Novels

John Le Carré

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First edition</a>, first impression of Call For The Dead by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=John+Le+Carre&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">John Le Carre</a>.<ul><li>John Le Carre (English, 1931-2020).</li><li>London: Victor Gollancz, 1961.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>Publisher's red cloth, gilt lettering to spine, with the unclipped first issue dust-jacket with Bingham quotation on front panel.</li></ul> The exceedingly scarce first edition of the author's first novel, introducing the character of George Smiley.

Call for the Dead First Edition 

Ken Kesey

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 One Flew Over the Cukoo's Nest, <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=ken+kesey&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ken Kesey</a>.<ul><li>Ken Kesey (American).</li><li>London: Methuen, 1962.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>311 pages.</li><li>Signed to the front free endpaper by Kesey without dedication.</li><li>Maroon cloth, spine lettered in gilt with blue-stamped illustration, in the unclipped wrapper.</li></ul>

One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest | 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 Diamonds Are Forever 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 (British).</li><li>Wrapper design by Richard Chopping.</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1956.</li><li>In the unclipped wrapper, in a custom made solander box.&nbsp;</li></ul> First edition, first printing of For Your Eyes Only by Ian Fleming, published by Jonathan Cape, London in 1960.

For Your Eyes Only | First Edition

Aldous Huxley

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 Brave New World by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Aldous+Huxley&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Aldous Huxley</a>; Sir John Gielgud’s copy, gifted him by Sir Ralph Richardson&nbsp;.<ul><li>Aldous Huxley (English, 1894-1963).</li><li>London: Chatto and Windus, 1932.</li><li>With the contemporary ownership inscription of John Gielgud to front free endpaper, “John Gielgud : 7, Upper St. Martin’s Lane, W.C.2”, with a further inscription in Gielgud’s hand to the lower left of the same page, “from [Aldous, inked out] Ralph Richardson / Romeo and Juliet : Oxford 1932 / February 9th”, John Gielgud’s bookplate to front pastedown.</li><li>Original blue cloth, gilt-lettered spine, dust-wrapper not price-clipped, retaining the original 7s. 6d. price.</li></ul> An exceptional theatrical association copy of Huxley’s dystopian masterpiece, owned by John Gielgud and apparently presented to him in connection with his 1932 Oxford production of Romeo and Juliet. Gielgud’s production for the Oxford University Dramatic Society was his directorial debut and featured Gielgud himself as Romeo, with the young Peggy Ashcroft as Juliet and Edith Evans as the Nurse. The further inscription, in Gielgud’s hand, records the book as from Ralph Richardson, who would shortly afterwards play Mercutio in the BBC National Program broadcast of Romeo and Juliet produced by Gielgud’s brother Val. Richardson and Gielgud remained lifelong friends and, together with Laurence Olivier, formed the celebrated triumvirate of British stage actors who dominated much of twentieth-century theater. The association is especially pleasing given the Shakespearean architecture of Brave New World. The title itself is taken from Miranda’s line in The Tempest, while ‘Romeo and Julie’ recurs throughout the novel, most notably in the Savage’s passionate identification with Romeo and his reading of the play in relation to Lenina. A copy linking Huxley’s great novel of the future with two of the central figures of the British stage, at the very moment of Gielgud’s emergence as a director. A remarkable association copy of one of the defining novels of the twentieth century, in its completely original, unrestored dust-wrapper.

