A TALE OF TWO CITIES by DICKENS, CHARLES - 1859

New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, 1819 - 1820.. Seven parts bound in two volumes. Large octavo. 19th century calf, spines gilt extra. Bound without wrappers and adverts. Early manuscript index on front binder's blank in both volumes. Spines darkened and slightly crazed, joints a bit worn and slightly cracked in places (but sound), occasional spotting and foxing to Part I, brown spot in fore-edge of Part VII, clean 5 cm tear in top edge of leaf 63/4 of Part VII, with no loss, still a good set in contemporary dress. Old morocco faced slipcase. First editions, first printings, of each part of Irving's second major sequence publication, with BAL's state 'A' of the text on page 240. Neither the terminal blank for Part I, nor the slip against piracy that was inserted in some copies of Part II are present. THE SKETCH BOOK is among Irving's masterworks, printing for the first time in complete book form "Rip Van Winkle" (Pt. I), "Old Christmas" (Pt. V), and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Pt. VI). "That… Read More

Paris: Javal and Bordeaux, 1930. Limited Edition. JOUVE, Paul. Illustrated by one of the leading painters in France, this superb work brings Kipling's classic Jungle Book story into the realm of fine 20th century French publishing. Limited edition of 125 copies, bound in snakeskin-style folding case, protected by matching slipcase (some wear), 340 mm x 265 mm, 130 unbound pages as issued, 21 plates, printed on imperial Japan paper, an excellent copy.

John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head. London. 1894. FIRST EDITION. One of just 50 large paper copies printed on hand made paper. Small 4to.(8.4 X 6.3 inches). Original buckram with gilt lettering to the spine. Attractive floral designs by Charles Shannon in gilt to the spine and both boards. Spine and hinge edges of boards cloth is darkened but the gilt is still bright. Fore and bottom page edges are untrimmed. Offsetting to the blank free endpapers otherwise a bright and clean copy throughout. --- Mason 365.

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, with all points including the infamous "curved fly" on page 283. Published in 1884-1885. Publisher's half morocco, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, 173 text illustrations after E. W. Kemble. ********Copies in the original half morocco binding with the "curved fly" illustration are the rarest of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Less than two weeks before publication, the publisher Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies in half morocco. This copy was printed in 1884, before the "curved fly" page was replaced.
First Issue Points:*Page 9 with uncorrected "decided" (this was later corrected to "decides")*At p. 13 the erroneous page reference "88" before being changed to "87"*At p. 57 the misprint "with the was" before it was corrected to "with the saw.
*The "curved fly" Illustration.*Frontispiece Portrait of Twin with tablecloth underneath.Condition:This book… Read More

Exceptionally rare early thaumatrope collection. The set is complete with 24 discs housed in the publisher's box. Each disc has hand-colored engravings and tied silk strings. Distributed on the cusps of the Georgian and Victorian eras by Alphonse Giroux, Paris, 7 rue du Coq Saint-Honoré. In remarkable antique condition with astonishingly vivid colors and all strings attached.
Subject Matter
The collection includes an interpretation of Henry Fuseli's painting "The Nightmare" (1782) with a woman in a vivid green gown, sleeping on a chaise, a demon perched upon her breast. Also, Harlequin (or Arlequin), the theatrical devil, is depicted dancing. (A reference to Armand d'Artois' "folie-vaudeville" Le Sultan du Havre, and reminiscent of Charles Malo's Almanach des Spectacles.) There is also a classic depiction of Napoleon and of Aesop's vanity tale Fox and Crow. Represented fashions span eras and nationalities (see, for example, the courting couple in possibly Regency Era costume; masquerade lady; sword… Read More

New York: Printed by C.S. Van Winkle, 1819 - 1820.. Seven parts bound in two volumes. Large octavo. 19th century calf, spines gilt extra. Bound without wrappers and adverts. Early manuscript index on front binder's blank in both volumes. Spines darkened and slightly crazed, joints a bit worn and slightly cracked in places (but sound), occasional spotting and foxing to Part I, brown spot in fore-edge of Part VII, clean 5 cm tear in top edge of leaf 63/4 of Part VII, with no loss, still a good set in contemporary dress. Old morocco faced slipcase. First editions, first printings, of each part of Irving's second major sequence publication, with BAL's state 'A' of the text on page 240. Neither the terminal blank for Part I, nor the slip against piracy that was inserted in some copies of Part II are present. THE SKETCH BOOK is among Irving's masterworks, printing for the first time in complete book form "Rip Van Winkle" (Pt. I), "Old Christmas" (Pt. V), and "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (Pt. VI). "That… Read More

Paris: Javal and Bordeaux, 1930. Limited Edition. JOUVE, Paul. Illustrated by one of the leading painters in France, this superb work brings Kipling's classic Jungle Book story into the realm of fine 20th century French publishing. Limited edition of 125 copies, bound in snakeskin-style folding case, protected by matching slipcase (some wear), 340 mm x 265 mm, 130 unbound pages as issued, 21 plates, printed on imperial Japan paper, an excellent copy.

John Lane at The Sign of The Bodley Head. London. 1894. FIRST EDITION. One of just 50 large paper copies printed on hand made paper. Small 4to.(8.4 X 6.3 inches). Original buckram with gilt lettering to the spine. Attractive floral designs by Charles Shannon in gilt to the spine and both boards. Spine and hinge edges of boards cloth is darkened but the gilt is still bright. Fore and bottom page edges are untrimmed. Offsetting to the blank free endpapers otherwise a bright and clean copy throughout. --- Mason 365.

New York: Charles L. Webster and Company, FIRST EDITION, FIRST PRINTING, with all points including the infamous "curved fly" on page 283. Published in 1884-1885. Publisher's half morocco, marbled edges, marbled endpapers, 173 text illustrations after E. W. Kemble. ********Copies in the original half morocco binding with the "curved fly" illustration are the rarest of the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. Less than two weeks before publication, the publisher Webster announced that he was binding 20,000 copies in cloth, another 2,500 in sheep, and 500 copies in half morocco. This copy was printed in 1884, before the "curved fly" page was replaced.
First Issue Points:*Page 9 with uncorrected "decided" (this was later corrected to "decides")*At p. 13 the erroneous page reference "88" before being changed to "87"*At p. 57 the misprint "with the was" before it was corrected to "with the saw.
*The "curved fly" Illustration.*Frontispiece Portrait of Twin with tablecloth underneath.Condition:This book… Read More

Exceptionally rare early thaumatrope collection. The set is complete with 24 discs housed in the publisher's box. Each disc has hand-colored engravings and tied silk strings. Distributed on the cusps of the Georgian and Victorian eras by Alphonse Giroux, Paris, 7 rue du Coq Saint-Honoré. In remarkable antique condition with astonishingly vivid colors and all strings attached.
Subject Matter
The collection includes an interpretation of Henry Fuseli's painting "The Nightmare" (1782) with a woman in a vivid green gown, sleeping on a chaise, a demon perched upon her breast. Also, Harlequin (or Arlequin), the theatrical devil, is depicted dancing. (A reference to Armand d'Artois' "folie-vaudeville" Le Sultan du Havre, and reminiscent of Charles Malo's Almanach des Spectacles.) There is also a classic depiction of Napoleon and of Aesop's vanity tale Fox and Crow. Represented fashions span eras and nationalities (see, for example, the courting couple in possibly Regency Era costume; masquerade lady; sword… Read More