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What gift could be more personal than a favorite book that has been loved throughout one’s life? Especially a copy of that book with significant value—a copy that is rare, original and, in some cases, unique? We offer books in a wide range of subjects and price ranges. Our staff will be delighted to answer your questions and to help you find a book that matches the interests of the recipient.

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Found 24 books(s). Showing results 1 thru 24.

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"THE MOTHER OF THE ENGLISH 19TH-CENTURY NOVEL"

AUSTEN, Jane. Novels. London and New York, 1897-1900. Five volumes.

Turn-of-the-century set of Austen novels illustrated with splendid line drawings by Charles Brock and Hugh Thomson, beautifully bound in contemporary full brown tree calf gilt by Mudie. $4800.

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“ONE OF THE GREATEST OF AMERICAN ILLUSTRATED BOOKS”

SAUNDERS, Louise. Knave of Hearts. New York, 1925. First edition of "one of the greatest of American illustrated books" (Porter, 84), the last and most lavish children's book illustrated by Maxfield Parrish, with mounted cover design, pictorial endpapers, 14 full-page color plates, and nine in-text color illustrations. $4600.

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SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF RACKHAM’S THE NIGHT BEFORE CHRISTMAS

(RACKHAM, Arthur) MOORE, Clement C. The Night Before Christmas. London, 1931.

Signed limited first edition, number 2 of only 275 copies printed for England (out of a total edition of 550 copies), with four color plates and 17 in-text line cuts, signed by Arthur Rackham, a lovely copy in publisher's vellum. $4500.

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“LIFE AND A LOVER”: ORLANDO, SIGNED BY VIRGINIA WOOLF

WOOLF, Virginia. Orlando: A Biography. New York, 1928.

Signed limited first edition of Woolf's fantastical and often whimsical novel, number 324 of 861 copies signed on the verso of the half title by Woolf in her trademark purple ink, with eight plates. The publisher's own copy with his booklabel reading, "From The Books Of Crosby Gaige." A fine, uncut and unopened copy. $4500.

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"MAN IS NOT MADE FOR DEFEAT"

HEMINGWAY, Ernest. Old Man and the Sea. New York, 1952.

First edition of Hemingway's classic story of Santiago and his epic battle with the marlin and the sharks, winning him the Pulitzer Prize in 1953 and contributing to his award of the 1954 Nobel Prize for Literature, in original dust jacket. $4500.

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“HIS MOST REMARKABLE NATURAL GIFT… IS HIS VISION”

MCPHEE, John. Sense of Where You Are. New York, 1965.

First edition of the Pulitzer Prize-winner's landmark first book, a profile of basketball All-American and future U.S. Senator Bill Bradley, inscribed on the title page: "For Barry Amis regards—John McPhee," and additionally signed on the title page by Bill Bradley. $4000.

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COMPREHENSIVE SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF YEATS’ POEMS

YEATS, William Butler. The Variorum Edition of the Poems of W.B. Yeats. New York, 1957.

Signed limited first edition, number 707 of 825 copies signed by Yeats. $3800.

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“MEN GO MAD IN HERDS”

MACKAY, Charles. Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions. London, 1852. Two volumes. Second edition of this important, entertaining and influential early study of crowd behavior, subsequently used to explore popular psychology and to chart the stock market, with numerous wood-engraved illustrations, in original cloth. $3500.

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CHURCHILL’S BRILLIANT HISTORY OF THE SECOND WORLD WAR

CHURCHILL, Winston. Second World War. London, 1948-54. Six volumes.

First English editions of Churchill’s WWII masterpiece, part history and part memoir, written after he lost reelection as Prime Minister, handsomely bound. $3500.

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“TO BEGIN WITH HE WAS ASHAMED OF HIMSELF—A RARE STATE OF MIND”

FLEMING, Ian. Thunderball. London, 1961.

First edition of Fleming’s ninth Bond novel, featuring the first appearance of the superspy’s memorable nemesis, the villainous mastermind behind SPECTRE, Ernst Blofeld, who steals two nuclear warheads and threatens the world. $3200.

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“VERY SCARCE”: RICHARD BURTON’S BOOK OF THE SWORD

BURTON, Richard F. The Book of the Sword. London, 1884.

First and only edition of Burton's important illustrated history of the sword, in the original cloth. $3200.

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DELUXE SIGNED LIMITED EDITION OF SPEAKING MY MIND, SIGNED BY PRESIDENT REAGAN

REAGAN, Ronald. Speaking My Mind. New York, 1989.

