Discover literary treasures in our wide selection of rare first edition books from highly collectible authors such as Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Jane Austen and Charles Dickens, including beloved series such as Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings.

Modern First Editions

Signed First Editions

Top Authors

Literature

Pre-1900

First Edition Books

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a> of this scarce and important work on the geometrical consequences of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Einstein&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Einstein</a>'s postulates, by the mathematician who famously solved Einstein's Unified Field Theory equations in 1953.<ul><li>Václav Hlavatý (American).</li><li>Groningen:&nbsp;P. Noordhoff Ltd,&nbsp;(1957). </li><li>341 pages.</li><li>Original red cloth with gilt-lettered spine. Black topstain, in original unclipped (no price) brown dust jacket. </li></ul> "The main purpose of this book is to provide a detailed geometrical background for physical applications of the theory."

Geometry Of Einstein's Unified Field Theory

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inscribed</a> copy of Berlin's Personal Impressions.<ul><li>Isaiah Berlin (Russian).</li><li>London: Hogarth Press, 1980.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Inscribed in black ink on the upper flyleaf 'For Douglas Matthews / with the author's gratitude / and regard / Oxford 30.10.80.'</li><li>Bound in the publisher's blue cloth with title to spine, with the dust jacket.</li></ul> Presentation copy inscribed by Berlin to his indexer.&nbsp;A collection of Berlin's tributes to great figures of the 20th century, including Churchill, Weizmann, Huxley, Einstein, Pasternak and Akhmatova. As the title suggests, Berlin knew these people on a personal level and his writing reminds the reader that his understanding of ideas is inextricably intertwined with his understanding of the people whose ideas they are. Douglas Matthews was a greatly respected book indexer. Among his achievements (besides the works of Isaiah Berlin) were the monumental indexes to the papers of Daniel Defoe, the Dickens letters and the magisterial three-volume life of Kaiser Wilhelm written by John Röhl, who recalled Douglas's 'astonishing ability to keep hundreds of thousands of names and places in his head all at once, like doing Rubik's Cube without the cube'.

Personal Impressions

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, first issues of the Adventures of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=sherlock%20holmes&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sherlock Holmes</a> and The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (English).</li><li>London: George Newnes Limited, 1892-1894.</li><li>Original light and dark blue cloth with gilt lettering and Strand Library design on upper covers and gilt labels on spine.</li></ul>

Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes (First Edition, First Issue)

Complete set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first editions</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?creators=A.A.%2520Milne" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">A.A. Milne's </a>Pooh Books, all in original dust jackets, with When We Were Very Young signed by Milne and Shepard.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 4.</li><li>When We Were Very Young; Winnie The Pooh; Now We Are Six; The House At Pooh Corner.</li><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>Illustrated by E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Methuen,&nbsp;1924; 1926; 1927; 1928.</li><li>Signed by Milne and Shepard on title page of When We Were Very Young.</li><li>Bound in original blue, green, red and pink cloths, and in original color printed dust jackets, top edges gilt.</li><li>Housed in blue goatskin box with in-laid Pooh design on front board.</li></ul> "It was a drowsy summer afternoon, and the Forest was full of gentle sounds, which all seemed to be saying to Pooh, 'Don't listen to Rabbit, listen to me.' So he got in a comfortable position for not listening to Rabbit."In 1933, Compton Mackenzie described the publication of the first Pooh Book, When We Were Very Young, as marking "an epoch as positively as any children's book has ever marked one. It is not extravagant to surmise that a distant posterity may find in that volume of children's verse a key with which to unlock the present more easily than with any contemporary novel, poem, or play" (quoted in Thwaite). The series is an evocative reflection of English childhood in the 1920s, yet transcends the time and place of its making for each new generation to discover—and fall for. As the first book in the series, When We Were Very Young is the most difficult to find signed, making this an especially desirable set.Thwaite, Goodbye Christopher Robin: A.A. Milne and the Making of Winnie-The-Pooh.

