Search Results: Literature / Fiction from CraigsClassics

This is a signed copy of "Aunt Caroline's Present" by Edward Everett Hale. 1895; Lend a Hand Society; Boston. Hale has signed the title page in pen. The book is smaller in size - it measures 5 1/2" tall x 4" wide. Hale is best known for his book "The Man Without a Country" which he wrote in support of the Union during the Civil War.Condition:Light stain at the top-left corner of the front cover, and at the top-left corner of the spine. Sharp cover corners. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Both covers are firmly attached. Nice interior - the pages are lightly age-toned and clean with no notable issues found. The author has signed the title page in pen. Overall the book is in Very Good condition.

This is an antique, illustrated edition of "The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" by Oliver Wendell Holmes, complete in two nicely bound volumes. Both volumes features illustrations (some are full-page plates) by Howard Pyle. Each volume has a frontispiece portrait of Holmes. Both the front and back covers have gilt decorations. Gilt top edges.Condition:Light soiling and some spotting to covers; small cloth tears on spines. Crack at rear hinge of volume 2. Some of the pages are still attached at the long edge. Pages 344, 337 and 312 each have a tear at the long edge. The pages are clean and white with no writing, tears, foxing or stains (with the exception of 2 front end papers of volume 1, which each have some small stain spots).

"The Autocrat of the Breakfast-Table" by Oliver Wendell Holmes. 1858 1st Edition, 1st Printing; Phillips, Sampson and Company. Full-page illustrated plates. There are pages of advertisements at both the front and back of the book. The essays are set in the dining room of a boarding house and feature one-sided humorous perorations by the otherwise unnamed "Autocrat" on a number of subjects from old age to conversation.Condition:Clean back cover, a few small light stain spots on front cover, cloth tears at left edge and top of spine, wear to top and bottom edges of spine; worn corners (the tips of the boards are exposed). Tight binding. No cracks. No loose pages. The text pages are in overall very good condition with only a few pages that have small stain or foxing spots. Previous owner's ink stamp at top edge of front end paper. No writing or tears found.

This is a vintage short story compilation, "12 Great Modern Stories" - A new Collection. 1944; Avon Book Company; New York. Softcover with 162 numbered pages. This issue features stories by ERNEST HEMINGWAY, JOHN STEINBECK, Sinclair Lewis, and others - please see the photos for the complete list of contents.Condition:Some very light soiling to the covers. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Both covers are firmly attached. The pages are age-toned, though not brittle. Clean pages with no notable issues found. Overall the book is in Very Good condition.

"The 'Bab' Ballads" - Much Sound and Little Sense by W.S. Gilbert. Circa 1890's (the book is undated, but the year 1895 is written on the front end paper); George Routledge and Sons; New York and London. The book features 215 illustrations by the author. Complete in one volume, including the "Bab Ballads" and "More Bab Ballads." The book is a collection of light, comical verses written in Gilbert's "topsy-turvy" style in which the humor is derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd.Condition:Clean front cover; some light staining to the back cover; the gilt lettering on the spine has mostly faded; the top and bottom edges of the spine are worn. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. The pages are clean with only a few random, light smudges; name/date (1895) written in pen on the front end paper; there is an ink stain at the top corner at the hinge between 2 front blank end papers. Overall the book is in very good condition.

"THE BAB BALLADS" - With Which are Included Songs of a Savoyard by W.S. Gilbert. 1926; Macmillan and Co.; London. Profusely illustrated with 350 drawings by the author. Gilt top page edges. The book is a collection of light, comical verses written in Gilbert's "topsy-turvy" style in which the humor is derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd.Condition:Clean covers and spine. There are a couple pull tears to the cloth at the top of the spine. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. The text pages are clean with no notable issues found. Both end papers have a heavily tanned rectangular outline over most of the page. The front end paper has an old inscription written in pen dated 1928. Overall the book is in Very Good- condition.

