First Edition Literature

James Joyce

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 Dubliners by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=James+Joyce&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Joyce</a>.<ul><li>James Joyce (Irish).</li><li>United Kingdom: Grant Richards, 1914.</li><li>Bound in the publisher's red cloth with gilt title.</li></ul> James Joyce’s landmark collection of fifteen short stories portraying ordinary Dublin life in the early 20th century. Through characters trapped by routine, poverty, and social expectation, Joyce explores themes of paralysis, epiphany, and the quiet struggles of everyday existence. Stories like “Araby,” “Eveline,” and “The Dead” reveal moments of painful insight that illuminate the gap between aspiration and reality. Written in a clear, restrained style, ‘Dubliners’ offers a profound, humane portrait of a city and its people on the edge of modernity.

Dubliners First Edition

John Steinbeck

<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 Pulitzer and National Book Award-winning novel that made <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Steinbeck&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Steinbeck</a> a household name.<ul><li>John Steinbeck (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;The Viking Press,&nbsp;(1939).</li><li>620 pages.</li><li>Original tan buckram binding with brown titles and line art, in original unclipped ($2.75) color pictorial dust jacket illustrated by Elmer Hader, yellow topstain, endpapers with illustration of the Battle Hymn of the Republic in yellow and orange.</li></ul> "They was on'y one thing to do – ever – an' we done it." Grapes Of Wrath has been generations of students' introduction to the Great Depression and the Dust Bowl. Steinbeck's extensive use of symbolism and Biblical motifs also makes it an excellent exercise in literary criticism for both high schoolers and hardcore academics, all pulled together with exceptionally lyrical prose. This first edition, with its hyperbolic but prescient dust jacket editorial copy ("Perhaps Grapes Of Wrath is the greatest modern American novel... the greatest single creative work this country has ever produced"), captures the tipping point of Steinbeck's career.

Grapes Of Wrath First Edition

A limited <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 Ladies Almanack by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Djuna+Barnes&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Djuna Barnes</a>.<ul><li>Djuna Barnes (American).</li><li>Ladies Almanack: Showing Their Signs And Their Tides; Their Moons And Their Changes; The Seasons As It Is With Them; Their Eclipses And Equinoxes; As Well As A Full Record Of Diurnal And Nocturnal Distempers.</li><li>Paris:&nbsp;Edward W. Titus,&nbsp;1928.&nbsp;</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>84 pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Limited First Edition #839/1050.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in publisher's illustrated tan covers.</li></ul>

Ladies Almanack Limited First Edition

Mick Herron

A 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 the Jackson Lamb series, by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Mick+Herron&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mick Herron</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 8 volumes.</li><li>Mick Herron (British).</li><li>Consisting of: Slow Horses, Dead Lions, Real Tigers, Spook Street, London Rules, Slough House, Joe Country, Bad Actors, and Clown Town.</li><li>Both Slow Horses and Dead Lions are US first printings, with the remainder being first printings under the UK imprint of John Murray.</li><li>All in the original dust wrappers.</li></ul>

The Jackson Lamb Collection | First Editions

Elizabeth Bishop

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 North and South by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Elizabeth+Bishop&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Elizabeth Bishop</a>, along with the ticket from Bishop's reading where the book was signed.<ul><li>Elizabeth Bishop (American).</li><li>Boston:&nbsp;Houghton Mifflin,&nbsp;1946.</li><li>[viii], 54, [2] pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Inscribed by Bishop on the title page: "Elizabeth Bishop - many years later -."</li><li>Loosely laid in is the original event ticket to Bishop's May 21st, 1968 reading at The Academy of American Poets, with its original envelope.</li><li>Publisher's original full blue cloth with gilt titles, in original price-clipped color typographic jacket designed by Samuel Hanks Bryant.</li></ul> Bishop's famed debut, containing several of her best-known and most beloved poems, such as "The Fish," "The Man-Moth," and "The Map."

