Rare books from Gargoyle Books

Santa Fe, New Mexico, U.S.A.: Arena Editions, 1998. First Edition First Printing . Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Izu, Kenro. A FIRST EDITION, First Printing, SIGNED with a gift inscription by Arthur Ollman ("To Joni, with thanks for your help on this during its somewhat messy birth"), who wrote the 10-page introductory "Essay" discussing the photographer, his love of Japanese gardens & flowers, & his artistic technique. Preceded by a 1-page "Introduction" by actor Richard Gere. The remainder of the book consists of 55 duotone plates, each featuring a different "Still Life" photographed by the artist, 1992-1996, printed on luxurious heavy, off-white matte stock. Oversized square hardcover has deep claret cloth-covered boards, black lettering to spine, debossed author's name & pictorial pastedown on front cover (two very shallow dings here). Condition is Near Fine: looks, feels, & smells just about brand new except for 2 tiny rubbed holes along upper spine where it meets the front cover. Also,… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1985. First Edition First Printing . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Three years after "A: Is for Alphabet" kicked off the author's renowned alphabet series featuring female private investigator Kinsey Millhone, she's back for "B,'' & would continue to appear over the next three decades until Grafton's untimely death in 2017, with the final book "Z" remaining unwritten. From the estate of a local mystery collector, this is a FIRST EDITION, First Printing hardcover book with original, unclipped DJ, which has been protected in a mylar cover since purchased Brand New. SIGNED by the AUTHOR in black marker (her name only) on title page. Both book & DJ are in Fine condition (our highest grade): just slightly less crisp than Brand New! Completely clean, binding strong & square, creamy white pages. Absolutely NO writing or underlining or highlighting. NOT ex-lib; NOT bce. The DJ is virtually flawless: bright & colorful NO fading or wear. A beauty!Please see our… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1982. First Edition First Printing . Hardcover. Fine/Fine. The very first book in the author's renowned alphabet series & the one that introduced female private investigator Kinsey Millhone to the world. From the estate of a local mystery collector, this is a FIRST EDITION, First Printing hardcover book with original, unclipped DJ, which has been protected in a mylar cover since purchased Brand New. SIGNED by the AUTHOR in black marker (her name only) on title page. Both book & DJ are in Fine condition (our highest grade): just slightly less crisp than Brand New! Completely clean, binding strong & square, creamy white pages. Absolutely NO writing or underlining or highlighting. NOT ex-lib; NOT bce. The DJ is virtually flawless: bright & colorful NO fading or wear. A beauty! Please see our photos--they show the EXACT book you will receive from us, never "stock" images of books we don't actually have on hand! Description & photos property of… Read More

New York, New York: Stein and Day, 1974. First Edition Later Printing . Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good. A beautiful copy of this scarce classic, purported to be "the first truly complete herbal guide since the seventeenth century!" Offers thorough, step-by-step instructions for growing, purchasing, & using herbs for staying healthy as well as curing ills. In 371 pages with Index & 100+ illustrations throughout text. Orig. published in 1974, this is a FIRST EDITION, but later printing (since the paperback edition from 1975 is noted on copyright page). Hardcover book has rust-colored paper over boards with gilt lettering to front & spine. Condition is Near Fine: exceptionally clean & bright, but marred by 1) foxing to top outside page edges, 2) small faded band wrapping around bottom spine to both front & back boards, 3) a single small smudge to bottom outside page edges, 4) slight mustiness (which we feel adds to its appeal as a volume of ancient knowledge!). Binding straight & strong, pages creamy… Read More

New York, New York: Viking Press, 1939. First Edition Later Printing . Hardcover. Near Fine/VG-. From a single collector's estate, this is a true FIRST EDITION, but later (7th) printing ) from June 1939, with all requisite points of issue. Hardcover book has nubby oatmeal-colored cloth over boards with embossed design in brown that wraps around front to back & brown lettering to front & spine. Condition is Near Fine: very clean, with one small faint rust-colored spot to top edge of rear board. Mild tanning to all pages, slightly heavier around edges. Binding secure & straight, corners crisp. The unclipped DJ (with orig. $2.75 price at top corner of front flap) is VG-, with some rubbed areas to spine & small chips at all corners & both ends of spine. Light soil, darkening to spine. One 1.5" tear at top intersection of rear flap/back cover. A handsome copy! Beautifully protected in new mylar cover. Our photos depict the Ex act book you will receive from us, never "stock" images of books we don't… Read More

