First Editions by Top Authors

Jane Austen

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

Charles Dickens

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>, second issue of A Christmas Carol by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Charles+Dickens&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" 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>Chapter heading reading "Stave One", illustrated with 4 hand colored engraved plates by John Leech and 4 black and white illustrations by W.J. Linton.</li><li>Bound in fine full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled and paneled in gilt, front cover with gilt portrait of Dickens, rear cover with Dickens signature in gilt, gilt dentelles, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt, original cloth covers and 1 yellow endpaper bound in, by Bayntun.</li></ul> Regarded as Dicken's most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" 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

J.K. Rowling

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>, first impression, hardback issue of the first <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Harry+Potter&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> book; the rarest and most desirable format of the series 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 (English).</li><li>Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone.</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1997.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Original matt laminated printed paper boards, spine and front cover lettered in white, yellow, dark green and black, without dust jacket, as issued, housed in a red quarter morocco solander box by the Chelsea Bindery.&nbsp;</li></ul> All the required points of the first printing are present: Bloomsbury imprint, 10-down-to-1 number line, no space between “Thomas” and “Taylor” on p. 4, the list of equipment on p. 53 with “1 wand” appearing twice, and the misprint “Philospher’s” on the rear cover. Both paperback and hardback issues of the first impression were published on 26 June 1997. Only 500 copies of the first printing of Philosopher’s Stone were issued in hardback, of which it is thought around 300 were sold to libraries and schools. The publisher has stated “I think the assumption in 1997 would have been that you would sell 500 hardcovers of any good book to public libraries so that edition would be aimed at them. The general edition for the market would be a paperback” (Errington, p. 4). Identifying libraries as the intended buyers of this issue explains the lack of a dust jacket (Errington states a jacket “was simply not required by libraries”). The small number of copies not accessioned by libraries explains the scarcity of this issue, and why copies in collectible condition are rare. This copy, bearing a price sticker from W. H. Smith on the rear cover, identifies it as one of a small number sold on the high street.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | First Edition, First Impression

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> book From Russia with Love, by Ian Fleming, which has been <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 the author.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1957.</li><li>Inscribed by Fleming to R. Singleton-Ward&nbsp;.</li><li>Bound in the original black boards with silver titles on spine, red rose and metallic gun to the front board, in the rare dust wrapper.</li></ul> The book is inscribed with the author’s signed presentation inscription to the front endpaper, ‘To R. Singleton-Ward/ In (I hope)/Gratitude/ Ian Fleming/ 1957.’ Singleton-Ward was born in Droitwich at the turn of the century and studied as a masseur and physiotherapist in the area and was certainly still operating in the area in the 1940s. Singleton-Ward operated in Harley Street as a specialist physiotherapist in the 1950s and 1960s. This is born out in his book, My Two Hands Talk, published by Christopher Johnson in the same year as From Russia With Love, 1957. It is possible that Fleming used the book as background (as he had for Patrick Leigh Fermor’s, Traveller’s Tree for Live and Let Die) for the health clinic scenes in the book of Thunderball, either introduced to the text by a member of the publishing house, or introduced to it by one of the man Harley Street specialists he used to visit. There is a no coincidence perhaps that Thunderball (published 4 years later) opens with Bond on the physiotherapist’s table having a massage. It is possible that Singleton-Ward was able to give Fleming some background about this. The association in the presentation inscription suggests they were close or certainly friends. The rare use of Fleming's full name and date in an inscription (1957) is evidence of this. With the early Bond books, he invariably preferred to use just his Christian name or the more formal "The Author". Singleton-Ward’s address appears as 46 Portland Place W1 in 1965 (London Phone Book), but no trace after this with no mention after 1965 in the British General Chiropractors register/council.

