Search Results: Authors starting with L from Captain Ahab's Rare Books

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 2013. First American Edition. Publisher's advance copy for the Pulitzer Prize-winning author's second novel, announcing a first printing of 350,000 copies. The novel was a nominee for the 2013 Man Booker Prize, as well as a finalist for the National Book Award. Octavo; off-white wrappers, with titling and publisher's information stamped in black and bronze; 340pp, [2]. Minute wear to lower front corners, else Near Fine.

N.p.: Fridolf Johnson, 1948. A unique manuscript of Mary Lamb's romantic poem "Salome," composed around 1808-09, and first published in her husband Charles Lamb's Works [1818]; while the poem was originally published in her husband's works, and while his name is credited on the title page of this volume, the poem, according to scholar Adriana Craciun, "is indisputably hers" ("The Subject of Violence: Mary Lamb, Femme Fatale." Romanticism and Women Poets: Opening the Doors of Reception, p.65). Fridolf Johnson (1905-1988) was an American author, calligrapher, and illustrator, whose early work as a designer led him increasingly toward an interest in printing and typography. He eventually established the Mermaid Press, and became and active member of the Zamorano Club, Typophiles, and New York Chappel of Private Presses. His archive is held at the University of Delaware. (cf.Biographical Note. Fridolf Johnson Papers, 1950-1985). Quarto (26.25cm); original calligraphic manuscript (rectos), composed in… Read More

New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc, 1980. First Edition. New. First Printing. Fine in a Near Fine acetate dustjacket that shows minor shelfwear and rubbing. The definitive retrospective on Sendak's artwork. Contains 94 color plates, 261 illustrations, 3 fold-out plates, and a pop-up of Little Red Riding Hood designed by Sendak which is not present in later printings of the book. A beautifully produced volume highlighting Sendak's career in illustration.

New York: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1904. First American Edition. First Printing. Octavo (19cm); brown cloth, with titling and pictorial elements stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; pictorial endpapers; all edges gilt; xii,350,[2]pp, with color frontispiece, 7 color plates, and 42 black & white illustrations by H.J. Ford. Previous owners bookplate to front pastedown, slight forward lean, gentle sunning to spine, with wear to spine ends and corners, a few irregular patches of discoloration to rear cover, and a short tear to right margin of pp.89-98; hinges sound; Very Good, lacking the rare dustjacket. The ninth of twelve books in Lang's series of Fairy stories, published between 1889-1910.

Berlin: Nero-Film AG, 1931. First Edition. Original Austrian premiere program for Fritz Lang's 1931 German film, customized for the film's premiere at the Apollo Theater in Vienna - Lang's birthplace and home for the earlier part of his life. A highly influential pre-war film noir and masterpiece of world cinema, ranking among the best of Lang's body of work. In addition to being Lang's first sound film, 'M' also served as the vehicle for Peter Lorre's breakout role as child murderer Hans Beckert. The program is chiefly illustrated throughout with a series of photo-montages, and gives the date of the premiere as 3 September, 1931. A rare premiere program for one of Lang's most enduring films. Small folio (22.5cm); green and white photo-illustrated wrappers, folded, with the premiere information printed in red on front wrapper; [8pp]; illus. Faint horizontal fold at center, faint diagonal crease to upper right corner of front wrapper, with a chip to lower left corner of rear wrapper and a few tiny… Read More

N.P.: Universal Pictures Co, 1948. A Fine copy with a single center fold, printed in red and violet on buff-colored paperstock. Measures roughly 5.75 X 8.75 inches (closed) and 5.75 X 11.5 inches (opened). An original advertising herald for the 1948 film noir "Secret Beyond the Door," directed by Fritz Lang and starring Joan Bennett and Michael Redgrave. Based on Rufus King's novel 'Museum Piece No. 13.'.

Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969. Original program produced by the Los Angeles County Museum of Art for a major exhibition of Lang's films, taking place from October 3rd-November 22nd, 1969. A major cycle of Lang's films were presented in the Museum's Leo S. Bing Theatre, with 30 feature films by Lang screened on Friday and Saturday evenings during the alloted period. The program contains a brief introduction by Philip Chamberlain, along with a full schedule of events, and a brief synopsis of each film. Rare; we find no examples for sale in the trade (2014), and no listing in OCLC. Single sheet of gray-green stock, measuring 11 1/8" x 11 1/8" and folded once at center to create a 4pp program. Front cover photo-illustrated with an image of Lang in a director's chair and two camera men behind him. Barely-perceptible hint of toning to lower edge, else Fine.

