Search Results: Authors starting with J from Fine Editions Ltd

London: Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street, 1827. Paper-Covered Boards. Fine. New [third] Edition, enlarged, of this pioneering publication, one of the earliest horticultural works written specifically for women. Tall 12mo (186 x 109mm): viii,136 pp, with six hand-colored aquatints, including folding frontispiece (engraved by I. Clark with imprint: "Published for Henry Colburn, New Burlington Street, 1824"). Publisher's advertisement leaf precedes frontispiece. Recent brown paper-covered boards, putty-colored paper spine, and paper spine label printed in black (original label laid in), end papers renewed, edges untrimmed. An excellent wide-margined example, tightly bound and clean throughout with richly colored plates. Henrey II, pp. 583-4 and III, 873. Abbey (Life) 17. Percy, "Maria Elizabeth Jackson and her Floral Manual" (Garden History, Vol. 20, No. 1, Spring 1992), pp. 45-56 ("commands attention principally because of the very rarity of any gardening book written not only by a woman but for… Read More

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1967. First American Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A spectacular copy of the third installment in the classic Adam Dalgliesh mystery series, from the "reigning mistress of murder" (Time). First Printing, with publisher's code A - 8.67 [MC] on copyright page. 8vo: Publisher's coarsely woven French blue cloth, spine and upper cover lettered and decorated in white; first-issue dust jacket (with only mention of James's first two novels on back panel), priced $3.95. Remarkably Fine, square, tight and unread, in a Very Fine Jacket. Barzun & Taylor, Catalogue of Crime 1920. "The country-house setting and the characterization of the unfortunate criminal are excellently handled, and the powerful ending under rushing waters is both credible and mysterious, but the method of murder as well as its cause is farfetched." (Catalogue of Crime) N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in… Read More

London and New York: Macmillan, 1886. First Edition. Decorative Cloth. Fine-. First American (and first single-volume) Edition, First Issue (with 1886 title page), of James's only overtly political novel. Crown 8vo (187 x 117mm): [4],596pp. BAL first-state binding: blue-green S cloth, front cover and spine stamped in gilt and black, rear cover stamped in blind, spine lettered in gilt, with no catalog inserted. Cover edges very lightly rubbed, end-sheets toned, small stain to fore-edge (not affecting text), but an excellent example, tightly bound and virtually pristine throughout (apparently unread). Edel & Laurence A29b. BAL 10578. Sadleir 1282a. First published serially in The Atlantic Monthly, in 1885 and 1886, then in three volumes, in 1886. This single-volume edition was printed in London, and the earliest issues were exported to America. The story of an intelligent but confused young London bookbinder, Hyacinth Robinson, who becomes involved in radical politics and a terrorist assassination… Read More

Chicago & New York: Herbert S. Stone, 1898. First Edition. Decorative Cloth. Fine-. First Printing of this novella centering on an unnamed London telegraphist, who deciphers clues to her clients's personal lives from the often cryptic telegrams they submit to her as she sits in the "cage" at the post office. Crown 8vo: [4],229,[3]pp. Publisher's dark olive-green linen-grain cloth, covers identically paneled in blind with lettering and florets in gilt; spine ruled, lettered, and ornamented in gilt; top edge gilt, others untrimmed; title page in black and orange. Book plates of essayist Robert Palfrey Utter to front paste-down and verso of front fly-leaf. (After varied experiences, including editorial work on the Youth's Companion, reporting for the New York Evening Post, ranching in Mexico, and graduate study at Harvard, Utter became, in 1906, associate professor of English at Amherst, then, beginning in 1920, held the same position at the University of California.) An excellent copy, about Fine,… Read More

Boston: Houghton, Osgood, 1879. First Printing. Hardcover. Fine. First American Edition, published less than one month after the London edition, one of only 1500 copies. 8vo: [2],281,[1]pp. Publisher's dark green finely woven dotted-line-grain cloth (Kelly green and terra-cotta were also used, no priority known) over beveled boards, spine stamped in gilt, covers framed in blind, chocolate-brown coated end papers. An exceptionally Fine example, square, tight, and probably unread. BAL10537. Edel & Laurence A7b. Supino 7.6.0. The Europeans first appeared as a serial in The Atlantic Monthly for July-October 1878, after which James made numerous minor revisions for the first book publication. "The Europeans is the last work of Henry James's early period. . . . [showcasing] the cultural differences and engagements between the Old World, as it was fading into eventual democracies, and the New World, as it was poised to take a prime spot on the world stage. . . The Europeans received (and still receives)… Read More