Brave New World | First Edition, Sir John Gielgud Association Copy

Agatha Christie

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> of Murder is Easy by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Agatha+Christie&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Agatha Christie</a>.<ul><li>Agatha Christie (British).</li><li>London: Collins [The Crime Club], 1939.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>First printing.</li><li>Signed by Agatha Christie on the front free endpaper.</li><li>Publisher’s original orange cloth, lettered in black to the spine, with two pages of advertisements at the rear, complete with the original dust wrapper, correctly priced at 7s. 6d. to the front flap,</li></ul> One of Christie’s most ingenious village mysteries, in which retired policeman Luke Fitzwilliam becomes convinced that a succession of apparently accidental deaths in the quiet village of Wychwood-under-Ashe are, in fact, the work of a calculating murderer.&nbsp;

Murder Is Easy | Signed First Edition

James Gordon Farrell

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> presentation copy of Troubles by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.G.+Farrell&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.G. Farrell</a>.<ul><li>James Gordon Farrell (American).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1970,</li><li>Signed by the author on the title-page.</li><li>Original cloth, dust-jacket.</li></ul> A superb presentation copy of Farrell’s finest novel, inscribed by him on the front free endpaper: “Norma supplied the money/ I supplied the ink/ Happy birthday, David/ Jim Farrell/12 July 1971”. Additionally signed in full ‘J G Farrell’ to the title-page. Norma di Marco, a fairly well renowned cellist who studied under Jacqueline Dupree, was Farrell’s landlady in London. This, signed after the author’s trip to India to research The Siege of Krishnapur is a warm one. The first part of Farrell’s celebrated Empire Trilogy, is set in the decaying Hotel Majestic in Ireland during the War of Independence, its crumbling architecture mirroring the collapse of British imperial confidence. Long admired as one of the great post-war comic novels, it was later awarded the Lost Man Booker Prize in 2010.

Troubles | Signed First Edition

Charles Dickens

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finely bound</a> antique limited edition set of the works of <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>Sold as a set of 32 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1894.</li><li>Large Paper edition.</li><li>Part of an edition of 500 sets, of which this is number 35.</li><li>Illustrated with steel protestors and engravings from the original designs by Browne, Cruikshank, Leech, and others, illustrated frontispiece in plates of three states.</li><li>With critical and bibliopgraphic introductions and notes by Edwin Percy Whipple and others.</li><li>Marbled endpapers, top edges gilt, raised bands on spine, bound in three-quarters red Morocco leather with marbled boards, gilt detailing on covers and floral gilt motifs on spine compartments.</li></ul>

The Works of Charles Dickens

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">finely bound</a> edition of Great Expectations 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>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>London: Chapman &amp; Hall, 1861.</li><li>Octavos.</li><li>Second, second, and third 'editions' [issues].</li><li>Without publisher's catalogue at rear of volume III, but Smith states that 'some copies of the first five issues did not contain catalogues.'</li><li>Bound in contemporary half calf gilt over marbled boards, morocco labels.</li></ul> An attractive set of Great Expectations, the most popular of Dickens' novels, in a contemporary binding. Although the title-pages states 'Second and third editions', in fact the first five editions are really only different impressions of the same edition. Apart from the title-pages the only differences are in the text where the type in the earliest impressions shows fewer signs of wear and damage. The title-pages were altered to encourage sales.

Great Expectations

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 United Kingdom edition</a> of Ulysses 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>London: John Lane The Bodley Head, 1936.</li><li>Quarto.</li><li>Part of an edition of 900, this being #726, from an overall limitation of 1000.</li><li>Japon vellum, original green buckram with gilt Homeric bow designed by Eric Gill to upper cover, titles to spine gilt, top edge gilt, others untrimmed, with the unclipped dust-jacket.</li></ul> The first truly complete edition of Joyce's literary masterpiece, incorporating the author's corrected text and complemented by a prefatory list of previous editions and three appendices, including a legal history of the novel and a bibliography of the author's works.

Ulysses | First United Kingdom Edition

Graham Greene

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 Man Within by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Graham+Greene&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Graham Greene</a>.<ul><li>Graham Greene (English).</li><li>Heinemann: 1929.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>[x], 354 pages.</li><li>In the first issue dust wrapper, with original black cloth with blind-stamped border and publisher’s device to upper and lower board respectively, the spine is lettered in gilt.</li></ul> The wrapper is the correct first issue with the price of 7/6 net to the spine and the Oliver Onions ‘Painted Face’ review to the rear flap. A tale of betrayal among smugglers – the author’s first novel, preceded only by a book of poems entitled Babbling April. The title for the book was taken from Sir Thomas Browne’s (1605-1682) ‘There’s another man within me that’s angry with me’. The film adaptation of the book, starring Michael Redgrave &amp; Richard Attenborough, was made in 1947.

