Search Results: Titles starting with A from Mac Donnell Rare Books

Smollett, Tobias. THE ADVENTURES OF FERDINAND COUNT FATHOM. London: T. Johnson, 1753. 2 vols. Pirated edition, published the same year as the first edition. Later marbled boards, leather labels, gilt. Fine set. The shortest of Smollett's novels, and written with little humor, it tells the story of numerous frauds and deceptions of an unrelenting villain. Smollett dedicated this novel to himself, perhaps the first author to do so, and wrote a psychologically facsinating preface to himself. The scoundrel in this work may have been inspired by Peter Gordon, a low-life deadbeat whom Smollett had rescued from jail, fed, and clothed.… Read More

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER. Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876. First edition, first printing. Original decorated blue cloth, gilt. A very good tight clean copy, expertly recased. With a Christmas, 1876 gift inscription. The first printing was 5,000 copies, and by January, 1877, 9,879 copies had been printed and bound. Advance subscription orders called for a second printing before the day of publication, so even those very first buyers of this book stood only a fifty precent chance of getting a copy of the first printing. "For once, the natural rights of the small boy were set forth by a great writer who remembered his own childhood, when he had indeed inveigled some boys into whitewashing a fence for him, given pain-killer to his cat, teased his brother unmercifully, and continually sharpened his wits in devising ways of escaping punishment .... [this book] let fresh air into the minds of parents who had shut the door on their own childhood ..." --Grolier… Read More

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER. Hartford: American Publishing Company, 1876. First edition, first printing. Original decorated blue cloth, gilt. Fore-edges of five leaves browned or frayed due to having once been slightly sprung, spine ends heavily worn, some foxing and scattered stains in text; but a good tight copy. The first printing was 5,000 copies, and by January, 1877, 9,879 copies had been printed and bound. Advance subscription orders called for a second printing before the day of publication, so even those very first buyers of this book stood only a fifty precent chance of getting a copy of the first printing. "For once, the natural rights of the small boy were set forth by a great writer who remembered his own childhood, when he had indeed inveigled some boys into whitewashing a fence for him, given pain-killer to his cat, teased his brother unmercifully, and continually sharpened his wits in devising ways of escaping punishment .... [this book] let fresh air into… Read More

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER. New York: Harper, 1910. First edition thus, illustrated by Worth Brehm. Original red cloth, gilt, t.e.g. A very good copy of a very scarce book. This edition was copyrighted October 13, 1910. These illustrations by Brehm (1883-1928) were extremely popular. The commonly seen 1920s undated reprints (black cloth, color printed label on front cover) are frequently mistaken (or misrepreented) as the 1910 first edition; the first edition (clearly dated "MCMX" on the title-page) is extremely scarce in the market for reasons that are not entirely clear, but the etxt… Read More

James, Henry, and Walter Besant. THE ART OF FICTION. Boston: Cupples, Upham & Co., 1885. First edition. Modern green quarter morocco and Cockerell marbled boards, gilt. Fine copy. This thin little book was produced in a small print run on poor quality paper. One of James' major essays, and rarer than James' triple-deckers. Cupples had printed Besant's essay in pamphlet form a short time before, but when James' essay appeared in `Longman's Magazine' they reprinted Besant's essay from the old plates and appended James' essay. James' essay occupies pages 51-85, with a separate title-page, but it was not issued… Read More

Whitman, Walt. AS A STRONG BIRD ON PINIONS FREE AND OTHER POEMS. Washington, D. C: [S. W. Green for Walt Whitman] 1872. First edition. Original dark green cloth, gilt. Lightly rubbed, and minor foxing on end papers, else a very nice copy. Inscribed by Whitman on the front end paper: "Matthew Collins from his friend the Author." Below the inscription, someone, perhaps Collins, has scrawled "W. W." Very nearly a fine copy. Issued as a supplement a few months after the Washington, D. C. edition of LEAVES OF GRASS, this printing of seven poems is less often seen than his other editions of the 1870s. We have not been able to identify the receipient, but have found one person of this name whose age and locale might connect him with Whitman at this period --a 26 year old unmarried ice-wagon driver in Philadelphia (just across the river from Whitman's home in Camden), the sort of common working man celebrated by Whitman. BAL 21408.