Signed limited first edition of Reagan's selected speeches, number 1692 of 5000 copies signed by President Reagan, in publisher's deluxe morocco-gilt binding. $3200.

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THE DIMAGGIO ALBUMS, ONE OF 700 SETS SIGNED BY DIMAGGIO

DIMAGGIO, Joe. DiMaggio Albums. New York, 1989. Two volumes.

Signed limited first edition, number 630 of 700 sets signed by DiMaggio on the limitation page in Volume I. This copy is absolutely pristine, in its original shipping carton. $2200.

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WINES OF THE WORLD, SUPERBLY BOUND IN FULL INLAID MOROCCO

SIMON, Andre L. Wines of the World. London, 1969.

Signed limited first edition, number 3 of only 265 copies of this special edition, signed by the editor and expressly designed and bound in full inlaid morocco by Zaehnsdorf for the Arcadia Press. $1750.

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“NEVER IN THE FIELD OF HUMAN CONFLICT WAS SO MUCH OWED BY SO MANY TO SO FEW”

CHURCHILL, Winston. Speech by The Prime Minister. London, 1940. First edition of Churchill's famous 1940 address to the House of Commons at the height of the Second World War, one of history's most stirring and influential speeches. $1700.

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“I WAS BORN UNDER A CLEAR SKY AFTER A VIOLENT SUMMER STORM TO A WIDOWED MOTHER”

CLINTON, Bill. My Life. New York, 2004.

First edition, first state, boldly signed on the title page by President Clinton. $1500.

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"A NAKED ARM SMELLING OF CHANEL NO. 5 SNAKED ROUND HIS NECK…"

FLEMING, Ian. Man With the Golden Gun. London, 1965.

First edition of Fleming’s final Bond novel, published the year after the author’s death, in which 007 travels to Fleming’s beloved Jamaica to neutralize the assassin of the book’s title. $1500.

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SIGNED BY TRUMAN CAPOTE

CAPOTE, Truman. One Christmas. New York, 1983.

Signed limited first edition, number 218 of only 500 copies signed by Capote. $1000.

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FIRST EDITION OF HAYEK’S CONSTITUTION OF LIBERTY

HAYEK, Friedrich A. Constitution of Liberty. Chicago, 1960.

First edition of Nobel laureate Hayek's groundbreaking work on monetary theory and economic fluctuation, in original dust jacket. $950.

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SIGNED BY SIR EDMUND HILLARY

(HILLARY, Edmund). Photograph signed. No place, no date.

Black-and-white photographic portrait of Edmund Hillary, boldly signed by him. $900.

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“OOOOOOOOOOOOO! I ABSOLUTELY LOVE CHRISTMAS”

THOMPSON, Kay. Eloise at Christmastime. New York, 1958.

First edition of the third book in the wonderfully illustrated series of Eloise stories. $900.

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SALVADOR DALÍ’S COOKBOOK

DALÍ, Salvador. Diners de Gala. New York, 1973.

First edition of this extravagant, lavishly illustrated cookbook created by Dalí in honor of his wife Gala. $800.

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SIGNED BY ARNOLD PALMER

PALMER, Arnold. My Game and Yours. New York, 1965.

First edition of this “golf instruction book by the master,” signed on the endpaper by Arnold Palmer, with many color and black-and-white illustrations and in-text diagrams. $500.

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“QUIET AMUSEMENT TO THOSE SORELY IN NEED OF ONE”

JONES, Mary Whitmore. Games of Patience for One or More Players. London, circa 1900. Early edition of this comprehensive illustrated work about solitaire and other quiet card games. $200.