The Man Within | First Edition

J.R.R. Tolkien

<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>, early mixed impressions of The Lord of the Rings trilogy, each <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.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 3 volumes.</li><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (British).</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1965-1966.</li><li>Each individually signed by J.R.R. Tolkien. </li><li>With the folding map at the end of each volume. </li><li>Publisher’s red cloth, in the original dust-jackets</li></ul> A complete signed set of The Lord of the Rings, with Tolkien’s signature appearing in each of the three volumes. The present set combines early impressions, Tolkien’s signature in all three volumes and an unusually attractive group of original dust-jackets.

The Lord of the Rings | Signed First Editions, Early Impressions

A third edition, fifth impression of The Hobbit, <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.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (British).</li><li>London: George Allen $ Unwin, 1970.</li><li>With 12 illustrations and an advertisement leaf at the end. </li><li>Author’s presentation copy, inscribed by Tolkien on the half-title.</li><li>Publisher’s green cloth, in the original dust-jacket, price-clipped. </li></ul> A particularly lovely example, retaining the increasingly scarce original jacket.

The Hobbit | Signed by Tolkien

Langston Hughes

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 Simple Speaks His Mind by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Langston+Hughes&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Langston Hughes</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">inscribed</a> by the author.<ul><li>Langston Hughes (American).</li><li>New York: Simon and Schuster, 1950.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>231 pages.</li><li>Inscribed by the author to Harold Courlander on front free endpaper; inscription reads: "For Harold Courlander, / with gratitude for the fine work you've done in the folk field ~ / Sincerely, Langston Hughes / New York, January 20, 1954."</li><li>Bound in publisher's green cloth boards with black and gilt lettering to spine, top edge of text block dyed black.</li></ul> Harold Courlander was a prolific and much-awarded novelist, folklorist, and anthropologist specializing in African, Caribbean, and African-American cultures.

Simple Speaks His Mind | Inscribed First Edition

Ford Maddox Ford

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=James+Baldwin&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Baldwin</a>'s copy of The Good Soldier by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Ford+Madox+Ford&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Ford Madox Ford</a>.<ul><li>Ford Madox Ford (British).</li><li>Introduction by Mark Schorer.</li><li>New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1951.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>256 pages.</li><li>First Borzai edition.</li><li>With James Baldwin's ownership ink on the front free endpaper: "James Baldwin / N.Y. / '52."</li><li>Bound in publisher's full black cloth.</li></ul>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Ford Madox Ford's The Good Soldier is considered one of the great works of the 20th century. James Baldwin's Giovanni's Room was considered a controversial queer novel upon publication and is now considered a key work in the canon of gay literature. Colm Tóibín, in his essay 'Baldwin's complex fate' for Prospect Magazine in April 2016, writes: "Baldwin’s book [Giovanni's Room] is also close to Ford Madox Ford’s The Good Soldier in the slow and tortuous going over of events in the past in order to come to some understanding of sexual treachery. This is not to suggest that Baldwin was influenced by these other texts, or that he even read them, but rather that the confession form itself, in a time when so much about sex and sexual motive was kept dark and hidden, can have a special and searing intensity. It is especially open to a heightened tone, the tone of self-awareness and self-knowledge being forced on to the page as though after a struggle, the tone of things being said for the very first time." This copy of The Good Soldier answers the question of whether Baldwin read Ford in the process of writing Giovanni's Room, published in 1956. With the date of 1952, Baldwin probably picked it up on his only visit to the United States that year. After finishing Go Tell It on the Mountain in February of 1952, he sent it off to New York. "Within months, the publisher Alfred A. Knopf expressed interest, and Baldwin returned to New York—the first time in three-and-a-half years—to meet the publisher and visit his family."

