Search Results: Authors starting with S from Whitmore Rare Books

Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1964. First edition. Fine/Fine. A Fine copy in like slipcase, retaining the publisher's bellyband. Signed by the editor Pierre Salinger on the front endpaper accompanied by a bookplate for the Salinger Whistlestop Tour personalized for Penny Button: "To Penny with the deep affection of her friend Pierre Salinger." Encyclopedia Britannica's tribute to the recently assassinated president, the collection drew together reminiscences and essays from politicians and literary luminaries including Robert F. Kennedy, John Masefield, Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Theodore H. White and Norman Mailer. The dedication was composed by Kennedy's vice president, who now governed in the office of president, Lyndon B. Johnson. Fine in Fine dust jacket.

Boston: Little, Brown & Co, 1951. First edition. Fine/Fine. A Fine copy of the book in like dust jacket. Exceptionally bright and fresh, extremely scarce in this condition. Jacket with only negligible wear at the extremities, but retaining all the vivid red and yellow colors on the front panel and spine. With all relevant issue points, including original price (in the correct place on the flap), Salinger's hair touching the upper edge of the rear panel, and "First Edition" stated on the copyright page. Housed in a custom red quarter-leather slipcase with chemise. Salinger's novel was not the first coming-of-age story to highlight teenage angst, but it sits squarely at the pinnacle of those efforts. It offers Holden Caulfield's perspective on school, New York City, sexuality, family and friends, and, of course, phonies, with a subtext on alienation and loneliness running throughout the book. "In American writing, there are three perfect books, which seem to speak to every reader and condition:… Read More

Boston: Little, Brown & Co, 1951. First edition. Fine/Near Fine. A Fine copy of the book in Near Fine dust jacket. Jacket with the spine a bit toned, as often, and two small amateur tap repairs to the verso. Rear panel a bit scratched and rubbed, but overall a very presentable copy of the work. With all relevant issue points, including original price (in the correct place on the flap), Salinger's hair touching the upper edge of the rear panel, and "First Edition" stated on the copyright page. Housed in a custom slipcase with chemise. Salinger's novel was not the first coming-of-age story to highlight teenage angst, but it sits squarely at the pinnacle of those efforts. It offers Holden Caulfield's perspective on school, New York City, sexuality, family and friends, and, of course, phonies, with a subtext on alienation and loneliness running throughout the book. "In American writing, there are three perfect books, which seem to speak to every reader and condition: Huckleberry Finn, The Great Gatsby,… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1925. First edition. Near Fine. A Near Fine copy of the book that suffers from light to moderate foxing throughout (and on the front cover illustration). Original black cloth with mounted cover illustration and pictorial endpapers. Complete with the full complement of illustrations by Maxfield Parrish, his last and most brilliant book illustration project. Oddly, the title page of this copy is printed out of register, so that the font and images are blurry. We have never seen a copy like this and suspect that it was an error caught very early on in the print run. Parrish worked for three years on the illustrations for the book, creating an elaborate model of the castle to use for his inspiration. In agreeing to work on the project, Parrish wrote: "You must understand all this layout to be in gorgeous color. The landscapes back of the figures in the cover lining - a very beautiful affair illuminated by a golden late afternoon sun: castles, waterfall, rocks and… Read More

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1949. First edition. Fine/Near Fine. Octavo. Original cream cloth-grain boards, titles to spine and front cover in black. With dust jacket. Housed in a custom brown morocco-backed brown cloth solander box. Cloth bright and fresh, binding square and tight, light foxing to top edge of book block, contents clean and fresh, a Fine copy in very Nearly Fine jacket, not price-clipped, minor rubbing to edges, short closed tear to head of front and rear panels. First edition in book form, first printing, this copy in notably attractive condition. Shane is a classic of the western genre and was the author's first book. The story was initially published in 1946 as a three part serial in the pulp magazine Argosy under the name Rider from Nowhere. Schaefer revised and significantly expanded the work for the present book. In 1953 Shane was adapted into a film of the same name starring Alan Ladd. Fine in Near Fine dust jacket.