North and South | Signed First Edition

Ian Fleming

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 the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Thunderball, <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> by several cast members of the 1965 film.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1961.</li><li>Signed by five of the stars of the film from 1965: Fiona Solge (Luciana Paluzzi), Martine Beswick (Paula Caplan), Mollie Peters (Patricia Fearing), Paul Stassino (Angelo Palazzi/Francois Deuval) and Earl Cameron (Pinder).</li><li>In the original unclipped dust wrapper, 15s net price remains, boards gilt at the spine.</li></ul>

Thunderball | First Edition Signed by Cast Members of the Film

William Golding

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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=William+Golding&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Golding</a>'s Lord of the Flies, accompanied by a first paperback edition of the same, <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">inscribed</a> by Golding.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>William Golding (British).</li><li>London: Faber, 1954.</li><li>First edition, first printing: White titles on red cloth, in the second issue dust wrapper (reviews to both flaps).</li><li>First Faber paperback: Signed to the front endpaper without dedication by Golding; above, is the name of his close friend, John Jones. </li></ul>

Lord of the Flies First Edition, accompanied by an Inscribed First Paperback Edition

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>, third printing of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Live and Let Die by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</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> by members of the cast and crew of the film.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1956.</li><li>Signed on the front endpaper by: Madeline Smith (Miss Caruso), David Hedison (Felix Leiter), Guy Hamilton (Director) and Gloria Hendry (Rosie Carver).</li><li>In the unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul>

Live and Let Die | First Edition, Signed by Members of the Cast and Crew of the Film

Nancy Mitford

A 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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Nancy+Mitford&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Nancy&nbsp;Mitford</a>'s Radlett Trilogy, each inscribed by Mitford.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3.</li><li>Nancy&nbsp;Mitford (English).</li><li>Includes: The Pursuit of Love, Love in a Cold Climate, and Don't Tell Alfred.</li><li>London: Hamish Hamilton, circa 1945-1949.</li><li>The Pursuit of Love: Signed presentation inscription from the author to Alvilde Lees-Milne, to front free endpaper, ownership inscription of the recipient to last free endpaper.</li><li>Love In A Cold Climate: Signed and inscribed to ‘Roland Carpenter/from Nancy Mitford’ to the front endpaper.</li><li>Don’t Tell Alfred: Inscribed on the half-title by Mitford ‘Mrs Phelps/with love from/Nancy.’</li><li>Each in its original wrapper.</li></ul> The trilogy about an upper-class English family in the interwar period focusing on the romantic life of Linda Radlett, as narrated by her cousin, Fanny Logan. Although a comedy, the story has tragic overtones.

The Radlett Trilogy | Inscribed First Editions

Stephen King

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 Misery by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Stephen+King&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephen King</a>, inscribed by King to actor and filmmaker <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Clint+Eastwood&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Clint Eastwood</a>.<ul><li>Stephen King (American).</li><li>United States: Viking, 1987.</li><li>Inscribed on the title page, ‘For Clint [Eastwood]/Best wishes from your #1 fan - /Stephen King/ 1/17/96/.'</li><li>In the original unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul> Clint Eastwood was a major inspiration for one of Stephen King’s most iconic characters: Roland Deschain, the gunslinger from The Dark Tower series. King has openly acknowledged that Roland was modeled after the classic "Man with No Name" persona Eastwood portrayed in Sergio Leone’s spaghetti Westerns. Roland shares Eastwood’s stoic demeanor, rugged morality, and lone-wolf attitude. King essentially took that Western archetype and placed it in a dark, fantastical world—blending Eastwood’s image with epic fantasy and horror. An exceptional association copy.&nbsp;

Misery | First Edition Inscribed to Clint Eastwood

P.L. Travers

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first American edition</a>, first printing of Mary Poppins by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=P.L.+Travers&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">P.L. Travers</a>.<ul><li>P.L. Travers (Australian-British).</li><li>New York: Reynal &amp; Hitchcock, 1934.</li><li>Dust wrapper illustrated by the daughter of E.H. Shepard, Mary, full red topstain to the top edge. </li></ul> The first title in the Mary Poppins series. The books center on the magical English nanny Mary Poppins, who is blown by the East wind to Number 17 Cherry Tree Lane, London, and into the Banks’ household to care for their children. Encounters with pavement-painters and shopkeepers, and various adventures ensue, until Mary Poppins abruptly leaves, i.e., “pops out”. Only the first three of the eight books feature Mary Poppins arriving and leaving. The later five books recount previously unrecorded adventures from her original three visits. As Travers explains in her introduction to Mary Poppins in the Park, “She cannot forever arrive and depart.”

