New Arrivals
Peer Gynt
London: George G. Harrap & Co., Ltd., 1936. First trade edition. Brown cloth over boards, sharp gilt title and decorations to cover and spine, some edge wear, illustrated endpapers, top edge stained with minor foxing, twelve color plates with captioned tissue guards intact, numerous other small illustrations throughout, in very good condition.
Peer Gynt, by Henrik Johan Ibsen (1828 - 1906) was written in 1867. Born in Norway, Ibsen was a major 19th-century playwright, theatre director, and poet. He is often referred to as "the father of realism" and is one of the founders of Modernism in theatre. He is the most frequently performed dramatist in the world after Shakespeare. Peer Gynt is a Norwegian fairy tale on which the play is loosely based, and several of the characters are modelled after Ibsen's own family, notably his parents. Peer Gynt has also been described as the story of a life based on procrastination and avoidance. Brockett and Hildy (2003, 391).
Detti e Motti Triestini
Milan, Italy: Legatoria Conti Borbone dei Fratelli Marchesi, 1989. (32) pp. 1 1/4 x 1 3/4". Marbled paper over boards, 7 illustrations, text in Italian, in fine condition.
The title translates to Triestine sayings and mottos. A lovely well-made miniature book. Since 1873, bookbinding Conti Borbone has been a reference point for luxury objects and bindings.
Burchardus de Bellevaux: Apologia de Barbis
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1935. Dust jacket in very good condition with price of 17s 6d net intact, some discoloration, especially to the spine, some loss near top of spine and minor edge wear. Green cloth over boards with crisp gilt lettering on cover and spine, limited to 350 copies, bookseller label (B.H. Blackwell Ltd., Oxford) on front paste-down endpaper, browning to endpapers, text in Latin, some tanning to page edges due to rough cut, in very good plus condition.
Sub title: A Twelfth Century Treatise on Beards and their Moral and Mystical Significance. Edited by Goldschmidt from the only known Manuscripts at the British Museum, this book also covers the medieval manners and customs of the time.
Wallace Stegner: A Descriptive Bibliography
Lewiston, ID: Confluence Press, Inc., 1990. First Edition. No dust jacket, as issued. Green cloth over boards with crisp gilt design on cover and lettering on spine, signed by Stegner and the author on the title page, limited to 1,000 copies, no edge wear and looks unread, really minor foxing to top page edges, otherwise in near fine condition.
Wallace Earle Stegner (1909 - 1993) was an American novelist and short story writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize in 1972 for "Angle of Repose" and the National Book Award for "The Spectator Bird" in 1977. He won numerous other awards and his legacy lives on in many parts of the United States and Canada, with a Stegner Fellowship program in creative writing at Stanford University being one of the highlights. This is a must-have for any Stegner collector.
Natural History of Animals
Worcester, MA: N. Hervey, (ca. 1850). 24 pp. Approximately 3 3/4 x 4 1/2". Green paper over boards with red cloth spine, beautiful engravings throughout of animals, birds, and plants, a few ink markings and small water stain on front cover, hinges cracked, owner's writings in pencil on front and rear free endpapers with inscription dated 1858, some foxing, otherwise in very good + condition.
Nathaniel Hervey published with Henry J. Howland from 1835 to 1893. A list of Howland's Worcester Toys is on the back cover. A lovely little children's book which has not been colored in, remarkably. Animals include the camel, goat, wolf, wild boar, roe, sheep, cony, and jackal. Birds include the hoopoe, swan, crane, partridge, great horned owl, sparrow hawk, quail, cormorant, osprey and swallow. Plants include frankincense, camphor, cinnamon, cane, flax, fig tree, plantain, mandrake, lign aloe, and palm tree. All with nicely done engravings.
Levi's Vintage Clothing, Spring 2000
[San Francisco]: Levi Strauss & Co., 2000. 10 x 13"; Limited edition of 500 copies, this being #251. Dust jacket constructed of distressed denim cloth with holes, loose threads, etc., light soiling, some wear to the Red Tab in onside flap (which may be part of the design), otherwise in very good condition. Light blue boards with quarter bound dark blue cloth, Red Tab logo label on front cover, some light cover soiling, color photographs throughout, in very good condition.
A disparate group of global artists were brought together by a common theme - the freedom of self-expression. Contributors include Patricio Grose Forrester, Dexta, Richard Fearless, Tomoo Gokita, Keith Williams, Alexander aka Akay, Brian Hassett and Ben Saffer. Brian Hassett, poet and songwriter, has worked and toured with numerous Beat icons and has written prose for Levi's Vintage Clothing echoing the spirit of the Beat age. A laid-in card describes the publication and contributors. Only 1 WorldCat listing at this time (3/21).
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.
The Private Practice of Michael Shayne
New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1940. 250 pp. 5 1/4 x 7 1/2"; First Edition. Illustrated dust jacket has original price of $2.00 on front jacket flap, some chipping and loss at spine extremities, minor chipping and tears, some spots and creases, some damp stain and previous tape repairs on the inside of the jacket, otherwise in good condition; Black cloth over boards with crisp white lettering on spine, top edge stained red, some tanning throughout, a few stains on foredge, a nice copy of this scarce edition in very good + condition.
Brett Halliday is the pseudonym of Davis Dresser (1904 - 1977), an American western and mystery writer who is best known for his Michael Shayne mystery series. The series was so popular that it spawned a radio series, twelve motion pictures, a TV series, and a Michael Shayne Mystery Magazine. Dresser was also a founding member of the Mystery Writers of America. This is the second book in the Michael Shayne series and is relatively scarce.
The Well Known Family Game
Germany: n.p., (ca 1920). First edition presumed. Slipcase with chips and small loss of paper affecting two words of the instructions, glossy illustration to front cover, directions to the game on back cover, in good + condition. Twelve cards, 1 1/2 x 2 1/4", cards titled and crudely illustrated in blue, some with roughly trimmed edges (as issued), in about near fine condition.
An apparently unrecorded gambling card game, manufactured in Germany in the early 20th century from cheap materials. The cards are lettered in pairs from A to F and illustrated with members of several "families" such as George Brown, Mrs. John Smith, etc.
Blood Sport
London: Michael Joseph, 1967. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8". Illustrated dust jacket in near fine condition, designed by Broom Lynne, very little edge wear and slight creases as the top of the spine, original price of 25s intact. Blue cloth over boards with crisp gilt titles on spine, clean and tight, in 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 is Dick Francis' 7th book, with Gene Hawkins appearing for the first time as a government security agent. Edgar Award nominee. Adapted into TV film in 1989 with Ian McShane in the protagonist role of David Cleveland.