The Good Soldier | James Baldwin's Copy

Roald Dahl

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>, first printing of The BFG by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Roald+Dahl&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Roald Dahl</a>.<ul><li>Roald Dahl (British).</li><li>London: Jonathan Cape, 1982.</li><li>Signed on the front endpaper by Dahl (‘To Richard/love/Roald Dahl/7/4/85/). </li><li>In the unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul>

The BFG | Inscribed First Edition

<a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">First complete paperback edition</a>, of The Lord of the Rings Trilogy by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>, finely rebound in red leather.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English, 1892-1973).</li><li>London: George Allen and Unwin, 1968.</li><li>Rebound in red Morocco leather with five raised bands, with gilt tooling and titling and marbled endpapers. with the ‘Eye of Sauron’ vignette to the front board; enclosed in a custom-made slip case, mirroring the red leather of the book and also with ‘Sauron’ vignette to the front panel.</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. J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings has had a profound cultural impact since its publication in the mid-20th century. The epic fantasy trilogy has not only set the standard for the genre but has also influenced a wide range of media, from literature and film to gaming and music. Its richly detailed world of Middle-earth, complete with its own languages, history, and mythology, has inspired countless authors, including George R.R. Martin and J.K. Rowling. The 2001-2003 film adaptations by Peter Jackson further cemented its cultural significance, bringing Tolkien’s world to a global audience and achieving critical and commercial success. These films set new benchmarks for cinematic achievements in special effects, storytelling, and epic scale, impacting the film industry and popularizing fantasy cinema. The work’s lasting appeal is evident in its dedicated fanbase, conventions, and its influence on modern fantasy, making The Lord of the Rings a cornerstone of contemporary culture.

The Lord of the Rings | First Complete Paperback Edition

James Hilton

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> first edition, first printing of Goodbye Mr Chips! by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=james+hilton&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Hilton</a>.<ul><li>James Hilton (British-American).</li><li>Hodder and Stoughton, 1934.</li><li>Signed on the title page: “Anne Scott-Russell / Sincerely / James Hilton.”</li><li>Hilton has additionally written the passage from page 95: “For the first time in his life he felt necessary — and necessary to something that was nearest his heart. There is no sublimer feeling in the world, and it was his at last.”</li><li>In the unclipped Bip Pares-designed dust wrapper, complete with the rare Evening Standard Book of the Month wrap-around band.</li></ul>

Goodbye Mr Chips! | Signed 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> of The Return of the King by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1955.</li><li>[vi], 423, [1] pages.</li><li>“First published in 1955” to verso.</li><li>In the unrestored dust wrapper.</li></ul> When The Lord of the Rings appeared between 1954 and 1955, it was issued quietly, in modest print runs, by the London publisher George Allen &amp; Unwin. Tolkien’s achievement was not merely narrative but architectural. Drawing upon philology, medieval literature, mythology, and his own linguistic inventions, he constructed a secondary world of unprecedented depth and internal coherence. Middle-earth was not a setting but a civilisation: languages, genealogies, cosmology, and moral philosophy interwoven with epic narrative. In doing so, Tolkien effectively established the template for modern high fantasy. The trilogy’s publication history underscores its rarity. The first impression of The Return of the King at 7,000 copies and the amount of unrestored dust-jackets now, was never high. More than seventy years after publication, The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most widely read and culturally resonant works of the modern era.