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Aquatint Copperplate process by which the plate is “bitten” by exposure to acid. By changing the areas of the plate that are exposed and the length of time the plate is submerged in the acid bath, the engraver can obtain fine and varying shades of gray that closely resemble watercolor washes. Although the name contains the word “tint”, this is a black-and-white printing process; aquatint plates can often be hand colored, however.
Armorial Used to describe a binding bearing the coat of arms of the original owner, or with bookplates incorporating the owner’s arms.
Association Copy copy that belonged to someone connected with the author or the contents of a book.
Boards Hard front and rear covers of a bound book which are covered in cloth, leather or paper. “Original boards” refers to cardboard-like front and back boards, from about 1700 to 1840, used as temporary protection for books before their purchasers would have them bound. Of particular value to collectors as evidence of a very early form of the book.
Book-Plate Label, generally affixed to the front pastedown, identifying a book’s owner.
Broadside Sheet printed on one side, typically for public display, usually larger than folio size (a folio being a broadside-size sheet printed on both sides and folded once, to make four pages).
Calf Binding material made from cowhide—versatile, durable, usually tan or brown in color, of smooth texture with no or little apparent grain. Readily marbled (“tree calf”), mottled, diced, colored, polished, tooled in gilt or blind, even scented (known as “russia”). Reverse calf, with a distinctive suede-like texture, is occasionally used.
Chromolithograph Lithograph printed in colors, typically three or more.
Collation Process by which the contents of a book are inspected for completeness, checking against internal evidence, the table of contents and/or plate list, and reference works. Also a shorthand bibliographical description of a book’s composition by its leaves and signatures, rather than its pages. A-C, for example, would indicate a quarto volume composed of three signatures or gatherings of eight pages each for a total of 24 pages.
Colophon Printed note at the end of a text containing information about the printing of the book.
Doublure Pastedowns made not of paper but of leather, for decorative purposes.
Duodecimo (12MO) Smaller than an octavo, typically less than six inches tall; smaller formats, such as 24mo and 32mo, are uncommon.
Edition Print-run from a single setting of type without substantial change. Depending on demand, any number of printings can be made from a setting of type For example, a first printing might consist of 1000 copies, followed by a second printing of 2500 copies; in which case the book would have a first edition, first printing of 1000 copies, and a first edition, second printing of 2500 copies.
Endpapers Extra leaves—plain, colored or decorated—with which a bookbinder covers the insides of the book’s boards, therefore not part of the actual text block. The part of the leaf pasted to the inside of the front board is the front “pastedown,” while the other part of the leaf that forms the first page of the book is the “front free endpaper”; the same applies to the rear pastedown and rear free endpaper.
Engraving Illustration produced by carving lines into a metal plate. This is an intaglio process, in which ink is poured over the plate, then wiped from the surface, leaving ink only in the recesses made by the engraver’s tools. The image is then transferred by pressing thick dampened paper against the metal plate with great force—requiring engravings to be printed on a separate stock and separate press from any text.
Errata List of mistakes and corrections noted after printing, often compiled on a separate sheet or slip and inserted into the text block.
Flyleaves Additional blank leaves following or preceding the endpapers.
Folio Book composed of sheets that are folded once and printed on both sides, making two leaves and four pages. Typically above 14 inches tall. Oblong folios are produced the same way but bound at the short edge, producing a book typically more than 14 inches deep.
Fore-Edge Edge of the book furthest from the spine. Occasionally the text of a book will be put into a specialized book press and painted, often with a scene from the book or a landscape, so that the painting is invisible when the book is closed but visible when somebody bends the text and fans the pages—known as a fore-edge painting.
Foxing Light brown spots that naturally appear on some papers due to oxidation as they age.
Frontispiece An illustration facing the title page of a book.
Gathering Single sheet of paper that has been printed and folded to form the pages required by the book’s format. A single gathering of a quarto book, then, would be a sheet folded twice, containing four leaves, eight pages of text.. Gatherings are identified by a letter, symbol or number in the lower margin of the first page (the “signature”) to make it easy for the printer to stack them in proper order for sewing.
Gilt Edges The three exposed edges of a book have been smoothed and gilded.
Half Title Leaf preceding the title page that bears the book’s title, originally used to identify the unbound text block. The book’s binder would often remove and discard the half title at the time of binding. Remaining half-titles are therefore of interest to collectors.
Illuminated Decorated by hand. Typically early printed books and especially manuscripts.
Imprint Satement of place, publisher and date of publication on a book’s title page.
Incunable From the cradle of printing, i.e., any book printed before 1501.
Issue A group of books issued by the publisher as a discrete unit. At times, issue refers to timing, such as the “first issue” being offered to the public at an earlier date than the “second issue.” At other times, it refers to specially planned different batches, such as the “trade issue” (widely available) in opposition to a “signed limited issue” (limited to a small amount of copies differing somehow from the trade issue and not widely available).
