B & B Rare Books, Ltd., ABAA

New York: Everest House, 1982 Drawings by Edward Gorey. Limited first edition. One of 26 lettered copies "printed for private presentation to persons of ineffable distinction" (total limitation of 376, with 350 signed and numbered copies printed for the public), signed by Gorey and Lamport, this being copy letter "I". Publisher's white cloth, lettered and illustrated in gilt, orange label to spine, and green endpapers; publisher's green slipcase. Fine book, with very light spotting to fore edge of text block; fine slipcase, with extremely light spotting to edges. In the original glassine wrapper, with wear along the top edge of rear wrapper including a 3-inch closed tear to top right. Overall, an exquisite example of one of the very scarce lettered copies. Light Metres is poet and satirist Felicia Lamport's third collection of verse. From the dust jacket's front flap, "[Lamport and Gorey's] ironic glances zero in on our culture, from politics to dieting, from gar…Read more

New York: Privately printed by order of Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan, 1904 Illustrated with 77 chromolithographs, protected by tissue guards, and a 26-page illustrated index at the rear of the book, showing the specific arrangement of the wares in their cases. Notes by William M. Laffan. First edition. One of 250 copies printed for private distribution. Publisher's full brown morocco, with board margins double-ruled in gilt, spine with five raised bands, decorated, lettered, and ruled in gilt, top edge gilt, wide turn-ins, green moire silk and morocco doublures. Very good, with some marks to front board, wear to spine bands, joints, and corners, "John Shaw Billings" bookplate to verso of front free endpaper, and some offsetting to pages facing plates, otherwise very clean internally. With an ALS from J.P. Morgan to librarian John Shaw Billings on "23 Wall Street" (the J.P. Morgan Building) letterhead, referencing the gifted copy of Chinese Porcelains. About fine ALS, with light soiling, two …Read more

London: John Lane at the Sign of The Bodley Head, 1894 First edition, limited large paper copy, with "Of this edition 50 copies have been printed" statement on the verso of the fourth preliminary page, and no publisher's catalogue at the back of the book. Publisher's yellow buckram boards with gilt decorations by Charles Shannon to covers and spine, spine lettered in gilt. Near fine, with some toning to spine and board edges, light wear to spine ends with a very shallow chip to cloth at foot of spine, bottom right corner of front board worn to boards, and heavy offsetting to endpapers. Overall, a beautiful copy of one of Wilde's four celebrated drawing-room plays. Mason 365. A Woman of No Importance is a four-act play that was first produced in London at the Haymarket Theatre on April 19, 1893. Like many of Wilde's plays, it satirizes the English upper-class and criticizes Victorian society. The title "a woman of no importance" refers to the character Mrs. Arbuthnot who…Read more

Washington D.C.: [No publisher], 1925 First edition. Signed by Walter Johnson in brown ink on his arm on the top of the game box. Brown wooden framed display, matted in red, with top panel of red, green, and yellow Walter Johnson Base Ball Game box, side panel of box, baseball field board, 10 silver game tokens, seven red tokens, and three purple tokens pasted to board (red and purple tokens not issued with the game), two scorecards (one filled, the other unfilled), and scarce teetotum spinner. Near fine, with light scuffing to the playing board, and a few light tears to the top panel of the box. Overall, a wonderful signed display of this early 20th century baseball board game. The Walter Johnson Base Ball Game is a board game in which players use a baseball field board, silver game tokens, and a unique metal teetotum to simulate the game of baseball. According to Sports Collectors Daily, the game "has become one of the most popular and sought after antique sports board games." Walter Johnson, ni…Read more

Chicago: Alumni Ass'n of the Wahl-Henius Institute of Fermentology, 1911 With black and white illustrations throughout the text. First edition, first printing, with "first impression" to title page. Presentation copy, signed and inscribed by the author to his daughter, Ella, on the verso of the front flyleaf: "The author of this work to his daughter Ella who wrote the type-written manuscript. Chicago, October 11. John P. Arnold." Publisher's blue-green cloth, with front board and spine lettered and decorated in blue and orange, and green and gold decorated endpapers. Near fine, with light rubbing to spine ends and corners of boards, a couple of very light marks to bottom of front board, potential repair to gutter of pp. 80-81, and "Dr. Alfred Solomon" bookplate to front pastedown. Overall, a marvelous copy of this important work. Published to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Wahl-Henius Institute of Fermentology (a Chicago school and research brewery that oper…Read more