The Return of the King | 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> of The Fellowship of the Ring by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>London: &nbsp;George Allen &amp; Unwin, 1954.</li><li>[vi], 423, [1] pages.</li><li>“First published in 1954” to verso.</li><li>Presented in the original unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul> When The Lord of the Rings appeared between 1954 and 1955, it was issued quietly, in modest print runs, by the London publisher George Allen &amp; Unwin. Tolkien’s achievement was not merely narrative but architectural. Drawing upon philology, medieval literature, mythology, and his own linguistic inventions, he constructed a secondary world of unprecedented depth and internal coherence. Middle-earth was not a setting but a civilisation: languages, genealogies, cosmology, and moral philosophy interwoven with epic narrative. In doing so, Tolkien effectively established the template for modern high fantasy. The trilogy’s publication history underscores its rarity. The first impression of The Fellowship of the Ring numbered only 3,000 copies and the amount of unrestored dust-jackets now, was never high. More than seventy years after publication, The Lord of the Rings remains one of the most widely read and culturally resonant works of the modern era.

The Fellowship of the Ring | First Edition

J.K. Rowling

A Bloomsbury Deluxe United Kingdom edition of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Harry+Potter+and+the+Philosopher%27s+Stone&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone</a>, accompanied by 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> photograph of <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 (British).</li><li>London: Bloomsbury, 1999.</li><li>A signed photograph of the author loosely inserted.</li><li>Hardcover, publisher's red cloth.</li></ul>

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone | Bloomsbury Deluxe Edition with Signed Photograph of J.K. Rowling

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 set of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=stephen+king&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephen King</a>'s The Dark Tower series.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 9 volumes.</li><li>Stephen King (American).</li><li>Includes: The Gunslinger, The Drawing of the Three, The Waste Lands, Wizard and Glass, Wolves of the Calla, Song of Susannah, and The Dark Tower, with The Wind Through the Keyhole, and related short story The Little Sisters of Eluria as issued in Legends.</li><li>Each is in its original dust jacket.</li></ul> All volumes are first editions, first printings, a notably scarce assembly when found complete in such uniform and well-preserved condition. King’s genre-defining fusion of fantasy, western, and speculative fiction unfolds across these volumes in an expansive narrative centered on Roland Deschain and his quest for the Dark Tower.

The Dark Tower Series | 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 Spy Who Came in from the Cold, <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> with the first line of the story and dated by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=john+le+Carr%C3%A9&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">le Carré</a>.<ul><li>John le Carré (English).</li><li>United Kingdom: Gollancz, 1963.</li><li>Inscribed by the author to the title page, ‘The American handed Leamas another cup of coffee and said, ‘Why don’t you go back and sleep? We can ring you if he shows up’ – John Le Carre/New Year/2009.’</li><li>Presented in the unclipped dust wrapper, accompanied by the wrap-around band with Graham Greene’s quote about the book.</li></ul> A first edition, first printing of The Spy Who Came in from the Cold. A bleak Cold War thriller about Alec Leamas, a weary British agent drawn into one last operation against East German intelligence. What begins as a spy mission becomes a study in deception, sacrifice, and moral compromise. Le Carré strips glamour from espionage, showing it as brutal, shabby, and ethically corrosive, which helped redefine the modern spy novel. Le Carre, a reluctant inscriber, inscribed this unique copy using the opening line of the novel.

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold | First Edition Inscribed by the Author

Evelyn Waugh

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 Black Mischief by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Evelyn+Waugh&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Evelyn Waugh</a>.<ul><li>Evelyn Waugh (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1932.</li><li>With frontispiece, map on page 303.</li><li>Signed by the Author to the endpaper ‘With Best Wishes From/ Evelyn.’</li><li>In the original patterned faux-snakeskin cloth, with spine lettered in gilt, in the unclipped wrapper, accompanied by the rare Book Society ‘Book of the Month For October’ wrap-around band. </li></ul> A sharp, comic satire about politics, modernization, and imperial absurdity. Set in the fictional African state of Azania, it follows the well-meaning but chaotic Emperor Seth as he tries to westernize his country, helped by the dubious Englishman Basil Seal. Waugh uses farce, cruelty, and brilliant exaggeration to expose vanity, incompetence, and cultural arrogance, making the novel funny, unsettling, and deliberately outrageous all at once