Mary Poppins First American Edition

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 Goldfinger by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1959.</li><li>In the unclipped wrapper.</li></ul>

Goldfinger First Edition

James Clavell

A set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=James+Clavell&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Clavell</a>’s Asia Saga, all <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.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 6 volumes.</li><li>James Clavell (British-American).</li><li>Includes: King Rat, Tai-Pan, Shogun, Noble House, Whirlwind, and Gai-Jin.</li><li>Michael Joseph and Hodder and Stoughton, 1963 to 1993.</li><li>Each in its original dust wrapper.</li></ul>

Asia Saga First Editions

Mark Twain

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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Mark+Twain&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Mark Twain</a>'s tale of boyhood, in the deluxe publisher's half morocco binding.<ul><li>Mark Twain [S.L.&nbsp;Clemens] (American).</li><li>Illustrated by E.W. Kemble.</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Charles L. Webster,&nbsp;1885.</li><li>Square octavo.</li><li>366 pages.</li><li>First American edition.&nbsp;</li><li>Accompanied by A Supplement to "A Bibliography of Mark Twain," loose in glassine wrapper.</li><li>Publisher's deluxe half brown morocco and marbled boards, gilt spine with raised bands, marbled edges and endpapers.</li></ul> The first edition comprised 30,000 copies; the publisher Webster announced that 20,000 would be bound in green or blue cloth ($2.75), 2,500 in a sheepskin library binding ($3.25) and 500 in this deluxe half morocco binding ($4.25). The remaining copies were perhaps bound in the same proportion.&nbsp; In his "Huck Finn among the Issue-Mongers," Kevin MacDonnell has shown that there are only three points which distinguish the first printing from the second printing of 10,000 copies:&nbsp; "the plates were corrected to reflect three changes in the text: at page 13 the erroneous page reference '88' was changed to '87'; at page 57 the misprint 'with the was' was corrected to 'with the saw'; and at page 9 the misprint 'Decided' was corrected to 'Decides.'" Our copy exhibits all three first printing points. The Uncle Silas plate at page 283, which was defaced at some point during the printing, is here in its first state. As for the other points enumerated by Blanck and Johnson, they derived from corrections made to the electrotyped plates during the course of printing and do not indicate a priority of issue. Huckleberry Finn&nbsp;prompted Hemingway to state: “All modern literature comes from one book by Mark Twain. It’s the best book we’ve had. All American writing comes from that. There was nothing before. There has been nothing since.”

The Adventures Of Huckleberry Finn | First American Edition

H.G. Wells

An <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">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> of The Common Sense of War and Peace by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=h.g.+wells&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">H.G. Wells</a>.<ul><li>H.G. Wells (English).</li><li>England / New York: Penguin, (1940).</li><li>116, [6] pages.</li><li>Inscribed by Wells in ink to copyright page: "To Dorothy Thompson. / bless her. / &amp; she is not to leave / it behind her. / H.G. Wells / Aug. 19. 41"; under copyright notice, Wells has additionally written "(with full rights to reproduce / in any form / HG.)"</li><li>Original orange and white typographic wrappers, publisher's ads at rear, housed in custom quarter navy goatskin clamshell box.</li></ul> Inscribed first edition of this World War II-era thesis on creating a new world federation to bring about lasting peace — presented to American journalist Dorothy Thompson, who "had gone into battle almost single-handedly against the Nazis" (Kurth). "Mr. Wells' job is to think [...] In this book he has been thinking about the war — why we are fighting, what will happen when it is over." Wells's inscription in this copy seems to suggest that it was given to Thompson with the idea to publish an American edition of the work; his handwritten note on the copyright page emphasizes that he has "full rights to reproduce [the book] in any form." The holograph annotations that follow in the text, most likely made by Thompson, are editorial in nature, further supporting that it was meant to be used for a new edition: typos are corrected, and portions deleted or updated to reflect changing data from the book's 1940 publication to circa 1942 (e.g. "When England and France declared war [last September] [crossed out]"). The last two chapters (#13, "That New World After the War" and #14, "A Lesson from 1918") have been crossed out entirely and, perhaps most notably, the annotator has removed a few phrases critical of Russia (e.g. "From their [doctrinaire, stupid and suspicious, but] [crossed out] not altogether ill-informed point of view"). A tremendous World War II association copy, evidence of the networking and strategy of two influential public intellectuals during the political upheavals of the epochal conflict.

