Search Results: Authors starting with O from Swan's Fine Books

London: Jonathan Cape, 1926. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good +. Austen, John. First printing, octavo size, 288 pp., signed by Liam O'Flaherty. Liam O'Flaherty (1896-1984) is considered by many to be one of the "foremost socialist writers in the first part of the 20th century". After serving in WWI (and being badly injured) he became involved in Irish politics and was a founding member of the Communist Party in Ireland. In his novels he could generally be seen as "a caustic, indeed corrosive, critic of the social pressures which shaped early twentieth-century Ireland and, in particular, the new Ireland which emerged with the founding of the Irish Free State." This work, "Mr. Gilhooley" is one of his "morbid" novels, with the story set in a "murky Dublin"; upon publication, it caused an "uproar over its 'indecent' content" (which has as a character a "girl of the streets"). The dust jacket with two illustrations by John Austen (1886-1948), a well-known illustrator whose style was at… Read More

San Francisco: Robert Grabhorn and Andrew Hoyem, 1968. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 150 copies, folio size, 65 pp., with prospectus and original invoice. Published to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Roxburghe Club of San Francisco, the well-known private club for book collectors, printers, and antiquarian booksellers. Both Robert Grabhorn and Andrew Hoyem being members, it was appropriate that they issue the volume. With twenty-five reproductions in colour of meeting invitations, announcements, and keepsakes, the volume opens with a list of Club Officers from 1928 to 1968, followed by a full listing of the Announcements and Keepsakes issued during the 40 years. The book would be included in the Exhibition of Western Books (Rounce & Coffin Club). ___DESCRIPTION: Black leather shelfback with gilt lettering and decorative borders with tan, brown and black patterned paper over boards (bound by the Schuberth Bookbindery, SF, with their stamp on the rear turn-in), fore- and bottom… Read More

[San Francisco]: [San Francisco Center for the Book], 2018. Limited Edition. No binding. Fine. Olson, Rik. No. 7 of 9 copies, signed and numbered by Rik Olson. This lino-carved art, a take-off of "The Wizard of Oz", was printed by a Buffalo Springfield Steamroller at the San Francisco Center for the Book's annual Roadworks Steamroller Printing Festival. The black lines on each piece were printed on the street using the linoleum cut and the steamroller; the coloured highlights were added, by hand, by the artist Rik Olson afterwards, when he signed and numbered each print. A California native, Olson has studied under master painters and wood engravers such as Richard McLean, Barry Moser, and John DePol, and his work is exhibited around the world; his prints shows an attention to detail and colour that captures the fantastic essence of his subjects. Olson is the only artist who has participated in Roadworks every year, creating exquisitely detailed relief prints of varied subjects, often incorporating… Read More

n.p.: Bergamot Press [1999], 1999. Limited Edition. Wraps. Fine. Naragon, Brad. One of 126 copies (unnumbered), square sixmo size, 22 pp. With images by Brad Naragon which were originally sumi ink paintings. C. Mikal Oness, proprietor of the Sutton Hoo Press is a poet in his own right. The title of this volume, Runian, is from the Old English verb meaning "to whisper". ___DESCRIPTION: Softbound in heavy ivory paper wrappers, white paper label on the front with black lettering, embossed image as a frontispiece of the first pen and ink image in the volume, with seven full-page images by Brad Naragon plus a small image at the very end, opposite the colophon; type handset Lutetia, printed on Johannot, square sixmo size (approximately 6.5" on each side), unpaginated with 11 leaves; per the colophon, printed in an edition of "approximately 126 copies". ___CONDITION: Fine, as new from the publisher. ___POSTAGE: International customers, please note that additional postage may apply as the standard… Read More

Norwalk, Connecticut: The Easton Press, 1992. Leather bound. Fine. Freas, Frank Kelly. Octavo size, 328 pp. George Orwell (born Eric Arthur Blair, 1903-1950) is renowned for his works "Animal Farm" and "1984" and his outspoken criticism of totalitarianism and authoritarian social practices. Many of the words and expressions used in his work, including "Big Brother", "Thought Police", "doublethink", and "thoughtcrime" have entered the popular culture and are routinely used today. This work, "Nineteen Eighty-Four", was published shortly before Orwell's death of tuberculosis. Made into films at least twice, it is, along with Huxley's "Brave New World", one of "the century's most famous English-language Dystopia....It is a book of hectic, devilish, claustrophobic intensity..." (n.b., quote from "The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction" by John Clute and Peter Nicholls, p. 896). ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full leather by The Easton Press, this noted on the title page as the "Collector's Edition", with gilt… Read More

[Champaign, Illinois]: Sports Publishing Inc, 2000. First and Limited Edition. Full leather. Fine. Number 235 of 250 copies, octavo size, 224 pp., signed by Jim Otto, Cliff Branch, Ray Guy, Ken Stabler, George Blanda, Alan Miller and Billy Cannon. The Oakland Raiders, perhaps more than any other team in any sport, brings iconic images to mind: The Silver and Black, The Pirate, The Black Hole, with the the fans showing up for games painted and costumed in fearsome attire. For fifteen seasons Jim Otto played the center position, undergoing nine knee operations during his career and seventy-four total operations during his lifetime, even having a near death experience from infection after one of the surgeries. This is the story of his pain, his love of the game, his devotion to team and teammates, with many chapters focusing on the great players, coaches and owners he was affiliated with during his playing career. The book is signed by Otto, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1980, and several… Read More