Search Results: Titles starting with V from Swan's Fine Books

New York: A Forge Book, Published by Tom Doherty Associates, Inc, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. First printing of this Forge publication, octavo size, 239 pp., signed by Cecelia Holland. Cecelia Holland (b. 1943) has written, to date, over twenty historical novels which span both the globe and time. In addition, she has authored a multitude of other fictional series, as well as short stories, children's books, and non-fiction. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1981-1982. This work, "Valley of the Kings", was originally published under Holland's pseudonym of "Elizabeth Eliot Carter" in 1977. It relates the story of Tutankhamun along two separate timelines: the first during his last years and death, the second follows the search for his tomb by archaeologist Howard Carter. Note that we have several other volumes of Holland's historical fiction, many of them signed; if you are searching for a particular title, please do let us know. ___DESCRIPTION: Bound in full black paper… Read More

[Risbury, Herefordshire]: The Whittington Press, 2018. First and Limited Edition. Leather bound. Fine. No. 14 of 40 copies of the "A" edition with accompaniments (see below); folio size, 100 pp., in a leather-backed solander case. In his typical fashion, John Randle has done a masterful job presenting insights into the life of Vance Gerry with this extensive bibliography of his printed work. Vance Gerry (1929-2005) was one of California's least known and most accomplished printers, who operated his Weather Bird Press from 1967 to 2005. John Randle, publisher of "Matrix" and accomplished printer in his own right, gives Vance high praise: "Until his death in 2005 he produced a steady stream of the most understated, beautifully printed and ravishingly illustrated books from any private press, ever." Vance studied art at the Chouinard Art Institute in Los Angeles and learned the art of storytelling at Walt Disney Productions where he was employed as a storyboard artist. Vance combines this training… Read More

Oxford: The Limited Editions Club [printed by the Oxford University Press], 1931. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine/very good. Austen, John. Two volumes (complete), one of 1500, quarto size, 798 total pp., signed by John Austen, with slipcase. This Limited Editions Club publication of William Makepeace Thackeray's (1811-1863) best-known work, "Vanity Fair", contains line drawings by English illustrator John Austen (1886-1948), who illustrated many books such as "Hamlet", "Tristram Shandy", and "Madame Bovary"; his style was at first influenced by Aubrey Beardsley and was later shaped by the Art Deco movement. Austen visualises the delicate relationships between the characters in these ethereal drawings, each hand-coloured by Daniel Jacomet. G. K. Chesterton (1874-1936), an inimitable man of letters who wrote on a variety of subjects from Christian apologetics to detective novels, provides the introduction to this edition of Thackeray's work, examining the different readings of Thackeray over time,… Read More

Ditchling Sussex: S. Dominic's Press, 1924. Fourth Edition. Wraps. Near fine. Duodecimo size, 100 pp. The Saint Dominic's Press, founded by Harry (Hilary) Douglas Clarke Pepler, flourished at Ditchling, Sussex, from 1916 to 1936. The first home of the Press was "a disused stable", with a hundred-year-old Stanhope hand-press which supposedly had belonged to William Morris. Pepler endeavored to do everything possible by hand, believing that such would both produce the best results and also be a "more individual or 'humane'...product". He therefore "preferred the handpress to the machine, handmade to machine-made paper, and handset founder's type to the products of typesetting machines." Pepler met Edward Johnston and Eric Gill while living in Hammersmith; Pepler and his family would eventually move to Ditchling to join Gill, who was one of the most important artists to provide illustrations for the St. Dominic's Press. Other artists who provided illustrations included David Jones, Desmond Chute,… Read More

