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Rare and Antiquarian Books

Literature

Biblio has many examples of classic literature, and from the poetry of William Yeats to the Lord of the Rings, there are plenty of rare and antique books to choose from featured below in the Biblio Rare Book Room. Many of the rare classic literature in the Biblio Rare Book Room are deluxe or first editions that are signed by the author, and others come complete with fantastic illustrations and fore edge paintings. There is something for everyone in the rare classic literature section of the Biblio Rare Book Room.

Results 1 - 15 of 1934
A HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, DELIVERED BEFORE THE CITIZENS OF CONCORD, 12TH SEPT. 1835 with A HISTORY...

A HISTORICAL DISCOURSE, DELIVERED BEFORE THE CITIZENS OF CONCORD, 12TH SEPT. 1835 with A HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF CONCORD

by EMERSON, Ralph Waldo with SHATTUCK, Lemuel

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - The Shattuck title page reinforced at the gutter. Near Fine, neatly rebacked retaining the original spine
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Fleetwood, Pennsylvania
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£25,093.75
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Concord: G. F. Bemis/John Stacy, 1835. First Edition. Hardcover. The Shattuck title page reinforced at the gutter. Near Fine, neatly rebacked retaining the original spine. Original blindstamped publisher's dark brown cloth containing in this order: Shattuck's HISTORY OF CONCORD (viii, 392 pages with folding map); an offprint REVIEW OF A HISTORY OF CONCORD FROM THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, No. XCI (20 pages); and importantly, Emerson's address on the Second Centennial Anniversary of the incorporation of Concord (52 pages), INSCRIBED by the author on the top of the title: "Mr. Lemuel Shattuck/with Mr. Emerson's comp." The end of the final word in the inscription was trimmed and the original blue wrappers discarded when bound with the other two items, the original size 6-7/16" x 9- 3/4" trimmed to 5-1/2" x 8-3/4". BAL 5178; Myerson A2.1: second state with signature mark 3 present, but he notes that the order of states is arbitrary. Emerson's first separately published substantial publication, preceded… Read More
Item Price
£25,093.75
£8.00 shipping to USA
THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS: A NOVEL Presentation to G. B. Shaw
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THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS: A NOVEL Presentation to G. B. Shaw

by Wells, H[erbert] G[eorge]

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Montreal, Quebec
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Item Price
£36,135.00
£10.50 shipping to USA

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London: MacMillan, 1913. 1st Edition. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Hardcover. Signed by Author. The [GB] Shaw Copy. First edition, first issue with all the correct points. A fine copy in the publisher's patterned sage green cloth, stamped in gilt and blind. [very minor offsetting to the endpapers & a small stain at the outside bottom of the front pastedown - still a remarkable fresh copy & an extraordinary example, Inscribed by Wells with a flourish for Charlotte Shaw & George Bernard Shaw through her with good humored advice as follows: "Mrs. Shaw / with warm regards / HGW / and do make GBS try a novel" - The inscription in rebuttal to Shaw having earlier admonished Wells to try writing a play. Green calf clamshell protective presentation case, gilt decorated & lettered at the spine. THE PASSIONATE FRIENDS was produced as a movie by Stoll in 1923, again by David Lean in 1948 (script by Eric Ambler), & again by Paramount in 1952. Wells Soc. 51; Hammond A9. "Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells were both dedicated… Read More
Item Price
£36,135.00
£10.50 shipping to USA
Under the Greenwood Tree
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Under the Greenwood Tree: A Rural Painting of the Dutch School. By the Author of 'Desperate Remedies.' In Two Volumes.

