Rare books from John W. Knott, Jr., Bookseller, ABAA/ILAB

Athol, Mass.: Published by Paul Cook The Recluse Press, 1928. First edition. This set is near fine, some age tanning to title page and last page, small chip to lower corner of title page, as with most sets-moderate glue staining to edges, tear to upper corner of last leaf has been repaired. Now housed in a custom made clamshell case. (11757). Octavo. Unbound sheets. This is Lovecraft's first book of fiction. 300 copies were printed but the book was not published. A few copies were circulated among members of the tiny Lovecraft circle prior to August Derleth's acquisition of approximately 150 useable sets of sheets from Robert Barlow, Lovecraft's literary executor. Arkham House copyright sticker pasted over W. Paul Cook copyright notice (cancel notice with books and magazines in boldface). This is one of about fifty sets of unbound sheets Derleth distributed prior to 1961 before binding 100 copies in the black cloth uniform with other Arkham House bindings. Bleiler, The Guide to… Read More

[West Kingston, Rhode Island]: Donald M. Grant Publisher, Inc., [1982, 1987, 1991, 1997], 2003, 2004, 2008. First editions. Fine copies in fine dust jackets and cloth slipcases, most all volumes unopened and still in shrinkwrap. (Note: extra shipping costs for the set). (22651). Octavo, eight volumes, cloth. Complete limited edition set of the Dark Tower series inlcuding THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA with matched number (#180), signed by King and the artists: Michael Whelan, Phil Hale, Ned Dameron, Dave McKean, Berni Wrightson, Darrel Anderson and Michael Whelan. Limitations are 500, 850, 1250, 1250, 1350, 1400, 1500 and 1250. All seven numbered volumes of the Dark Tower series and also THE LITTLE SISTERS OF ELURIA which contains the title novella, which is an early adventure of Roland Deschain, The Gunslinger and an expanded version of the first novel, THE GUNSLINGER. All volumes have matching numbers. "Different in tone from most of King's work - and perhaps more demandingly inventive than usual -… Read More

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1919. First edition, first printing with W. F. Hall imprint on verso of title leaf and "A. C. / McCLURG / & CO." set on three lines at base of spine panel. A bright, fine copy in the correct first printing four-color pictorial dust jacket reproducing painting by J. Allen St. John on front panel (the first printing dust jacket has printed price "$1.40" at center of spine panel, the second printing jacket does not have a printed price on spine panel) with wear along top and bottom edges and shallow loss at spine ends and corner tips, 8x20 mm chip from upper front flap fold, and a couple of short closed tears, two at bottom edge of front panel with associated creases. Overall the dust jacket is clean, bright, and attractive. An uncommon book in dust jacket. (25736). Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-296 [297-303: ads] [304: blank] [note: first leaf is a blank], inserted frontispiece with illustration by J. Allen St. John, original red cloth, front and spine panels stamped in gold. Total… Read More

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1916. First edition. A fine copy in good pictorial dust jacket (wraparound illustration by J. Allen St. John) with wear and some shallow chipping along to and bottom edges, several scratches and creases to rear panel, rubbing along folds, and 35x18 mm chip from lower spine end with loss of most of the publisher's imprint. The jacket is rare. (25700). Octavo, pp. [1-12] 1-336 [337] [338-340] [note: first and last leaves are blanks], illustrations by J. Allen St. John, original green cloth, front panel stamped in gold and blind, spine panel stamped in gold. 19,500 copies printed. The third Tarzan novel. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 317. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 105. Bleiler (1978), p. 35. Reginald 02272. Heins BTa-1.

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1920. First edition, first printing. Page edges a bit dusty, touch of rubbing to extremities, a fine copy in a fine dust jacket, touch of rubbing to front corners, tiny closed tear to upper front panel, some light dust soiling to white background of spine and rear panels. A superb copy. (14032). Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-256 [257: ad] [258: blank] [259-263: ads] [264: blank] [265-267: ads] [268: blank], ten inserted plates with illustrations by J. Allen St. John, original olive-green cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black. Total of 17,000 copies printed. There were multiple printings, at least two, the last dated 1921. Signed inscription by Burroughs on the front free endpaper: "To / --- / with kind regards / Edgar Rice Burroughs." There were multiple printings, at least two, last dated 1921. Fourth book of the Mars series, this novel involves the son of John Carter and Dejah Thoris, Cathoris, prince of Helium. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years #307. Heins TMM-1.