The Common Sense Of War And Peace Inscribed First Edition

J.K. Rowling

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 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, <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> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.K.+Rowling&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling</a>.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling – Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire – First UK Edition 2000 – SIGNED by Rowling</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 2000.</li><li>Signed without dedication by the Rowling to the dedication page.</li><li>In the unclipped wrapper.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire First Edition Signed by Rowling

Clement Clarke Moore

<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">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> of this collection of Moore's verse, the first with "The Night Before Christmas," then still known by its original title, "A Visit from St. Nicholas."<ul><li>Clement Clarke Moore (American).</li><li>New York: Bartlett &amp; Welford, 1844.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>&nbsp;Xii, [13]-216 pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Inscribed by Moore in ink to half title: "To Mrs. James L. Moore, / with the respects / of the author."</li><li>Bound in contemporary half navy calf, blue cloth boards, expertly rebacked with original spine laid down, raised bands, gilt stamped spine, housed in custom full red goatskin clamshell box.</li></ul> "Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse" With this poem, Clement Moore created the modern Santa Claus. Christian legends and European folktales of St. Nicholas had existed before, but Moore's imagery — helped along in the 1860s by Thomas Nast's iconic illustrations — gave us the Santa Claus that children recognize today: jolly and plump, wearing a red suit with white fur trim. First published in 1823 in the Troy Sentinel in New York, the poem became a popular inclusion in newspapers throughout the 1820s. However, these publications were anonymous; it was not until the poem's publication in 1837 anthology (The New York Book of Poetry) that it was attributed to Clement Moore. Clement himself did not claim it directly in print until this 1844 collection: "his first public acknowledgment of authorship" of the poem (Marshall, 10). A major edition of a cultural touchtone, scarce inscribed.

Poems | Inscribed First Edition

L. Frank Baum | J.R. Neill

<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 follow up to The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=L.+Frank+Baum&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">L. Frank Baum</a>.<ul><li>L. Frank Baum (American).</li><li>Illustrated by J.R. Neill (American).</li><li>Chicago:&nbsp;Reilly &amp; Britton,&nbsp;1904.</li><li>287, [1] pages.</li><li>Illustrated with numerous full and partial page black and white, 16 color plates on glossy stock inserted throughout the text block by J.R. Neill, and photo-pictorial endpapers of Montgomery and Stone.</li><li>Last typeset line on copyright page reads "All rights reserved," caption of illustration facing page 23 "I DON'T WANT TO BE A MARBLE STATUE."</li><li>Bound in the original red pictorial cloth titled in dark blue on spine panel and in blue and silver on front cover, the spine with a decorative image of General Jinjur standing atop an emerald.</li></ul> Returning characters Scarecrow and Tin Man are joined by new favorites like Jack Pumpkinhead and the Woggle Bug in a fantasy adventure with political machinations in the kingdom of Oz. Aspects of this Oz book were adapted (along with Ozma of Oz) into the 1985 cult film Return to Oz. According to Baum bibliographer Bienvenue, there were five major printings of this title; the first printing, as here, is quite scarce on the marketplace today — and in fact, scarcer than the first/first of the book's legendary predecessor, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

The Marvelous Land Of Oz First Edition

Beatrix Potter

A preparatory sketch for the 1905 <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 Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Beatrix+Potter&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Beatrix Potter</a>, accompanied by a first printing of the book.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2.</li><li>Beatrix Potter (English).</li><li>London: Warne, 1905.</li><li>Sketch is pencil on paper, and has been mounted, framed and glazed.</li><li>The illustration itself appears on page 22 in the 1905 edition.</li></ul> Potter’s enchanting tale of the little hedgehog washer woman, an exceptionally scarce item, coupled with the first edition book; with an association to writer and Beatrix Potter expert Leslie Linder.