James Bond From Russia With Love Inscribed 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> book You Only Live Twice, by Ian Fleming, which has been <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 the author.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1964.</li><li>Signed and inscribed to Aubrey Forshaw.</li><li>With presentation note in blue ink to flyleaf; 'To / Forshaw-san / from / Fleming-san [underline].'</li><li>Publisher’s black cloth-effect paper over boards with silver titles to spine and Japanese characters in gilt to upper, bamboo patterned endpapers, in original pictorial dust-wrapper by Richard Chopping.</li></ul> This is the first issue with ‘First published 1964’ to the copyright page. This copy was presented by Ian Fleming to Aubrey Forshaw. The inscription incorporates the traditional Japanese honorary title ‘san’, used to show respect to the person being mentioned. In the novel, Tiger Tanaka, the head of the Japanese Secret Service, refers to 007 throughout as ‘Bondo-san’. Fleming used this device only when inscribing the book to his closest friends and colleagues. Examples presented in this way include: “Brilliant Chopping-san” [for the jacket artist Richard Chopping], “Dikko-san” [Richard Hughes, journalist and model for the character 'Dikko Henderson' in the novel], “Connolly-san” [author Cyril Connolly], and “From Fleming-san” [to Sunday Times editor Denis Hamilton, the dedicatee of Fleming's Thrilling Cities]. The present 'Forshaw-san' is thus far unrecorded. Forshaw was Managing Director at Pan Books from 1952, following the death of its founder Alan Bott. The first Bond novel Casino Royale was published as a Pan edition in 1955 and each subsequent Bond novel would be published by Pan, as well as Fleming’s other three books The Diamond Smugglers, Thrilling Cities and Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang. In The Man With the Golden Typewriter, letters between Fleming and Forshaw are included on pages 319, 321, 322 and 371. It also appears that Fleming consulter Forshaw about the details of Bond’s Bentley Continental. The car was owned by Fleming and was driven and one by Bond in the film Thunderball. One of the letters from The Man With The Golden Typewriter from Forshaw to Fleming is an invite to an awards dinner to celebrate the fact that Casino Royale has sold over a million copies. By the 1960’s Pan was the second-largest paperback publisher (after Penguin), largely thanks to the phenomenal global success of Ian Fleming and his James Bond series.

James Bond You Only Live Twice Signed and Inscribed 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> book Casino Royale, by Ian Fleming, which has been <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 the author.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1953.</li><li>Inscribed to Lisl Popper.</li></ul> Inscribed to the front endpaper by the Author - ‘To Lisl/Despite whose loving/care this book was/written/X/Ian.' Ian Fleming first met Lisl Popper (then Lisa Jokl) at age nineteen during the "golden time" at Kitzbuhel in Austria in 1926. She was eight years older than Fleming, and worked a local cafe. Described as a "plain-looking Jewish girl", she and her friends first spotted young Fleming when he walked into their cafe and ordered coffee. As was usual for Fleming, he sat and read a book by himself. Lisl recalled his appearance "with sleepy blue eyes and a romantic face" - but his good looks were not the only factor attracting the girls. He wore a navy blue knitted shirt of a kind which had never been seen in Kutzbhel before. Fleming soon became acquainted with Lisl and her friends at the cafe and her simple outdoor lifestyle appealed to Fleming immensely - skiing in winter, and swimming and tennis in the summer. Another physical activity - sex - kept Fleming and Lisl very active as lovers, and some years later he commented that despite the air of sexual liberation, he did show some reservation about the manner in which Austrian girls threw themselves at his young English body. Lisl and Fleming became lifelong friends, and in 1960, Fleming signed a copy of his latest James Bond installment For Your Eyes Only (a collection of five short stories) to Lisl with the personal inscription "noch ein paar Eier fr Ostern!" ("yet another pair of eggs for Easter"). It is perhaps no coincidence that the female character in the fifth short story in the collection is named Lisl Baum. Upon Fleming's death in 1964, he left Lisl £500 in his will. Lisl later said that "all the things said about Ian -- his gloom, his melancholy, his solitariness -- frankly amaze. To all of us who knew him in Kitzbuhel he was exactly the opposite -- gay, care-free, terribly happy, the most exciting and vital sort of person. Not like an Englishman at all." Lisl Popper makes a brief appearance in archive footage used in the documentary "Ian Fleming - 007's Creator" on "The Living Daylights" Special Edition DVD. This is perhaps the most important signed copy of the first installment of the James Bond series ever to come on to the market. The book had been in a private family collection until 1992, then to a prominent collector and on to another collector.

