Recent Arrivals from James S. Jaffe Rare Books LLC

A lovely and characteristic passage, in fine condition, handsomely framed and glazed. The passage reads in part: "I hear now from this remote hill a human voice, some laborer singing after his day's toil (which I do not often hear) [this parenthetical passage is crossed out]. Loud it must be, for it is far away. Methinks, I should… Read more about this item

N. Y.: Reynal & Hitchcock, (1947). First edition. Limited to 250 copies printed on speical rag paper and signed by the poet, this copy number 1, the dedication copy inscribed on the front free endpaper "To Matty from Karl, affectionately." The printed dedication page reads "To F. O. Matthiessen." Matthiessen is best known as the author of the magisterial… Read more about this item

New York: The Grolier Club, 1915. First edition. One of 250 copies printed on French hand-made paper. Presentation copy, inscribed on the first blank "To Percival M. Barker, Rudolph Ruzicka, Sept 10, 1915." The recipient, Dr. Percival Barker was, according to his obituary in the New York Times, "a member of the Grolier Club and well known as a… Read more about this item

The passage reads in part: "I hear now from this remote hill a human voice, some laborer singing after his day's toil (which I do not often hear) [this parenthetical passage is crossed out]. Loud it must be, for it is far away. Methinks, I should know it for a civilized man, some strains have the melody of an… Read more about this item

A remarkable letter in which Dickinson grapples with the disturbing situation of having received a gift from an anonymous individual and is trying to identify that person. Having already written to the person whom she mistakenly assumed was the giver - a man - she is now filled with embarrassment and rather abjectly addresses her question to Mrs. Holland,… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Insel Verlag, 1913. Fifth edition, in deluxe binding. Inscribed by Rilke on the second blank leaf to Milan Morgenstern, the manager of Heller's Bookshop in Vienna, where Rilke was a customer: "Gute Wünsche eingeschriben für die Eigentümer diesen Bücher in den Wiener Tagen 1916. Rainer Maria Rilke, July 16, 1916." On the title-page Morgenstern has written: "Mir selbst… Read more about this item

Paris: Editions de la Nouvelle Revue Francaise, 1926. First edition. Limited to 878 copies, of which this is one of 118 roman-numeraled copies, printed hors commerce. Presentation copy, inscribed on the half-title: "A Madame Lalli Horstmann, pour l'accompagnon a Paris et, surtout, pour l'attirer dans le Valais et vers l'ancienne tour jalouse de Val-Mont, (Fin de Juin 1926, Muzot)… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1923. First edition, ordinary issue, of Rilke's Duino Elegies. Presentation copy, inscribed on the half-title to the Swiss sculptor Hermann Haller in August 1924, with an inscription which includes an apparently unpublished, rather hermetic, two-stanza poem on the life of the artist in Rilke's hand, dated Muzot 1924, and signed in full by the poet. The poem… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Im Insel-Verlag, 1914. Fourth (and fifth) printings of Rilke's prose masterpiece, his inspirational novel about a young poet. Presentation copy, inscribed by Rilke on the second blank leaf of the first volume: "Lil & Vara, danke für deine schoenen ‘Londener Spaziergänge' durch die Foliantenwand vom nachbarlichen Schreibtish hineubergereicht, Rainer Maria Rilke, Wein, Kriegs-Archiv, April 1916." In English, the… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Insel-Verlag, 1923. First edition, ordinary issue, of one of Rilke's supreme achievements. Presentation copy, inscribed by Rilke to Swiss sculptor Hermann Haller in August 1924, and with two annotations in the text by the poet. Deeply serene, magical, euphonious, and light - contrasting markedly with the austere and tragic majesty of the elegies, which were composed almost simultaneously… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Im Insel Verlag, 1907. First edition. Von Mises 61. Presentation copy, with a full-page inscription on the second leaf, including an eight-line poem: "Wüsshen mir um welcher Dinge willen mir die Tage so und so die Nächte aft verbringen - keener dächte Heimlich seinen Schmer zu stillen; jeder wollte, dass er einem Schrei aus dem Leiden immen in… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Im Insel-Verlag, 1908. First edition, printed on a smooth glossy paper. Von Mises 63. The book is dedicated to Auguste Rodin. A few nicks in dust jacket, otherwise a very fine copy, preserved in a full brown morocco clamshell box. Original suede-backed decorated paste-paper boards, t.e.g., plain unprinted dust jacket, in publisher's slipcase with printed label. A… Read more about this item

Bielefeld und Leipzig: Verlag von Delhagen & Klasing, 1903. First edition of this collection of essays about the impressionist painters who formed the artists community in Worpspede, Germany. Von Mises 25. Presentation copy, inscribed by Rilke on the half-title page to "Maximilian Harden, herzlich, dankbar und voll Ergebenheit, Rainer Maria Rilke. Paris, märz 1903." According to the historian A.… Read more about this item

Leipzig: Im Insel-Verlag, 1910. First edition. Von Mises 76. Covers somewhat soiled but still a very good set, preserved in a full brown morocco clamshell box. 2 volumes, 8vo, original publisher's green cloth with paper labels on spines. Covers somewhat soiled but still a very good set, preserved in a full brown morocco clamshell box.

Leipzig: Im Insel-Verlag, 1912. First edition, presumed deluxe issue. Von Mises 163. A very fine copy, preserved in a full brown morocco clamshell box. . 8vo, original full brown leather, gilt, dust jacket. A very fine copy, preserved in a full brown morocco clamshell box.

Leipzig: Im Insel Verlag, 1925. First edition, hand-printed at the Cranach Presse by Harry Kessler for the Insel Verlag, with initials by Eric Gill, this being copy number XVII of 20 copies "fur den Handel Bestimmten Exemplaren". Von Mises 172. Although the colophon states that the first fifty copies were printed on Japan, the roman-numeraled copies, or at least… Read more about this item

Berlin und Leipzig: Imm Insel-Verlag bein Schuster & Loeffler, 1900. . First edition of this early collection of stories about a God who is a sculptor resembling Rodin, for whom Rilke served as secretary. Von Mises 11. Presentation copy, inscribed by Rilke on the first blank to his cousin Paula: "Meiner lieber Cousine und Fründin, meiner lieber hilfreichen Paula.… Read more about this item