Complete Set of The Pooh Books (Signed First Editions)

A complete set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printings of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Harry%20Potter&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> series.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 7 volumes.</li><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1997-2007.</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Softcover.</li><li>Pictorial card wrappers.</li></ul> A complete set of first edition, first printing paperback novels, variously dated, including the true 1997 first edition, first issue of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone with all relevant issue points. The paperback First of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone was printed on the very same day as the hardcover First Edition (of which only 500 copies were printed) and neither has bibliographical priority. The Harry Potter series has had a profound cultural impact, shaping a generation’s imagination and fostering a global fan community. It popularized the fantasy genre, leading to a surge in young adult literature. The books’ themes of friendship, bravery, and the fight against prejudice resonated widely, influencing social discussions. The series also spawned a massive franchise, including films, merchandise, theme parks, and fan events, contributing to popular culture. Harry Potter’s world became a cultural touchstone, inspiring fan fiction, academic studies, and even influencing educational initiatives, making it a lasting symbol of modern literature and entertainment.

First Editions of the Harry Potter Series

A first printing copy of the classic American children's book about an orphan boy growing up on the banks of the Mississippi River in Missouri.<ul><li>Mark Twain (American).</li><li>Hartford, Connecticut: The American Publishing Company, 1876.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in original blue pictorial cloth elaborately stamped in black and gilt on spine and front board, peach endpapers, triple fly leaves on laid paper.&nbsp;</li></ul> While Twain is best known today as the author of canonical children's books like this one and its sequel, Huck Finn, before Tom Sawyer he was actually famous instead as a travel writer and humorist lecturer. Tom Sawyer was Twain's first novel entirely composed by him (an earlier novel, The Gilded Age, was co-authored with his friend Charles Dudley Warner). While it did eventually achieve bestseller status, its initial reception was modest, with a first printing of only 5,000 copies. Today, its reputation has made it a highly sought rarity in the first printing, as here, and copies in great condition are scarce. Twain bibliographer Kevin MacDonnell summarizes it thus: "This was a true boy's book, and surviving copies are proof of how rough on books little boys can be."

Adventures of Tom Sawyer

Twice <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">inscribed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first state of the first <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Tarzan&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Tarzan</a> novel, presented from Burroughs to his niece.<ul><li>Edgar Rice Burroughs (American).</li><li>Chicago:&nbsp;A.C. McClurg &amp; Co,&nbsp;1914.</li><li>401 pages.</li><li>Inscribed by Burroughs on front free endpaper: "To Marjorie Westendarp / with worlds of love / and good wishes / Edgar Rice Burroughs / Honolulu November 11 1941" and below that "Marjorie — / This is an authentic first edition / Ed."</li><li>Original red cloth stamped in gilt, no acorn on spine, W.F. Hall imprint in Old English type.</li></ul> "I have been astonished to discover how often a leading biochemist or archaeologist or space technician or astronaut when asked: what happened to you when you were ten years old? replied: 'Tarzan.'" — Ray Bradbury Tarzan is one of the most recognizable pop cultural icons of the 20th century. Beginning with the novels, but quickly translating to film and beyond, Tarzan soon had his own merchandise, piracies, and international adaptations (including Bollywood films and Japanese manga). Tarzan's relationship with the movies — beginning in 1918, during the early years of popular film — was especially rich. One producer of Tarzan films, Sol Lesser, described Tarzan's global market saturation with only slight hyperbole that "there is always a Tarzan picture playing within a radius of 50 miles of any given spot in the world — in Arab villages, African bush theatres and in pampas settlements down the Argentine way" (quoted in Abate &amp; Wannamaker, 3). But Tarzan enjoyed many revivals in print as well; in 1963 "one out of every thirty paperbacks sold was a Tarzan novel" (Torgovnick, 42). For over 100 years, Tarzan has remained a vivid figure in our popular imagination. Tarzan's world is not all boyhood innocence: it also "embodies a powerful emblem of past white Western imperialism and, correspondingly, of the present colonialization of the world by American culture" (Abate &amp; Wannamaker, 5). But alongside this, Tarzan has remained internationally beloved as a potent mix of the Rousseauian "noble savage" and the Swiftian "stranger in a strange land," — a mythic figure like Romulus and Remus (one of Burroughs's inspirations) or Robinson Crusoe (also an early literary phenomenon). Above all, the books were fun: as Ray Bradbury recollected, "we may have liked Verne and Wells and Kipling, but we loved, we adored, we went quite mad with Mr. Burroughs" (intro to Porges, xviii). This copy is inscribed to Marjorie Westendarp, the daughter of Leila Hulbert, Burroughs's sister-in-law. They kept in warm and personal regular correspondence during the '40s when this book was inscribed. Burroughs notes in his presentation that this copy "is an authentic first edition," and signs it twice: once as "Edgar Rice Burroughs" and once simply as "Ed."