Japanese Vellum Expensive handmade paper often used in deluxe editions.
Lithograph Illustration produced by transferring an image drawn on a carefully prepared stone to paper. The process allowed illustrations to more closely resemble the original drawings, paintings or sketches, as it gave the lithographer a freedom of line impossible to achieve in earlier intaglio and relief processes. It does not require the same sort of pressure as an engraving to transfer the image, but still has to be printed on separate stock from the text
Marginalia Handwritten notes made in the margins by a previous owner.
Mispaginated Printer’s error in pagination, typically skipping, transposing or repeating page numbers. Not uncommon in older, larger books, it is not considered a defect, so long as all integral leaves are present.
Modern Recently accomplished, when used to describe a book’s binding that is not the original casing. Some books bound recently are bound using techniques, tools and styles of the period of the book’s original issue; when done well this is called a period-style binding, a term that implies “modern” as well.
Morocco Binding material made from goatskin—versatile, durable, with a distinctive pebbled texture and visible grain. Readily stretched (“straight-grain”), crushed (flattened smooth), tooled in gilt or blind, inlaid with leathers of different colors. So-called because much of the raw material originally came from the tanneries of North Africa (other types of goatskin bindings denoting regions of origin include levant, turkey, niger).
Offset The unintended transfer of ink from one printed page to an adjacent page.
Period-Style binding executed with materials, tools and techniques to approximate the look of a contemporary binding from the period of the book’s publication. The term implies that the binding is modern, or recent, unless otherwise specified.
Plate Full-page illustration printed separately from but bound with the text.
Point Variation in text, illustration, design or format that allows a bibliographer to distinguish between different editions and different printings of the same edition, or between different states or issues of the same printing.
Presentation Copy Book given as a gift by its author, illustrator or publisher. Sometimes refers to a volume given by a notable donor.
Provenance History of a particular copy of a book.
Raised Bands Horizontal protruding strips found on the spine of a book.
Reback To supply a worn binding with a new spine, usually made of the same material as the rest of the binding and decorated to match. When feasible the binder may preserve the original spine and affix it to the new material, described as “rebacked with the original spine laid down.”
Recase To reattach a text block to its binding when it has become loose from its covers.
Recto The front side of a leaf. The back side is known as the “verso.”
Trade Edition Printing or printings of a book made available for purchase by the general public on publication day (as opposed to a limited edition, often available only by subscription).
Uncut When the edges of the text block (most apparent at the fore and lower edges) have not been trimmed to a uniform size, and are therefore characterized by a ragged or deckle edge. A book may be uncut but opened—i.e., with a paper-knife—but all unopened books (see below) are by nature uncut as well.
Unopened When the folds of the sheets of paper making up the text block have not been trimmed away or opened with a paper-knife. While this makes it impossible to read all of the pages, it also indicates a probability that the text block has not been altered since leaving the printer.
Vellum Binding material made from specially treated calfskin—durable, with a distinctive ivory color and smooth appearance. Can be tooled in gilt or blind. So-called Japan vellum (or Japon) is a type of thick paper that has been polished smooth and given a glossy finish to resemble vellum.
Verso The back or reverse side of a leaf or page. (See “recto.”)
Woodcut Illustration or textual decoration made by cutting away from the surface of a block of wood until the reverse of the image is left in relief; this is then inked and pressed to the paper to leave the image. The woodblock, or multiple blocks, can be fit into the page along with the type, allowing text and illustrations to be printed in the same print run and share the same page (not possible with engravings, which require thicker, damp paper and much more force; nor with lithographs, which require a different printing process altogether). Woodcuts preceded moveable type and are the earliest known printing technology.
Wood-Engraving Engraving made with the graver or burin on the cross-section of a piece of boxwood; the harder wood and finer tools allow for more delicate, finely detailed images, while the block can still be set in the page alongside text and printed on the same stock as the text. While much older, wood engravings enjoyed an important renaissance in the late eighteenth century through Thomas Bewick and continued in popularity thorugh the nineteenth century.
Wormhole Tiny pinhole-sized trails left by bookworms as they eat through a text block. Much more common in older books printed on handmade papers with a high rag content than in books printed on manufactured papers made from wood pulp with a higher acidic content.
Wrappers Paper coverings—plain, marbled or printed—attached by stitches, staples or glue to a text block to identify it and afford it some protection (though much more fragile than a binding in plain, cloth or leather-covered boards). More typical of slim and/or inexpensive volumes such as pamphlets. “Self wrappers” are leaves, blank or printed, that are integral to the text block, conjugate with other leaves and from the same stock. “Original wrappers,” those attached at the time of issue, are scarce and extremely desirable to most collectors.