Philadelphia: Lippincott, 1937. First edition. Very Good +. Deluxe publisher's vellum with gilt to spine and front board. Top edge gilt. Signed limited edition, this 135 of 157, with an original signed etching as frontispiece. Bookplate to front pastedown. Some staining to boards and spotting to preliminaries, but internally fresh and bright with 60 illustrations by Schaldach. [With] the first trade edition, this being 699/1560, in original blue publisher's cloth with gilt to spine and front board. Spine sunned and toned; shelfwear to extremities. Remnant of removed bookplates to front and rear pastedowns; bookplate to front endpaper. Internally clean and unmarked. Both books housed in a custom half morocco slipcase. Born in Indiana in 1896, William Schaldach began building his name as an artist in the 1920s, drawing inspiration from the fish, wildflowers, waterfowl, and landscapes that shaped his childhood. "After serving in the Navy, he had attended the Art Student's League in New York where he… Read More

Edinburgh: Adam & Charles Black, 1871. Centenary Edition. Twenty-five small octavo volumes (7 3/16 x 4 3/4 inches; 182 x 121 mm). Illustrated with twenty- five engraved frontispieces and vignette title-pages. Bound ca. 1871 in full contemporary tan calf, covers double-ruled in gilt. Spines with five raised bands, decoratively tooled in gilt in compartments, with red and green morocco gilt lettering labels, marbled endpapers, all edges marbled. Auction lot sticker on front board of Volume 7. Gilt on spines a little dull, still a VG+ set in a contemporary binding. "Scott's influence as a novelist was incalculable; he established the form of the historical novel, and, according to V.S. Pritchett, the form of the short story. He was avidly read and imitated throughout the 19th century, not only by historical novelists such as Ainsworth and Bulwer-Lytton, but also by writers like Mrs. Gaskell, G. Eliot, the Brontës, and many others, who treated rural themes, contemporary peasant life, regional speech,… Read More

London: John Murray, 1977. First edition. Small quarto (9 1/16 x 6 1/2 inches; 231 x 165 mm.). One of ten copies specially bound by Zaehnsdorf in quarter green morocco, ruled in gilt, over green cloth boards. Vellum tips. Spine ruled and lettered in gilt with two raised bands and with Zaehnsdorf monogram in gilt at foot of spine. Top edge gilt. Olive green endpapers. Text illustrations. Housed in a fleece-lined green cloth slipcase. A Fine copy. "Of this edition 10 copies have been reserved by arrangement with the Publishers for fine binding by Zaehnsdorf. This is copy number 9 which has been specially bound for David Brass" (calligraphed on an inserted limitation leaf at front). Anne Scott-James was an English journalist and author who served as editor of Harper's Bazaar before beginning a well-regarded series of gardening books.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1837. First edition. Near Fine. BAL second state, without the period following the word Illustrated on the title page. Original green publisher's cloth binding with gilt to spine. Some rubbing to extremities and boards. In all square and sound. Small stains to front endpapers. Early ownership signature to header of title. With less foxing than typical. Collating viii, 9-216, 16: complete, retaining publisher's catalogue to rear. With one appearance at auction in the last 45 years and no other copies on the market, this important work depicting the experiences of American working-class women has become quite scarce. "As the United States was finding a national identity, writers of the time were creating a distinctive American literature. Catherine Maria Sedgwick was a novelist who contributed greatly to the new American writing of this age" (Wolfanger). Unafraid of using her platform for social reform, Sedgwick tackled uncomfortable questions about the U.S.' founding… Read More

New York: Dick & Fitzgerald, 1858. First edition. Near Fine. Original publisher's cloth binding stamped in gilt and blind. Brown coated endpapers. Several small spots to front board. Lower corners gently bumped. Bookplate of Jane des Grange to front endpaper. Collates xvii, [1], 19-132, [12]: complete with half title and adverts. Light scattered foxing, else clean and unmarked. In all, a pleasing copy. Scarce in trade and institutionally, OCLC locates 8 copies worldwide, of which 6 are in the U.S. The infamous Lola Montez managed to fit multiple lives into one: actress and dancer, courtesan, mistress to King Ludwig I of Bavaria, Countess of Landsfeld, and finally revolution-era emigree to California. In each of these roles, she relied on a finely honed sense of social diplomacy and wit to accomplish her ends; and The Arts of Beauty is the perfect textual product to encapsulate these skills. Engaging with classical satirical texts like Ovid's Ars Amatoria as well as contemporary conduct guides… Read More