Tarzan Of The Apes

The proof-reader's personal copy of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=harry%20potter&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> and the Philosopher's Stone.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1997.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Softcover.</li><li>223 pages.</li><li>Pictorial card wraps by Thomas Taylor with Harry and the Hogwarts Express to upper cover and wizard to lower.</li></ul> The first edition paperback of the first book in the phenomenally popular Harry Potter series. Both the hardcover and paperback of the first edition were printed on the same day, with neither having bibliographical priority. All of the first issue points are present with the complete number sequence of 10 down to 1, ‘1 wand’ repeated twice on the equipment list on p. 53 and and the misprint “Philospher’s” on the lower cover. This, Pippa Le Quesne’s personal copy – Editorial Assistant at Bloomsbury during the period of publishing the first two instalments of the Harry Potter serie (1996 to 1998). As Pippa explains, “One of my jobs was to proof-read both type-set books and their covers. Although I had been on a proof-reading course, this was my first job in publishing and my eye clearly wasn’t very sharp as it was me that made the infamous errors in the school list (a wand listed twice) within the text and the errors on the back cover of the Philospher’s Stone. I met Jo Rowling when she came down from Scotland to see my boss (Sarah Odedina) and her editor (Emma Matthewson). She brought with her her daughter Jess, who I played with whilst she was busy talking to them. She signed another copy of the paperback first edition of the Philosopher’s Stone for me, with the inscription 'To Pippa, thanks for all of your help with me and my commas, love Jo. Sadly, I had to sell that in 2003 to pay my electricity bill (famously starter publishing salaries do not match the cost of living in London), but I do like the thought that it is out there somewhere in the world and someone is wondering who Pippa is! Another of my jobs was to clear the manuscript cupboard where we kept the original manuscripts until a book had been published, then they would be thrown away to make way for the next lot of commissioned manuscripts waiting to be edited/printed. So, another claim to fame (or biggest regret) is that I will have thrown into the bin various drafts of the first and second Harry Potter books, having no idea of their worth or interest in years to come. Jo Rowling worked on a typewriter rather than a computer initially (and yes, she really did hand write the first book in a cafe in Edinburgh). When she had finished the Chamber of Secrets she typed it up, packaged it up and sent it in the post to Bloomsbury. She did not even take a photocopy (because of the expense) but trusted Royal Mail entirely (bearing in mind this was before the first Harry Potter book had exploded) She phoned to say she had sent it, so we were expecting it within a couple of days. For some reason it took five or six days to arrive and we (including Jo) assumed it had got lost in the post! Huge relief all round when it arrived at Bloomsbury." An exceptional association copy of the first Harry Potter story – the first edition, first printing, famous for the two typographic errors and owned by the editorial assistant who missed them

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first impression set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=The%20Lord%20of%20The%20Rings&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">The Lord of The Rings</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: Allen &amp; Unwin, 1954-1955.</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Bound in red cloth, presented in the original dust jackets.</li></ul> What makes this set particularly remarkable is its provenance. It was previously owned by Margaret Bennet-Clark (later Carey), who worked in a senior role at the British Museum—a short walk from the offices of the publisher, Allen &amp; Unwin. Each volume bears her neatly inscribed name alongside the month and year of its publication, with&nbsp;The Two Towers&nbsp;also dated "22.11.1954," just under two weeks after its release. This consistency strongly suggests that Bennet-Clark purchased each book upon publication and inscribed them at the time. It would be highly unusual to later inscribe a name and publication date to match the original release months. This provenance supports the extraordinary likelihood that this set has remained together since day one—a nearly unparalleled rarity among Tolkien first editions. First edition, first impression sets of&nbsp;The Lord of the Rings&nbsp;are famously scarce. The trilogy was published over a 15-month period, with no more than 3,000 complete sets available once&nbsp;The Return of the King&nbsp;was released. Over the decades, most sets have been "assembled" by collectors swapping in individual volumes to create the best possible condition. Truly original sets, like this one, are vanishingly rare—arguably as rare as Tolkien’s One Ring itself. Given the proximity of Allen &amp; Unwin’s office and bookshop at 40 Museum Street to the British Museum, it is highly likely that Bennet-Clark purchased each volume directly from the publisher. This connection adds further intrigue and historical value to an already exceptional set.

