Search Results: Authors starting with W from B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

1940 Original 9" x 7" Type 1 sepia toned photo. Photo of smiling team leaders, (L to R) coach Mike Kelly, captain Arky Vaughan, manager Frankie Frisch, coach Honus Wagner, and coach Jake Flowers. Near fine, with light creasing to top left corner, and light staining to verso of photo. Overall, a pleasing photo, capturing a light moment among the Pirates' higher-ups. Honus Wagner is considered the greatest shortstop ever and was part of the five-person inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 1936, alongside Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Wagner was an 8x NL batting champion, 5x NL stolen base leader, and 1909 World Champion. After retiring as a player, Wagner coached the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1933 to 1951. Notably, the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is one of the most valuable and sought after sports cards of all time (in 2022, one sold for $7.5 million). Arky Vaughan was Wagner's protege - a Hall of Fame shortstop who earned nine All-Star selections in his… Read More

1943 Original 9" x 7" Type 1 black and white photo. Photo of Frisch (manager), Wagner (coach and hitting instructor), and three sailors standing together while Frisch demonstrates with a bat. Fine. Overall, an excellent, humorous photo. Honus Wagner is considered the greatest shortstop ever and was part of the five-person inaugural Hall of Fame Class of 1936, alongside Babe Ruth, Ty Cobb, Christy Mathewson, and Walter Johnson. Wagner was an 8x NL batting champion, 5x NL stolen base leader, and 1909 World Champion. After retiring as a player, Wagner coached the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1933 to 1951. Notably, the T206 Honus Wagner baseball card is one of the most valuable and sought after sports cards of all time (in 2022, one sold for $7.5 million). Frankie Frisch was a 3x All-Star and 4x World Series Champion. He also managed in the league for 16 years and was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1947. . Photograph.

Wisconson: The Perishable Press Limited, 1974 First edition, first printing. Limited edition, one of 130 copies signed by the author in orange ink on the half-title page. A fine copy. Overall, a very bright and attractive copy. The Wandering Tattler is a collection of poems by Diane Wakoski, a prolific American poet known for the personal quality of her writing. It is truly a work of literary art, as admirable for the craftsmanship of its physical construction as for its words and images. Wakoski's poetry, which incorporates a heavy use of bird-like and spring imagery, is enhanced by the accompanying stunning illustrations by Ellen Layon. These motifs are continued in the publishing and printing processes; published "as our Sun enters Aries or the first day of Spring," the drawings and illustrations are printed on handmade Shadwell papers, the colors of which were drawn from the "colors of the actual birds." Additionally, The Perishable Press Limited, run by professor, artist,… Read More

Philadelphia: The Athletic Publishing Company, 1888 First edition. Publisher's yellow wrappers, lettered in black. Near fine, with light toning to spine, very light soiling to wrappers, black marker line to fore edge of text block, light chipping to spine ends, top left corner of rear wrapper missing and some tears to top corners of a few pages at back of book, small closed tear to bottom of rear panel, and gift inscription to verso of frontis. Overall, an exceptional copy of a very scarce book. In Base-Ball: How to Become a Player, baseball Hall of Famer John Montgomery Ward explains the history, theory, and positions of the game. The book is notable for being one of the first instructional baseball books. As a player, Ward's most notable achievement was pitching the second perfect game in major league history in 1880. Yet his playing career was just a one part of his illustrious baseball career - he was also a manager, executive, author, and union organizer. A passionate supporter of… Read More

London: Chapman & Hall Ltd., 1938 First edition, first issue, with the "8" in the publication date indistinct, and the "s" present in "as" to the last line of p. 88. Publisher's red and black marble-patterned cloth, lettered in gilt to spine; original red and white dust jacket with newspaper design to front panel, panels lettered in black, spine lettered in white. About near fine with a touch of fading to spine, very light spotting to top edge of text block, and front board slightly bowed; in a good dust jacket with light fading to spine, moderate chipping to spine ends with some loss to "Evelyn" and "Chapman and Hall," corners chipped, and minor edgewear with small closed tears to bottom of front panel and top of rear panel. Overall, a completely unsophisticated example of the scarce original dust jacket. Scoop is a humorous novel in which Waugh satirizes foreign correspondence and sensational journalism. Specifically, it tells the story of… 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