James Bond Casino Royale Inscribed First Edition

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 printing of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=harry%20potter&amp;tab=objects" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> and the Prisoner of Azkaban.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1999.</li><li>One of fourteen working copies, with Clays LTD., ink stamp dated 05 May 1999 (two months before the original date on 8th July 1999) to the rear pastedown, and the Clays LTD. adhesive ‘Standard EDTN’ sticker.</li><li>This copy correctly reads ‘Joanne Rowling’ on the copyright page, complete with the one to ten number line.</li><li>The dust wrapper, illustrated by Cliff Wright, has not been clipped showing the correct £10.99 price.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

A first edition, second issue copy of the holiday classic A Christmas Carol.<ul><li>Charles Dickens (English, 1812-1870).</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>Bound in the original straight grained rose-colored cloth, gilt tile and wreath to spine and front cover, yellow pastedowns and endpapers, all edges gilt.</li></ul> Regarded as Dickens' most widely read novel and considered to be "the greatest Christmas book ever written in any language" (Eckel p. 116) selling more than 6,000 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 1840s, maintaining "the Carol" philosophy to "strike a sledgehammer blow" for the poor, uneducated and repressed.

A Christmas Carol

Winston Churchill

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 War Speeches by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Winston+Churchill&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Winston Churchill</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 7 volumes.</li><li>Winston Churchill (English).</li><li>London, Toronto, Melbourne, Sydney:&nbsp;Cassell and Company, Ltd.,&nbsp;1941.</li><li>Facsimile photograph frontispiece.</li><li>All edges gilt, raised bands on spine, bound in full navy blue Morocco leather, gilt borders on covers.</li></ul>

War Speeches First Editions

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 <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Diamonds Are Forever.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Jonathan Cape, 1965.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Bound in the original black boards, spine lettered in silver, diamond motif to front cover, with the original dust jacket.</li></ul> Diamonds Are Forever&nbsp;is the fourth title in the iconic Bond series, featuring the first mention of&nbsp;Spectre, which would go on to become the organization led by Bond's greatest nemesis, Ernst Stavro Blofeld. The jacket design, featuring Bond's love interest Tiffany Case, was created by designer Pat Marriott, who would later use a similar approach in depicting Honeychile Rider for the jacket of&nbsp;Dr. No.

Diamonds Are Forever

An <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> first United Kingdom edition of the <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Goldfinger.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1959.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Inscribed to Sir Henry Cotton.</li><li>Bound in the original black cloth with skull motif, dust wrapper not price-clipped.</li><li>A British Book Center ticket neatly attached to the front flap of the dust wrapper.</li></ul> An inscribed and signed copy of Goldfinger. Ian Fleming has personally inscribed this first edition copy of “Goldfinger” to the British golfer, Sir Henry Cotton. Winning the Open in 1934, 1937 and 1938, Cotton is recognized as the leading British player of the time. Inscribed on the front free-endpaper: “To Henry Cotton, Who may be amused by pp.92-113, Ian Fleming”. The pages in question detail James Bond’s victory in a $10,000 grudge match with Goldfinger – Bond entering the match with a handicap of 9, the same as the author’s. The match in Goldfinger takes place at the fictional Royal St. Marks Golf Course, a location based on the Royal St. George’s at Sandwich, Kent, the club to which Fleming and Cotton were members. The game itself was based on a 1957 tournament at the Berkshire Golf Club, which partnered Ian Fleming with Open winner, Peter Thomson. Ian Fleming and Sir Henry Cotton had a good friendship – evidenced by the fact that Fleming has used his full name in the inscription, a trait usually seen when Fleming had a particularly close relationship with the recipient. Goldfinger dedicates a whole twenty-nine pages to this relationship and the game of golf, indicating how important both were to the author. Fleming was thrilled to appear as a subject in Henry Cotton’s “Golf Notes, published in Farm and Country in 1959. Cotton used photographs of golfers to illustrate particular golf swings and the problems caused by incorrectly positioned hands and feet. Ian Fleming can be seen here as ‘golfer 3’: “Celebrated author Ian Fleming is caught at a later point in his swing, and whilst his arms could be coming to a position of rest, both his feet are firmly anchored on his heels. In all three cases the body is nowhere near completely facing the hole; it is locked by the hips and ‘dead feet’.” In “Goldfinger”, Fleming has included a direct reference to Cotton’s observation regarding “that flat swing of yours” (p.102).

