Hardcover
The Tragedy of Lesbos
London: Macmillan and Co., 1870. First Edition. 8vo. Bright green cloth binding with gilt spine lettering and front board ruled in gilt; Front hinge is loose and front free endpaper is loose; spine edges are worn; corner bumping; some age-toning; foxing throughout, a few minor pencil marks; Burns & Co. binder ticket on rear endpaper. Original pencil drawing on page 115, artist unknown. Hardcover in Very Good condition.
Edward Henry Pember was an English barrister, educated at Harrow School and Christ Church, Oxford. The books is inscribed by author at the endpaper: "F. Pember / 1871 / From the author". Presumably this would be his son, Francis William Pember, Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.
The Transcendent Man
New York: Rinehart & Co., 1953. 244 pp. Approximately 5 x 7 1/2". First edition, first printing with price of $2.50 on dust jacket flap. Gray boards, red and black spine letters with very minor rubbing to extremities, usual toning to text block, near fine condition. Dust jacket in near fine condition with crease and rubbing on back. NF/NF.
A science fiction story about an unseen alien race, called Capellans, living among us, harvesting "the thought forces released by humans at death."
The Treasure Cave: A Book of New Prose and Verse
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1928. 7 3/4 x 10". Red cloth over boards with black stamped lettering and design, bookstore stamp on inside free endpaper, various illustrators with Daphne Jerrold being the most prominant, both black and white illustrations and tipped-in color illustrations, no dust jacket, corners bumped and a little worn, otherwise in very good condition.
A collection of stories and poems from the time, mostly romantic in nature. The Treasure Cave contains a nice mix of male and female authors, with Rafael Sabatini being perhaps the most well-known.
The Trouble With Eden
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, 1973. First hardcover printing. Dust jacket is in very good condition with some edge wear, drink water mark, some shelf wear and minor chips, not price clipped. Red cloth over boards with gilt spine title, top edge has small red ink stain, some tanning, otherwise very good contion.
Jill Emerson is a pseudonym of Lawrence Block (b. 1938). Block is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York–set series, about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr, respectively. Block was named a Grand Master by the Mystery Writers of America in 1994. This fiction novel, set in New Hope Pennsylvania, has a diverse set of characters, some who struggle against temptation and some who don't.
The View from Mt. Dana
Santa Cruz, CA: Peter & Donna Thomas, 1997. (10) pp. Approximately 2 1/4 x 2 3/4". LIMITED EDITION of 97 copies, this being #38. Case-bound accordion with piano-hinge binding, handmade paper covers over boards, decorated with acrylic paint and crayon, title stamped in gold on front cover, inside white paper is also handmade by Peter, text was linoleum-cut by Donna, illustrations are linoleum cuts of birds, mountains, and shapes by Donna, spanning the entire accordion, numbered on the colophon, in fine condition. (P&D Thomas Bibliography A88)
Donna skied up Mt. Dana, in Yosemite, during a winter snow camping trip. Near the top, as she watched crows circling overhead, she was inspired to cut blocks for a book. She paired her illustrations with a quote about nature enriching life by John Muir.
The War in the Air and Particularly how Mr. Bert Smallways Fared While it Lasted
London: George Bell and Sons, 1908. 390 pp. (with six of the advertisement pages in the rear missing) Approximately 5 x 7 3/4". 1st edition. Red-cloth variant binding (much more scarce than the common blue one) - third state, title in black on cover with illustrated paste-down, title and publisher on spine in gilt, considerable foxing on page edges and some throughout, otherwise, very good plus condition. (Curry 1979, p. 526)
Herbert George Wells (1866 - 1946) is often called the "father of science fiction" along with Jules Verne and Hugo Gernsback. The War in the Air is a military science fiction novel, originally published in The Pall Mall Magazine, about the futuristic idea of using aircraft in warfare.
The Wayward Bus
New York: Viking Press, 1947. 312 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/4". Pictorial jacket is in very good condition, with some wear, slight chipping of the spine, tape repairs to the inside of the jacket, original price of $2.75 intact, first edition first printing dust jacket. Grey cloth over boards with crisp lettering on cover and spine, blindstamp on front cover the same shade as the rest of the binding, top stained red, in near-fine condition. (Goldstone & Payne A23 third issue)
Originally thought to be one of Steinbeck's weaker novels, it was actually financially successful. The interesting thing about it is that no one single character in the book dominates. Rather, the viewpoint shifts from one character to another quite frequently, with access to the character's thoughts through an internal monologue. Adapted to film in 1957 to some success at the box office, it starred Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Dailey and Rick Jason.
The Wayward Bus
New York: Viking Press, 1947. 312 pp. Approximately 5 1/2 x 8 1/4". Pictorial jacket is in very good condition, with some wear, slight chipping of the spine, tape repairs to the inside of the jacket, original price of $2.75 intact. Dark reddish-orange cloth over boards with crisp lettering on cover and spine, blindstamp on front cover a lighter shade then the rest of the binding, top is not stained green and there is no book club dot so likely some variant of first printing, slight edge wear to covers especially along the bottom edges, stained on the upper page edge corners, otherwise in very good condition. (Goldstone & Payne A23a)
Originally thought to be one of Steinbeck's weaker novels, it was actually financially successful. The interesting thing about it is that no one single character in the book dominates. Rather, the viewpoint shifts from one character to another quite frequently, with access to the character's thoughts through an internal monologue. Adapted to film in 1957 to some success at the box office, it starred Jayne Mansfield, Joan Collins, Dan Dailey and Rick Jason.
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.
The Wildling Princess
Joliet: P. F. Volland Co., 1929. Hardcover, First Edition, 6 1/4 x 8 1/4". 79 pp. Brown cloth over boards with gilt stamped lettering and picture of a castle on front cover and gilt lettering on spine and back cover, some rubbing at corners, loose front hinge, a little purple crayon on half-title page and on the back free endpaper, otherwise in clean condition, very good condition overall.
This book is from the Volland Inglenook Series, a set of publications in which the books are meant to build character and entertain at the same time. A rare book by this author, the Wildling Princess is a charming children's tale about a misbehaving and wild princess who is taught by the court magician to be kind and polite. Illustrated in color and b/w by John Edward Perkins with each page of text bordered with castles and turrets.