The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy (First Edition, First Impression)

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition/modern-first-editions" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> set of The Second World War by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=winston%20churchill&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Churchill</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6 volumes.</li><li>Winston S.&nbsp;Churchill (English).</li><li>The Second World War. (The Gathering Storm; Their Finest Hour; The Grand Alliance; The Hinge Of Fate; Closing The Ring; Triumph and Tragedy).</li><li>London: Cassell &amp; Co., Ltd., 1948 - 54.</li><li>Illustrated, with fold-out maps.</li><li>Bound in half red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spines, by Atkinson.</li></ul> Churchill's masterpiece, the single most important historical account of the Second World War, and a major factor in Churchill being awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1953.

The Second World War

A signed limited first edition of Baldwin's last and longest novel, built around the story of a Black musician's life told by his brother.<ul><li>James Baldwin (American).</li><li>New York: The Dial Press, 1979.</li><li>597 pages.</li><li>Signed by Baldwin on limitation page.</li><li>Number 258 of 500 specially printed, signed and numbered copies.</li><li>Bound in the original burgundy cloth, gilt-lettered spine and front board, all edges gilt, cream endpapers, in original burgundy cloth slipcase, lettered in gilt to one side.&nbsp;</li></ul> Baldwin's epic and ambitious late novel, written from the author's house in St-Paul-de-Vence, works toward a glimpse of a "utopian domestic space occupied by two black men in love" (Zaborowska) in its final pages: a much longed for, hard-won and briefly held space for work and happiness. "It was beautiful to watch them; freedom is an extraordinary spectacle."

Just Above My Head

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of The Double Helix, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by both James Watson and Francis Crick.<ul><li>James D. Watson (American).</li><li>New York: Atheneum, 1968.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Signed by both James Watson and Francis Crick on the title page.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in the original blue cloth, with dust jacket, housed in a custom half morocco clamshell box.</li></ul> A personal account of the discovery of the structure of DNA. First edition of the author’s ground breaking work regarding the discovery of DNA for which the author, Francis Crick and Maurice Wilkins were awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine in 1962.

The Double Helix

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a>, first UK edition of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=john%20le%20Carr%C3%A9&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">le Carré</a>'s The Looking Glass War.<ul><li>John le Carré (British).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Heinemann,&nbsp;1965.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>245 pages.</li><li>Signed flat by Le Carré on the dedication page. </li><li>In dust jacket.</li></ul>

The Looking Glass War

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of Murder on the Orient Express by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Agatha%20Christie&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Agatha Christie</a>.&nbsp;<ul><li>Agatha Christie (English).</li><li>London: Collins [The Crime Club], 1934.</li><li>Complete with the wrap-around band, declaring the book to be ‘Book of the Month.’</li></ul> The classic detective novel, written by Christie and featuring Belgian sleuth Hercule Poirot. A luxurious train journey on the Orient Express turns sinister when a wealthy American, Samuel Ratchett, is found murdered in his compartment, stabbed multiple times. As the train is stranded by a snowstorm, Poirot investigates the passengers, uncovering hidden connections and motives. The plot twists reveal Ratchett was a fugitive involved in a child kidnapping and murder. In a dramatic conclusion, Poirot discovers all the passengers conspired to kill Ratchett as an act of justice. The novel is celebrated for its ingenious resolution and moral complexity.

Murder On The Orient Express

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of Friedan's The Feminine Mystique.<ul><li>Betty Friedan (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;W.W. Norton &amp; Company,&nbsp;1963.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>410 pages.</li><li>Signed flat by Betty Friedan on title page.</li><li>Spine pale red with white lettering.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>

The Feminine Mystique

First Edition, Signed James Bond Collection

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First US edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=beatrix%20potter&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Potter</a>'s The Fairy Caravan, in the original dust jacket.<ul><li>Beatrix Potter (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;David McKay,&nbsp;(1929). </li><li>225 pages.</li><li>Illustrated by Potter with 6 color plates as well as 20 full-page and 42 smaller black-and-white images.&nbsp;</li><li>Original green cloth, pictorial paste-on, gilt-lettered spine, in original dust jacket.</li></ul> After Potter finished her Peter Rabbit series, it was her intention to stop writing. It was only with the persuasion of her American publisher, Alexander McKay, that she agreed to write this book meant only for the American market. Linder notes that Potter's Lakeland friends "were quick to recognize many of the pictures with their local settings."

