Search Results: Titles starting with A from Sumner & Stillman

1922. New York: Thomas Seltzer, 1922. Original blue-grey cloth lettered in gilt, with dust jacket. First Edition of this novel, published about two months before Secker's UK edition. It is the picaresque tale of Aaron Sisson, a flute-playing coal miner -- who abandons his wife and the mines to try to make a living with his flute. According to the dust jacket, this constitutes the final volume in Lawrence's trilogy beginning with THE RAINBOW and WOMEN IN LOVE. Everyone, even Frieda, hated the book except Seltzer, who had written from America that the book was wonderful. Secker apparently had some difficulty in accepting the manuscript as it was and begged Lawrence to make alterations, which Lawrence refused to do... However, someone, perhaps without Lawrence's knowledge, excised sections [including one about the Royal Family] from the Secker text which remained in the American edition... and which have not been replaced in any English edition of the novel. [Roberts] An example of this is the… Read More

1913. New York: The Century Company, 1913. 1 page undated ads. Original light green cloth decorated in dark green and black, with dust jacket. First Edition of London's prizefighting tale about "a white backwoods giant who would rather read Browning than slug his opponents" [Sinclair], prompted by his coverage of the Johnson-Jeffries fight in Reno. The very title of this book indicates London's preoccupation with the concept of the "brute" which underlies the social behavior of men and animals alike. London had recently left Macmillan in a dispute over royalties, but would find Century to be much less patient or understanding; he ultimately had to beg his former publisher to take him back. THE ABYSMAL BRUTE includes a frontispiece by Gordon Grant. This copy is in the second binding state, which is identical to the first except for color, and is in fine condition. The three-color pictorial dust jacket shows a man carrying a rifle with a buck slung over his shoulder; this jacket is near-fine, with a… Read More

1892. London: Chatto & Windus, 1892. Original very dark blue cloth, beveled. First Edition (English -- published on the same day as the American). This volume consists largely of Stevenson's thoughts as he journeyed by train in 1879 from New York to San Francisco, in pursuit of the American woman he had recently met on the Continent (and who was to become his wife). Also included are his subsequent impressions of the city of Monterey. This is a near-fine copy (endpapers cracking, but scarcely any other wear); the front paste-down bears the small leather bookplate of Clara & Irwin Strasburger. Beinecke 546; Princeton 48.

1876. Hartford [etc.]: The American Publishing Company, 1876. 4 pp ads dated 1 Dec 1876. Original blue cloth decorated in black and gilt. First American Edition, second state (i.e. with the frontispiece on the verso of the half-title, rather than on a separate adjacent leaf). Because such copies appear on laid paper, on wove paper, or on a combination of both papers, it is uncertain whether this second state consists of one or two (or possibly even three) printings. This copy is printed throughout on laid paper, and has mispaginated preliminary leaves (Blanck's "arbitrarily designated" state A). In our experience this second state is the variant of TOM SAWYER usually encountered -- though TOM has become somewhat uncommon in any state (much less common than HUCKLEBERRY FINN, for example). Close to near-fine, this copy is unusually bright, including the gilt both on the front cover and on the spine. It does have moderate wear at the extremities, and along the fore-edge of the first two (blank) leaves;… Read More

1862. London: Smith, Elder and Co., 1862. Original violet-blue cloth. First Edition of Thackeray's last completed novel -- involving a sham marriage, blackmail by a clergyman, a family fortune lost by Philip's father who then fled to America, a fiancée therefore opting for a wealthier rival, and of course, the finding of a lost will of a great-uncle. PHILIP is more commonly encountered in one of two brown cloth bindings. Sadleir goes into considerable detail to explain why these violet-blue copies of PHILIP were the first to be bound up but the last to be actually issued; central to his theory is the curious misprint at the foot of the spines: "Smith & Elder" -- curious because the firm had altered its name to "Smith, Elder & Co." no later than 1826, which was prior to the period of brass-imprinting of cloth spines. Carter likewise theorizes in great detail, saying that he had long suspected the bluish copies were earlier but that he was no longer so sure. This is a very good-plus set (spines… Read More

1903. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1903. Original dark blue cloth. First Edition, first binding (some copies were put up in a green Times Book Club binding). As the Boer War wound down in 1901, Buchan received a two-year appointment to assist Lord Milner in the reconstruction of the Colony. Buchan, who had not been enthusiastic about the war, believing that the British, on balance, 'were only just in the right,' was enthusiastic about the reconstruction and entirely in sympathy with Milner's objectives. [Smith] This is Buchan's survey of the situation in South Africa after the war, with his thoughts about what should be done next. Included are two large foldout color maps -- one of "South Africa" and one of "The New Colonies." The volume is bright and near-fine (very slightly rubbed at the extremities). Blanchard A15 (citing only one foldout map, not two).