Goldfinger

Beatrix Potter

<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 this story of the differences between city and country living, a very <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">Beatrix Potter</a> retelling of Aesop's "The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse."<ul><li>Beatrix Potter (English).</li><li>London and New York: Frederick Warne and Co, (1918).</li><li>86 pages.</li><li>Illustrated in color throughout.</li><li>Light brown paper boards with color pictorial center panel and brown lettering, color decorative endpapers of other Beatrix Potter characters.</li></ul> "One place suits one person, another place suits another person. For my part, I prefer to live in the country, like Timmy Willie.""Miss Potter need not worry about rivals. She has none," proclaimed The Bookman's review of The Tale Of Johnny Town-Mouse in 1918 (quoted in Linder, 244). Certainly this title carries all the hallmarks of Potter's talent: beautiful countryside, well-dressed animals, prose that is both efficient and evocative. It was also to be one of her final books for Warne, as she became more focused on the care and keeping of her Lake District farm.

The Tale Of Johnny Town-Mouse

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> copy of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?creators=Ian%2520Fleming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Flemings'</a>, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=james%20bond&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en&amp;filters.type=Buy%20Now" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel You Only Live Twice.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, March 1964.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Inscription to the front free endpaper, 'To Jonathan from Ian'.&nbsp;</li><li>Bound in publisher's black boards blocked in silver and gilt, bamboo effect endpapers, with the illustrated dust-jacket&nbsp;.</li></ul>

You Only Live Twice (Signed First Edition)

J.R.R. Tolkien

First edition second impression and the first with color plates of The Hobbit, 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>Five plates (4 color), 8 illustrations by the author, advertisement leaf at end.</li><li>Bound in full dark green morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled in gilt, Smaug the dragon gilt to lower right corner of the front cover, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, original cloth covers and spine bound in rear, original front and rear map pastedowns and endpapers bound in, by Bayntun.</li></ul> 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, which sold out of its original print run of 1,500 copies three months after publication.

The Hobbit

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)

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

First edition, first impression of the tenth Bond novel.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (British).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Jonathan Cape,&nbsp;1962.</li><li>221 pages.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Bound in black cloth with silver lettering and knife design on cover.</li></ul> The tenth Bond novel. During its composition, Fleming had considered killing off his famous spy for the third time, after From Russia, With Love and Thunderball, but this time it was for different reasons. Fleming "had become alarmed that his earlier thrillers, designed for an adult audience, were increasingly read in schools...where young people made a hero out of James Bond...He did not regard Bond as a heroic figure 'but only as an efficient professional in his job.' Therefore he had sought to write a 'cautionary tale' to put the record straight, particularly for his younger readers" (Lycett, 401–402). Bond himself doesn't appear until the end of the book.

The Spy Who Loved Me

J.K. Rowling | Cliff Wright

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=Harry%20Potter%20and%20the%20Prisoner%20of%20Azkaban&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban</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 the dust-wrapper artist, <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Cliff%20Wright&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Cliff Wright</a>.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>Dust wrapper by Cliff Wright.</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1999.</li><li>Signed by the dust wrapper artist Cliff Wright to the verso of the half title page.&nbsp;</li><li>The second issue, amended on the copyright page to 'J.K Rowling'. </li><li>Now housed in a custom-made solander box.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban First Edition Signed by the Dust Jacket Artist

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> book On Her Majesty's Secret Service, by Ian Fleming, which has been <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 the author.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1963.</li><li>Signed and inscribed to Joss Pender.</li></ul> Inscribed by the author on the front free end-paper: "To/ Joss/ from/ Ian/ 1963." With the former owner's name Pender and date in his own hand on the front paste-down. Joss Pender was a member with Ian Fleming of the Royal St George's Golf Club in Kent. Pender and Fleming were contemporaries at Eton. They died within a year of each other at relatively young ages. The families were subsequently to be linked through marriage and Denison-Penders and Flemings can still be found playing golf together at Sandwich to this day.&nbsp;