The Fairy Caravan

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First Deluxe Edition</a>, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> by both the author and illustrator.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1928.</li><li>Limited to 350 numbered and signed copies by Milne &amp; Shepard, this being copy #224.</li><li>Bound in the publisher’s original blue cloth backed boards, entirely uncut and unopened, with the original dust jacket.</li></ul>

The House At Pooh Corner

Rare signed first edition of Howl, inscribed in the year of publication, likely at one of Ginsberg’s most infamous readings. 	<ul><li>Allen Ginsberg (American).</li><li>San Francisco: The City Lights Pocket Bookshop, 1956.</li><li>One of a thousand copies.</li><li>Signed and dated by Ginsberg on the title page: “Allen Ginsberg / Oct 1956.”</li><li>Original stiff black stapled wrappers with pasted white printed wraparound label, as issued.</li><li>Presented in a custom, full black goatskin, clamshell box.</li></ul> “I saw the best minds of my generation destroyed by madness...”&nbsp;The most likely opportunities for Ginsberg to sign copies of Howl in 1956 were few and far between. First, the book was published late in the year. While Ferlinghetti sent Ginsberg “a few advance copies” in August of that year (Morgan, I Greet You, 5), and a small number of copies inscribed in September are known (the Sept. 17th issue of Publisher's Weekly lists the official publication date as Sept. 1st), Howl seems to have only really begun to be distributed in October. Again, according to Publisher's Weekly, “[t]he first edition passed through U.S. Customs in October, 1956” (April 29th, 1957). In addition, both Gary Snyder and Louis Ginsberg report receiving copies they had ordered at the start of that month, likely from the earliest copies received at City Lights. Morgan’s bibliography, however, sets the date of publication as Nov. 5th, which coincides with the book’s first notice, again in Publisher's Weekly (”[b]itterly impassioned”), but which further suggests Howl's distribution wasn’t really happening until well into October.&nbsp;And it was during October that the poet gave his only two public readings before the end of the year. The first was Oct. 21st, when both he and Gregory Corso read at the Poetry Center at San Francisco State (Corso’s first public reading). But curiously, Ginsberg did not read from Howl that evening, despite a large and expectant crowd—more than 500 people—and “[i]mmediately following the reading,” both poets “were anxious to get on the road” (Morgan, Celebrate, 224). The pair were hitchhiking south on their way to Mexico (where they would spend the month of November), but had an important stop in Los Angeles, where they had a reading scheduled for October 30th. Sponsored by the literary magazine, Coastlines, this small reading (held in a boarding house) would become one of Ginsberg’s most famous, second only to the Six Gallery in terms of notoriety. The best account of the event is from Lawrence Lipton’s 1959 memoir The Holy Barbarians. According to Lipton, Ginsberg was “reading from the book [Howl], which had just come out,” but was repeatedly interrupted by a drunk in the audience who jeered and heckled Ginsberg throughout. Ginsberg finished his portion of the event, but the matter came to a head when Corso got up to read. The drunk renewed his jeers and interruptions, eventually challenging Corso to a fight. At this point, Ginsberg stood up and countered that if the heckler wanted to do something truly brave, he would take off all his clothes. “The poet always stands naked before the world,” Ginsberg explained and proceeded to disrobe until he was standing stark naked before the drunk, now stunned into silence. From there the drunk backed down and even reportedly asked Ginsberg after the reading where he could get a copy of Howl for himself. No matter where it was signed, however, copies signed in the year of publication are quite rare. There are only a handful inscribed in 1956, with most of those being associations of one form or another. A significant copy from early in the life of this landmark poem that, along with Kerouac’s On The Road and Burroughs’s Naked Lunch, form the cornerstone of the Beat movement. It remains Ginsberg’s most enduring work.