The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle First Edition, with Preparatory Sketch

J.M. Barrie

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 issue of Peter and Wendy by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.M.+Barrie&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.M. Barrie</a>.<ul><li>J.M. Barrie (Scottish).</li><li>London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1911.</li></ul> A classic children’s novel that tells the story of Peter Pan, the boy who never grows up, and his adventures with Wendy Darling and her brothers in the magical world of Neverland. Peter leads the children on a journey filled with encounters with pirates, mermaids, and the Lost Boys. The novel explores themes of innocence, adventure, and the bittersweet nature of growing up. Wendy becomes a mother figure to Peter and the Lost Boys, while Peter faces his nemesis, the villainous Captain Hook, in a battle of youthful freedom versus adult responsibility.

Peter and Wendy First Edition

Thomas Hardy

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 issue of Tess of the D'Urbervilles by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Thomas+Hardy&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thomas Hardy</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>Thomas Hardy (English).</li><li>London: James R. Osgood, McIlvaine and Co., 1891.</li><li>First issue with ‘road’ for ‘load’ on page 198 of volume 3.</li><li>In the original brown publisher’s gilt tooled cloth binding as required. </li></ul>

Tess of the D'Urbervilles First Edition

E. M. Forster

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 A Room With A View by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=E.+M.+Forster&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">E. M. Forster</a>, accompanied by a handwritten letter from Forster.<ul><li>E.M. Forster (English).</li><li>London: Edward Arnold, 1908.</li><li>Bound in publisher’s original maroon cloth boards.</li></ul> Accompanying the book is a poignant single sided hand written letter from E. M. Forster, addressed, West Hackhurst, Abinger Hammer, Dorking (Surrey), 18th October 1946, to Miss. Jordan, evidently a veterinary surgeon. In the letter, Forster states, that he should be ‘…glad if you would come over one day in the early half of next week, and put our dear old cat away´. He explains that Wednesday would be the best day, or if not Tuesday (´…but in no case later than Wednesday´) and further remarking that, ´He is quite happy and cheerful, and I don’t want to upset him by a journey to Dorking, so please will you bring the necessary apparatus with you´. From 1925 until his mother, Alice Clare, died at age 90 on 11th March 1945, Forster lived with her in Abinger Hammer at West Hackhurst, the house designed by his father, the architect Eddie Morgan Forster, and previously occupied by his aunt Laura. Forster left the property for Cambridge in November 1946, the month after the present letter was written, as the landlord refused to renew the lease. The letter is in very good condition and a marvelous accompaniment to Forster’s classic novel.

A Room With A View First Edition, with Handwritten Letter from Forster

Judith Kerr

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 The Tiger Who Came to Tea by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Judith+Kerr&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Judith Kerr</a>.<ul><li>Judith Kerr (German-British).</li><li>London: Collins, 1968.</li></ul> A beloved children’s book about a friendly tiger who visits a girl named Sophie and eats all the family’s food. Beneath its charming simplicity lies a poignant subtext: Kerr, a Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany, fled with her family in 1933. Many critics interpret the tiger as a metaphor for sudden, uncontrollable intrusion and loss—reflecting Kerr’s childhood experience of Nazi persecution.