Nice condition antique copy of "THE BAB BALLADS - Much Sound and Little Sense" by W.S. Gilbert. Circa 1880's (there is no date of publication stated); Porter & Coates; Philadelphia. Richly illustrated with drawings throughout by the author. Gilt page edges on all sides of the text block. The book is a collection of light, comical verses written in Gilbert's "topsy-turvy" style in which the humor is derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd.Condition:Clean covers and spine. There is a bit of mottling to the cloth at the bottom edge of the front cover. Sharp cover corners. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Bright gilt page edges on all sides of the text block. Nice interior - the pages are clean with only some very light foxing to the end papers. Overall the book is in Very Good+ condition.

"The 'Bab' Ballads" - Much Sound and Little Sense by W.S. Gilbert. Circa 1890's (the book is undated, but the year 1895 is written on the front end paper); George Routledge and Sons; New York and London. The book features 215 illustrations by the author. Complete in one volume, including the "Bab Ballads" and "More Bab Ballads." The book is a collection of light, comical verses written in Gilbert's "topsy-turvy" style in which the humor is derived by setting up a ridiculous premise and working out its logical consequences, however absurd.Condition:Clean front cover; some light staining to the back cover; the gilt lettering on the spine has mostly faded; the top and bottom edges of the spine are worn. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. The pages are clean with only a few random, light smudges; name/date (1895) written in pen on the front end paper; there is an ink stain at the top corner at the hinge between 2 front blank end papers. Overall the book is in very good condition.

Nicely bound vintage copy of "THE BAB BALLADS" - With Which are Included Songs of a Savoyard by W.S. Gilbert. 1924; The Macmillan Co.; London. This copy was bound by Zaehnsdorf in London and features a leather spine and corners, marbled covers, gilt top page edges, five raised bands on the spine and marbled end papers. The book is a collection of light verses with 350 comic illustrations by Gilbert.Condition:Light staining to the covers; chipping along the top edge of the spine; the upper-outer corner of the back cover is worn. Bright gilt top page edges. Ex-library copy with an ID code written at the bottom of the spine, a card sleeve affixed to the rear end paper, and a library label affixed to the front pastedown. Tight binding with no loose pages. The pages are lightly age-toned and mostly clean with only an occasional light stain and smudge found. Small tear at the outer edge of the title page. Overall the book is in Very Good- condition.

Antique copy of "The Bachelor's Own Book" - or, The Progress of Mr. Lambkin, (Gent.), in the Pursuit of Pleasure and Amusement - written and illustrated by GEORGE CRUIKSHANK. Circa 1880's (there is no date of publication stated); David Bryce & Son; Glasgow. The book features 24 plates and an illustrated title page by Cruikshank. Decorative floral end papers. Bright gilt page edges on all sides. The book is a humorous commentary on the hypocrisy and misogyny of bachelor life in the 19th century. There is a full-page illustrated advertisement for "Cadbury's Cocoa Essence" at the back.Condition:Clean covers; there are a couple small, light stain spots near the top of the spine; bright gilt lettering on the front cover; sharp corners. Bright gilt page edges on all sides. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Mild foxing to the pages (though heavier on a front end paper and the illustrated title page)...otherwise the pages are clean with no writing or tears found. Overall the book is in very… Read More

This is a clean copy of "BARBARY SHORE" by Norman Mailer (author of "The Naked and the Dead") with its original dust jacket. 1951; Rinehart & Company; New York. The dust jacket is un-clipped with the original $3.00 price intact on the front flap.From the dust jacket: "Only the author of The Naked and the Dead could have written this remarkable novel about our post-war world. There are only six principal characters in Barbary Shore - two women, three men, and a child. Yet out of their extraordinary relationships - to each other, to the world around them - Norman Mailer has extracted the dilemma of our times. A novel of action, it is also a novel of ideas, and the interplay evokes a gamut of comedy, of horror, of excitement, of tragedy whose bearing on our world is inescapable. To some, Barbary Shore will read like a fascinating mystery story, filled with the echoes, the whispers, the ghosts of a world on the brink of disaster. to others - in the vividness of its characters and their struggles - it will… Read More