Paris and New York: Contact Editions, 1931 First edition, first printing. One of 500 numbered copies, this being number 388. Inscribed by West on the front free endpaper: “Affectionately / Nathanael West [underlined].” Publisher’s original wrappers, blue and black geometric design to front wrapper, titles in black. Very good with light toning to extremities, mild creasing to fore edge of rear wrapper, light chipping to spine ends, and a small portion of original glassine cover attached inside the folded flaps. Overall, an excellent copy of West’s scarce first novel. Housed in a blue custom folding box with red label. Nathanael West’s surrealistic and irreverent debut, The Dream Life of Balso Snell, follows a poet who comes across the Trojan Horse and climbs into its backside. There he meets various representatives of different literary forms - “writers in search of an audience” - and nihilistically rejects their ideas one by one. Leslie Fiedler called the book… Read More

New York: Covici-Friede, 1934 First edition, first printing. Publisher’s tan cloth with titles in green to front board and spine; original orange dust jacket with wraparound illustration of youth holding a gun, lettered in black, jacket designed by William Cotton. Near fine book with light spotting to cloth (mostly around the spine), “155” written neatly to bottom edge of text block, some light soiling to bottom edge, touch of offsetting to front free endpaper; near fine unclipped jacket with small chip to top left corner of front panel, some rubbing along folds and small nicks to corners and spine ends, else bright and clean. Overall, an excellent copy in a beautiful and vibrant example of its scarce dust jacket. A Cool Million tells the story of Lemuel Pitkin, a poor boy who optimistically goes out into the world to find his fortune and is met with a series of devastating mishaps, most of them resulting in some type of disfigurement. At the same time, an unscrupulous banker and… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1915 First edition, first printing. A near fine copy with only some minor wear to the lower edge; in an excellent example of the rare dust jacket with some mild wear, a tiny chip to the upper edge of the front panel, else near fine. An excellent copy in the exceptionally scarce dust jacket. Edith Wharton was living in France when the Great War broke out in August 1914. Wharton met with soldiers and described their first-hand accounts of the devastation the War had upon the villages along the Western Front. Wharton's reverence for France and advocation for American intervention in the War is apparent in her writing. Her essays on WWI, written as a travelogue, were published as articles in Scribner's Magazine and The Saturday Evening Post, and were subsequently published here as Fighting France in 1915.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Near Fine/Dust Jacket Included.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons,, 1907 First edition; special issue bound for the author lacking the illustrations. Presentation copy, inscribed by Wharton on front free endpaper: "To E. L. W. / from E. W. / [flourish] / October 1907." and additionally inscribed by author on front pastedown: "One of 12 copies bound / for author without illustrations / [flourish]"; below that is a former owner's signature of Harriet Johnson. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles (binding B, no priority); as it lacks the illustrations, it also lacks the List of Illustrations leaf and the title page appears in six lines instead of seven, omitting "With Illustrations by Alonzo Kimball". A good copy, with corners and edges of spine worn and frayed, spine faded and with a light stain, some light spotting to cloth (mostly on lower cover), bottom edges and text block worn, both inner hinges cracked but holding, front hinge appears to have been fixed with a tiny bit of glue,… Read More

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1933 First edition, first printing. Original publisher's blue cloth, lettered in gilt; black dust jacket lettered in white. Near fine with a touch of rubbing to the spine ends; in a lightly worn jacket with a tear along the spine, spine lightly worn and a small abrasion to the upper spine. Aptly named, Human Nature, this collection of five stories showcases Edith Wharton's ability to skillfully reveal the inner nature of her characters. Often critical, Wharton never veers into sensationalism. The first story, a novella titled "Her Son," centers upon a lonely widow's search for her son. Similar to Ethan Frome, the story builds to a fever pitch of emotion and is undergirded with a deep sense of pity for the fallibility of its characters. . First Edition. Hard Cover. Very Good/Dust Jacket Included.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1907 First edition. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles (binding B, no priority). Book with just a touch of rubbing to spine ends, top edge a bit dusty, else fine. A stunning copy with bright gilt. Garrison A14.I.a.I. Edith Wharton's tremendous writing skills are on full display in this novel, as she weaves stunning psychological narratives into her skillful social portraiture. The Fruit of the Tree tells the story of John Amherst, the owner of a textile mill in New England, and his wife Bessy. Moral dilemmas abound, as John aims to better the labor conditions for his workers, and likewise care for his wife and young daughter. The most memorable plot twist concerns Justine Brent, a volunteer nurse at the local hospital who begins work as a live-in tutor with the Amhersts. The Fruit of the Tree is Wharton's third novel, and was likely completed while she lived at The Mount, her estate in Lenox, Massachusetts which she designed herself.. First… Read More

New York: Scribner's, 1908 First edition, first state on laid paper. Publisher's red cloth with gilt titles. Fine, without any interior markings, spine just a trifle faded, with bright gilt to cloth and top edge. An absolutely beautiful copy. Garrison A15.I.a. Edith Wharton's fourth collection of short stories, The Hermit and the Wild Woman, features seven stories, each of which gives a lesson in morality. One of her earlier works, this collection showcases Wharton's burgeoning ability to write vastly different protagonists from story to story: the protagonists vary from a cloistered monk to a struggling artist.. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine.