Howl and Other Poems (Signed First Edition)

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a>, first edition, first printing of Call For The Dead by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=John%20le%20Carr%C3%A9&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John le Carré</a>.<ul><li>John le Carré (English).</li><li>London: Gollancz, 1961.</li><li>Signed bookplate to front endpaper.</li><li>In a dust wrapper, price clipped. </li></ul> A classic espionage novel that introduces readers to the iconic character George Smiley. The story follows Smiley, a retired intelligence officer, as he investigates the apparent suicide of a British civil servant. As he delves into the mystery, Smiley uncovers a complex web of deceit and political intrigue. The novel, le Carré’s debut, skillfully combines elements of a detective story with the tense atmosphere of Cold War espionage.

Call For The Dead (Signed First Edition, First Printing)

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first impression of The Greatest, signed by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Muhammad%20Ali&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Muhammad Ali</a>.<ul><li>Muhammad Ali (American).</li><li>Richard Durham (American).</li><li>New York: Random House.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Signed by Muhammad Ali.</li><li>Accompanied by Daily Star 'Farewell to London' Muhammad Ali souvenir program.</li><li>In dust-jacket.</li></ul> Rare to find signed, this particular example was signed and dated by him and also comes with a lovely piece of Ali ephemera being the a souvenir program of his Farewell to London tour and where this was signed. The recipient of the signature was a guest of the Daily Sketch who met Ali in their hospitality suite where it was signed. The signature has been verified as genuine by Shawn Anderson who is the leading Ali expert.

The Greatest

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of Essays On Game Theory, by mathematician <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=John%20F.%20Nash%20Jr&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John F. Nash Jr</a>.<ul><li>John F. Nash, Jr. (American).</li><li>Introduction by Ken Binmore.</li><li>Cheltenham, UK:&nbsp;Edward Elgar,&nbsp;1996.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>91 pages.</li><li>Signed flat by John F. Nash, Jr. on title page.</li><li>Bound in black cloth boards with gilt lettering on spine, issued without dust jacket,&nbsp;boards protected in plastic covering.</li></ul>

Essays On Game Theory (Signed First Edition)

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first US edition</a>, first printing of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Harry%20Potter&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> And The Chamber of Secrets.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>(New York):&nbsp;Arthur A. Levine Books / Scholastic Press,&nbsp;(1999).</li><li>341 pages.</li><li>Illustrated throughout in black and white by Grandpré.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original green quarter cloth over blue boards, in original unclipped full-color pictorial dust jacket with art by Mary Grandpré.</li></ul> Signed first US edition, first issue, of the second Harry Potter book that introduces readers to "Moaning" Myrtle and Gilderoy Lockhart in addition to Voldemort's alter ego.

Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets Signed First Edition

A first edition in English of Beckett's influential and enigmatic "tragicomedy in two acts."<ul><li>Samuel Beckett (Irish).</li><li>New York: Grove Press, 1954.</li><li>60 pages.</li><li>Bound in the original blind-stamped black cloth with silver and gilt lettering to spine, in original unclipped ($4.75) black-and-white photographic dust jacket designed by Marshall Lee, with red endpapers, Grove Press postcard laid in.</li></ul> The defining drama of the twentieth century and Beckett's masterpiece; written in French, like all of Beckett's post-World War II works, and translated by himself into the English of this edition. Powerful, frustrating, agitating and allowing for endless allegorical interpretations, the text often bewilders, always disturbs, but never alienates. Vladimir and Estragon wait in their obscure holding place, captives of an unseen tormentor or their own self-inflicted tragedy of repetition, and the audience waits with them.

Waiting for Godot

A signed <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?locale=en&amp;query=james%20bond&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel, The Spy Who Loved Me.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1962.</li><li>Inscribed to the front endpaper: “To Claude, who holds the fort. From Ian.”</li></ul> Inscribed to Claude Taittinger, head of the Champagne family with whom Fleming was friendly; Taittinger received an advance copy of his next novel and had sponsored the Pinewood celebration to mark the first day’s filming of From Russia, With Love 1st April 1963. Following his brother Francois’ untimely death in an accident, Claude stepped in to direct business from 1960 to 2005, steering the house to world renown. Based at Chateau de la Marquetterie, a former command post during World War I, the nature of the inscription would confirm this.