New York and Cleveland: The World Publishing Company, 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine/very good. Carle, Eric. First printing, oblong quarto, 28 pp., in first issue dust jacket. Eric Carle (b. 1929) is known world-wide for this, his third book, which has been translated into more than 60 languages and has sold more than 50 million copies, garnering numerous awards along the way including the American Institute of Graphic Arts Award in 1970 and the Nakamori Reader's Prize in Japan in 1975; Carle was awarded the Laura Ingalls Wilder Medal in 2003 by the American Library Association and was a U.S. nominee for the Hans Christian Andersen Award in 2010. Carle's style consists of using hand-painted tissue papers and creating a collage, which is then reproduced via offset colour lithography. This book, with its multiple die-cut pages as the caterpillar eats his way through various foodstuffs, created such a challenge for US printers that the publisher eventually found a printer in Japan.… Read More

Buenos Aires: Edito Vehil, 1955. Limited Edition. Wraps. Near fine/near fine. Botana, Helvio I.. Number VIII of XX, octavo size, [124] pp., signature at the colophon. A lovely version, in the original Spanish, with an original drawing by the author serving as frontispiece, and signed by the author at the colophon. Offered as issued in unbound signatures in original wraps, with original glassine wrapper. ___DESCRIPTION: Cardstock wrappers lettered in red and black with glassine jacket, unbound leaves mostly unopened, title page in black and red with frontispiece by the author, initial captials in red; Magnus Zeichen paper, octavo size (9.75" by 6.5"), pagination: [124] [1 colophon], limited edition, this number VIII of XX on Magnus Zeichen and signed (total edition 520). ___CONDITION: A bright clean copy, the pages absolutely without wear and showing a few minscule spots of foxing, the wraps lightly toned with minimal edgewear, the glassine also with minimal wear; a lovely copy, near fine.… Read More

n.p.: Condorpers [Peter Hendriks (Typography and Printing); WIlma van Ipenburg (Binder)], 2007. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. Anke Ligteringen. No. IX (total edition not stated), square quarto size, [48] pp., note that text is in Dutch with English translation. A fascinating artist book which is a perfect marriage of custom binding, photography, poetry, and calligraphy. Text is letterpress printed, in Dutch, with corresponding English calligraphically lettered. The work is a collaborative effort by Inez Meter (author), Anke Ligteringen (photography), Peter Hendriks (typographer/printer), and Wilma van Ipenburg (binding). Of each we could find little information online except for Anke Ligteringen, a Gouda artist, who passed away in 2013. The book was "[p]rinted on the occasion of Kunstmoment in Gouda and the exhibition of Fishing and Nets in Vlaardingen". In Gouda a cultural exhibit, an "Art Moment", is held regularly, with artists and galleries throughout the city exhibiting their art; this… Read More

Paris: Gibert Jeune Librairie d'Amateurs, 1937. Limited Edition. Vellum. Fine. Dubout, [Albert]. No. 131 of 3000, twelvemo size, 173 pp., in French. Francois Villon (b. 1431, disappeared from view 1463), remains the best-known French poet of the late Middle Ages. Much of his life remains conjecture, but records show him involved in various forms of mayhem: murder, thievery, and other forms of criminal behavior. Many of the stories from these days have made their way into this poetry, which is sprinkled with mysteries and hidden jokes, "peppered with the slang of the time and the underworld subculture in which Villon moved" (n. b., from Wikipedia). French cartoonist and illustrator Albert Dubout (1905-1976) has captured the spirit of Villon to perfection in the sixty illustrations for this edition of Villon's work; a lovely, custom-bound version of the works of Villon. ___DESCRIPTION: Full vellum with yapped edges, spine with hand-lettering and a small hand-painted vignette of a man's head which… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [Yolla Bolly Press], 1994. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 450 copies, folio size, 91 pp., in slipcase. An essay on early California winemaking, first published in Adelaide, Australia, in 1885, with reproductions of historical photographs, wine industry trade cards and labels illustrating the text. This publication no. 204 by The Book Club of California, designed and printed by The Yolla Bolly Press, Covelo, California. ___DESCRIPTION: Quarter purple cloth and decorative purple paper covered boards, grey paper label affixed to backstrip, gray endpapers, numerous duotone photographs and color illustrations throughout text; typefaces are Linotype Weiss and foundry Albertus, Mohawk Superfine paper, folio size (12.75" by 9.25"), pagination: [i-viii] ix-xxiii [xxiv-xxvi] 1-64 [1 colophon], limited edition, one of 450 copies; in publisher's slipcase covered with grey paper. ___CONDITION: A fine copy; the covers clean and unrubbed, the binding tight… Read More

