Search Results: Modern Firsts from B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1950 First American edition, first printing, in a first state dust jacket with black and yellow lettering to spine (later states have orange lettering on spine). Publisher's black cloth, author's signature stamped in gilt to front board, titles in gilt to spine; in the original first state dust jacket designed by Adriana Ivancich, with an illustration of Venice to the front panel, and photograph of Hemingway by Paul Radkai to rear panel. Near fine book, with light rubbing to gilt on spine, bottom corners of boards lightly bumped, a touch of offsetting to endpapers, and a postage stamp with Hemingway illustration affixed to title page; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light chipping and wear to head of spine, light edgewear with a couple of small closed tears, corners lightly nicked, and a bit of creasing to front flap. Overall, a handsome book in an unfaded example of its earliest state dust jacket. Hanneman A23. Originally published serially in… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1912 First edition, usual second issue with title page preceding half-title page, in Crane’s “B” pictorial dust jacket, which was published a few weeks after the “A” typographic jacket. Publisher’s purple cloth with titles stamped in gilt to front board and spine; original dust jacket with illustration of man and woman dining by F. Graham Cootes to front panel, list of “New Fiction” to rear panel. Book with a touch of spotting to text block fore edge and endpapers, else fine; very good unclipped dust jacket with some wear to edges and spine ends, a bit of toning to spine, and a few small closed tears including two to top of rear panel. Overall, a beautiful book in an excellent example of its scarce dust jacket. Crane A5.a.i. Alexander's Bridge features the main character Bartley Alexander, a construction engineer who is famous for his bridges. Throughout the book, Alexander struggles to maintain two relationships-- one… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1926 First edition, second or third printing with battered type to pp. 38 and 248. One of 10,100 copies. Publisher's green cloth, stamped in blind to front board and in gilt to spine. Very good, with light rubbing to spine ends, light offsetting to endpapers, light spotting to pages (primarily some pages at the front and rear), and some small tears to fore edges of pp. 259 - 264. Overall, an attractive copy. Bruccoli A 12.1.b/c. All the Sad Young Men is Fitzgerald's third collection of short stories and includes the following nine titles: "The Rich Boy," "Winter Dreams," "The Baby Party," "Absolution," "Rags Martin-Jones and the Pr-nce of W-les," "The Adjuster," "Hot and Cold Blood," "The Sensible Thing," and "Gretchen's Forty Winks." All the Sad Young Men was published a year after Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, but interestingly, it includes a pseudo… Read More

London: Fisher Unwin, 1895 First edition, first issue. Publisher's dark green cloth, spine lettered in gilt. A very good or better copy, spine lightly toned, upper spine worn with some fraying, bookplate of John C. Eckel to front pastedown. Overall, an attractive copy. Wise 1. Joseph Conrad's first novel Almayer's Folly, published in 1895, incorporated his experiences serving as a merchant marine for the French and British governments near the height of the British Empire. The book centers upon Kaspar Almayer, a poor Dutch businessman in Indonesia, his Malayan wife, and their daughter Nina. The story follows a series of Almayer's poor decisions that lead his wife to loath him, his daughter to abandon him, and to his eventual demise. Conrad's unconventional affinity for writing anti-heroes was influential to subsequent generations of authors and defined him as an early modernist. This copy of Almayer's Folly was owned by author John C. Eckel and bears his bookplate. Eckel,… Read More

New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934 First edition, advance reading copy (ARC). Publisher's pictorial wrappers designed by Alfred Maurer, with the iconic deco design of a car driving through a hilled landscape in green, yellow, and black, lettered in yellow and black, and top of front flap priced at $2.50. Very good or better, with some light toning and wrinkling to spine, a few light nicks to edges, and a touch of thumbsoiling to p. 34. Overall, an attractive and sturdy copy. Housed in a custom black clamshell box. Appointment in Samarra tells the tragic story of protagonist Julian English as he delves into a downward spiral of self-destruction. Like the fast-paced plot, which takes place over the course of only three days, O'Hara wrote this novel in an expeditious four months when he was only twenty-eight years old. Although criticized for the candor with which he presented socially taboo sexual encounters, Appointment in Samarra is notable for propelling O'Hara to literary… Read More