Shingletown, CA: Mark V. Ziesing, 1990. First Edition. Sharp copy of the first installment in Lansdale's East Texas series featuring Hap Collins (Liberal White bad-ass) and Leonard Pine (a Black, gay, Republican Vietnam vet). Basis for Sundance TV's popular mini-series Hap and Leonard. First Printing. Octavo (24.25cm); red cloth, with titles stamped in silver on spine; dustjacket; [viii],178,[6]pp. Signed by the author on the half-title page. Fine in a Fine, unclipped dustjacket.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1930. First Edition. A play based on Lardner's short story "Some Like Them Cold," centered around a songwriter who moves from Schenctady to New York City in hopes of making a name for himself in Tin Pan Alley, and his struggles with love. The original Broadway production ran for 273 performances, and gave way to two film adaptations: A. Edward Sutherland's June Moon (1931), and George Archainbaud's 1937 musical comedy Blonde Trouble. Bruccoli & Layman A24.1. First Printing. Octavo (19.75cm); pale pink linen, with printed title label mounted at upper spine; dustjacket; xii,187,[1]pp. Trivial dust-soil to upper edge of textblock, else a fresh, Fine copy. Dustjacket is unclipped ($2.00), with trivial wear to heel, and a single, tiny tear at upper edge of rear panel; very Near Fine, with the spine notably unfaded - the anomalous copy.

New York: Knopf, 1926. First Edition. Lawrence's novel of modern Mexico, a portrayal of a turbulent country with a focus on a wide-spread poitical movement among the peasantry to revive the cult of the ancient deities. Written mostly in Mexico at Oaxaca and on Lake Chapala, Lawrence completed the novel early in 1925, and at the time considered it his most important work. The American edition was published from new plates, presumably in smaller numbers than the British edition (3,000 copies). A scarce title in the lovely illustrated jacket; we have noted a single copy jacketed copy of the American edition in the trade in recent memory. Roberts A33. First Printing. Octavo; yellow cloth, with titling and decorations stamped black and red on spine and front panel; red topstain; 445pp, [2]. Subtle fading to extremities, with faint spotting to spine panel; Near Fine. In the rare dustjacket designed by Dorothy Brett, priced $3.00 at mid-spine; light soil and spotting, numerous small, and several large,… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1931. First American Edition. First trade edition in the US, preceded by a small, privately-published edition (titled The Escaped Cock) by Harry Marks for the Black Sun Press. First Printing. Octavo (19.25cm); black sateen cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine, and phoenix device blind-stamped to front cover; brown topstain; dustjacket; [vi],103,[3]pp. Base of spine gently nudged, hint of dustiness to upper board edges, with a few faint foxed spots to right edge of textblock; Near Fine. Dustjacket is spine-sunned, shelfworn, with shallow losses to spine ends and two corners, several short tears, some biopredation to base of spine and lower rear panel, and staining to spine panel on verso; Very Good only.

[Los Angeles]: Printed for John Martin by the Press of the Pegacycle Lady, 1974. First Edition. The text of this small book is a letter written to Charles Wilson, a freelance journalist who was active in the labor movement. Wilson had asked Lawrence for a message to the miners at Willington Colliery; he was living at Willington, Durham at the time. Lawrence's message was incorporated in three short poems, "For God's Sake," "O! Start a Revolution" and "It's Either You Fight or You Die" (A Bibliography of D.H. Lawrence, pp.247-48). Uncommon in commerce, with the bulk of the edition (35 copies, as of November, 2021) held in OCLC member institutions. Roberts A118. One of 50 copies. Small quarto (26cm); marbled paper-covered boards, with letterpress-printed title label mounted to upper front cover; unprinted dark blue laid paper dustjacket; [16]pp. Fine in a very Near Fine dustjacket, with a hint of sunning to spine and upper edge of front panel.

Santa Rosa: Black Sparrow Press, 1994. First Edition. Hardcover Issue, one of 50 copies. Octavo (21cm); decorative paper-covered boards; [4],5-39,[1]pp. Trivial wear to extremities, hint of dust-soil to rear cover, else very Near Fine, without dustjacket, as issued. A volume containing the text of a manuscript by Lawrence, first published in the Daily Chronicle on Thursday, November 29, 1928. "The MS is published here for the first time incorporating Lawrence's corrections, deletions, and second thoughts. There follows a variorum version, allowing us to trace the process of composition" (p.7). Edited by Roy Spencer.