MacDonald, George. AT THE BACK OF THE NORTH WIND. New York: George Routledge, 1871. First American edition (the English sheets with a cancel title-page). Original blue pictorial cloth, gilt. Illustrated by Arthur Hughes. Spine and corners worn, split in rear joint expertly closed, but a good copy of a book nearly impossible to find in the English first edition, and seldom found with the original binding intact in the American issue. A respectable copy of this classic children's fantasy that defies classification. It is clearly a religious parable, but not overly didactic. The author's first novel for children and one of the… Read More

[Sigourney, Lydia] THE ATLANTIC SOUVENIR; A CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S OFFERING... FOR 1829. Philadelphia: Carey, Lea & Carey [1828] First edition. Original pictorial green glazed boards, all edges gilt, in original slipcase, labels. Not quite a fine copy, and small bottom panel of slipcase missing, but a lovely copy in the rare original publisher's slipcase that matches the printed designs of the covers. Contains one piece by Willis, and a few by Sigourney, but nothing by Longfellow or Irving as in the previous volume. The edition was 9,500 copies. Kaser, pp. 275-84. Thompson, pp. 49-55, 110. Read More

[Longfellow, Henry Wadsworth] THE ATLANTIC SOUVENIR; A CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR'S OFFERING... FOR 1827. Philadelphia: H. C. Carey & I. Lea [1826] First edition. Original pictorial green glazed boards, all edges gilt, in original slipcase, labels. Some cracking at joints and small bottom panel of box missing, but a handsome copy in the rare original publisher's slipcase that mnatches the printed cover designs. The second of the seven issues of this influential gift-book. Contains a Longfellow poem, his fourth book appearance. The edition was 4,500 copies. Kaser, pp. 275-84. BAL 12038. Thompson, pp. 49-55,… Read More

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] AUTOBIOGRAPHY, (BURLESQUE) FIRST ROMANCE, AND MEMORANDA. Toronto: James Campbell & Son [1871] First Canadian edition. Original pictorial plum cloth, gilt. Only the mildest sunning of spine cloth, mild rubbing at ends, else a tight clean copy of a very scarce book. BAL explains that the precise status of this edition is uncertain, and it could precede MEMORANDA FROM THE GALAXY, published in March of 1871. The front cover features Twain's own crude comic drawing of William III, the King of Prussia. BAL 3334. Housed in a quarter leather slipcase.

Twain, Mark [Clemens, S. L.] AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MARK TWAIN. Berkeley: University of California Press [2010-13-15] 3 vols. First editions, first printings, uncorrected proof copies. Original pictorial wrappers. Fine set. The first comprehensive scholarly edited version of Twain's autobiography, edited by Harriet Elinor Smith. The first printing of the first volume was anticipated to be 7,500 copies, but advance orders boosted it to 50,000 copies, and in less than three years over 500,000 copies had been sold. The second and third volumes did not sell as well. The print runs for these advance proof copies is unknown, but it… Read More

Whittier, John Greenleaf. AUTOGRAPH POSTCARD SIGNED, TO WILLIAM LLOYD GARRISON. Amesbury, May 17 [no year, but ca. 1873-79]. 1p. Whittier writes to his old friend and fellow abolitionist about a visit they were trying to arrange: "Danvers 5th mo. 17, Dear Garrison, I shall be at Amsbury for a few days, probably until the last of next week. I will notify of my return. Very cordially thy fr[ien]d, John G. Whittier." On the address panel Whittier has written "William Lloyd Garrison, Highland, Boston." This one cent preprinted postcard has no year in the postmark, but could have been issued as early as 1873; Garrison died… Read More