"The Basil and Josephine Stories" by F. SCOTT FITZGERALD with its original dust jacket. 1973 1st edition, 1st printing; Charles Scribner's Sons; New York. From the dust jacket: "This volume brings together for the first time two series of short stories which F. Scott Fitzgerald had intended to combine. The fourteen stories center on two main characters - Basil Duke Lee and Josephine Perry. The Basil series is clearly about Fitzgerald's own life, from eleven to seventeen; and Josephine is Basil's female counterpart. Two main themes run through the Basil and Josephine stories; social class, which Fitzgerald believed to be a psychological rather than an economic condition; and the effort to dominate life by sexual magnetism. Written for the Saturday Evening Post in the late Twenties and early Thirties, the stories are entertainment of a high order, conveying 'what it was like to grow up way back then and there.' Fitzgerald had thought that the two series, read together, would give the effect of a novel,… Read More

This is a charming set of the "BEAUTIES OF SHAKESPEARE" by the Rev. William Dodd. Complete set in two volumes. Circa 1890's (there is no date of publication stated); Thomas Y. Crowell & Company; New York. Each volume contains a frontispiece illustration with a tissue guard. Nicely bound with gilt lettering and decorations on the covers and spines, gilt top page edges, and ribbon page markers. There is an Index at the back of volume II.The contents are as follows:VOLUME I - COMEDIES: All's Well That Ends Well; As You Like It; Comedy of Errors; Love's Labour's Lost; Measure for Measure; The Merchant of Venice; A Midsummer-Night's Dream; Much Ado About Nothing; The Taming of the Shrew; The Tempest; Twelfth Night; The Two Gentlemen of Verona; The Winter's Tale; HISTORICAL PLAYS: King John; King Richard II; King Henry IV (parts I & II); King Henry V; King Henry VI (parts I, II, & III); King Richard III; King Henry VIII.VOLUME II - TRAGEDIES: Antony and Cleopatra; Coriolanus; Cymbeline; Hamlet; Julius… Read More

This is an early copy of "BEAUTIFUL JOE" - An Autobiography by Marshall Saunders. 1903; The Judson Press; Philadelphia. This edition features a frontispiece portrait of Saunders and other full-page plates; there are decorative pieces at the beginning and end of the chapters. Told from the point of view of a dog, the book tells the true story of a dog ("Joe" from Ontario, who was the inspiration for the story) that has had a difficult puppyhood with many obstacles including a cruel owner. The first book to sell over one million copies in Canada, "Beautiful Joe" contributed to worldwide awareness of animal cruelty.Condition:Light soiling to the covers and spine; there is a small, white stain on the back cover. Sharp cover corners. There is a crack at the front hinge between the end paper and pastedown with the webbing exposed resulting in the front cover being shaky. There is a 3/4" tear to the paper at the top of the hinge between the rear end paper and pastedown. The text pages are in excellent… Read More

"The Best Short Stories of 1923 and the Yearbook of the American Short Story" - edited by Edward J. O'Brien. 1924 1st edition, 2nd printing (stated); Small, Maynard & Company; Boston. This is the first book published in the United States to contain a work by ERNEST HEMINGWAY (the short story "My Old Man"). Curiously, Hemingway's name was misspelled as "Hemenway" on the contents page, and on the 1st page of his story. The book is dedicated to Hemingway - the 1st printing also had the misspelling on the dedication page, though it has been corrected here in this 2nd printing.At the back of the book is a section titled "The Yearbook" that contains various literary categories - five of these categories list F. SCOTT FITZGERALD, as follows: Articles on the Short Story (x2); Index of Short Stories in Books (x2); Index of Short Stories.Condition:Clean front and back covers. Both the cloth and the lettering on the spine have partially faded. Tiny cloth tear at the bottom 2 cover corners. Tight binding with no… Read More