New York: Random House, 1957 First edition, first printing. Publisher's bright green cloth, stamped with author's initials in gilt to front board, stamped in black and gilt to spine, top edge stained dark blue; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by George Salter, with train tracks illustration to front panel. Very good or better book, with a touch of toning to spine, very light soiling to cloth, and mild wear to corners; very good or better unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, light rubbing to spine folds, a few small marks to panels and spine, and light wear and creasing to head of spine. Overall, a beautiful, bright copy. Atlas Shrugged is Ayn Rand's fourth and final novel, and her longest published work. Set in a fictional dystopian future, Atlas Shrugged paints a picture of what the United States would look like if its best skilled workers, in refusal of being taxed, simply stopped doing their jobs. The title comes from the mythological figure of the Titans… Read More

New York: Doubleday & Company, 1948 Translated by John Addington Symonds. Illustrated by Salvador Dalí with full-page color plates and black-and-white drawings. First trade edition. Signed by Dalí with an original drawing of a horse on verso of half-title page. Publisher's red cloth, with horse illustration in gilt to front board, and black label lettered in gilt to spine. Very good, with some fading to spine, some rubbing to spine label and dimming to spine gilt, front board gilt bright, and a hint of offsetting to endpapers. Overall, an attractive copy, scarce signed. The Autobiography of Benvenuto Cellini was written by the Italian sculptor and draftsman in the sixteenth century, although it was not published until 1728. This work, detailing the personal life of a well-known artist, has become perhaps the most important autobiography of the Italian Renaissance, giving readers a glimpse into the lives of historical figures like Michelangelo and the Medici family. In his… Read More

June 10, 1930, 1930 Handwritten letter signed by Thornton Wilder on Alpha Delta Phi Club stationery commenting on his disapproval of the sale of an author's manuscripts to a bookseller: "June 10, 1930/ My dear Mr. Greene: In my opinion manuscripts are not a thing that should be sold during an author's lifetime. And Galsworthy' gesture may prove - with the lapse of time - to have been ill-judged. Indeed I had hoped to see your bookshop, but the routine of campus duties made inroads into many of my good intentions and into almost all that centered downtown. Sincerely yours, Thornton Wilder".. Signed by Author(s). No Binding. Very Good.

London: Macmillan, 1960 First edition, first printing. Publisher's blue boards with titles in gilt to spine; dust jacket with front panel nightlife illustration by Victor Reinganum. Near fine copy with light toning to board edges and spine, a slight lean to spine, previous owner's signature on front free endpaper, and notes in pencil to rear free endpaper; very good unclipped dust jacket with light wear to extremities, light toning to spine, a few tiny closed tears to head of spine and rear inner flap, and small nicks to top corners of front and rear panels. Overall, an attractive copy. In The Ballad of Peckham Rye, Dougal Douglas, a Scottish migrant who may or may not be the devil himself, takes up residence in Peckham and is hired by a textile company to conduct "human research" into the lives of the area's citizens. His meddling into their affairs creates mayhem throughout the neighborhood, culminating in a groom saying "No" at the altar. The Ballad of Peckham Rye… Read More

Cincinnati: Press of Johnson & Hardin, 1908 Second edition. Publisher's black cloth, lettered in red with illustration in red to the front cover. Near fine, with light fraying to head of spine and corners, some light marks and staining to rear board, a touch of toning to spine, light soiling to front free endpaper and front flyleaf, and bookseller's stamp to rear pastedown. Overall, a bright and sturdy copy. Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History is an early account of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team. Harry Ellard was the son of George Ellard, one of the original members of the 1866 Cincinnati Baseball club. Ellard recounts the history and evolution of the Red Stockings in the 1860s, as well as the history and rules of baseball. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good.