The Spy Who Loved Me

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first issue of A Christmas Carol, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles%20Dickens&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Charles Dickens</a>.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>A Christmas Carol In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas.</li><li>London: Chapman And Hall, 1843.</li><li>Illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Chapter heading reading "Stave I."&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt and blind stamped mauve cloth, spine expertly relined with the original spine laid down, back corners square, front cover has a perfect 'D' in 'Dickens', yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" (Eckel p. 116) selling more than 6000 copies in the few days leading up to Christmas. The work was extravagantly costly as Dickens for the first time (and incidentally his last) used color in the title-page and etchings as he wanted to make the book a beautiful gift and to be a celebration of the Christmas spirit. After the initial success, Dickens continued the series throughout the 1840's, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated, and repressed.

A Christmas Carol (First Edition, First Issue)

A signed, first edition of the first collection of Faulkner short stories, including classics like "A Rose for Emily," "Victory" and "That Evening Sun."<ul><li>William Faulkner (American).</li><li>New York: Jonathan Cape &amp; Harrison Smith, 1931.</li><li>358 pages.</li><li>First issue, with error on contents page ("280" for "208").</li><li>One of 299 copies signed by Faulkner; this is number 86.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in the original publisher's quarter brown over beige cloth, top edge gilt silver, fore-edge machine deckle, grey endpapers.</li></ul> This collection of short stories was published in the same year as Sanctuary, the controversial novel that truly brought William Faulkner to the literary world's attention; he is billed on the dust jacket as "Author of Sanctuary." Known for his visceral depictions of the decline of the South after the Civil War, many of the stories in this volume are tied to Faulkner's novels in theme, geographical location and characters. This connection is explicit in "That Evening Sun," which features the children of the Compson family, describing events that took place before their tragic downfall in The Sound and the Fury.

These Thirteen, Signed First Edition

First edition of this scarce Bennett title, an inventive and humorous series of tall tales set during the unchronicled youth of Baron Munchausen.<ul><li>Charles Bennett (English).</li><li>The surprising, unheard of and never-to-be-surpassed adventures of young Muchausen; related and illustrated by C.H. Bennett in twelve "stories."</li><li>London:&nbsp;Routledge, Warne, and Routledge,&nbsp;1865.</li><li>107, [1] pages.</li><li>Illustrated with 12 engravings.</li><li>Bound in original blind- and gilt-stamped blue cloth.</li></ul>

The Adventures of Young Munchausen

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a>, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=catch%2022&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Catch-22</a> by Joseph Heller.<ul><li>Joseph Heller (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Simon and Schuster,&nbsp;1961.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>443 pages.</li><li>Signed flat by Joseph Heller on the title page. </li><li>Aged white spine with a blue rectangle with white lettering inside, dust jacket is wrapped in a mylar covering, price is uncut.</li></ul>

Catch-22

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Special%20Feature=First%2520Edition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, first state of this iconic <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?Book%20Subject=Childrens" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">children's</a> book by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?creators=Theodor%2520Seuss%2520Geisel" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dr. Seuss</a>. <ul><li>Dr. Seuss&nbsp;[Theodor Seuss Geisel](American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Random House,&nbsp;(1957).</li><li>61, [1] pages.</li><li>Bound with original flat paper over boards (not glazed paper) and in original unclipped (200/200) dust jacket.</li></ul> "[First graders] still want to laugh at something that's ridiculous." – Dr. Seuss.This subversive update to Dick and Jane was based upon the idea that kids would get more excited about reading if they enjoyed the material. Challenged to create a reader for young children using only 220 different words, Seuss tricked kids into enjoying learning with his destructive and charismatic house guest. Inspired in part by Krazy Kat and Felix the Cat, but with a wily mind all his own, the Cat in the Hat's humor and naughtiness are engaged in the noble cause of literacy. "Parents," notes biographer Brian Jay Jones, "were more than happy to join Dr. Seuss as fellow revolutionaries. Even if parents didn't necessarily understand the pedagogy, it was easy to see the difference between the staid Dick and Jane and the rambunctious The Cat in the Hat: kids&nbsp;wanted&nbsp;to read about the antics of the cat, just as Geisel had hoped." The first book featuring the US literary icon, this copy comes directly from the stock of Aleph-Bet Books, the firm of Seuss bibliographers Helen Younger and Marc Younger. Younger, Younger, &amp; Hirsch, First Editions of Dr. Seuss Books: A Guide to Identification; Jones, Becoming Dr. Seuss.