New York, New York: Covici Friede, 1936. Second Edition . Hardcover. Fine/Near Fine. Steinbeck's first book, published when he was just 27 years old, & his only work of historical fiction. Orig. published by Robert M. McBride in 1929, this is the first printing of the Covici Friede reissue from 1936, commonly referred to as the Second Edition, with the Second State DJ ("Of Mice and Men'' mentioned on front of DJ). From a single collector's estate, this hardcover book has rich navy cloth over boards with embossed design to front & bright gilt lettering to spine. Condition is stunningly Fine: exceptionally clean & crisp, with sharp, crisp corners. Even blue publisher's topstain. Binding straight & strong. Pages are supple, not brittle, but show moderate tanning, commensurate with age, heavier around edges; NO foxing. Former owner's name & address in faded ink inside front cover. The brilliantly colored DJ, clipped at all four flap corners, is Near Fine: virtually flawless save for a teeny circular… Read More

New York, New York: Stein and Day, 1966. First Edition First Printing 1st Printing. Hardcover. Fine/Very Good+. In this extremely hard-to-find & long out-of-print cookbook, one of the principal dancers in the New York City Ballet & (at the time) wife of George Balanchine offers a highly personalized collection of dancers' favorite recipes, along with backstage portraits, biographical information, & anecdotes about the dancers themselves & dance life in the company. In 424 pages with Index & photos throughout of dancers like Allegra Kent, Alicia Alonso, Margot Fonteyn, Edward Villella, Maria Tallchief, Melissa Heyden, Suzanne Farrell, Rudolf Nureyev, & Balanchine himself. A true FIRST EDITION, First Printing, this hardcover book with mustard-colored boards & beige linen-wrapped spine is in breathtakingly Fine condition: completely clean, binding strong & straight, pages creamy white with a whisper of tanning, but completely unmarked. Corners crisp. Only flaw is 2 pinprick size spots to top outside… Read More

New York, New York: Grosset & Dunlap, 1937. First Edition Later Printing . Hardcover. Very Good+/VG--/G+. Tandy, Russell. Book #12 in the classic series featuring girl sleuth, Nancy Drew, & her chums, Bess & George. First published in 1932, this is an extremely early printing (1937A-7 per Farah's 11th), in the thick blue format with orange silhouette to front cover, orange silhouette endpapers, & glossy frontispiece + 3 internals by illustrator Russell Tandy! Hardcover 12mo, original text in in 218 pages + 2 pages of ads for other books (to ND#10 & JB #9) in rear. Condition is VG+: very clean, with mild darkening/dust dulling to outside fore edge. Binding strong & straight, both hinges secure. Pages creamy white with age-appropriate tanning to edges, but completely unmarked. The unclipped DJ (with 5050 code & listing to ND#13 on front flap, JB#9 on back cover & DG#6 on rear flap) is VG-/G+, downgraded due to chipping at both ends of spine, lighter chipping & rubbing to extremities & corners. Colors… Read More

New York, New York: John Day Company, 1931. First Edition First Printing . Hardcover. Very Good/No Jacket. Author's second novel, winner of the Pulitzer prize for fiction in 1932 & the first in what would evolve into a trilogy known as "The House of Earth." From 1931, this is a true FIRST EDITION, First State, with correct full publisher's name, "flees" vs "fleas," in publisher's tan cloth with gilt design & lettering to front & spine, green pictorial endpapers (with former owner's bookplate affixed inside front cover). In 375 pages + publisher's emblem on final page. The topstain appears to have been brown, not green, but is largely worn away; lots of foxing to these top edges, though, to both the extremities of the boards & the page edges; other outside page edges also show foxing. Condition is soundly VG: clean & bright, binding straight & strong, hinges secure, pages creamy white with modest tanning to all edges, commensurate with age. Former owner's name in pen on page 3 & indentation in pencil… Read More

Pasadena, California, 1896. First Edition First Printing . Hardcover. Near Fine. The HMMBA (Hotel Men's Mutual Benefit Association) was an organization comprised of the leading hotel men in the US, created in Chicago, IL, in 1879. They held annual meetings around the country, & while in each area, engaged in "excursion parties.with the entertainment on so colossal a scale that all who attended were amazed, delight, & enthusiastic as never before." Authored by then HMMBA president G. Wharton James, the present volume chronicles the group's 1896 California trip, lavishly illustrated throughout with duotone photos & drawings of the cities & attractions & hotels they visited. Self-published by the author from Pasadena, CA, he dedicated the book "to those who came & enjoyed & to those who stayed home & sighed." In 338 pages + unpaginated (16 pages) of vintage ads in rear, edged on all sides in gilt, which is bright. Textured floral patterned endpapers, split parallel to rear hinge. This is a FIRST… Read More

