Rare books from Blue Sky Rare Books

New York: Knopf, 1960. first edition. Hardcover. Fine/fine. New York: Knopf, 1960. Fine/fine. First edition bound in full tan morocco, the covers onlaid with dark blue leather rectangles and tooled with gilt and blind fillets giving the outline of a baskeball court, the spine lettered in gilt on a circular dark leather label, leather joints, blue fabriano pape doublures and endpapers.. Fine, completely fresh, in a custom cloth protective box showing trivial shelfwear. Enclosed receipt from Bayntun shows a charge of 1750 pounds for the binding. This binding is currently featured on Bayntun's website showcase, as illustrative of their best work. A great copy.

Portland, Maine: Romulus Editions, 1989. first edition. Near Fine. Thomas Cornell. A Coyote Love Press book, handsomely printed with rich sepia etchings which include portraits of Franz Kafka and Charles Ives [6], 38, [1] pp With 5 etched plates by Thomas Cornell 32x19 cm (11æx7 "), quarter niger morocco & boards Copy No VIII of 75 roman numeral copies printed on mouldmade Arches paper Book is in near fine condition, just a tiny touch of edge wear Lovely book No DJ, as issued Book is set in Monotype Bembo, beautifully printed

Munchen / Munich: Julius Schroder Verlag, 1921. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good +/very good-. Sepp Frank. #19 of 25 copies printed on fine Holland paper and a beautiful production overall., contents completely free of foxing. This is the deluxe edition of a book that is extravagant in the regular edition of 190 copies. In this edition artist Sepp Frank has signed the limitation page (as in the regular edition) and (only in this edition) each of the 25 full-page intaglio prints (signed on the print, not in the plate). In addition, the actual copper intaglio plate for one of the images is built into the slipcase itself. There are 25 images in the book and this edition is limited to 25 copies because each slipcase has an original Sepp copper intaglio plate embedded in the slipcase. There is an additional small intaglio image that is not signed in either edition. The images (black and gray aquatint etchings) are very Munich-1920 in their intensity This is a massive folio edition: 16.75" tall x 13"… Read More

Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1941. First edition. Paperback. Very Good. True first edition, inscribed by Halbwachs to a Sorbonne colleague, philosopher Rene Le Senne. Halbwachs was later taken by the Nazis and died at Buchenwald in 1945. Halbwachs' death is described in Jorge Semprun's harrowing account of the concentration camp. Halbwachs first studied philosophy with Henri Bergson, but later became Emile Durkheim's most important student. The Legendary Topography is his masterpiece, one of the truly great works of European sociology. The book is by far the most sophisticated discussion of how the monuments we see in the Holy Land were created by humans looking for the sacred. Halbwachs reaches an intellectually elegant and humane conclusion about the shrines of the Holy Land: "These are not traces of a human or supernatural individual but rather of groups animated by a collective faith that remains moving even if one does not really know its true nature." The first edition is rare and… Read More

London and Cambridge: Curwen Press and Cambridge University Press, 1923-1930. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good +. London and Cambridge: Curwen Press and Cambridge University Press, 1923-1930. A complete run of arguably the greatest English typographical and fine press journal, all deluxe edition copies, Vols 1-4 on Batchelor Kelmscott handmade paper, 5-7 on deluxe paper. The paper in these editions is wonderful, all volumes here completely free of foxing. Volumes 1-4 were edited by Oliver Simon, volumes 5-7 by Stanley Morison. This is an uncomplicated set lacking only the dust jackets for volumes 5-7. All bindings VG+ or better throughout (see photos). Volume 7 spine a touch faded as always. Vol 1-4 TEG. Deckled paper edges of all 7 volumes in very nice condition. No bumps or splits to any volumes, no gutter splits inside or out. All bindings tight, Volume 1 just a touch more wear. Contents of all volumes completely and uniformly fine, no tears, no spotting, no folds, no bookplates. All extras… Read More

Garden City: Doubleday, Doran and Co., 1928. First edition. Hardcover. Near Fine. Lovely set, very near fine or fine. 10 volumes. Gravure frontispiece from photograph by Arnold Genthe. 21.5x14.5 cm. (8 x5æ"), full gray-brown levant morocco tooled in gilt on the covers and spines, raised bands, red levant morocco doublures tooled in gilt, moirÈ silk free endleaves on morocco hinges, top edges gilt -- an exceptionally well-bound set in beautiful condition (see photos). Period armorial bookplate of the original owner on the front flyleaves following the silk endleaves. No. 5 of 245 sets of the Argonaut Manuscript Edition. With original sheet of ink manuscript by Frank Norris from McTeague, inserted in front of Vol. I (The Octopus). It is a 16x10" sheet of paper which folds, and has the original ink smears and fingerprints of the author.