by HARDY, Thomas

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used
Seller
Beverly Hills, California
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£12,045.00
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London: Tinsley Brothers, 1872. Rare First Edition of Hardy's Second Novel in the Original Cloth [HARDY, Thomas]. Under the Greenwood Tree. A Rural Painting of the Dutch School. By the Author of ‘Desperate Remedies.' In Two Volumes. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1872. Rare first edition of Thomas Hardy's second novel. Two octavo volumes (7 3/8 x 4 7/8 inches; 188 x 124 mm). [6], 215, [1, blank]; [6], 216 pp. Complete with half-titles. Original green sand-grain cloth over beveled boards. Covers stamped in black with an Oxford frame and spines ruled in gilt and black and lettered in gilt. A bit of rubbing to extremities and corners. Gilt on the spine with some rubbing. Hinges with some professional repairs. Previous owner's ink signature on front pastedown of each volume. Some foxing and staining, mostly at front and rear. Overall, a very good copy, in the scarce original cloth. Housed in slipcase. After burning his first effort at a novel, and receiving scant attention upon the publication of… Read More
Item Price
£12,045.00
£20.00 shipping to USA
SHAHNAMA (THE EPIC OF KINGS) PRINTED FOR MUHAMMAD ALI SHAH QAJAR, FOUR PARTS IN ONE VOLUME COMPLETE.
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SHAHNAMA (THE EPIC OF KINGS) PRINTED FOR MUHAMMAD ALI SHAH QAJAR, FOUR PARTS IN ONE VOLUME COMPLETE.

by ABU L QASIM FIRDAOUSI AL TUSI

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used - Very Good
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
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Item Price
£16,060.00
£15.50 shipping to USA

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Description:
Tehran: Mirza Mahmud Tajir Khouansari, 1904 Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Elephant Folio - over 15" - 23" tall. PERSIAN TEXT, FINELY LITHIOGRAPH ILUUSTRATED WITH A PORTRAIT OF MUHAMMAD SHAH QAJAR, MUZAFFER UD DIN SHAH QAJAR, MINISTER HUSSEIN PACHA KHAN, AND FOURTY ONE (41) FULL PAGE LITHIOGRAPH ILLUSTRATIONS WITH SEVERAL PARTIAL WOODCUTTINGS. FINE LITHIOGRAPH PRINTED BOOK MAINLY SCRIBED IN FINE FARISI TA'LIQ SCRIPT BY MUHAMMAD HUSSEIN KNOWN AS 'IMAD UL KUTTAB IN 1322 AH (1904 AD). SOME PLATES CORNERS DECORATED INGOLD. SCRIBED IN 6 COLUMNS PER PAGE. 7 PP INTRODUCTION, 16 PP BIOGRAPHY OF FIRDAOUSI PRINTED BY SAYYID MURTAZA BEDESTYARI MIRZA HASSAN IN 1907 WITH FINE WOODCUTTING OF AL FIRDAOUSI'S SHRINE. FOUR PARTS IN ONE VOLUME: 171 PP, 123 PP, 153 PP, 133 PP. WITH SUPPLEMENTARY ON THE SHAHNAMA (DESTAN I DAHHAK VE JAMSHID) IN 55 PP, 17 PP VOCABULARY AND INDEX. FULL WOODCUTTING PAGE OF MINISTER HUISSEIN PACHA KHAN EMIR I JENG (MINISTER OF WAR). CONTEMPORARY FINE BINDING..
Item Price
£16,060.00
£15.50 shipping to USA
Der Tod in Venedig. Novelle. - [ONE OF 100 COPIES OF THE FIRST EDITION]
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Der Tod in Venedig. Novelle. - [ONE OF 100 COPIES OF THE FIRST EDITION]

by MANN, THOMAS.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Copenhagen, Denmark
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Item Price
£24,150.00
£200.00 shipping to USA