The Cat in the Hat (First Edition, First State)

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first complete edition</a> of The Forsyte Saga by John Galsworthy.<ul><li>John Galsworthy (English).</li><li>The Forsyte Saga: The Man of Property; Indian Summer of a Forsyte; In Chancery; Awakening; To Let.</li><li>London: William Heinemann, Ltd., 1922.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>First impression, first issue.</li><li>Bound in the&nbsp;publisher's green cloth, titles to upper board and spine gilt, green topstain with the dust jacket.</li></ul> The five volumes of the saga of the Forsyte family are here collected for the first time as The Forsyte Saga.

The Forsyte Saga

First edition, first printing of Tolkien's best-known work.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>The Hobbit or There and Back Again.</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin Ltd, 1937.</li><li>Frontispiece and 8 black &amp; white plates and one vignette by Tolkien, advertisement leaf at end, top edge of text block tinted green.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original stamped green cloth, map pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul> Betty Jean Orton is the daughter of Harold Orton (1898–1975), English dialectologist and lexicographer remembered for his monumental Survey of English Dialects (1962–72).Tolkien began writing The Hobbit, or There and Back Again, as a professor of English language and literature at Oxford University. Tolkien's creative perspective was born from a childhood spent briefly in South Africa and then rural England, a short but wretched tour during World War I, and an avid fascination with German philology. Although it was originally billed as a children's book, The Hobbit attracted a varied audience and has been wildly popular since its initial publication. Tolkien built upon the tradition of fantasy literature developed by George MacDonald, Lewis Carroll and the folk tales of Arabian Nights by inventing a new language—Elvish—and making it accessible for modern-day readers. Such creativity brought rave reviews for The Hobbit. 1,500 copies were published on Sept. 21, 1937 and were sold out by December, less than three months after publication.

The Hobbit (First Edition, First Printing)

The first English edition of One Hundred Years of Solitude.Gabriel García Márquez (Colombian).<ul><li>New York: Harper &amp; Row, 1970.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's green cloth, gilt lettering to spine and upper cover, green endpapers, with the unclipped first issue dust jacket.</li></ul> Regarded as García Márquez’s masterpiece (the novel was originally published in 1967 as Cien Años De Solidad) which won the author worldwide recognition and four international literary prizes. Written in a period of 18 months where the author locked himself away and created his "magic realist" tale surrounding the life of the Buendîa family in Macondo.

One Hundred Years of Solitude

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=winnie%20the%20pooh&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winnie The Pooh</a>.<ul><li>A. A.&nbsp;Milne (English).</li><li>Illustrated by E.H. Shephard.</li><li>London: Methuen &amp; Co. Ltd., 1926.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's original gilt stamped green cloth, top edge gilt, pictorial pastedowns and endpapers.</li></ul>

Winnie The Pooh

A first edition, signed copy of Roald Dahl's short stories collection, Someone Like You.<ul><li>Roald Dahl (British).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Alfred A. Knopf,&nbsp;1953.</li><li>359 pages.</li><li>Signed by Dahl on front free endpaper.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in original tan and lavender cloth, presented in original unclipped dust jacket designed by Charles E. Skaggs.</li></ul>

Someone Like You

A true first issue, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=charles%20darwin&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Darwin</a>'s The Descent of Man.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Charles Darwin (English).</li><li>London: John Murray, 1871.</li><li>With "transmitted" the first word on p. 297 in the first volume.</li><li>In the second, the printer's note on the verso of the half-title, errata on title verso, and the postscript leaf after p. viii.</li><li>The first issue had a print-run of just 2,500 copies.</li></ul> Charles Darwin expands on his theory of evolution, focusing on human origins and the role of sexual selection. In this groundbreaking work, Darwin argues that humans share a common ancestor with other animals, particularly apes, emphasizing the continuity between humans and the rest of the natural world. He explores how natural selection and sexual selection have shaped human physical and behavioral traits, including differences between sexes and races. Darwin also discusses the development of moral sense, intellect, and social behavior, suggesting that these too evolved gradually. The book was controversial, challenging religious and scientific views of the time by placing humans firmly within the framework of evolutionary biology. The Descent of Man not only deepened public understanding of human evolution but also laid the foundation for later studies in anthropology, psychology, and evolutionary theory, making it a landmark in scientific literature and is claimed to be such by Sigmund Freud, "One of the ten most significant books ever written". [ref: 20642 ] £15,000

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Václav Hlavatý

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