New York: Ballantine Books, [1953]. First edition. Some rubs to lower board edges and corner tips, a fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket with mild wear at spine ends with a little stress creasing at the head of the spine panel, tiny sliver chip at base of spine panel, a little darkening of the spine panel, the orange lettering of the "451" very slightly faded, much, much less than usually observed. A superior copy. (29050). Octavo, red boards, front and spine panels stamped in yellow. The hardbound trade issue. (Currey binding D [no priority]). A short novel expanded from the novella "The Fireman" published in 1951. "While the jet bombers boom overhead and another nuclear war threatens, Americans live a mindless life in a society where everyone is encouraged to lose himself in such distractions as four-wall television, hearing-aid radios, high-speed travel, and group sports. Life is reduced to the paste-pudding norm of a mass audience, for it serves the purpose of the government to keep people… Read More

New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc, [1934]. First edition. A nearly fine copy in a very good dust jacket with has shallow loss along the upper jacket edges and base of spine panel, upper spine panel chipped, closed tear along lower left front spine fold with small chip, small chip to upper spine panel. An attractive unsophisticated copy with a bright front panel. (25447). Octavo, cloth. The first Nero Wolfe novel. Hubin, pp. 777-778. Townsend, Rex Stout: An Annotated and Secondary Bibliography, A10.

London: William Heinemann, 1895. First British edition, first binding, earliest form of inserted publisher's catalogue. Mild foxing to end papers, mild darkening to spine, a clean nearly fine to fine copy. Now housed in a custom clamshell box. (30414). Small octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-151 [152] + [16]-page publisher's catalogue with first page headed "THE MANXMAN" inserted at rear, original decorated tan buckram, front and spine panels stamped in purple, publisher's monogram stamped in purple on rear panel, top and fore edges untrimmed, bottom edge rough trimmed. Laid in is a card with a short note written and signed by Wells in his hand to MacKenzie Bell, literary editor, regarding George Gissing, a good friend of Wells. friend of Wells. The author's first SF novel. "Many rank it as Wells's best book, certainly its qualities are striking and direct ... All time-travel stories since owe a debt to Wells, none has become so acclaimed." - Bleiler (ed), Science Fiction Writers, p. 26. "THE TIME MACHINE might… Read More

London: Henry Colburn, 1828. Second edition, revised. Some mild scattered foxing to the text block, but basically a fine copy. (30436). 12mo, three volumes: [i-iii] iv-viii [1] 2-309 [310: blank]; [i-ii] [1] 2-331 [332: blank]; [i-ii] [1-2] 3-311 [312: printer's imprint], rebound in eighteenth-century style three-quarter leather and marbled boards with gold stamping and red leather spine labels. The text of second edition, also published anonymously, differs substantially from that of the 1827 first edition (see Locke, Spectrum II, p. 131). THE MUMMY is one of the three most important British science fiction novels published during the early nineteenth century, the others being Mary Shelley's FRANKENSTEIN and THE LAST MAN, and, according to Alkon, the novel is "one of the two most noteworthy English efforts between FRANKENSTEIN and the scientific romances of H. G. Wells" (Science Fiction Before 1900, p. 38). An "exuberant Gothic romance... which... described the technological wonders of the… Read More

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1925. First edition. First binding with "A. C. McCLURG / & CO" at base of spine panel. Top edge a little dusty, a fine copy in a fine dust jacket, tiny closed tear with small crease to upper right front corner, touch of shelf wear to head of spine panel, very slight dust soiling to rear panel. A stunning bright example in rarely found in such exceptional condition. (14025). Octavo, pp. [1-8] 1-323 [324: blank], frontispiece by J. Allen St. John, original blue cloth, front and spine panels stamped in black. 5000 copies printed. Angenot and Khouri, "An International Bibliography of Prehistoric Fiction," SFS, VIII (March 1981), 42. Barron (ed), Fantasy Literature 3-59. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 333. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 106. Bleiler (1978), p. 35. Reginald 02277. Heins CaG-1.