The Tiger Who Came To Tea First Edition

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 War of the Worlds by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=H.+G.+Wells&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">H.G. Wells</a>.<ul><li>H.G.&nbsp;Wells (English).</li><li>London: Heinemann, 1898.</li><li>Bound in publishers original grey cloth with black titling to the front board and spine, Heinemann company logo to rear board, with 16 catalogue pages to the rear.</li></ul> The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells depicts a devastating Martian invasion of Earth, told from the viewpoint of an unnamed narrator fleeing destruction across England. Wells blends cutting-edge science with social critique as heat-rays, tripods and toxic “black smoke” overwhelm human defences. The novel explores imperialism, vulnerability and survival while pioneering modern science fiction. Humanity’s eventual salvation—through microbes—underscores Wells’ theme that even the most powerful invaders remain subject to nature’s unseen forces.&nbsp;

War of the Worlds First Edition

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 the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel From Russia With Love by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian+Fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1957.</li><li>The dust wrapper is finely illustrated by Richard Chopping, and has been neatly clipped.</li></ul> The fifth title in the James Bond series. One the original 15,000 printed in 1957.

From Russia With Love First Edition

Henry James

<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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Henry+James&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Henry James</a>'s early novel, The Portrait of a Lady.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>Henry James (American-British).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Macmillan and Co,&nbsp;1881.</li><li>266; 253, [1]; 248 pages, followed by 24-page publisher's catalogue in Volume III, dated April 1881.</li><li>With all half titles.&nbsp;</li><li>Modern gilt-stamped half brown morocco with marbled boards, raised bands, gilt-stamped spine. Top edges gilt, other edges uncut, marbled endpapers.</li></ul> The Portrait of a Lady is among the most important 19th-century novels to lay the groundwork for the stream-of-consciousness approach of the great 20th-century modernists like Virginia Woolf. James describes the struggles of his American ex-pat heroine in Europe with all the tenderness and nuance of psychological realism. Bound in striking period style by leading contemporary bookbinder Trevor Lloyd, MBE, one of just 750 copies of the first edition.

The Portrait of a Lady | First Edition

Jane Austen

<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 Northanger Abbey by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Jane+Austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>, in a <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine art binding</a> by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1833.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>195, [1]; 196 pages.</li><li>Cotton and abaca handmade paper grey-pink endpapers.&nbsp;</li><li>Modern full grey-lavender design binding by Sol Rébora in Can Can structure with one layer of cotton cloth and two layers of Japanese paper, each element hand-painted with acrylics and textured with a patterned design impressed with deep-relief hot-stamping from silk; spines and boards stamped in dark grey.</li></ul> Often misread as critical of the gothic novels that were popular at the period of its first composition, Northanger Abbey is a more complex exploration of the genre that is especially notable for its passages in defense of the novel form – written, uncharacteristically, in first person directly from the narrator. First published in late 1817 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 1250 copies; it includes the famous "Biographical Notice of the Author" that first revealed Austen's name to the public as the author (as her books were all published anonymously in her lifetime). Sol Rébora is an internationally recognized design bookbinder based in Buenos Aires. Her works embody a minimalistic elegance that is nevertheless subtly complex, as in the carefully structured multiple layers used here. They are not only visually stunning, but supremely tactile. From Rèbora's artist statement: "The cloth texture is achieved using silk with a patterned design that evokes the aesthetic of the time period in which the original edition was produced, creating a visual connection with antique paper. This design also appeals to the collective memory of how custom bindings from the early 19th century might have appeared, complete with deep-relief hot-stamping impressions."

Northanger Abbey First American Edition

Terry Pratchett

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 The Colour of Magic by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Terry+Pratchett&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Terry Pratchett</a>.<ul><li>Terry Pratchett (English).</li><li>United Kingdom: Colin Smythe, 1983.</li><li>In a fine unclipped wrapper, without the overprint to the front flap.</li></ul> The first printing is said to have comprised 506 copies, but 400 of these were seemingly issued to libraries making fine copies difficult to come by. First issue examples without the overlay are exceptionally scarce and probably number a handful at best. The second state featuring the printed overlay found on the inner front flap of most copies was pasted over the original blurb as a result of inaccuracies spotted when the jacket was returned from the American printers.