London: C. J. Clay and Sons, 1899. Wrappers. Fine. Scarce First Edition of this description and brief history of the stained-glass windows in King's College chapel, together with explanations of their symbolism. 8vo (): 38pp. Publisher's sage green paper wrappers printed in black. A Fine copy (excepting two staple-sized rust stains to lower wrapper). Pfaff, p. 94. Rogers 52. James is best remembered as the author of highly cultivated ghost stories, but he also was an outstanding scholar of medieval literature and palaeography (the bibliography of his learned publications extends to some thirty pages), who served both as Provost of King's College, Cambridge, and as Director of the Fitzwilliam Museum. His detailed descriptive catalogs of manuscripts are still of value to scholars today, and he also published a detailed description of the sculptured ceiling bosses of the cloisters of Norwich Cathedral. This guide to the windows of King's College Chapel also includes descriptions of the remains of… Read More

London: Edward Arnold 41 & 43 Maddox Street, Bond Street, 1915. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. A superb Ninth Impression of these tales that "have come to be seen as the epitome of the English ghost story." (Literary Encyclopedia) Demy 8vo (211 x 145mm): xii,270pp, with four illustrations by James McBryde. Original beige linen stamped in black and red, fore- and bottom edges untrimmed. Fine and tightly bound, light sporadic spotting (occasionally moderately so) to pages (not plates). Provenance: The Stuart B. Schimmel collection of M. R. James. Bleiler (Checklist), p. 108. Sullivan, pp. 233-35 ("some of the most alarming and unforgettable ghost stories in the English language"). Jones & Newman, pp. 61-64 ("the most important and influential figure in the horror field"). Rogers 84 (for first and new editions). The first work of fiction by one of the greatest ghost-story writers of all time, originally published in 1904, collecting eight creepy tales, two of which appeared previously, in the National… Read More

T'Amsteldam [Amsterdam]: Justus Dankerts, konst, kaert, en boekverkooper in de Kalverstraet in de Dankbaerheyt, 1683. Vellum. Fine. First edition of this emblem book by Dutch poet Anthoni Jansen, based on the 1607 Latin edition of Otto van Veen's enduringly popular Quinti Horatii Flacci Emblemata, illustrating the poems of Horace, with verses in Dutch, Latin, and French. 4to (203 x 155mm): [8],205,[3]pp, with engraved oval portrait of Horace on title-page and 103 large emblems by A. Loeimans and A. Seil after van Veen. Contemporary parchment-laced vellum case binding, manuscript labeling to spine. Jansen added a preface as an aide to interpreting the emblems, and to the page facing each emblem one of his poems in both Dutch and French and a quotation in Latin from Horace. The emblems for this edition were newly engraved at Amsterdam, most in reverse after van Venn's originals, using various techniques to enhance the nuanced play of light and dark. A superlative example in the original binding,… Read More

New York: Harcourt, Brace, 1942. First Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Fine-. First Edition (so stated), one of only 1700 printed, of Jarrell's first collection of poems. 8vo: xi,82pp. Publisher's crimson fine-bead cloth, spine lettered in navy blue; vivid red typographic dust jacket, lettered in white and priced $2.00. Fine and apparently unread; About Fine jacket (minimal fading to spine panel, lettering still crisp) that has benefited from minor expert restoration to spine panel tips (far from lettering on both ends). Wright A1. Heavily influenced by the poetry of W.H. Auden and dedicated to the American poet Allen Tate. Published the year Jarrell enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in archival, removable mylar sleeves. All orders are packaged with care and posted promptly. Satisfaction guaranteed. (Fine Editions Ltd is a member of the Independent Online Booksellers… Read More

New York: Macmillan, 1916. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. First Printing ("Published October, 1916" on copyright page) of the author's first commercially published book, one of only 1200 copies. Review Copy, with review statement ("Review Copy Not for Sale") punched into title page. Small 8vo: [8],217,[9]pp. Publisher's indigo vellum cloth; upper cover framed in blind with double rule and lettered in gilt, with indigo, green and gold vignette; spine stamped in gilt; tipped-in title leaf on coated stock with cover vignette; top edge gilt; others untrimmed. A superb copy, fresh and bright, virtually without flaw, lacking the scarce dust jacket. Alberts 15. ¶"Una [Call Kuster] was to be the extraordinary love of [Jeffers's] life. But another great and equally profound love overwhelmed him shortly after the couple moved to Carmel in 1914. Una described it as a kind of religious conversion under the influence of the wild and thunderously radiant landscape of the Carmel-Big Sur coast. God shouted to him… Read More