Chicago: A. C. McClurg & Co., 1918. First edition. A fine copy in a nearly fine dust jacket with slight loss to corner tips, small chip at upper left corner of the spine panel, several small closed tears to the upper front panel. A spectacular copy in the first printing jacket, priced $1.35 on the spine panel, is rare. Almost as scarce as A Princess of Mars in jacket. (31182). Octavo, pp. [i-vi] vii-xi [xii] 1-348, inserted frontispiece with illustration by Frank E. Schoonover, original red cloth, front panel stamped in black and blind, spine panel stamped in black. Total of 10,000 copies printed. There were multiple printings, at least two, last dated 1919. Second book of the Mars series, John Carter returns to Mars. Anatomy of Wonder (1976) 2-27. Bleiler, Science-Fiction: The Early Years 305. Clareson, Science Fiction in America, 1870s-1930s 108. In 333. Bleiler (1978), p. 35. Reginald 02282. Heins GM-1.

London: Jonathan Cape, [1961]. First edition. A fine copy in a just about fine dust jacket with a new publisher price label affixed over the printed price of 15s at the lower front flap corner, mild toning to upper spine panel, light rub mark to lower front panel. Now housed in a custom clamshell box. An attractive copy. (30685). Octavo, original black boards, front stamped in blind, spine stamped in gold. Signed by Fleming on the front free end paper. A James Bond novel. The first appearance of the head of SPECTRE, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. Source for several feature films. Gilbert: Ian Fleming The Bibliography, A9a (1.1). Hubin, p. 288. Smith and White: Cloak and Dagger Fiction (3rd ed.) 1889.

New York: Gnome Press, Inc., Publishers, [1950]. First edition. Genre bookplate affixed to front paste down (hidden by front flap) spine ends slightly bruised, a fine copy in a nearly fine to fine dust jacket with a touch of rubbing to the corners and small patch in to the upper spine panel. The spine shows no fade and this presents as a lovely copy. (30703). Octavo, illustrated by Edd Cartier, cloth. Influential collection of short fiction about robots with first postulation of the "Three Laws of Robotics," a concept used for plots in numerous tales by other writers in subsequent years. Includes "The Evitable Conflict." in which machines that have made the world of the twenty-first century an economic utopia take control of Mankind's future, moving it "toward an unknown and happy destiny." - Berger, Science Fiction and the New Dark Age, pp. 36-7. Loose basis for the recent film of the same title. Anatomy of Wonder (2004) II-49. Survey of Science Fiction Literature II, pp. 995-99.

New York: Ballantine Books, [1953]. First edition. A fine copy in an about fine price clipped dust jacket with mild fade to the orange ink of "451" and publishers logo on the spine panel, small 11 mm closed tear to the upper front panel, two tiny closed tears to the upper spine panel and two small closed tears to the upper rear panel. An excellent copy. (31428). Octavo, red boards, front and spine panels stamped in yellow. Inscribed and signed by Bradbury to a well known fan on a label affixed to the front free end paper. The hardbound trade issue. (Currey binding D [no priority]). A short novel expanded from the novella "The Fireman" published in 1951. "While the jet bombers boom overhead and another nuclear war threatens, Americans live a mindless life in a society where everyone is encouraged to lose himself in such distractions as four-wall television, hearing-aid radios, high-speed travel, and group sports. Life is reduced to the paste-pudding norm of a mass audience, for it serves the purpose… Read More

Oakland, CA: The Vance Integral Edition, 2002, 2005, 2006. First edition, first printings (save for COUP DE GRACE). A fine set. (Note: extra postage required). (31730). Octavo, 47 volumes, full leather, top edge in gilt, marbled end papers, ribbon markers. Of a total of 600 (?) sets produced this is one of an unknown number of the leather bound "The Deluxe Edition." This set has no tipped in limitation page to volume 44 but does include the adhesive label signed by Vance with his image which was produced for the set. (The first 26 have a signed limitation page, stamped A-Z.) This set totals forty-seven volumes with the complete forty- four book set plus the two preview volumes: COUP DE GRACE AND OTHER STORIES (second printing, 2002) and THE LANGUAGES OF PAO with THE DRAGON MASTERS, and the final additional final volume with three Vance mystery novels written as Ellery Queen: STRANGE SHE HASN'T WRITTEN (THE FOUR JOHNS), DEATH OF A SOLITARY CHESS PLAYER (A ROOM TO DIE IN) and THE MAN WHO WALKS BEHIND… Read More