynal & Hitchcock, 1947. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. First Printing of the poet's first book, collecting 42 poems. Demy 8vo (207 x 146mm): vi,[2],55,[1]pp. Publisher's finely woven beige cloth, spine stamped in green, green dust jacket lettered in white, priced $3.50 to bottom corner of back flap, fore-edge untrimmed. Inscribed by Wilbur to front fly-leaf: "To the fine Hines / with love / Dick Wilbur / North Caldwell June 1948." Wilbur won two Pulitzer Prizes as well as the National Book Award. A collectible copy (somewhat shelf-worn jacket with skillful restoration to head and tail of spine panel, not involving lettering or design), tightly bound and clean throughout. The poems in The Beautiful Changes, are often "noted for their exquisite formal grace and technical excellence in rhyme and meter; the poems praise the peculiar kind of beauty that emerges out of wartime ruin, for example in "Potato" and "First Snow in Alsace", and hint at mysteries beyond logic as in… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2001. Advance Reader's Copy. Fine. Advance Reader's Copy, boldly signed by the Nobel prize-winning author on the title page. Tall, thick 8vo: [8],421,[1]pp. Identified on front cover as "Advance Reader's Edition" and on back panel as "Uncorrected Proof." Notably, the cover art for this proof was changed for the dust jacket of the hardcover book, making the Advance Reader's Copy especially collectible. Fine and unread. ¶ First published in Turkey, in 1998, as Benim Adim Kirmizi. In sixteenth-century Istanbul, a Sultan commissions a great book and assembles a cadre of miniaturists to illuminate it. The novel interweaves a murder mystery, a love story, and a discourse on painting. Istanbul straddles Europe and Asia, and throughout Pamuk compares and contrasts Turkey with its western and eastern neighbors, staging a conflict between Western individualism and Eastern traditionalism. In presenting the Nobel prize to Pamuk, in 2006, the prize committee paid special attention to… Read More

Milano: Published by Electa Editrice, 1955. Fine. Limited Edition, No. 48 of 1000 copies, of Berenson's bibliography of books and articles on the history of art, notably Renaissance Italian painting. Royal 8vo (249 x 174mm): 74 French-folded leaves (printed on one side of the leaf), with four tipped-in facsimiles of holograph letters and other documents. Publisher's melon-colored paper over limp covers, paper title labels printed in black to spine and in red and black to upper cover, title page printed in red and black. Inscribed "affectionately" by Berenson ("B. B.") on front fly-leaf and dated July '55. A superb presentation copy, virtually pristine. Besterman (Art and Architecture), p.180. Besterman (World Bibliographies) I, 740. Lists Berenson's works chronologically through 1955, beginning with The Venetian Painters of the Renaissance, first published in 1894. "Among Berenson's greatest contributions to the field of art were his Italian Renaissance scholarship and his impact on American public… Read More

London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1957. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine-/Near Fine. First Printing, one of only 1,000 copies. Rare Presentation Copy, inscribed by Laurence on front fly-leaf and signed by both Edel and Laurence to the great bibliographer Jacob Blanck, with typed postcard signed from Edel to Blanck laid in and fascinating marginal corrections and comments, presumably in Blanck's hand. 8vo: 411,[1]pp, with frontispiece portrait and 10 photographs and facsimiles. Publisher's deep pink cloth, spine lettered and ruled in gilt, top edge stained matching pink, unclipped typographic dust jacket printed in maroon and black. About Fine (topstain a bit faded); Near Fine jacket with bright front and back panels, tide mark to lower third of spine panel, few nicks and tiny chips to tips and corners, short closed tear to front panel's top edge). An important copy of this limited edition, essential to any James collector, uniquely inscribed. Besterman II 3242. ¶ The inscription, in Laurence's hand, reads:… Read More

New York: Simon & Schuster, 1966. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine-/Fine. First Printing of Doctorow's second novel and scarcest book, never reprinted and later orphaned by the author (his web site makes no mention of this title). 8vo: (6),218pp. Publisher's crimson cloth, spine stamped in gilt, top edge stained crimson, cream-colored typographic jacket printed in red, green, and black and priced $4.95. Signed by Doctorow on title page. About Fine (light soiling to spine and upper cover), square, tight and bright; Fine jacket, quite striking. "[T]wo giant humanoids from another time continuum appear in New York Harbor and, while they pose no immediate threat because of their incredible slowness, the city panics, the social order collapses and a newly formed government agency uses the crisis in ways that hint at totalitarianism. Though of stylistic interest for its vivid evocation of the different language registers of the characters, the novel is weakly structured and its various strands never quite… Read More

Paris: The Obelisk Press, 1938. First Printing. Stiff Wrappers. Near Fine+. True First Edition (with error in pagination at pp. 114-118), second issue (with erratum slip tipped onto title page), of Durrell's first significant novel and the first volume in the Villa Seurat Series, founded by Henry Miller, Anaïs Nin, and Lawrence and Nancy Durrell. 8vo (212 x 148mm): [10],11-260,[2]pp. As with all copies, pp. 114-118 were printed out of order (though paginated sequentially), with the correct sequence of text (pp. 114, 117, 115, 116, 118) written in holograph at foot of each affected page). Publisher's pale green heavy wrappers with French flaps (price of 75 Francs neatly blacked out on front flap), front panel with pale pink rectangle and obelisk motif, spine printed in black, bottom edge trimmed, others rough-trimmed. Small bookseller's label to fly-leaf (Librairie Sinfonia, 68, Champs Elysées, Paris). Gentle lightening to spine, light wear to extremities, mild tanning to about a third of page… Read More