1873. London: George Routledge and Sons, 1873. 6 pp undated ads. Original green cloth stamped in black and gilt, beveled. First Edition (English -- this and the American edition came out simultaneously on September 6, 1873). Quoting from William Dean Howells's review in the November 1873 Atlantic Magazine, In Aftermath, we have somehow a better sense than before of our poet's genius. The perfect serenity of his mental atmosphere widens those clear horizons along which lurks a melancholy light, and lets us perceive how great his range has been and in what an ample spirit he has touched his many themes... This is from Blanck's first "state (printing?)," with "Little cared for his Babes,,," on page 64. It is a bright copy, fine except for very slight wear at the tips; there is an "Oct. 1873" ownership signature. Blanck 12164.

1882. London: George Routledge and Sons, n.d.[1882]. Original glazed pictorial boards with yellow cloth spine. This was the first of Kate Greenaway's fourteen little almanacks -- probably published actually in late 1882. There are 23 pages of charming illustrations in color. This is a very good-plus copy (minor cover soil and rubbing, bookplate on front endpaper). Birmingham G.49.

1885. London: George Routledge & Sons, n.d.[1885]. Original white morocco-grain boards pictorially decorated in gilt and bordered in dark blue, all edges gilt. This was the fourth of the fourteen Greenaway almanacks, and in­cludes 23 pages bearing her color illustrations. This copy is in the special binding of imitation-morocco white boards, with illustration and lettering in gilt and with border in dark blue. This is a near-fine copy, with very minor cover soil. Birmingham G.52.

1890. [London:] George Routledge & Sons, n.d.[1890]. Original white pictorial boards with yellow cloth spine. This was the ninth of the fourteen almanacks by Kate Greenaway, in the standard binding of white pictorial boards showing a woman with three children, within a border of leaves. There are 22 pages bearing Greenaway illustrations in color. This is a very good-plus copy (very minor soil, one small chip out of the yellow cloth spine, bookplate). Birmingham G.57.

1895. [a handsome copy] London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. Original dark green cloth. First Edition of Joseph Conrad's first book, an edition believed to have consisted of 1000-1250 copies. Conrad, after meeting the real "Olmeijer" in East Borneo in 1887, gradually produced the manuscript of this book over the six years 1889-1895. He submitted it to Unwin for consideration in their "Pseudonym Library", using the pseudonym "Kamudi" (Malayan for "rudder") -- enclosing the return postage, so sure was he of its rejection. However, Unwin's reader Edward Garnett saw the manuscript's promise and accepted it for non-pseudonymous publication. This copy is in the first state (as are most copies), with the letters missing from the last two lines of page 110. Condition is unusually fine, with virtually no wear at all (there are no nicks or chips in the spine ends, and only hair-line cracking of the original endpapers); about the only flaw we can come up with is the almost-unavoidable slight browning of the olive… Read More

1896. A Story of an Eastern River. Second Edition. London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1896. Original dark green cloth. First Edition, early printing -- of Conrad's first book. Though labeled "Second Edition" on the title page, this is actually a reprint of the first edition; all copies of this printing seem to have half-title verso ads that are colonial. The volume is printed on laid paper (forming a thicker volume than the first printing), and has the p. 110 misprints corrected. (There were two printings effected in 1895, and then two in 1896 -- this one on laid paper for the domestic market, and another on wove paper for the colonial market.) Actually it was not until 1930, for Benn's "Essex Library," that ALMAYER'S FOLLY was reset for a true "second edition." The primary binding for this "Second Edition" is the same as for the first -- dark green cloth lettered in gilt. Condition is very good-plus (very light edge-wear, fading at the top of the rear cover). Cagle A1a (notes).

1895. [the leaves still unopened] London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1895. Original dark green cloth. First Edition of Joseph Conrad's first book. "In the absence of publisher's records, the number of copies printed has been estimated to be between 600 and 3000, with approximately 1100 being the most likely number" [Supino]. Conrad, after meeting the real "Olmeijer" in East Borneo in 1887, gradually produced the manuscript of this book over the six years 1889-1895. He submitted it to Unwin for consideration in their "Pseudonym Library", using the pseudonym "Kamudi" (Malayan for "rudder") -- enclosing the return postage, so sure was he of its rejection. However, Unwin's reader Edward Garnett saw the manuscript's promise and accepted it for non-pseudonymous publication. This copy is in the first state (as are most copies), with the letters missing from the last two lines of page 110. The leaves of this copy, though untrimmed on the fore- and bottom edges as issued, are still unopened (i.e. un-read). Condition… Read More

1842. First American Edition. New-York: J. Winchester, Publisher, November 1842. Original self-wrappers, bound into very early plain blue wrappers. "First American Edition" -- second impression. As first put forth in a 1975 article by Peter Bracher and (soon) to be confirmed in Walter Smith's upcoming bibliography, this edition (12-1/2 cents) was published at 2:00 PM on Monday, November 7, 1842 -- just TWO HOURS before the "Brother Jonathan Extra" edition (12-1/2 cents) managed to get out on the streets. Harper got its edition (12-1/2 cents) out by early or mid-afternoon on the following day (Tuesday the 8th), and Lea & Blanchard of Philadelphia had an edition (first 25 cents, then 12-1/2) on the streets by Wednesday the 9th. (L&B was the only one of these American publishers to have had a prior agreement with Dickens for publication in America -- but Dickens was so upset by the lack of an international copyright law, he forewent any such negotiations -- which is why none of these publishers had… Read More

1892. New York: Charles L. Webster & Co., 1892. Original olive-green cloth pictorially decorated in black and dark green. First Edition of this novel in which Twain tried, unsuccessfully, to recreate the character of Colonel Sellers from THE GILDED AGE. This American edition came out in late March or early April 1892; the London edition came out about six months later. This copy is in olive-green cloth; others are in grey-green cloth but are otherwise identical -- there is no priority between the two colors, and there are no "issue points" of the text. The volume is in bright, near-fine condition (minor rubbing at the extremities). Blanck 3434; McBride p. 134.