London: Printed for the Author and sold at her House in White-Harte Street, 1750. First edition. Modern drab wrappers, all edges speckled red. Bound with blank pages to rear. Measuring 175 x 100mm. Collating [2], 41, [1, blank]: bound without the half title, else complete. Signed on the final page of text by the author: "Your Lordship's most obed[ient] serv[ant]! T. Muilman." Internally fresh and unmarked, with pages closely trimmed; no loss to printed text, but minor loss to final letter of author's signature. One of three issues with unknown priority, the present first edition of A Letter Humbly Address'd conforms to ESTC T82111, including the dash in White-Harte and the author's signature to "prevent imposition" (Sloane Museum). All variants are scarce institutionally and in trade. No copy of any variant has come to auction in the last 25 years. Having entered the sex trade at the age of 12, Teresia Constantia Phillips Muilman leveraged her marginalized position to publicly narrate her… Read More

London: Printed for C. Moran, 1770. First collected edition. Contemporary speckled calf, skillfully rebacked with original spines laid down. Gilt and morocco labels to spines. Marbled endpapers. Measuring 155 x 96mm and collating complete, including final advert leaf to volume II: [2], ii, 147, [1, blank]; [2], v, [1, advert], 139, [3]. Bookplates of J. O. Edwards to front pastedowns of each, with additional bookseller's ticket to front endpaper of volume II. Front endpaper of volume I detached at base but holding well else; some offsetting to preliminary and terminal leaves of both volumes. Occasional light pencil marginalia. Overall a fresh copy of a scarce work on the women of the London sex trade. ESTC reports only 8 copies in libraries, and its most recent appearance at auction was in 1931. The present is the only complete copy on the market. Edward Thompson's position as a satirist "has drawn the attention of commentators from Dr. Johnson to modern times," and given that his "verse and prose… Read More

London: Edward Bull, 1831. First edition. Unsophisticated and bound in original publisher's quarter brown paper over drab boards with paper labels to spines. Measuring 220 x 140mm and collating complete including half titles to both, frontis to volume I, folding frontis to volume II, and adverts to rear of volume II: [6], xv, [1, blank], 368; [6], xiv, 364, [4, adverts]. Spines rubbed with chipping to paper labels and loss to extremities; outer joints cracked but holding well. Boards somewhat rubbed to volume I with some sunning to front board of volume II. Internally pleasing with volume I surprisingly fresh and unmarked; occasional scattered foxing to volume II. 1" closed tear and small paper loss to upper corner of folding frontis in volume II with no text loss. The only copy on the market in original boards of this stunning memoir of the life of courtesan and theatrical "comic muse" Dorothea "Dora" Jordan. Born to an actress mother, Dorothea Jordan made her own stage debut in 1777 at the age of… Read More

[London]: A. Moore near St. Paul's, 1759. First edition. Bound in modern marbled wrappers with label to front. Measuring 195 x 155mm and collating complete: 15, [1, blank]. A surprisingly fresh and unmarked copy of this satirical piece centered on courtesan Kitty Fisher, who was beginning her career rise to fame. Scarce institutionally and in trade, ESTC reports only 8 copies in libraries. In the last 90 years it has appeared only once at auction, with this being the only example on the market. Kitty Fisher would eventually rise to become one of "the most celebrated women" in her field, ranking in Harris' List of Covent Garden Ladies alongside "Covent Garden Characters and Reigning Celebrities." The premier 18th century guide to London's sex trade, Harris' List offered readers the names, biographies, locations, prices, and specialties of the city's most infamous sex workers. For women hoping to maintain clientele, being included was of importance. For potential patrons, it was a source for… Read More

London: Printed for C. Parker, 1772. First English language edition. Contemporary calf with five raised bands. Measuring 217 x 127mm. Front blank neatly excised, else collating complete: [4], 324. Front board slightly bowed with small scuff; lacking spine label, and with cracking to joints near spine ends but remaining sound. Armorial bookplate of the Marquess of Headfort to the front pastedown. Minor worming to pastedowns and to preliminary and final leaves not affecting text. Internally fresh and unmarked. A scarce work by a woman documenting the lives of historic courtesans, it has appeared only twice at auction in the past 85 years and ESTC reports only 13 institutionally held copies (3 of these in the U.S.). Anne de La Roche-Guilhem's history of famed courtesans was published in four languages between its 1675 release in French and its first appearance in English in 1772 (OCLC). That year, both The Critical Review and the London Magazine noted its potential interest to "those who are fond of… Read More