Black Mischief | Signed First Edition

V.S. Naipaul

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 A House For Mr Biswas by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=V.S.+Naipaul&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">V.S. Naipaul</a>.<ul><li>V.S. Naipaul (British).</li><li>London: Andre Deutsch Limited, 1961.</li><li>Signed on the title page without dedication, and additionally dated: “New York / April 1 1961.”</li><li>In the vibrantly pink dust wrapper.</li></ul> Naipaul’s masterpiece: comic, poignant, and deeply humane in its account of Mohun Biswas’s struggle for independence, dignity, and a house of his own.

A House For Mr Biswas | Signed First Edition

A fourth edition 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>London: Chapman and Hall, 1844.</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 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 In Prose Being A Ghost Story of Christmas | Fourth Edition

Percy Bysshe Shelley

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 Cenci: A Tragedy, In Five Acts by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Percy+Bysshe+Shelley&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Percy Bysshe Shelley</a>.<ul><li>Percy Bysshe Shelley (English).</li><li>[Livorno], Italy: for C. And J. Ollier, Vere Street, Bond Street, London, 1819.</li><li>(xiv)104 pages.</li><li>Bound in full red morocco, ribbed gilt decorated spine, covers triple ruled in gilt, gilt dentelles, top edge gilt, others entirely uncut as issued, by Zaehnsdorf with their exhibition stamp to the lower edge of the rear pastedown.</li></ul> First edition of Shelley's dramatization of this dark tale of parricide, child abuse, and incest based on actual events and arguably the most enduring Romantic verse-play. Only 250 copies were printed, according to Shelley himself. According to Granniss, "With the exception of Queen Mab, The Cenci is the only one of Shelley's works which reached a second edition during his lifetime ." On the other hand, the play was never staged until the Shelley Society produced it on the occasion of Robert Browning's birthday, on May 7, 1886.

The Cenci: A Tragedy, In Five Acts | First Edition

Fyodor Dostoevsky

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">finely bound</a> set of The Novels of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Dostoevsky&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Dostoevsky</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12 volumes.</li><li>Fyodor Dostoevsky (Russian).</li><li>Translated by Constance Garnett. </li><li>The Novels of F. Dostoevsky. Comprising The Brothers Karamazov, The Idiot, The Possessed, Crime and Punishment, The House of the Dead, The Insulted and Injured, A Raw Youth, The Friend of the Family, The Eternal Husband and other Stories, The Gambler and other Stories, White Nights and other Stories, An Honest Thief and other Stories.</li><li>London: William Heinemann, 1945-1950. </li><li>Octavo.</li><li>All early impressions or reset printings of the Constance Garnett translations.</li><li>Handsomely bound in recent deep red half morocco, with raised bands, gilt titles to black labels, and matching cloth over boards. </li></ul> Dostoevsky’s works translated by Garnett between 1912 and 1920, now rather difficult to assemble in this format. Six titles included here are the first new impressions since their original publication in the 1920s. Please note: This item is excluded from complimentary shipping. Shipping quote will be calculated at time of purchase.

The Novels of F. Dostoevsky

A set of the complete <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/james-bond" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">James Bond</a> first editions in facsimile.&nbsp;<ul><li>Sold as a set of 14 volumes.</li><li>Ian Fleming (British).</li><li>Comprising: Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, Moonraker, Diamonds Are Forever, From Russia With Love, Dr. No, Goldfinger, For Your Eyes Only (short stories including From A View To A Kill and Quantum of Solace), Thunderball, The Spy Who Loved Me, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, You Only Live Twice, The Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and The Living Daylights (short stories).</li><li>Shelton, Connecticut: First Edition Library, 1980s-90s.</li><li>Small octavos.</li><li>Replica hardcover volumes of foil-stamped book cloth, illustrated dust-wrappers, with the complete set in the original pictorial card slip-cases.</li></ul> Please note: This item is excluded from complimentary shipping. Shipping quote will be calculated at time of purchase.