London: Boriswood, 1935. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine. First Impression of "this deservedly forgotten novel." (O'Brien) With a prefatory letter by T. E. Lawrence. Crown 8vo: (188 x 120): [8],11-287,[1]pp, with three publisher's promotions laid in. Original saffron linen, spine decorated and lettered in scarlet and French blue, top edge stained faded French blue, wanting the dust jacket. A spectacular unread survival of the author's second book, virtually flawless, tight, square, and clean throughout. O'Brien A163. Lawrence was asked to comment on this novel's suitability for publication. His report was less than favorable ("Jesty's world is incredibly small. It holds only about eight named characters who bump together whether they stay put or wander abroad. Wilkie Collins and his generation flourished on coincidences but Jesty out-Victoria's them. He has not one but twenty incredible coincidences"), but the publisher rather curiously decided to publish the book, with Lawrence's report as a… Read More

London: George Allen & Unwin / John Murray, 1962. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. A superb trio of First Impressions, the Booker Prize-winning author's second, third, and fifth novels. Crown 8vo (184 x 118mm): 261,[3]; 256; 224pp. Passion: Publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in silver, top edge stained steel-gray; illustrated dust jacket, price-clipped with publisher's sticker repricing to 21s. Esmond: Publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in silver, top edge stained steel-gray; illustrated dust jacket, price-clipped with publisher's sticker repricing to 25s. Battle: Publisher's chartreuse cloth, spine lettered in black; illustrated dust jacket, with publisher's sticker repricing to £2. Exceptional examples, all very lightly read (if at all), tightly bound and clean throughout, in fine jackets with light dust-soiling to back panels. Born in Cologne into a middle-class German-Jewish family, Ruth Prawer studied literature in London, where she met and married Cyrus Jhabvala, an Indian… Read More

London: George Allen & Unwin, 1955. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine+. First Impression of the Booker-prize winning author's first book. Crown 8vo: 301,[3]pp, including glossary and recipes for Indian dishes mentioned in the text. Publisher's black cloth, spine lettered in silver, top edge stained black; illustrated dust jacket priced 15s. An exceptional copy (apparently unread), tightly bound and clean throughout (jacket's spine panel lightened a degree or two, back panel slightly spotted. Born in Cologne, in 1927, into a middle-class German-Jewish family, Ruth Prawer studied literature in London, where she met and married Cyrus Jhabvala, an Indian student. At age 24, they moved to India, and her delight in the subcontinent is reflected in such early novels as To Whom She Will (published in the United States as Amrita), a Jane Austen-ish comedy of manners. N. B. With few exceptions (always identified), we only stock books in exceptional condition, with dust jackets carefully preserved in… Read More

Newport Mon: R. H. Johns Ltd, 1951. First Edition. Decorative Cloth. Fine. First Printing of this history of nineteenth century English pottery with metallic glazes. Royal 8vo (313 x 241mm): xx,132pp, with color frontispiece and 545 illustrations, of which 44 are in color. Publisher's pale yellow cloth, spine and front cover lettered in gold with central pottery device, top edge stained rose pink, bottom edge rough-trimmed. An exceptional example of this richly illustrated treatise, tightly bound and clean throughout. First Trade Edition, preceded by a limited edition of only 35 copies, including a substantial account of American historical pottery as well as pottery produced by Spode, Wedgwood, Wood & Caldwell, Staffordshire, Leeds, Swansea, Sunderland, Newcastle & Stockton, among other makers. The metallic glazes of English lustreware impart to pottery the effect of iridescence, simulating the appearance of silver, gold, or copper. John Hancock of Hanley, Staffordshire, began applying the new… Read More

London: printed for J. and R. Tonson, 1758. First Edition thus. Full Calf. Fine. First Annotated Edition, illustrated (grangerized) with the full suite of 32 double-page plates by William Kent for the 1751 edition of Spenser's Faerie Queene, published by Stephen Wright and John Brindley (ESTC T35152). 4to: xlii,(68, including glossary),673,[1]; 673pp, Illustrated with 32 double-page tab-mounted copperplate engravings by William Kent. Engraved armorial bookplates of John Moore Paget (1791-1866) on front paste-downs. Laid in are various manuscipt leaves, one on stationary of the Old Vicarage, Cuckfield, now a Grade II listed building, originally built in the early 17th century, rebuilt, in Georgian style, in 1780s, and finally altered in the nineteenth century. A magnificent set, printed on heavy paper and bound in contemporary full stained calf (joints very skillfully rebuilt), spine in six compartments between raised bands (four very richly gilt, two with red and black morocco lettering pieces… Read More