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Description:
1912. München, Hyperion Verlag Hans von Weber, 1912. 4to. Bound uncut in a very nice, exquisite full morocco binding with five raised bands, gilt title and single gilt lines to spine. A single gilt line-border to boards. Top edge gilt. Minor wear along hinges. Internally very nice and clean, with only a few occasional very minor light brown spots. Printed on thick, heavy paper (Büttenpapier) with watermarks. With the bookplate of "Feuerbacher Heide" to inside of front board. The very scarce first edition, nr. 32 of 100 copies, of Thomas Mann's disturbing masterpiece, probably the most famous story of obsession ever written. "The Death in Venice" is considered one of the most important literary productions of the 20th century. This first edition of the book was printed in merely 100 copies, which are all numbered. In 1913 the first trade edition appeared.
Item Price
£24,150.00
£200.00 shipping to USA
Life of Samuel Johnson, LL.D.
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Description:
London: Printed by Henry Baldwin, for Charles Dilly, 1791. JOHNSON, Samuel. First edition, first issue, with "give" spelled "gve" in line 10 on p. 135 of Volume I and with all of the peculiarities cited by Pottle for the first issue, including the several uncorrected errors listed for Volume II and the various cancels. Two quarto volumes (11 3/4 x 9 1/16 inches; 297 x 230 mm.; the same dimensions Pottle gives for 'an entirely uncut copy' ). xii, [16], 516; [2], 588 [i.e., 586] pp. Engraved frontispiece portrait by James Heath after Sir Joshua Reynolds in Volume I, two engraved facsimile plates in Volume II. Bound without the front blank in Volume II. Contemporary half calf over marbled boards. Neatly rebacked to style, preserving the original gilt spine and burgundy and black morocco gilt lettering labels. A few minor marginal paper flaws, not affecting text. Some rubbing to boards and light tip wear. Overall, a fine set in the original binding and entirely uncut, Courtney & Nichol Smith, pp.… Read More
Item Price
£14,052.50
£20.00 shipping to USA
Moby Dick
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Moby Dick

by Melville, Herman; Kent, Rockwell [Illustrations]

  • Used
  • near fine
  • Signed
Condition
Used - Near Fine
Edition
First Edition Thus
Seller
Portland, Oregon
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Item Price
£14,855.50
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Description:
New York: The Lakeside Press, 1930. First Edition Thus. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition thus, limited to 1,000 copies. Three volumes in publisher's acetate jackets, in aluminum slipcase. Presentation copy signed by Rockwell Kent on the front free end paper of Volume I, "Inscribed with affectionate friendship to Putzie - Rockwell Kent, 1950." Volumes II and III bear Rockwell Kent-illustrated bookplates of Marie Luise Hinrichs. Near Fine. Narrow strips of sunning to spine cloth at ends, light rubbing to cloth at extremities and light abrasions to black topstains. Pages toned and with offsetting from illustrations. Acetate wrappers are wrinkled and shrunken with age, as is typical, and show a bit of chipping and edge wear, with some separation starting between the acetate and a paper flap on both volumes II and III; acetate on volume II with light staining. Aluminum slipcase is lightly worn, bumped at top and bottom edge. A stunning presentation copy, inscribed by Kent, and with bookplates designed… Read More
Item Price
£14,855.50
FREE shipping to USA
The Sound and the Fury
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The Sound and the Fury

by Faulkner, William

  • Used
  • near fine
  • first
Condition
Used - Near Fine
Edition
First Edition
Seller
Portland, Oregon
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Item Price
£12,045.00
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Description:
New York: Jonathan Cape & Harrison Smith, 1929. First Edition. Near Fine/Very Good. First edition, first printing. Bound in publisher's black and white Art Deco style boards over white cloth spine lettered in black. Near Fine with toning to pages and top and bottom edges of covers. In a Very Good first issue dust jacket with Humanity Uprooted priced at $3.00 on the rear panel; toning to spine with fading to red print there, light edge wear, light soiling, and erased pencil notation to rear flap corner. A fantastic copy in the scarce first issue dust jacket.
Item Price
£12,045.00
FREE shipping to USA
Доктор Живаго (Doctor Zhivago): Mouton Published First Edition In Russian. First...
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Доктор Живаго (Doctor Zhivago): Mouton Published First Edition In Russian. First Printing, 1958.

by Boris PASTERNAK

  • Used
  • very good
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
1st Edition / 1st Printing
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Husbands Bosworth, Leicestershire
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Item Price
£22,000.00
£26.00 shipping to USA