The Colour of Magic | 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> of Mansfield Park by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Jane+Austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>, in a silk-impressed <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine binding</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1832. </li><li>12mo.</li><li>4, 200; 204 pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Publisher's catalogue bound at front of volume I. </li><li>Cotton and abaca handmade paper peach endpapers.</li><li>Modern full pink design binding by Sol Rébora in Can Can structure with one layer of cotton cloth and two layers of Japanese paper, each element hand-painted with acrylics and textured with a patterned design impressed with deep-relief hot-stamping from silk; spines and boards stamped in dark grey. </li></ul> First US edition of Austen's third published novel — in a stunning fine art binding by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora. "I was quiet but I was not blind." Among Austen's works, Mansfield Park especially demonstrates how careful contrasts of characters and plot twists can bring out subtle ironies. First published in 1814 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 1250 copies. Sol Rébora is an internationally recognized design bookbinder based in Buenos Aires. Her works embody a minimalistic elegance that is nevertheless subtly complex, as in the carefully structured multiple layers used here. They are not only visually stunning, but supremely tactile. From Rèbora's artist statement: "The cloth texture is achieved using silk with a patterned design that evokes the aesthetic of the time period in which the original edition was produced, creating a visual connection with antique paper. This design also appeals to the collective memory of how custom bindings from the early 19th century might have appeared, complete with deep-relief hot-stamping impressions."

Mansfield Park | First American Edition

Ernest H. Shepard | A.A. Milne

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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Winnie+The+Pooh&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winnie The Pooh</a> by A.A. Milne.<ul><li>A.A. Milne (English).</li><li>Illustrated by E.H. Shepard (English).</li><li>London: Methuen, 1926.</li><li>Illustrated, map endpapers.</li><li>Bound in the original publisher’s green pictorial cloth gilt, top edge gilt, in dust jacket with ‘7/6 Net’ to spine and ‘117th Thousand’ at the head of the rear flap.</li></ul> A timeless children’s classic about the gentle adventures of a loveable bear, Pooh, and his friends—Piglet, Tigger, Eeyore, and Christopher Robin—in the Hundred Acre Wood. Through simple stories and quiet humor, Milne captures themes of friendship, imagination, and kindness. Inspired by his son’s toys, the book’s charm and Ernest H. Shepard’s illustrations made it an enduring favourite, celebrating innocence, curiosity, and the joy of everyday life.

Winnie The Pooh | First Edition, First Printing

George Orwell

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 Animal Farm by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=George+Orwell&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">George Orwell</a>.<ul><li>George Orwell (English).</li><li>United Kingdom: Secker and Warburg, 1945.</li><li>'Searchlight Books’ advertisement printed in red to the verso as called for.</li><li>In the unclipped dust wrapper, housed in a custom-made solander box.</li></ul> A political allegory that uses farm animals to depict the corruption of socialist ideals and the rise of totalitarianism, mirroring the Russian Revolution and Stalin’s regime. The story follows the animals’ rebellion against their human owner, only for their leader, Napoleon the pig, to become as oppressive as the humans they overthrew. Written during World War II, the novel was initially rejected by several publishers due to its criticism of the Soviet Union but was finally published in 1945 by Secker &amp; Warburg, achieving immediate success and lasting global influence.

Animal Farm | First Edition First Printing

The <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first United Kingdom edition</a> of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> book Moonraker y <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=ian+fleming&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1955.</li><li>Dust wrapper designed by Kenneth Lewis has not been price clipped, showing the correct price; publisher’s black boards, with the titles to the front panel and spine in silver gilt.</li></ul> The third title in Ian Fleming’s James Bond series. This is the ‘second state’, showing ‘shoot’ rather than ‘shoo’ on the tenth page.