New York: The Viking Press, 1955 First edition, first printing. Presentation copy, signed and inscribed by Miller to American theater critic and editor Otis Guernsey Jr. on front free endpaper: "For Otis Guernsey / With my respect / Arthur Miller." Publisher's red cloth and red patterned boards, with spine lettered in white; in the original black dust jacket designed by Robert Hallock, with a red bridge illustration to the front panel, lettered in white and red. About fine book, with some offsetting to endpapers, and a couple of small bumps to board edges; good or better unclipped dust jacket, with light fading to spine, a couple of minor scratches to front panel, light soiling to spine and rear panel, small closed tear to bottom edge of rear panel, and light spotting to jacket flaps. Overall, a great presentation copy. From Otis Guernsey Jr.'s personal library. A View from the Bridge tells the story of Italian American Eddie Carbone as he harbors two family members who have immigrated to …Read more

New York: D. Appleton & Co., 1866 With 42 black and white illustrations by John Tenniel. First edition, second issue (with suppressed first UK sheets and new title page); with variant B title page with the 'b' in 'bye' directly above the "T" in "Tenniel." Finely bound in red morocco by Bayntun-Riviere (signed by binder to front turn-in), with an illustration of Alice to the front board in gilt, illustration of the Cheshire Cat to the rear board in gilt, spine with five raised bands, lettered, decorated, and ruled in gilt, all edges gilt, wide turn-ins, and marbled endpapers. About fine, with minimal spotting to some pages, and contemporary gift inscription to verso of half-title page. Overall, a magnificently bound copy of the earliest obtainable issue of Alice. Alice's Adventures in Wonderland tells the story of a young and exceedingly rational girl who falls through a rabbit hole into a surreal world filled with strange and fanciful characters, including the Mad…Read more

New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, , 1983 With approximately 45 full-page black and white illustrations by Bernie Wrightson. Introduction by Stephen King. Limited edition. One of 500 numbered copies signed by Stephen King and Bernie Wrightson, this being number 322 (an additional 26 lettered copies were produced for private distribution). Publisher's black cloth, with front board stylistically lettered in blue foil and gilt, spine lettered in gilt, and navy-blue endpapers; housed in publisher's blue slipcase. Fine book; fine slipcase, with just a touch of soiling to panels. With parts of the original glassine wrapper laid in. Overall, a marvelous, strikingly illustrated copy. First published anonymously by 20-year-old Mary Shelley in 1818, Frankenstein is recognized as one of the greatest novels in the English language, and a foundational text in the horror and science fiction genres. Mary Shelley famously devised the story during a stay at a mansion in Switzerland with her husband Percy Bysshe She…Read more

[New York]: The Limited Editions Club, 1986 Translated by Paul Schmidt. With eight Photogravures by Robert Mapplethorpe. Limited edition. One of 1,000 numbered copies signed by Schmidt and Mapplethorpe, this being number 885. Publisher's full red morocco binding, with titles in blind to front board and spine, and mould-made letterpress sheets for text; housed in publisher's black cloth slipcase. Fine book; near fine slipcase, with light soiling to cloth. With original Limited Editions Club prospectus laid in. Overall, a magnificent copy. A Season in Hell is French poet Arthur Rimbaud's (1854-1891) final major work, written in 1873 when he was only 18 years old. The poem - an experimental piece that draws on Rimbaud's childhood and invokes biblical imagery - was heavily influenced by his tumultuous relationship with fellow poet Paul Verlaine, which culminated in Verlaine shooting and wounding Rimbaud in July of 1873. Verlaine served a two-year sentence for the crime. Rimbaud originally concei…Read more