New York: Walker and Company, 1963. First American Edition. Le Carré's second novel, the only one of his novels placing George Smiley in a setting outside the espionage community. Basis for Gavin Millar's 1991 film of the same name, starring Denholm Elliott, Glenda Jackson, and a young Christian Bale. Hubin, p.243; Barzun & Taylor 2142. First Printing. Octavo (20.75cm); yellow linen, with titles stamped in black on spine; dustjacket; [6],7-189,[3]pp. Light wear to crown, faint foxing to upper edge of textblock, with upper rear board corner gently tapped (though still sharp); Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $3.50), gently spine-sunned and lightly edgeworn, with a tiny nick to upper front flap fold, and a faint, shallow stain to upper edge of front flap; Near Fine.

London: Victor Gollancz Ltd, 1963. First Edition. Le Carré's third and best-known novel, one that changed the direction of modern espionage fiction. The novel is "not so much concerned with the machinations of espionage as with the machinations of the minds of those in the profession; not so much what they do in the course of their gray and thankless jobs as with what those jobs do to them. With this story of what happens when British agent Leamas is dispatched to entrap an enemy master spy in East Berlin, Le Carré gave the spy novel a new breath of life" (Pronzini & Muller, p.468). Winner of the CWA's Gold Dagger Award in 1963, and the Edgar Award for Best Novel after the publication of the American edition the following year. Basis for Martin Ritt's 1965 film of the same name, starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Rupert Davies, and Oskar Werner. Hubin, p.243; Barzun & Taylor 2143. First Impression. Octavo (19cm); blue paper-covered boards, with titles stamped in gilt on spine; dustjacket;… Read More

New York: Walker and Company, 1962. First American Edition. Le Carré's debut novel, which introduced the world to master spy George Smiley. Basis for Sidney Lumet's 1967 neo noir The Deadly Affair, starring James Mason, Simone Signoret, and Maximilian Schell. Hubin, p.243; Barzun & Taylor 2141. First Printing. Octavo (20.75cm); jade green linen, with titles stamped in navy blue on spine; dustjacket; [6],7-192pp. Fine in a very Near Fine dustjacket, unclipped (priced $3.50), with a single tiny tear at upper rear flap fold.

New York: Coward-McCann, Inc, 1964. First American Edition. Le Carré's third and best-known novel, one that changed the direction of modern espionage fiction. The novel is "not so much concerned with the machinations of espionage as with the machinations of the minds of those in the profession; not so much what they do in the course of their gray and thankless jobs as with what those jobs do to them. With this story of what happens when British agent Leamas is dispatched to entrap an enemy master spy in East Berlin, Le Carré gave the spy novel a new breath of life" (Pronzini & Muller, p.468). Winner of the CWA's Gold Dagger Award in 1963, and the Edgar Award for Best Novel after the publication of the American edition the following year. Basis for Martin Ritt's 1965 film of the same name, starring Richard Burton, Claire Bloom, Rupert Davies, and Oskar Werner. Hubin, p.243; Barzun & Taylor 2143. First Printing, a Review Copy, with the publisher's typed review slip and publicity letter laid in.… Read More

New York: Young Scott Books, 1968. First Edition. Gorey's illustrated version of the first poem in Lear's Book of Nonsense. Toledano B38a. Oblong octavo (16cm); illustrated boards; dustjacket; [48]pp; illus. Faint, scattered foxing to board edges, else Near Fine in a Near Fine, price-clipped dustjacket, with a touch of dustiness and a single short tear.

N.P.: Metro Goldwyn Mayer, 1932. Fine. Single sheet of ivory paperstock printed in blue and green, folded once. An original American advertising herald for the 1932 film "Arsene Lupin," measuring 4.5 X 5.5 inches. Lupin was a gentleman-thief who was a master of disguise, created by French author Maurice LeBlanc. He made his first appearance in 1905 in "L'arrestation d'Arséne Lupin". The 1932 Jack Conway picture is perhaps the best-known adaptation of LeBlanc's character to the screen, an early talkie starring John and Lionel Barrymore and Karen Morely. An attractive piece of ephemera, and quite scarce.

Norwalk, CT: The Easton Press, 1997. Limited Edition. The author's first published book, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 and basis for Robert Mulligan's Oscar-winning 1962 film starring Gregory Peck. Uncommon signed; the Easton Press never issued a signed limited edition of Lee's novel - this copy was brought to one of the few book signings the author participated in during the mid-to-late 1990's, to promote the 35th and 40th Anniversary editions published by HarperCollins. Octavo (23cm); full hunter green leather, with titling and decorative elements stamped in gilt on spine and covers; silk endpapers; all edges gilt; [8],9-296pp, with a color frontispiece illustration by Katherine Ross. Signed by the author in black ink on the title page. Tiny scratch to upper edge of textblock, and a touch of oxidation to two corners of the the gilt-ruled border on front cover, else very Near Fine, with the publisher's "Collector's Notes" insert laid in.