New York, New York: MacMillan Company, 1948. First Edition First Printing 1st Printing. Hardcover. Good/VG-. Hader, Berta; Hader, Elmer. Lovely tale depicts how the birds & animals of the woods & meadows go about preparing for winter, informed by the authors' own experiences & observations as they made their own home in a stone house they built themselves in the countryside overlooking the Hudson River at Nyack, NY. This was their fifth book, & won the 1949 Caldecott Award for their illustrations. A true FIRST EDITION, First Printing, from 1948 (with the requisite date on title page as well as the copyright page), this hardcover small 4to (8.5" x 10.25") has medium blue cloth-covered boards stamped with white lettering & snowflake design to front/white lettering to spine. As an EX-LIB copy, it has a card pocket in rear & minimal markings both there & in front matter. Condition is Good: generally quite very clean, with an occasional small smudge. Stitched binding is secures as are both hinges.… Read More

Garden City, New York, U.S.A.: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1977. Book Club Edition (BCE) . Hardcover. Near Fine/Very Good+. SIGNED by the AUTHOR to half-title page, this was King's stunning third book (far superior to the movie, which he hated), with a nearly pristine original issue DJ illustrated by Dave Christensen. Same design as on the First Edition, but this is a Book Club Edition, slightly larger (6.25" x 9.5"), in 447 pages. Tan paper over quarter black cloth-covered boards, lettered in bright gilt to spine, is in Near Fine condition, marred only by light soil & dust dulling to external page surfaces. Else, clean & crisp, pages creamy white & completely unmarked EXCEPT for this writing: looks like someone attempted to forge King's signature on the half-title page: based on our professional experience, it just looks & feels & smells wrong. The unclipped (no price) DJ VG+, with extremely slight edgewear, including some light crazing/wrinkling at both ends of spine & vertically along back… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Simon and Schuster, 1961. First American Edition First Printing 1st Printing. Hardcover. VG-/Fair. A FIRST EDITION (American, preceding the first British by months), First Printing, with all correct points (black cloth, yellow/white/red lettering, $3.75 price to lower front DJ flap), One of the author's later works, maintaining all of his earlier satiric wit as he explores the "multiple desperate crises" facing our hero, Frederick Fotheringay Widgeon, "a young man at loggerheads with fortune." In 46 pages + [1] author bio, SIGNED by the AUTHOR with his usual "Best Wishes" & name to ffep. Small octavo has matte black cloth over quarter slightly blacker cloth-covered boards, lettered as described above. Condition is VG-: modest rubbing & fading to extremities, slight corner bumping., dust dulling to outside page edges. Interior pages modestly tanned, but unmarked, with scattered offsetting to endpapers. The unclipped DJ is only Fair, with a few unclosed tears, small chips… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Harper & Brothers, 1952. First Edition First Printing 1st Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/No Jacket. Williams, Garth. Classic children's story about the little girl, Fern, who loved Wilbur the pig, who had a dear spider friend called Charlotte, all of whom are charmingly brought to life with the illustrations of Garth Williams throughout the 184 pages + decorative endpapers. This is a true FIRST EDITION, First Printing (I-B [Oct. 1952]) from Harper & Brothers (with all requisite points), with tan-light brown cloth-covered boards stamped with green lettering & black spider to front & spine. Small octavo is in stunningly Near Fine condition: exceptionally clean & bright, binding strong & straight, hinges secure. Slightly off-white pages are clean & unmarked save for former owner's name in pen inside front cover & gift inscription dated Oct. 1952 to half-title page. A beauty! Pinpoint hole to upper fore edge side of font board is only discernible flaw. Alas, no DJ (please see… Read More

New York, New York, U.S.A.: Harper & Row, 1982. First Edition Later Printing 5th or later Printing. Hardcover. Near Fine/Good. Williams, Garth. The timeless story about the little girl, Fern, who, with the help of other creatures in the barnyard, save their beloved friend Wilbur the pig from a terrible ending. In 184 pages with 47 black-and-white illustrations by Garth Williams, who has SIGNED this copy (his signature is much more scarce than the author's). With a personalized inscription dated 1982 to Gail Guth, a woman who was a respected school principal for 39 years in San Deigo, CA. Sticker affixed inside front cover from a Santa Fe, NM, bookstore, with bookmark laid in (Guth attended university in Santa Fe). From Ms. Guth's estate, this is a FIRST EDITION, much later printing, with new publisher's name & ISBN indicating a printing contemporary with signing, c. 1982 (only the 1952 copyright in book). with colorfully decorated paper over boards (design matched on accompanying DJ), this octavo is… Read More