James Bond On Her Majesty’s Secret Service Signed and Inscribed First Edition

William Blake | Robert Blair

<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> and a subscribers' copy of The Grave, A Poem, by Robert Blair, with illustrations by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=William%20Blake&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">William Blake</a>.<ul><li>Robert Blair (Scottish).</li><li>Illustrated by William Blake (English).</li><li>London: T. Bensley, 1808.</li><li>Folio.</li><li>Frontispiece portrait, additional engraved title-page (marked 'Subscribers Copy' to lower edge) and 11 drawings by Blake, etched by Louis Schiavonetti.</li><li>Includes list of subscribers, a poem "To the Queen" by Blake, and advertisement referencing Henry Fuseli's favorable comments, complete.</li><li>Bound in the original boards, original printed paper label to front cover, entirely uncut as issued.</li></ul> One of about 590 copies published by subscription. In October 1805, Blake was commissioned by the publisher Cromek to prepare 40 drawings for the poem. Disagreements between Blake and Comek about the artistic direction led to hiring Schiavonetti for the engraving. Cromek included a portrait of Blake as a frontispiece and promoted the book aggressively and the illustrations to The Grave became Blake's best known work through much of the nineteenth century.

The Grave, A Poem | First Edition Subscribers' Copy

Virginia Woolf

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 Night And Day by <a href="sothebys.com/en/search?query=virginia%20woolf&amp;tab=objects" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>.<ul><li>Virginia Woolf (English).</li><li>London: Duckworth, 1919.</li><li>(ii) 538 pages, (i), complete with the final publishers ad leaf.</li><li>Bound in full blue morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers ruled in gilt, top edge gilt.</li></ul>

Night And Day 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 Dr. No, with <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">signature</a> by actor <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Sean%20Connery&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Sean Connery</a>, who played James Bond in the movie adaptation.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1958.</li><li>Includes insert with signature of Sean Connery.</li><li>Unclipped first issue dust wrapper.</li></ul>

Dr. No First Edition, First Printing, Signed by Sean Connery

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

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> book Live and Let Die, by Ian Fleming, which has been <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 the author.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1954.</li><li>Inscribed to Muriel Williams&nbsp;.</li><li>The book is accompanied by the correct first state dust wrapper without the artist's (Kenneth Lewis] credit on the front flap, correctly priced at 10s.6d. net to both the front and rear flaps.</li></ul> Inscribed by the author on the front free end-paper: "To/ MW/ The faithful &amp;/ true!/ from/ The Author". With an additional ownership inscription and date (1954) of M J Williams on the front paste-down. Muriel Williams (often referred to as MJW or MW) was Fleming's Assistant at Kemsley Newspapers when he was the Foreign Manager. She was responsible for the day-to-day running of the Department in particular liaison with the "stringers" who, from far flung parts of the world, submitted stories for inclusion in the Kemsley Publications (including the Sunday Times). The dust wrapper artist, Kenneth Lewis (who worked in the Art Department at Kemsley), remembers her well commenting on her flat-chested appearance, strong and forceful personality, her use of bright red lipstick and that Fleming deferred to her. Fleming inscribed several of his other early novels to her, including Casino Royale and Moonraker.

James Bond Live and Let Die Inscribed First Edition

Charles Dickens | Marcus Stone, R.A.

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 Our Mutual Friend 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>Illustrated by Marcus Stone.</li><li>London:&nbsp;Chapman and Hall,&nbsp;1865.</li><li>Bound in full red Morocco, all edges gilt, gilt borders on interior and exterior covers, ornate gilt panels on spine, raised bands.</li></ul>

Our Mutual Friend 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 <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> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.%20Tolkien&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968.</li><li>Rebound in full red morocco leather with Sauron vignette and in custom-made slip-case.</li></ul> The first complete collection of The Lord of the Rings - Containing the trilogy: The Fellowship of the Ring / The Two Towers / The Return of the King and preceding the Deluxe Edition of 1969.