James Bond First Editions in Facsimile | Complete Set

Rudyard Kipling

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">finely bound</a> Bombay Edition of the works of <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Rudyard+Kipling&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Rudyard Kipling</a>.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 25 volumes.</li><li>Rudyard Kipling (English).</li><li>London: Macmillan and Co., Limited, 1913.</li><li>Quartos.</li><li>Illustrated throughout.</li><li>Volume I signed by the author.</li><li>Part of a limited edition of 1050.</li><li>Bound in red leather and marbled boards.</li></ul> Please note: This item is excluded from complimentary shipping. Shipping quote will be calculated at time of purchase.

The Bombay Edition of the Works of Rudyard Kipling | Signed by the Author

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Fine%2520Bindings%2520and%2520Sets" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">set</a> of the Nonesuch Press edition of the works of <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>Sold as a set of 25 volumes.</li><li>Charles Dickens (English).</li><li>Edited by Arthur Waugh [and others].</li><li>London: The Nonesuch Press, 1937-38.</li><li>Large octavo.</li><li>Nonesuch edition, number 433 of 877 limited sets.</li><li>With illustrations printed from the original plates.</li><li>With the original steel plate 'Fagin in the condemned Cell' from Oliver Twist, with a letter of authenticity from the publisher.</li><li>Text based upon the Charles Dickens Edition, the last to be revised by Dickens himself.</li><li>Publisher's vari-colored cloth, morocco labels, top edges gilt on the rough, others uncut.</li></ul> After the Depression of the early thirties, the Nonesuch Press was effectively saved from bankruptcy by the intervention of the American, George Macy. 'The Dickens' set was very much his project and it was due to his great energy that it was produced so quickly. It was described at the time by the Daily Telegraph as 'one of the most glorious achievements of publishing in our time. Robert Lynd in the News Chronicle declared it the most pleasant Dickens to read that has ever been published, while The Scotsman observed: No more handsome edition of Dickens has yet appeared; nor is it easy to conceive of any which might surpass this one.'

The Nonesuch Dickens

George MacDonald Fraser

A complete set of the twelve Flashman novels, all <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first UK editions</a>, each <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 or inscribed</a> by the author, with two typed letters signed from Fraser to Dennis Wheatley.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 12 volumes and 2 letters.</li><li>George MacDonald Fraser (British).</li><li>The books are accompanied by two typed letters from Fraser, one from Glasgow, May 13th, 1969, thanking Wheatley for his ‘magnificent review’ of Flashman’ in the ‘Glasgow Herald’; the second from the Isle of Man, December 27th, 1969, thanking him for his notice in the Daily Mail Christmas books selection.</li></ul> Comprising: Flashman:<ul><li>Herbert Jenkins, 1969.</li><li>Signed ‘George M Fraser.’</li></ul> Royal Flash:<ul><li>Barrie &amp; Jenkins, 1970.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flash for Freedom!<ul><li>Barrie &amp; Jenkins, 1971.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman at the Charge:<ul><li>Barrie &amp; Jenkins, 1973.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman in the Great Game:<ul><li>Barrie &amp; Jenkins, 1975.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman’s Lady:<ul><li>Barrie &amp; Jenkins, 1977.</li><li>Inscribed ‘To William / all good wishes / George Fraser.’</li></ul> Flashman and the Redskins:<ul><li>Collins, 1982.</li><li>Inscribed ‘To Randy / George M Fraser.’</li></ul> Flashman and the Dragon:<ul><li>Collins Harvill, 1985.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman and the Mountain of Light:<ul><li>Collins Harvill, 1990).</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman and the Angel of the Lord:<ul><li>Harvill HarperCollins, 1994.</li><li>Inscribed ‘To Mike Connolly / George Fraser.'</li></ul> Flashman and the Tiger:<ul><li>HarperCollins, 1999.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Flashman on the March:<ul><li>HarperCollins, 2005.</li><li>Signed.</li></ul> Fraser Macdonald was never an abundant signer, and signed copies of several of the middle and later titles are now distinctly uncommon; a complete signed run of the first editions, with contemporary signed correspondence relating to the first novel, is rarely encountered.