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Description:
Original exceedingly rare Russian Language 1st (Pirate) Edition of Doctor Zhivago by Boris Pasternak. Meets all the issue points for the true 1st Edition - "Roman" to title page, 634 pages, publishers imprint in cyrillic, and 2 page introduction (lacking from later Russian editions). Unusually tight, bright, Very Good condition, with no inscriptions and only light toning to closed page edges. Several gatherings are unevenly browned as usual, due to differing paper stocks used in printing. Issued without a dust-jacket.The publication of the Russian text of Doctor Zhivago was attended by odd circumstances. It first appeared in a 'pirated' (or possibly semi-authorised) edition, a short time before Feltrinelli's official edition came out in Milan. The 'pirated' version, however, bore Feltrinelli's imprint and were produced by Mouton, the reputable firm of Dutch printers with whom he was negotiating, and to whom he had sent the manuscript. Declassified documents reveal that the CIA sought to embarrass the… Read More
Item Price
£22,000.00
£26.00 shipping to USA
Dune - Autographed by Frank Herbert
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Dune - Autographed by Frank Herbert

by Herbert, Frank

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Fine Condition
Edition
First Edition, 7th Printing
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Silver City, New Mexico
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Item Price
£12,045.00
£6.00 shipping to USA

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This is a 7th printing of the 1st edition by Chilton Book Company from 1965. There were nine such printings of that 1st edition. The book is in Fine Condition. The dustjacket is in Good Condition with slight edge wear and the price clipped from the upper corner. Frank Herbert has autographed the title page. Please refer to the attached photos which show the red cloth binding, the dustjacket, the numerical printing history, the Library of Congress number, and the autograph.This very hard-to-find book will make a fine addition to the personal library of the serious collector.
Item Price
£12,045.00
£6.00 shipping to USA
[«Muy cuidada y atenta a corregir erratas»] Novelas exemplares

[«Muy cuidada y atenta a corregir erratas»] Novelas exemplares

by Cervantes Saavedra Miguel de

  • Used
Condition
Used - Very Good-
Seller
Milan, Italy
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Item Price
£17,370.00
£25.00 shipping to USA

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Description:
8° (mm 140x95). Vitello bruno coevo (restauri; sguardie rinnovate). Bella copia, unsophisticated, nell'originale legatura in vitello bruno (restauri alle cerniere, sguardie rinnovate).
Very rare second or third edition (see below), the first one with the errata.
Palau, III, 53401; Rius, I, 221.
Dodici le Novelas ospitate dall'edizione: La Gitanilla, El Amante liberal, Rinconete y Cortadillo, La Española Inglessa, El Licenciado Vidriera, La Fuerça de la sangre, El Zeloso estremeño, La Illustre Fregona, Las dos Donzellas, A Señora Cornelia, El Casamiento engañoso, La de los perros Cipion y Bergança.
Dopo la princeps pubblicata nell'agosto del 1613 dal "taller que trabajava a nombre de 'Juan de la Cuesta'" - di cui si conoscono sei soli esemplari superstiti - nel 1614 videro la luce tre edizioni:
• la presente, pubblicata a Pamplona, "muy cuidada y atenta a corriger erratas";• l'edizione di Velpio y Huberto Antonio (Bruselas 1614), "que transcribe incluso las erratas evidentes";
• "la… Read More
Item Price
£17,370.00
£25.00 shipping to USA
« (Les), contes moraux, par un Sacrificateur de Vénus ».
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« (Les), contes moraux, par un Sacrificateur de Vénus ».

by HEURES DE PAPHOS.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Paris, France
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Item Price
£17,370.00
£9.24 shipping to USA

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Description:
Paris, 1787.
Large 8vo, with an engraved title with erotic fleuron and 12 very neat and free engravings. Each tale occupies 4 pages; the last one ends with a cul-de-lampe, when it is only slightly filled. Full brown grained calf, flat spine, gilt fillet on the edges, red edges. Contemporary binding.
240 x 150 mm.
First edition.
Very rare copy printed on very large Hollande paper with an original drawing. Twelve free tales.
Each tale is preceded by an engraving.
A magnificent copy of one of the most researched erotic books of the eighteenth century. Very rare and preserved in its original binding.