London: Printed for Samuel Richards and Co. 3, Grocers'-Hall Court, Poultry; and T. Mason & Sons, 2, Great Russel Street, Bloomsbury, 1822. Paper-Covered Boards. Very Good +. The "best scandalous chronicle of the day," complete in three volumes. (Tooley) 12mo: viii,319; 321; 326pp, with 12 hand-colored plates engraved by Maddocks, E. F. Burney, and W. Read. Uniformly rebound to style by Fitterer, with period marbled paper-covered boards and modern paper labels, top edges gilt, end papers renewed with laid paper. Bindings pristine; some gatherings foxed in volume I, otherwise a very good or better set with only sporadic foxing and offsetting from the plates, which are generally fresh and bright. Tooley 283 (for 1821 octavo edition). Originally published pseudonymously, in 1760, in two volumes. This, Johnston's chief work (spelled variously Johnston, Johnson and Johnstone), "appeared in four volumes between 1760 and 1765. The first and second volumes were written during a visit to the earl of… Read More

New York: Random House, 1929. Limited Edition. Pictorial Wrappers. Fine. One of 475 sets of twelve royal octavo chapbooks, designed, illustrated, and printed by Paul Johnston, each being the first appearance of a poem by a contemporary American. (253 x 158mm) [4]pp. Original variously colored handmade string-bound wrappers, front covers with contrasting color vignettes and black lettering, fore- and bottom edges untrimmed; all collected in original yellow stiff paper chemise lettered in black and inserted into publisher's black card slipcase decorated with yellow figures. Virtually pristine, with only minor, nearly imperceptible restoration to chemise and slipcase. Clymer & Green, p. 50. Crane A12. Comprising poems by Genevieve Taggard ("Monologue for Mothers"), Robert Frost ("The Lovely Shall be Choosers"), Vachel Lindsay ("Rigamarole, Rigamarole"), Edwin Arlington Robinson ("The Prodigal Son"), Louis Untermeyer ("Adirondack Cycle"), Alfred Kreymborg ("Body and Stone"), H. D. ("Red Roses for… Read More

Amsterdam / Harlingen: Peter Conrad / Volkert van der Plaats [through 1786], 1784. First Edition. Quarter-Calf. Fine. Rare complete copy of this early classic in the literature of whaling, illustrated with finely engraved maps of the polar regions, including one of the earliest maps showing the whole of the Arctic and perhaps the first map of Nova Zembla. Four volumes bound in one, each with title page and separate pagination. 4to (250 x 202mm): vii,[1],96, with four plates (three folding) and two folding maps; iii,[1],116, with one plate and three folding maps; [4],116, with nine plates (one folding), and folding map; [4],116pp, with one folding plate, the magnificent lifting of the nets, depicting the fleet of ships and sloops used in the fishery. Contemporary quarter calf over speckled paper-covered boards, spine in six compartments divided by double gilt rules, tan leather lettering piece gilt, all edges speckled brown. A Fine, wide-margined example, tightly bound in contemporary (probably… Read More

Boston: The Cornhill Company, 1918. First Edition thus. Hardcover. Fine. First Unauthorized American Edition of Joyce's first regularly published work, with print run estimated at 1000 copies. Small, slim 8vo: 20 unnumbered leaves, with 36 numbered Elizabethan-like poems chronicling the growth of a young poet's love for a golden-haired woman (the collection originally comprised 34 love poems, but "All day I hear the noise of waters" and "I hear an army charging upon the land," which Yeats described as a "technical and emotional masterpiece," were added before publication). Publisher's green cloth, upper cover lettered in gilt, fore- and bottom edges untrimmed, wove end papers (some copies with laid end papers, no known priority. Without the fragile transparent tissue wrapper. An exemplary example virtually pristine, covers firmly attached, binding tight, gilt stamping sharp (Slocum & Cahoon note variations in stamping). Slocum & Cahoon A5. Originally published in 1907, in London. The first… Read More