This is a large volume of children's classics, "The Big Book of Famous Stories." Circa 1930's (there is no date of publication stated); published by Grosset & Dunlap. "Profusely illustrated in full color and black and white." Included are favorites such as A Christmas Carol, Alice in Wonderland, Little Red Riding Hood, Robinson Crusoe, A Child's Garden of Verses, Black Beauty, Adventures of a Brownie, Bible Stories for Children, The Man Without a Country, The Three Bears, The Little Lame Prince, Helen's Babies, and more.Condition:Clean front cover; light soiling to the spine; tanning to the back cover; shelf wear along the bottom edges of the boards; the top edge of the back cover has a few small dings/chips; wear to the corners. Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Nice interior - the pages are mostly clean and nearly appear unread with only a few random light smudges found. Overall the book is in Very Good condition.

"The Big Knockover" by DASHIELL HAMMETT (author of "The Maltese Falcon") with its original dust jacket. 1966 1st edition, 1st printing (stated); Random House; New York. The book is a collection of selected stories and short novels.From the dust jacket: "Hammett was the creator of the modern suspense novel, but he also wrote, in the twenties and early thirties, a great many stories and short novels. This vintage collection of nine of the best of these works - plus an unfinished novel, Tulip, which is radically different in style and purpose from anything he had written previously - has been chosen and edited by Lillian Hellmann. None of these selections has ever appeared in hardcover book form before. This superb collection opens with a moving and sympathetic personal memoir by Lillian Hellman, who was a closes friend of Mr. Hammett for almost thirty years."Condition:The book is in Fine condition and appears unread - clean both inside and out with no issues found. The dust jacket has some light… Read More

This is a scarce, first edition thus copy of "The Birth of Tragedy - or, Hellenism and Pessimism" by Friedrich Nietzsche. 1909 1st UK edition, thus; T.N. Foulis; Edinburgh and London. Limited edition - this copy is No. 55 of 1,500 copies printed. "The First Complete and Authorized English Translation" - translated by Wm. A. Haussmann. Volume Three of "The Complete Works of Friedrich Nietzsche."Condition:There are some very light stains on the covers. Cloth tears at the cover corners. There is a split along the entire length of the left edge of the spine where it meets the back cover. Chipping to the top and bottom edges of the spine with pieces missing (see photo). Tight binding with no cracks and no loose pages. Both covers are firmly attached. There are numerous pages with pencil markings such as notations in the outer margins, lines of text underlined, vertical lines in the outer margin highlighting lines of text, etc. A rear end paper has page numbers with notes written next to them in pencil.… Read More

This is a complete 2-volume 1st U.S. Edition set of "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. 1853 1st U.S. Edition; Harper & Brothers; New York. Both volumes feature full-page facing illustrations by H.K. Browne. BLEAK HOUSEOften considered Charles Dickens's masterpiece, Bleak House blends together several literary genres—detective fiction, romance, melodrama, and satire—to create an unforgettable portrait of the decay and corruption at the heart of English law and society in the Victorian era. Opening in the swirling mists of London, the novel revolves around a court case that has dragged on for decades—the infamous Jarndyce and Jarndyce lawsuit, in which an inheritance is gradually devoured by legal costs. As Dickens takes us through the case's history, he presents a cast of characters as idiosyncratic and memorable as any he ever created, including the beautiful Lady Dedlock, who hides a shocking secret about an illegitimate child and a long-lost love; Mr. Bucket, one of the first detectives to… Read More

This is a complete 2-volume 1st U.S. Edition set of "Bleak House" by Charles Dickens. 1853 1st U.S. Edition; Harper & Brothers; New York. Both volumes feature full-page facing illustrations by H.K. Browne. Condition:Light soiling to covers; worn corners. Both volumes are tightly bound with no cracks and no loose pages. VOL I: a section at the top edge of the spine has chipped off; tiny tear at bottom-center of spine; tear at center of hinge between left edge of spine and back cover. Heavy foxing to the end papers leading up to the opposite side of the frontispiece (but not on the frontispiece); lighter, consistent foxing throughout the book. Name written in pen at top edge of title page; otherwise good condition pages with no writing, stains or tears found. VOL II - similar page condition to Vol I.