Products
Thomas Bewick, Vignettes from Birds, Quadrupeds and Fables, Memorial Edition
Chicago: Black Cat Press, 1971. Approximately 2 1/8 x 2 5/8 ". (48 pp.) LIMITED EDITION of 200 copies. Full dark red leather with gold-stamped Bewick's signature on front cover and title ("Bewick") on spine, illustrated from 15 original wood blocks carved by Thomas Bewick and printed by R. Hunter Middleton (the Bewick authority), frenchfold, type pages were letterpress printed on Troya paper by Charles Young at the Norman Press, binding by Monastery Hill Binder, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Black Cat Press 37)
Thomas Bewick (1753 - 1828) was a natural history author and an engraver. Bewick is most famous for his book, A History of British Birds, whose wood engravings are much admired for the small and often humorous vignettes. This miniature book is considered by some to be the finest book from Norman Forgue's Black Cat Press.
Three Hearts and Three Lions
New York: Doubleday Science Fiction, 1961. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/2". First Edition. Illustrated dust jacket by Edward Gorey, some creases, small nicks mostly to spine ends, minor rubbing, original price of $3.95 intact, in very good + condition. Red cloth over boards with gold stamped design on cover and gold/black stamped lettering and designs on spine, top edges red, really minor edge wear, slight corner bumping,small pen marks on rear cover, otherwise, in very good + condition. (Toledano D-Anderson)
Poul Anderson (1926 - 2001) was an American science fiction and fantasy writer. He was awarded three Nebula Awards and seven Hugo awards. This book is listed in Modern Fantasy: The Hundred Best Novels by Pringle as number #25. Dust jacket is illustrated by Edward Gorey (1925 - 2000), an American artist and writer, best known for his eccentric imagery and stories, often set in Victorian and Edwardian settings.
Tiny Texas
Austin, TX: Amistad Press, 1982. (106) pp. Approximately 1 7/8 x 2 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 335 copies. Brown cloth over printed paper boards with gilt line, illustrated, original packaging, signed by the publisher on the rear free endpaper, fine condition. (Bradbury, Amistad Press 42)
Known for it's big size, this interesting little book points out the small things that are from/in Texas, including plants, people, places, etc. Reprinted with permission from the December 1979 issue of Texas Monthly.
To a Coy Koi
Dallas, TX: Aredian Press, 2022. Approximately 2 1/2 x 2 1/2". LIMITED EDITION of 7 copies, this being #5. Design binding by Patrice Miller of Aredian Press. The structure is a crossed portfolio with an illustrated three-dimensional central core, decorated matchbox sleeve enclosure provides the title, colophon, and limitation which is, signed and numbered by the publisher, hand-drawn and hand-colored illustrations, in fine condition. Beautifully structured and original miniature book.
The original sixteen line poem in iambic pentameter is a parody of Andrew Marvell's "To His Coy Mistress", and is a water gardener's lament. Patrice Miller's work has found its way to private and university collections, in the states and abroad. Human foibles, nature’s panoply, and artistic cleverness cannot help but inform future work. She continues to bind, and rebind, in Dallas, Texas.
To Rule the Night
Philadelphia & New York: A. J. Holman Company, 1973. 5 3/4 x 8 1/2"; First Edition, Second Printing. Photographic dust jacket has some chips and creases, particularly at the spine extremities, a tear on the back cover which has been clumsily taped, in good condition. Black cloth over boards with gilt title on spine, gift inscription on front free endpaper and previous owner's signature on verso of half-title page which was signed by the Jim Irwin, foxing to page edges, otherwise in very good condition.
James Benson Irwin (1930 - 1991) was an American astronaut, US Air Force pilot, aeronautical engineer and test pilot who served as the Apollo 15 Lunar Module pilot. He was the eighth person to walk on the moon. This autobiographical story tells of Jim's boyhood, his marriage, his career, his voyage on Apollo 15 and his spiritual life, which is weaved throughout.
To The Hilt
London: Scorpion Press, 1996. 282 pp. 6 x 9 1/4"; LIMITED EDITION OF 99 COPIES, this being #92. Original clear acetate cover in fine condition; Marbled boards with green leather quarter bound, slightest hint of foxing on page edges, signed on limitation page by the author, green tint to top edge, a crisp copy in near fine condition.
Born Richard Stanley Francis (1920 - 2010), Dick Francis was a British crime writer whose novels were mostly centered on horse racing in England (he was a former steeplechase jockey himself). This book has an appreciation forward by Margaret Yorke, a well-known English crime fiction writer.
To Thee! a Toast in Celebration of a Century of Opportunity and Accomplishment in America 1847-1947
Manitowoc: Rahr Malting Company, 1946. 59 pp. Approximately 9 x 12". First Trade Edition, not a signed or limited edition. Blue cloth spine over salmon-covered boards, gilt title on spine and gilt stamped title and illustration on cover, beautiful b&w woodcut illustrations throughout, in fine condition. Plain navy slip case is broken, taped, and missing a portion of bottom panel.
Designed by Rockwell Kent and privately printed by A. Colish, this book is a "Tribute to Democracy, to the Destiny of America, and as a strand in the rope of friendship that is uniting us in common effort".
Trouble with Trolls
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1992. Approximately 9 1/4 x 11 1/4". Illustrated dust jacket in fine condition; Illustrated paper over boards, inscribed by author on title page, a few small water marks on title page, in near fine condition.
Beautiful picture book, from Jan Brett, an American write and illustrator. A Scandanavian tale about a girl named Treva who tries to keep the Trolls on Mount Baldy from stealing her dog. Lovely to find a first edition, first printing, and signed copy.
Two Bear Cubs
California: Yosemite Association, 1997. (36) pp. Approximately 10 x 10 3/4". First Limited Edition of 200 numbered and 26 lettered copies, this being #13. SIGNED by both author and illustrator. Pictorial boards with full color illustrations throughout. Extra illustration for limited edition only, not in trade copies. Fine in fine dust jacket in fine slipcase.
Authentic Southern Sierra Miwok Indian legend a retold by the author with information about the tribe. Beautifully done.
Up 65 Years to Larchmont
Los Angeles: Bela Blau, 1970. 31 pp. Approximately 1 3/16 x 1 5/8". Brown-red leather over boards with gilt title on cover and gilt publisher on spine, decorative endpapers, frontispiece, letterpress and gilt leather by Bela Blau, in near fine condition. (Bradbury, Dawson 37)
A lovely little book about the various locations over the years of Dawson's Book Shop in the Los Angeles area, known as "one of the six renaissance miniature book publishers in the U.S. during the early 1960s." (Bradbury) Bela Blau, along with his wife Mariana, came to the U.S. from Hungary in 1956 and established a bindery business. An amazing award winning binder, his leather work and attention to detail is remarkable.