Cincinnati: Press of Johnson & Hardin, 1907 First edition. One of 500 numbered copies, this being number 73. Original publisher's pale mint cloth, lettered in red with illustration in red to the front cover. Very good, with light rubbing to spine ends and corners, binding slightly cocked, front hinge starting, two cut-outs of cricket players affixed to front free endpaper with some a small pen notation to the lower front endpaper, and some light soiling to pages. Overall, a solid copy of a very scarce baseball title. Base Ball in Cincinnati: A History is an early account of the Cincinnati Red Stockings, the first professional baseball team. Harry Ellard was the son of George Ellard, one of the original members of the 1866 Cincinnati Baseball club. Ellard recounts the history and evolution of the Red Stockings in the 1860s, as well as the history and rules of baseball. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine.

Chicago: Forbes and Company, 1912 First edition. 8vo. Publisher's tan boards, titles and border in blue to front board, illustration of two hands holding a bat with green background to front board, small illustrations throughout text leaves; dust jacket with identical layout. Near fine book with previous owner's inscription to front free endpaper and a bit of offsetting from page illustrations; very good dust jacket with some shallow chipping to edges, small closed tear to top of front panel, and some toning. Overall, a bright and sturdy copy. Baseballogy is a collection of 24 humorous poems about America's favorite pastime. In the book's introductory poem, "Preliminary," the author playfully draws parallels between baseball and Ancient Greek philosophy, writing, "Philosophy was much the same / To Greeks as is our later game." Edmund Vance Cooke was an early 20th century Canadian poet known as the "poet laureate of childhood." He published sixteen… Read More

Westminster: The Beaumont Press, 1919 Illustrated with hand colored woodcuts by Anne Estelle Rice. First edition, limited issue of 200 numbered copies, this being one of 50 copies printed on cartridge paper. Publisher's green cloth and yellow patterned boards, lettered in gilt. About fine, corners very lightly bumped, former owner's bookplate to the front pastedown, fresh interior. A beautiful copy. Roberts A12.b. An exceedingly rare publication, Bay was first published in several short print runs. This first edition is one of 200 copies, and only 50 copies, like this copy, are printed on cartridge paper with hand colored illustrations. According to the publisher, roughly 25 of the 50 cartridge paper copies were not sold due to an accident, lowering the total number of obtainable copies of Bay to 175 (63 of which are housed in institutional libraries' special collections) and making these copies the scarcest of the three variants. The remaining 150 copies are comprised of 120 copies… Read More

New York: Souvenir Publishing & Distributing Co., 1964 Designed and photographed by Robert Freeman. First edition. Signed on front wrapper by Les Paul in gold marker. Publisher's wrappers with purple and black photo of The Beatles members to front wrapper, title lettered in green, in-concert photo to rear wrapper, illustrated with black and white photos throughout. Very good or better copy with light edgewear and a few light nicks and scratches to wrappers. Overall, an excellent copy with clean pages. This concert tour program was released during the Beatles' 1964 North American Tour. After first coming to the US in February of 1964 and making their famous appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show, the group returned to the US in August for a 25-city tour. The tour spawned a lot of significant events in the Beatles' storied history, including the recording of what would later be released as The Beatles at the Hollywood Bowl, and their legendary encounter with Bob Dylan and marijuana. This… Read More

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1955 First American edition, first printing. Publisher's blue paper-covered boards, lettered in gilt and brown; original orange wraparound pictorial dust jacket, lettered in black and white, designed by Dick Dodge. Near fine book, with light toning to head of spine and top edges of boards, light spotting to front endpapers, and small closed tear to fore edge of p. 55; very good unclipped dust jacket with light spotting to rear panel and front flap, a few light nicks and small closed tears to edges, pen squiggle to right margin of rear panel, and a tiny chip to foot of spine. Overall, an attractive copy. In Bertie Wooster Sees it Through, Bertie grows a mustache, and Florence Craye, a woman whom he was formerly engaged to, loves it. The two go to a nightclub together, and when her new fiancé, "Stilton" Cheesewright, finds out he becomes enraged and comes to Brinkley Court, home of Bertie's Aunt Dahlia, to have it out with Bertie. Meanwhile,… Read More