Moonraker | First Edition, First Printing

First US edition of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=jane+austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Austen</a>'s first novel — in a stunning <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Subject=Fine%2520bindings" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">fine art binding</a> by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1833.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>199, [1]; 189, [1] pages.</li><li>Modern full grey-pink design binding by Sol Rébora in Can Can structure with one layer of cotton cloth and two layers of Japanese paper, each element hand-painted with acrylics and textured with a patterned design impressed with deep-relief hot-stamping from silk; spines and boards stamped in dark grey, cotton and abaca handmade paper grey-pink endpapers.</li></ul> Austen's first novel uses the love stories of two sisters to explore the complexities and contradictions in the gendered expectations of the Regency era: a woman will be praised for her capacity to feel emotion (her sensibility), but not too much; a woman will be praised for her independent and responsible nature (her sense), but not too much. First published in late 1811 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 1250 copies. Sol Rébora is an internationally recognized design bookbinder based in Buenos Aires. Her works embody a minimalistic elegance that is nevertheless subtly complex, as in the carefully structured multiple layers used here. They are not only visually stunning, but supremely tactile. From Rèbora's artist statement: "The cloth texture is achieved using silk with a patterned design that evokes the aesthetic of the time period in which the original edition was produced, creating a visual connection with antique paper. This design also appeals to the collective memory of how custom bindings from the early 19th century might have appeared, complete with deep-relief hot-stamping impressions." A magnificent, unique copy of an Austen first.

Sense And Sensibility | First American Edition

The <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 Pride and Prejudice by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=jane+austen&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Jane Austen</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Jane Austen (English).</li><li>Philadelphia:&nbsp;Carey &amp; Lea,&nbsp;1832.</li><li>12mo.</li><li>199, [1]; 209, [1] pages</li><li>Publisher's catalogue bound at front of Volume I.</li><li>Modern full peach design binding by Sol Rébora in Can Can structure with one layer of cotton cloth and two layers of Japanese paper, each element hand-painted with acrylics and textured with a patterned design impressed with deep-relief hot-stamping from silk; spines and boards stamped in dark grey, cotton and abaca handmade paper peach endpapers.</li></ul> First US edition in a stunning fine art binding by the acclaimed Argentinian design bookbinder Sol Rébora. Austen's most beloved novel is simultaneously a unique production of profound artistic confidence and an entertaining popular love story: it builds on a long-established tradition of English courtship novels in conversation with many women authors before her like Frances Burney (from whose book Cecelia Austen may have borrowed the very phrase "pride and prejudice"). Austen admitted in a letter that she thought her book's heroine, Elizabeth Bennett, "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print" (29 January 1813) – and generations of readers have agreed with her. First published in 1813 in three volumes, this is the first edition to appear in the United States, published in two volumes by Carey &amp; Lea in an edition of only 750 copies. Sol Rébora is an internationally recognized design bookbinder based in Buenos Aires. Her works embody a minimalistic elegance that is nevertheless subtly complex, as in the carefully structured multiple layers used here. They are not only visually stunning, but supremely tactile. From Rèbora's artist statement: "The cloth texture is achieved using silk with a patterned design that evokes the aesthetic of the time period in which the original edition was produced, creating a visual connection with antique paper. This design also appeals to the collective memory of how custom bindings from the early 19th century might have appeared, complete with deep-relief hot-stamping impressions." A magnificent, unique copy of an Austen first.

Pride And Prejudice | First American Edition

Robert Louis Stevenson

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first English edition</a> of the Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Robert+Louis+Stevenson&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Robert Louis Stevenson</a>.<ul><li>Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Longmans, Green and Co,&nbsp;1886.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Issue with the “6” in the date on upper wrapper changed by hand from “5,” half-title with list of works on verso, ads for Longman’s Magazine on inner front wrapper, inner back wrapper advertising novels by Whyte-Melville, outer back wrapper advertising The Dynamiter and two works by Bret Harte.</li><li>Quarter brown morocco and marbled boards, preserving front and back wrapper.</li></ul> Stevenson’s dark tale of Victorian hypocrisy. Published one day after the New York edition.

Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde | First English Edition

Thomas Wolfe

An <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">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> of Of Time and the River by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Thomas+Wolfe&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Thomas Wolfe</a>.<ul><li>Thomas Wolfe (American).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Charles Scribner's Sons,&nbsp;1935.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>[xii], 912 pages.</li><li>Dark blue cloth.</li></ul> Wolfe’s masterpiece, inscribed, “For Hazel Abrams. Sincerely, Thomas Wolfe, Hollywood. — Sept. 3, 1935.”

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James Joyce

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Elizabeth Bishop

Ian Fleming

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Ian Fleming

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Stephen King

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Ian Fleming

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Mark Twain

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Jane Austen

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