1842. Boz' Works -- No. 21. Philadelphia: Lea and Blanchard, 1842. Original self-wrapper (serving as title page); lacking the rear wrapper. Fourth American Edition (just two days after the first!) -- second issue. As first put forth in a 1975 article by Peter Bracher and soon to be confirmed in Walter Smith's upcoming bibliography, this edition was published on November 9th, 1842 (two days after Winchester's "New World" edition and Wilson's "Brother Jonathan" edition -- and one day after Harper's edition). Dickens was so upset by the lack of an international copyright law, he forewent any negotiations with American publishers -- which is why none of these publishers had advance sheets, and all simply had to wait in the harbor for the first boat to arrive with copies of the UK edition (published October 19th), and then rush to press. This Lea and Blanchard edition has 103 pages of double-column text -- actually 107 pages, because inserted between pages 88 and 89 are the two leaves containing pages… Read More

1850. [first fiction, in original cloth] A Romance of the Fifth Century. London: Richard Bentley, 1850. 2 pp undated ads in Vols II and III, as well as printed endpaper ads in all three volumes. Original cream embossed cloth with blind-stamping on the covers and gilt stamping on the spines. First Edition of Wilkie Collins's first fiction, preceded only by his two-volume "memoir" of his father, the renowned landscape painter. Actually Collins began ANTONINA in 1846, then (after his father died in early 1847) he paused to write the biography, after which he resumed and completed the novel. ANTONINA sold well, with a "revised" edition coming out three months later (in May 1850), followed by another three-volume printing in 1853; it "was reprinted throughout Collins's lifetime and into the twentieth century." Drawing upon Collins's own 1837 visit to Rome, ANTONINA is modeled after Bulwer-Lytton's 1834 novel THE LAST DAYS OF POMPEII... The plot is absurd, and many passages read like a cross between a… Read More

1917. London: Frederick Warne and Co., n.d. [1917]. Original green-grey boards lettered in red, with front cover pictorial onlay. First Edition, first or second printing (indistinguishable from each other) -- but in later-state binding. Most of these rhymes are Beatrix Potter's own, but also included is "You know the old woman who lived in a shoe?". She first did illustrations for that rhyme as early as 1893, and she and Warne planned a volume of illustrated verse soon after PETER RABBIT made such a hit in 1901-1902. However it kept getting set aside for other volumes, and then Norman Warne died in 1905, and the project was dropped for a dozen years -- when in 1917 Fruing Warne asked her for another story and she did not have one. (Five years later there would be another volume of rhymes, CECILY PARSLEY'S NURSERY RHYMES.) The first two APPLEY DAPPLY printings came out in October and November 1917; the third printing did not come out until 1919-1920. Though all three are undated, the third is… Read More

1925. New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, [1925]. Original dark blue cloth lettered in orange. First Trade Edition, preceded only by a 500-copy limited edition. This was the third of Lewis's great novels of the decade, after MAIN STREET and BABBITT and before ELMER GANTRY and DODSWORTH. ARROWSMITH won the Pulitzer Prize, but Lewis declined the award. This is the tale of Martin Arrowsmith, medical doctor, who settles first in Wheatsylvania, South Dakota, next in Nautilus, Iowa, then in Chicago, and finally at a research clinic in New York City -- "hoping to find in altruistic research the relief he desires from publicity-seeking and money-grabbing commercial medicine" [OCAL]. But he falls out of favor when he administers his cure for a plague indiscriminately, in order to save lives, thus ruining the results of the experiment -- and ultimately winds up back in rural America, this time in Vermont. This copy is in very good condition (the usual fading of the spine, minor edge-wear, slight cracking… Read More

1890. Literary Reminiscences, Methods of Work, and Advice to Young Beginners, personally contributed by Leading Authors of the Day. Compiled and Edited by George Bainton. London: James Clarke & Co., 1890. 8 pp ads dated "1/6/90". Original royal blue cloth decorated in black and gilt. First Edition of this compendium of advice on becoming an author, by the leading writers of the day. Henty's contribution is on pages 19-21; he ends with: My advice to boys who want to become authors is this: Write a story and get some person in whose judgment you have confidence to give you his opinion frankly whether there is any promise in it. If he says no, give the thing up altogether. If he says yes, and you really feel that you have a talent for telling stories, and find that your stories are liked by your schoolfellows, then write, and write, and write. Burn all you write, for until you are two or three and twenty you will certainly not write anything worth reading... This copy is fine except for some cracking… Read More