FRENCH
Paris, 1787.
Grand in-8, avec un titre gravé avec fleuron érotique et 12 gravures très soignées et très libres Chaque conte occupe 4 pages ; la dernière se termine par un cul-de-lampe, lorsqu'elle n'est que peu remplie. Plein veau brun granité, dos lisse orné, filet or sur les coupes, tranches rouges. Reliure de l'époque.
240 x 150 mm.
Edition originale.
Rarissime exemplaire imprime… Read More
Item Price
£17,370.00
£9.24 shipping to USA
ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN 1st Issue

ADVENTURES OF HUCKLEBERRY FINN 1st Issue

by Mark Twain

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used
Edition
First Edition; First Printing
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Pomona, New York
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Item Price
£14,926.16
£8.95 shipping to USA

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New York: Charles L. Webster and Company. 1885. First Edition; First Printing. Hardcover. Very Good. Contains the three first printing points: "Huck Decided to Leave" on p. 9; "Him and another Man" listed on p. 87; and "with the was" on p. 57. Photogravure frontispiece of Karl Gerhardt's portrait bust of Clemens, illustrations after E. W. Kemble in the text throughout. Both hinges starting. Rubbing along panel edges. Bumping at panel corners and spine crown. Chipping at spine heel. Light staining on rear end page and both sides of FEP. .
Item Price
£14,926.16
£8.95 shipping to USA
Treasure Island
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Treasure Island

by STEVENSON, Robert Louis

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used
Seller
Beverly Hills, California
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Item Price
£12,045.00
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Description:
London: Cassell & Company, 1883. First edition, first issue with "dead man's chest" not capitalized on pp. 2 and 7; The first letter for "rain" or "vain" in the last line of p. 40 is broken so we can't tell which state it is; the "a" is not present in line 6 of p. 63; the "8" is not present in the pagination on p. 83; the "7" is larger and bolder in pagination on p. 127; the period is lacking following "opportunity" in line 20 of p. 178; "worst" is mispelled as "worse" in the third line of p 197. Treasure Island is listed as having 304 pages on p. 2 of the publisher's advertisements. Octavo (7 1/2 x 4 7/8 inches; 191 x 124 mm). viii, 292, [8 pp. advertisements, "dated 5R-12.83."] pp. Frontispiece map of Treasure Island, printed in four colors and has the original tissue guard. Only 2000 copies of this first book edition published and bound in a variety of cloth colors, no priority. Original rare royal blue diagonal fine-ribbed cloth with covers ruled in blind and spine ruled and lettered in gilt.… Read More
Item Price
£12,045.00
£20.00 shipping to USA
Paul et Virginie.
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Paul et Virginie.

by BERNARDIN DE SAINT-PIERRE, Jacques-Henri.

  • Used
  • Hardcover
Condition
Used
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Paris, France
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Item Price
£11,290.50
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Paris, de l'Imprimerie de P. Didot l'aîné, 1806.
Large folio [464 x 303 mm] of (2) ll., 1 portrait, xcii pp., 194 pp., (3) ll. of Liste des souscripteurs,6 colored plates out of pagination. Quarter red straight grained morocco, elegantly decorated flat spine, olive green morocco lettering piece, gilt edges. Case. Slightly later binding.
The most beautiful ancient editionof Paul et Virginie, illustrated "with a portraitby Laffite, engraved by Ribault and 6 figures by Gérard, Girodet, Isabey, Laffite, Moreau et Prudhon,engraved by Bourgeois de la Richardière, Bovinet, Mecou, Pillement fils, Prot et Roger.
The figures are very beautiful.The touching composition of Moreau and especially his dramatic figure of Virginie's drowning by Prudhon make this volume very interesting." (Cohen, 931).
Graesse, Trésor de Livres rares, VI, 226
Paul et Virginie marks a phase in the French novel. Bernardin de Saint-Pierre crystalized in his work and in this novel, all the travel literature so abundant in those… Read More
Item Price
£11,290.50
£9.24 shipping to USA