London and Manchester: S. Hildesheimer and Co. Limited, 1890. Wraps. Very good. Sixmo size, 14 pp. First published in 1823 (anonymously) it is safe to say that this short poem, also known as "The Night Before Christmas" or " 'Twas the Night Before Christmas" has for two hundred years been enjoyed by generation after generation, generally shaping, in many ways, the way many of us celebrate Christmas. Generally attributed to Clement Clarke Moore (1779-1863), although with some disputing his authorship, it is known to be "arguably the best-known verses ever written by an American" (n.b., quote from Wiki). Having been published and re-published countless times, this small version with charming illustrations by Eliza F. Manning (of whom we could find little information, other than that she was referred to the "Iron Maiden"). Published by S. Hildesheimer & Co., a London company mostly known for postcards and greeting cards. They primarily used chromo-lithography (as with this volume) with the printing… Read More

Kirkwood: The Printery [Kay Michael Kramer, printer], 1974. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 120 copies, oblong sixmo, 45 pp., signed by Charles Guenther, with prospectus. Written by the existentialist philosopher and French poet Jean Andre Wahl (1888-1974) during his time in La Sante prison under the German occupation during WWII, and then from the concentration camp at Drancy, near Paris. As Charles Guenther wrote in the Introduction, "Wahl...surely had an impact on philosophers and philosophy in his time...he also influenced French and American poets....for poetry is not only 'eternal'; it is evolving and mutable..." Published by The Printery, a Missouri private press which published limited editions of books; this was the fourth publication by The Printery, whose works were entirely hand-made. They had been awarded "major book awards for each of [their] previous three volumes" (n.b., from prospectus). In 2019 The Printery was acquired by the Mercantile Library at the University of… Read More

[Fyfield, United Kingdom]: Oak Tree Press, 2008. Limited Edition. Leather. Fine. Copy "L" of 26 copies lettered A-Z (of a total edition of 186), quarto size, 82 pp., signed by J.M. Coetzee. South African author J.M. Coetzee (b. 1940), novelist, essayist, linguist, and translator, is the recipient of the Nobel Prize in Literature as well as the Jerusalem Prize, CNA Prize (thrice), the Prix Femina Étranger, and the Booker Prize (twice), among many other accolades. His first published work was "Dusklands", which was comprised of two separate stories; this and "The Narrative of Jacobus Coetzee". This, "The Vietnam Project" from Dusklands follows the "gradual descent into insanity of its protagonist Eugene Dawn....[who] works for a U.S. government agency responsible for the psychological warfare in the Vietnam War...[which] takes a heavy toll on him; his fall culminates in him stabbing his own son, Martin" (n.b., quotes from Wiki). This is one of the Oak Tree Press' "First Chapter Series." The "First… Read More

San Francisco: The Book Club of California [Printed by Patrick Reagh], 1997. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Fine. One of 350 copies, quarto size, 385 pp., with prospectus. From the prospectus, this "is...the first full publication in English of the richest and perhaps best description ever written of early California....written by Captain Auguste Duhaut-Cilly and newly translated and edited by August Frugé and Neal Harlow". Per the Zamorano 80 entry for this work, "Duhaut-Cilly, a French trader, arrived at Yerba Buena...in January 1827...he traversed the coast of California, visiting virtually all the missions, presidios, and pueblos, and many of the ranchos...He was the first outlander to become intimately acquainted with, and describe, the then thriving Spanish California". This work designed and printed via letterpress by Patrick Reagh and bound by Marianna Blau, and is in every aspect of the highest quality; a work to be treasured both for its content as well as for book-as-object.… Read More