Philadelphia: John Duross, 1855. First edition. Near Fine. Original publisher's cloth binding embossed in blind with gilt to spine. A tight, square copy with sunning to the spine. Scattered foxing to preliminaries, with remainder of text block surprisingly clean and bright. Early ownership inscription to the front endpaper reveals this to be a family-owned copy, passed down from the author Mira Sharpless Townsend: "The poetry and full contents of this book was written by my great grandmother Mira Sharpless Townsend who was the founder of the Rosine Association (Home -- as it was called). Claire Spenser Grubb." A scarce title with an important association to the founder of a key organization aiding women gain educational and employment opportunity after escaping the sex trade. Nineteenth century Philadelphia was a hotbed of reform, giving women a range of opportunities of civic and political involvement. The Rosine Association emerged out of this space -- and it was a direct response to problems in… Read More

London: Wilks & Taylor, 1801. First edition. Contemporary tree calf with gilt and morocco to spines. All edges speckled blue. Joints professionally secured and spine ends renewed. Retaining original labels to volumes I-II and with labels replaced to style on volumes III-IV. Measuring 160 x 90mm and collating complete with frontis to volume I: [8], 192; [2], 187, [5]; [4], 184; [4], 196. Containing her memoirs in the first two volumes, and her literary works previously unpublished in the final two volumes. Armorial bookplates of William O'Bryen, Marquis of Thomond to front pastedowns; ownership signature of Eliza O'Bryen to header of title to volume I. Small bookseller's ticket to front pastedown of volume I. A bit of foxing and offsetting to endpapers, but internally a crisp, fresh copy. Scarce institutionally and in trade, this exemplar of the scandalous memoir genre is held at a modest 20 libraries in the U.S. and has only appeared twice at auction in the last half century. The present is the only… Read More

London: Pall Mall Gazette Office, 1885. First edition. Original printed wraps stapled at spine. Measuring 250 x 180mm and complete in 96 pages. Chipping, splitting, and loss along spine and corners of wraps. Light scattered foxing throughout, with heavier foxing to final four leaves and to fore-edge of closed text block. A follow-up and conclusion to William Stead's sensational expose of abuses within London's sex trade, this piece is scarce institutionally and in trade. While OCLC reports 4 copies in libraries, none appear in the modern auction record and the present is the only example on the market. [TW: Sexual assault] A pioneering journalist, William Stead rose to prominence with his 1885 exposès on widespread child abuse and human trafficking present in London's sex trade. In a series of articles titled A Maiden Tribute to Modern Babylon and released by the Pall Mall Gazette across the summer and fall of 1885, Stead described harrowing conditions, oftentimes with sensational language, using… Read More

London: Printed and Published by the Author, 1830. First edition. Three volumes bound in one. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards, with gilt and morocco to spine. All edges speckled red. Green endpapers. Measuring 180 x 110mm and collating [2], civ, [2, half title], 196; [2], 313, [1, blank]; [2], 282: with half title of volume I bound out of order and without half titles to remaining volumes, else complete. A tight, square copy with a bit of shelfwear to extremities and some rubbing along rear joint. Internally with occasional marginal staining to volumes I and II; heavier staining to pages 117-21, 160-66, and 196 of volume I and to pages 20-21 of volume II with all text remaining legible. Volume III largely fresh and unmarked. A scarce book institutionally and in trade, the last copy appeared at auction nearly 70 years ago. The present is the only example on the market. Published five years prior, Harriette Wilson's notorious memoir promised readers a controversial and unapologetic take on… Read More

Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1909. First American edition. Near Fine. Quarto, two volumes. First American Edition. Originally published as a limited edition in London the same year. Publisher's blue cloth, titles, designs and rule in silver on the spine and front boards, top edges gilt. A Nearly Fine set, much nicer than usually found. Booksellers' tickets for W. A. Butterfield on the front end papers. A few spots of foxing, but overall clean and bright. Three folding maps and one folding panorama at the rear of volume two, all Fine. Shackleton gained fame as a member of Capt. Robert F. Scott's first expedition (1901-1902), and in 1907 came within 100 miles of the South Pole; a record at the time. This expedition of Shackleton's was the first to reach the Magnetic South Pole, the first to ascend the volcano Mt. Erebus, and substantially added to the knowledge of the geology and biology of the region. Spence 1098. Near Fine.