New York: Gotham Book Mart, 1973 First edition, first printing. Signed by Gorey on title page. Publisher's light gray paper wrappers; in the original black paper dust jacket, white paper label with Gorey's illustration of a black armless doll laid onto the front wrapper. About fine book with just a tiny crease to rear wrapper; fine unclipped dust jacket. Overall, an attractive and crisp copy. The Black Doll is Gorey's screenplay for an unproduced silent film. Like many of his works, the plot is set in a Victorian-esque setting. It tells the story of the black doll, a "PRO," or priceless ritual object, from the ancient Asian city of Glub (or Blug), which is sought after by various groups of people. The black doll figure is a recurring figure in Gorey's books, and makes appearances in The Listing Attic (1954), The Willowdale Handcar (1962), The Tunnel Calamity (1984), and The Raging Tide (1987). Gorey, a film buff particularly inspired by the works of Louis Feuillade,… Read More

London: Chapman & Hall, 1932 First edition, first issue. Publisher's marble patterned red and black cloth, spine lettered in gilt; in the original cream dust jacket, lettered in black and red. Near fine, some light spotting to the page edges, else bright and clean; unclipped dust jacket, with some light toning to the spine, minor soiling to the otherwise clean wrappers, some light spotting to the flaps. Overall a, fresh and unsophisticated copy. Inspired by Waugh's own excursions to Ethiopia, Black Mischief is an imperialist satire set in Azania, a fictional island nation off of the southeastern coast of Africa. Specifically, it tells of a young emperor's attempt to modernize his home nation after returning from England where he attended Oxford. Not only do his modernization efforts not only fail utterly, however, but they also cause the nation to regress into cannibalism and ultimately become a protectorate of the United Nations. Notably, Black Mischief features Waugh's popular… Read More

New York: McGraw Hill, 2001 First edition, seventh printing. Signed by Feller in blue pen on title page. Publisher's black paper covered boards, titles in gilt to spine, black endpapers; in its original black dust jacket, with photo of Feller pitching to front panel, lettered in tan and white, jacket designed by Nick Panos. Fine book; in a fine unclipped dust jacket with a hint of creasing to the spine ends. Overall, a lovely, bright copy. In this pocket-sized volume, Bob Feller gives wonderful insight into his Hall of Fame career and philosophy of life. The book is divided into five parts, and features bite-sized chapters, like "Backyard Games I Played with my Dad," "The Day I Struck Out Eighteen Batters," "My Love of Flying Planes," and "Loyalty in Sports: Is There Any?" There is also a short section at the end with "Feller Family Sayings" - quotes that Feller's dad used to repeat to him, like "The man who knows how will always have a… Read More

New York: W. W. Norton and Compan, 2009 Illustrated by Robert Crumb. First limited edition, first printing. One of 250 copies signed and numbered by Crumb, this being number 18. Publisher’s black cloth with titles stamped in gilt to front board and spine, serpent illustration in gilt to rear board; housed in publisher’s black slipcase with illustration of Adam and Eve being expelled from Eden to front board. Fine book; fine slipcase. Includes signed print of Chapter 1 illustration of God creating the universe in fine condition. Overall, a crisp and pristine copy. In this book, Robert Crumb illustrates all 50 chapters of The Book of Genesis in his inimitable style. Originally intending to exaggerate the text for humorous effect, Crumb ultimately decided to present the language of The Book of Genesis faithfully, using Robert Alter’s 1996 translation as his primary source. According to Crumb, the text is “so great and strange that it lends itself readily to graphic… Read More

New York: Albert & Charles Boni, 1927 Illustrated by Amy Drevenstedt, with frontispiece and nine illustrations. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by Wilder on title page: "Eliz. and Ina / devotedly / Thornton / New York 1959." Publisher's light brown cloth, front board decorated in green, lettered in black, pictorial endpapers illustrated with a decorative map of Peru. Good or better book, with significant damage and toning to head of spine, light rubbing to corners, a couple of light bumps to board edges, previous owner's bookplate tipped in between front flyleaf verso and half-title page, and a touch of soiling to front free endpaper, pages otherwise fresh and clean; good unclipped dust jacket, with some toning to spine and extremities, some chipping to panel edges and head of spine, tape reinforcement to jacket verso, light chipping along front flap fold, and a small mark on pen to rear panel. Overall, a bright inscribed copy of Wilder's classic novel. Winner of… Read More