The Lord of the Rings First Edition

Roald Dahl | Quentin Blake

A deluxe limited <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 this <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=roald+dahl&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dahl</a> classic, <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 both the author and illustrator.<ul><li>Roald Dahl (English).</li><li>Illustrated by Quentin Blake (English).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Farrar, Straus, Giroux,&nbsp;(1982). </li><li>x, 222 pages.&nbsp;</li><li>Limited edition, one of 300 numbered copies, this #208, signed by both Dahl and Blake to the limitation page.&nbsp;</li><li>Original red publisher's cloth with gilt titles, in original blue-grey slipcase.</li></ul>

The BFG | First Edition, Signed by Both Author and Illustrator

<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, first issue, and first state of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ian%20Fleming&amp;tab=objects" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ian Fleming</a>'s <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> novel Live and Let Die.<ul><li>Ian Fleming (English).</li><li>London:&nbsp;Jonathan Cape,&nbsp;1954.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>240 pages.</li><li>Black cloth covered boards, in colorful dust jacket, housed in a custom half-morocco clamshell box.</li></ul> A very pretty copy of Fleming’s second novel, written in just two months at his Goldeneye estate, before the reviews of the first Bond novel, Casino Royale, landed.

Live and Let Die 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 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

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=Harry%20Potter&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter</a> and the Deathly Hallows, <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.%20Rowling&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.K. Rowling</a>.<ul><li>J.K. Rowling (English).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 2007.</li><li>Signed and inscribed by the author on the title page in blue ink.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Signed First Edition

John Tenniel | Lewis Carroll [Charles Lutwidge Dodgson]

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first London edition</a> of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Alice%27s%20Adventures%20in%20Wonderland&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Alice's Adventures in Wonderland</a> by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Lewis%20Carroll&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Lewis Carroll</a>.<ul><li>Lewis Carroll (English).</li><li>Illustrated by John Tenniel (English).</li><li>London: Macmillan &amp; Co., 1866.</li><li>Final 'S' on the contents page inverted, page '30' numbered '3.'</li><li>Bound in fine full red morocco, in the style of the original cloth, gilt Alice and pig to front cover and the Cheshire cat to rear cover, covers ruled in gilt, gilt dentelles, all edges gilt, marbled pastedowns and endpapers, both blue endpapers bound in, the front blue endpaper with a gift inscription dated Christmas 1866, original cloth covers and spine bound in the rear, by Bayntun.</li></ul>

Alice's Adventures in Wonderland 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 Orlando by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Virginia%20Woolf&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>.<ul><li>Virginia Woolf (English).</li><li>London: The Hogarth Press, 1928.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>299 pages.</li><li>8 plates.</li><li>Publisher’s original orange cloth, in the dust wrapper.</li></ul> This, the UK first edition is preceded by a signed limited American edition. Orlando: A Biography by Virginia Woolf, published in 1928, is a seminal work of modernist literature that defies traditional genre classifications. The novel follows the life of its titular character, Orlando, a young nobleman in Elizabethan England who mysteriously transforms into a woman at the age of 30, living for centuries without ageing significantly. Through Orlando's journey across time, Woolf explores themes of gender and identity fluidity, the nature of literature and history, and the constraints imposed by society. Orlando's interactions with various historical figures and experiences across different epochs reflect Woolf's commentary on the rigid gender roles and expectations of her time. The character's transformation from male to female allows Woolf to challenge and critique the gender norms and patriarchal structures of the early 20th century. Woolf's innovative narrative structure blends biography, fiction, and fantasy, characterized by a playful, satirical tone and rich, poetic prose. The novel is also notable for its exploration of sexuality and the fluidity of love, making it a pioneering text in LGBTQ+ literature. "Orlando" remains a vibrant and influential work, celebrated for its bold experimentation and profound insights into human experience.

Orlando First Edition

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

<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> of Night and Day by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Virginia%20Woolf&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Virginia Woolf</a>, in the rare dust jacket.<ul><li>Virginia Woolf (English).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;George H. Doran Company,&nbsp;1920.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>508 pages.</li><li>Bound in green cloth, in a custom cloth clamshell box.</li></ul>

Night and Day First American Edition

Roald Dahl

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 Matilda by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Roald%20Dahl&amp;tab=objects&amp;sortBy=bsp_dotcom_prod_en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roald Dahl</a>, accompanied by a jacketed uncorrected proof of the same.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 2 volumes.</li><li>Roald Dahl (English).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1988.</li></ul> The red card covers state that the provisional United Kingdom publish date is April 21st, 1988, and the provisional price will be £8.50. This price corresponds to the that of the over-sized dust wrapper in which the book is now housed.

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