A Unique Copy (5 results)

Hardcover. Condition: Near Fine. Limited and Numbered Edition. # 28 of 394 copies printed on Batchelor's Kelmscott hand-made paper for sale in Great Britain and 104 copies in America. Linen back with paper spine label and brown paper over boards, cover label printed in red and black. Near fine, slight bowing to boards, small corner bumps.

Soft cover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. SIGNED. Rare and possibly unique Penguin first reprint. In 1939 Penguin were still using dust wrappers on some of their paperbacks, and this has one. But on the title page you will find why this copy is likely to be unique. It is beautifully signed 'John Fothergill' in ink, and that ink is now pleasantly faded into a kind of aged sepia. There are faults; at the rear of the book is a page of Penguin and Pelican titles, and a piece of the page has been torn out, a section measuring about 3 inches by 1 inch. The delicate jacket has some creases and chips, but at least it is now protected in a mylar sleeve. The jacket under the sleeve remains essentially complete, including the price, which in those days was 6d, which in today's money is less than three pence. A vastly entertaining read, this wonderful account of hostelry keeping reads with great charm and a waspish insight today. As one reviewer wrote, 'A narrative, humorous, sarcastic, independent, and often personal to the razor edge of offence, a book in perfect keeping with the character it exploits.' This is one of the deep blue Penguin 'Memoirs' issues. Because of the presence of the jacket, the book itself sports a wonderfully preserved classic design. But it is the signature that makes this so very collectable. Language: eng Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng. Signed by Author.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. No Jacket. Splendid illustrations by Henry Hutt; could not be more suitable for The Gilded Age. Stunning illustrations. Scare with letters. (illustrator). 1st Edition. Splendidly bound in finely woven brown linen cloth stamped brightly in gold on the front boards and on the spine. With the Rhode Island seal stamped in gold and blue on the front boards, featuring an anchor and the word "Hope" on a waving banner. Printed on heavy, deckle-edged paper. Very clean and tight throughout. Top edges gilded. Some fraying and chipping to the top and bottom of the cloth of the spine ends. Corners bumped. With some light leeching and flecking of color to the center of the front boards. A substantial and handsomely bound book. With a a splendid colored frontispiece by Henry Hutt, many illustrations in photogravure and double-tone, and from drawings by Edward Stratton Holloway. All with tissue guards. With two maps in very good condition, crisply folded and pocketed in the rear paste-down: 1) Map of Newport; 2) Road Map of Island of Rhode Island and Conanicut Island. And over 95 splendid full-page illustrations, photogravures, all with tissue guards throughout this limited edition. In addition to her signed presentation inscription on the front paste-down, there are 9 autographed letters (ALS) by Mrs. Van Rensselaer written to the her Newport friend and mentor, Dr. Arthur Sherman who served on the Newport Historic Society at that time. When Mr. Lippincott, the Philadelphia publisher, approached Mrs. Van Rensselaer about writing a special book on Newport, she sought the help of Dr. Sherman. These 9 handwritten letters in ink were written to Dr. Sherman dating from February 27, 1900 through December 23, 1900. The letters tell the story of how she came to write the book and thanks Dr. Sherman and Mr. Franklin for their many suggestions, ideas, and specific aid in writing Newport: Our Social Capital. She begins from her Philadelphia address in February by writing to Dr. Sherman for assistance, mentioning that "I have Mr. Mason s book on Rhode Island, but I want to know if there is a surviving congregation of the first Baptist Church and where it now is. Also if there is any sketch of it. So much has been written about Trinity, that I should like to bring the Baptists and their congregation more prominently before the public. I wish I could see you to ask a dozen questions about early days in Newport for you and your family must have many traditions. Can you give me the date when Bellevue Avenue was cut through to Rough Point? And when the Ocean Drive was laid out. I carried map and pictures to Mr. Lippincott, putting them in his hands; he promises to care for and to return them promptly. It gave me the greatest pleasure to send you a copy of my history of Newport. (A total of 9 letters, comprising 34 handwritten sheets of stationery, each sheet measuring 7"x 5.5", most with her No. 338 South Twelfth Street, Philadelphia address). A fascinating archive which showcases the creation and development of one the finest books about Newport, RI. First Edition with matching dates of 1905 on the title and copyright pages. This edition is printed from the type, and is limited to Three Hundred and Forty-Seven copies. This is Number 148.".

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. Dust Jacket Condition: Very Good. 1st Edition. UNIQUE FIRST PRINTING of the hardback first edition! Rare indeed as a first edition in a decent wrapper, this copy is SIGNED by several members of the original cast, including JOHN GIELGUD, Nan Munroe, Valerie Taylor, Angela Baddeley, Annie Esmond, and Pat Sylvester. The most important signature is John Gielgud's, and it has unfortunately faded over the years. But this is a great copy of a stunning play, and, probably because of the contemporary signatures, it has obviously been treasured. The jacket is not importantly damaged, just a few chips and tears, most of it merely the ravages of use and age. No live matter is affected, and the price - 5s - is still on the flap. The jacket is now protected. The signatures are on the various official stage photographs placed throughout the book, and there are eight first cast photographs in all. This is a copy that should be in a museum! The play stands up remarkably well, and it remains a high point in the author's brilliant career. As an encapsulation of the immediate pre second world war structure of English middle class life this stands head and shoulders above most contemporary dramas, and it would make a great production today. Some foxing, as you would expect in a book of this age, printed on ordinary paper. The photographs are all printed on art paper, so they remain excellent and unspotted. THIS IS A PRIME COLLECTABLE, for anyone interested in theatre history. Language: eng Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng 0.0 Language: eng.

Hardcover. Condition: Very Good. SCHAEFFER, Albrecht. Die Wand. Dramatische Phantasmorgie in einem Aufzug. Berlin, Otto von Holten, privately printed for Gotthard Laske, May 1922. 4to. 67 + [1] pages of text + colophon leaf with author s autograph signature in ink. First word of the title and the name of the recipient on colophon leaf printed in blue letters. Original publisher s half morocco binding with author s name and title in gilt lettering on spine; lightly worn. This dramatization of an interlude in Goethe's Italian journey is the first book privately printed for the noted Berlin bibliophile Gotthard Laske (1882-1936), a wealthy outfitter, who acted as a generous patron to authors, and commissioned a number of publications. Unique edition, beautifully printed in the New Elzevir type on hand-made paper, limited to 100 copies only: the present copy, number 10, was printed for Lilli Wolff, a member of a Berlin music publishing family. The subject of the play, written in 1919 by the wellknown German writer Albrecht Schaeffer (1855-1950), is Goethe s visit to his friend Heinrich Meyer at Stäfa on the Lake of Zürich in 1797 as part of his celebrated Italian journey. The action is set at the Alte Krone Inn, the main characters being Goethe, Meyer, and a young lady also lodging at the inn. Meyer, Privatdrucke von und für Gotthard Laske no 1; Katalog der Sammlung Kippenberg I,143; Wilpert & Gühring, Erstausgaben deutscher Dichtung 1600-1960, 36; for Laske, see Homeyer, Deutsche Juden als Bibliophilen und Antiquare, p.50. Signed by Author(s).