Flashman Novels | Each Signed by the Author

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> of Scoop by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=Evelyn+Waugh&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Evelyn Waugh</a>.<ul><li>Evelyn Waugh (English).</li><li>London: Chapman and Hall, 1938.</li><li>Signed by the author on the front endpaper, ‘For Elizabeth Herbert/Evelyn Waugh’. </li><li>In the first state, unclipped dust wrapper with Daily Beast to the front panel, with the rare wrap-around band, stating ‘Stop Press’ – Chosen by the Book Society.</li></ul> The recipient, Elizabeth Herbert was sister to Laura, the author’s second wife (after Evelyn). Scarce with these attributes.&nbsp;

Scoop Signed 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 Return of the King by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=J.R.R.+Tolkien&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">J.R.R. Tolkien</a>.<ul><li>J.R.R. Tolkien (English).</li><li>United Kingdom: George Allen and Unwin, 1955.</li><li>Original fold out map is still present to the rear.</li><li>Bound in the publisher’s rich red boards, in the dustwrapper.</li></ul> The third installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

The Return of the King First Edition

B. Traven

The <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 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=B.+Traven&amp;pfilters.dateRange=past" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">B. Traven</a>.<ul><li>B. Traven (unkown).</li><li>New York:&nbsp;Alfred A. Knopf,&nbsp;1935.</li><li>Octavo.</li><li>[vi], 366 pages.</li><li>Bound in black cloth, with the dust jacket, in a custom morroco backed box.</li></ul> The American edition is an original English language version by Traven. This book is the basis of the John Huston directed film classic starring Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston. "The treasure which you think not worth taking trouble and pains to find, this one alone is the real treasure you are longing for all your life. The glittering treasure you are hunting for day and night lies buried on the other side of that hill yonder."

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | First American Edition

A <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book?locale=en&amp;Book%20Type=Signed%2520and%2520Inscribed" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">signed</a> <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/buy/luxury/books-&amp;-manuscripts/book/first-edition?locale=en" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">first edition</a>, first printing of The Dark Half by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=stephen+king&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephen King</a>.<ul><li>Stephen King (American).</li><li>United States: Viking Press, 1989.</li><li>Signed and dated 2/8/90 by Stephen King to the title page.</li><li>In the unclipped dust wrapper.</li></ul>

The Dark Half | Signed 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 Dark Tower II: The Drawing of the Three by <a href="https://www.sothebys.com/en/search?query=stephen+king&amp;pfilters.dateRange=upcoming" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Stephen King</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">inscribed</a> by the author, and accompanied by a letter from King's secretary.<ul><li>Sold as a set of 1 book and 1 postcard.</li><li>Stephen King (American).</li><li>United States: Grant, 1987.</li><li>Signed to the front endpaper, ‘For Cassey Clark-/With best wishes/from Roland...and me,/Stephen King/19/27/92.'</li><li>In the clipped wrapper.</li></ul> Accompanying the book is a signed postcard, stating, ‘Dear Cassy, Enclosed please find your books which Stephen has signed for you. Please be advised that he has had to set a two-book limit, total due to the large amount of requests he receives. Thank you and enjoy. Nancy.’ Nancy Gilbert worked as a secretary and administrative assistant to Stephen King during the earlier years of his career. She was involved in handling correspondence and office administration at a time when King’s popularity — and fan mail — was expanding rapidly. Her name appears in acknowledgements in some of King’s earlier books and is occasionally encountered in relation to typed letters or office responses sent on King’s behalf. The 'Roland' in the inscription refers to The Dark Tower’s protagonist, Roland Deschain.

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Charles Dickens

Charles Dickens

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