New York: Charles Scriber's Sons, 1911 First edition, first issue text with "wearily" unbattered on p. 135. One of 6,000 copies. Publisher's red cloth, lettered in gilt, top edge gilt. About near fine, with some light wear to the extremities, faint soiling to the front board, slight lean to the spine, former owner name erased from front free endpaper, otherwise clean interior. Overall, a bright and attractive copy. Garrison A19.I.a. Ethan Frome is a Pulitzer Prize winning novel set in the fictional town of Starkfield, Massachusetts. It tells the story of Ethan Frome, a young man with a sickly wife, Zeena, who has fallen in love with his wife's cousin, Mattie, who lives with the Fromes to assist with Zeena's healthcare. Zeena, aware of her husband's wandering eye, is determined to send Mattie away, and Ethan is desperate to express his feelings. In a bizarre twist of events, Mattie and Ethan paralyze themselves in an attempt to commit suicide, and Zeena becomes their… Read More

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1929 First edition, first printing in binding "A" (first of three bindings, priority undetermined). Original publisher's dark blue cloth, lettered in gilt, yellow dust jacket lettered in black. A fine copy in a lightly worn jacket with some shallow loss to the upper spine and mild soiling. An attractive copy in the scarce dust jacket. Edith Wharton's 1929 Hudson River Bracketed follows star-crossed lovers Vance Weston, a naïve young writer, and Halo Spears, an accomplished young woman. The two meet in the Hudson Valley while Vance is convalescing and they reconnect years later in New York City. Halo is married to a sophisticated man, while Vance is trapped in an impulsive marriage. Their bond flourishes despite the hardship and disappointment they both face. Hudson River Bracketed, a prime example of the insightfulness that is consistent with Edith Wharton's work, deals with the constraints of societal expectations, ambition, and fated… Read More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1952 First edition, first printing. Illustrated by Garth Williams. Original publisher's light tan cloth, lettered in blue and black, pictorial blue endpapers with a cobweb illustration in white; in the original pictorial dust jacket, with Garth's illustration of Fern holding Wilbur and looking at Charlotte to the front panel, lettered in black, blue, red and green. Fine book, with just a touch of rubbing to bottom corners; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and upper margin of front panel, some very light surface marks to spine and front panel, a touch of soiling to panels, and two tiny chips to front flap fold. Overall, an exemplary copy of E. B. White's classic book. Charlotte's Web tells the story of a pig named Wilbur and how the farmer's daughter Fern and his spider friend Charlotte endeavor to save Wilbur from slaughter. Just as White's Stuart Little, the story of a mouse in a big city, appealed to urban American… Read More

Philadelphia: David McKay, 1888 First edition, first issue. Presentation copy, inscribed by Whitman on the front free endpaper to his close friend, William Ingram: "Wm Ingram / from the author / Walt Whitman / Oct: 2 '88--". Publisher's flexible dark red cloth boards, lettered in gilt. One of approximately 100 special copies printed for Whitman for presentation (binding A). Spine ends lightly worn, tear to lower with a minor repair, a few small spots, light offsetting to pastedowns and endpaper, else very good or better. BAL 21430. Having published Specimen Days 6 years prior, Walt Whitman published November Boughs in 1888. A collection of new poems plus articles he had previously published, it contains insightful self-critique of his own work and what he believed would be his literary legacy. Notably, Whitman cites his magnum opus Leaves of Grass, acknowledging the public's lack of understanding of it, their outrage at its subject matter, and its failure to become a… 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

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.

Norfolk, CT: New Directions, 1940 First edition, first printing. Presentation copy; inscribed by Williams to Norman Mcleod: "To / Norman Mcleod / - with expectations / of the best for the new / novel - / William Carlos Williams / Oct 29/40". Publisher's indigo cloth, lettered in silver. Very good, with some light sunning and a slight lean to the spine, a touch of fraying to the spine ends, small spot to the rear board, light offsetting to the endpapers, otherwise clean interior. A very sturdy copy, signed by the author. Williams inscribed this copy of In the Money to his long-time friend and fellow poet Norman Macleod. In this inscription, Williams references Macleod's second novel, The Bitter Roots, which was published in 1941. The two men maintained a long-term correspondence, and Williams edited several of Macleod's collections of poetry. A fan of the younger poet's verse, Williams professed his admiration poetically with "A Poem for Norman Macleod." In addition… Read More