Utopian Literature from Lorne Bair Rare Books

Findlay, OH: New Columbia Publishing Co, 1909. First Edition. Octavo (20cm); light grey pictorial cloth stamped in dark green and orange; vii,[3],99,[1],[1](ad)pp. Inscribed by the author on the front pastedown: "Otto D. Donnell / I want you to read the / last chapter and ask / your good wife to read the / first. I want to make her… Read more about this item

Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, 1906. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (19.25cm); sage green cloth, with titling and pictorial elements stamped in white and orange on spine and front cover; [xvi],394,[6]pp, with frontispiece and four color illustrations by Hermann C. Wall. Gently spine-sunned, lightly edgeworn, small repaired tear at crown, hinges cracked but holding, some rough erasure to front endpaper,… Read more about this item

Washington DC: Polaris Company, 1923. First Edition. Slim 12mo (17cm); pictorial blue cloth; 63pp; illus. Mild rubbing and external soil, but still a bright, well-preserved copy, Very Good to Near Fine. Imaginary journey to the stars, written to provoke an interest in astronomy among young folks. In the author's preface Muir describes himself as "...not an astronomer,… Read more about this item

New York: Random House, (1952). First Edition. First printing. Octavo. Black cloth hardcover, with foil-stamped decorations in colors; dustjacket; 438pp. Small spot of abrasion at upper edge of rear board; mild ageing to endpapers; still a tight, Very Good or better copy. In the original dustwrapper, unclipped (priced $3.50 on front flap), bright and whole with a few small… Read more about this item

Superior, WI: Työmies Society, n.d. (ca 1940s). First Edition. Octavo (21cm); light blue card wrappers, printed in red and navy blue; [4],5-143,[1]pp; text is entirely in Finnish. Gentle sunning and light wear to spine and extremities, with some dust-soil to lower front wrapper; contents clean; Very Good+. Uncommon novel (in Finnish) set in the Kalevan Kansa Colony,… Read more about this item

New York: Macmillan, 1924. First American Edition. First printing. Small octavo (19.5cm). Publisher's red ribbed cloth, titled in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; top edge gilt; 318pp. Tight, clean and Near Fine. In the original dustwrapper, unclipped (priced $2.50 at base of front flap), somewhat aged with shallow chips along top edge, just Very Good. … Read more about this item

[s.l.]: [Oneida Community], 1868. 8-page pamphlet. Lightly toned, gently rubbed at edges: Near Fine. Millenialist poem about a vision of the world in 2068, two centuries after the Second Coming in 1868. The future utopia is described as peaceful and environmentally renewed, with "desert sands / Now reclaimed to forest bowers." Seymour also wrote The Oneida Community: A Dialogue.… Read more about this item

New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1897. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (19.5cm); blue-gray cloth, with titling and decorative elements stamped in silver and black on spine and front cover; viii,412,[8]pp ads. Gently spine-sunned, lightly edgeworn, with some faint moisture staining to lower front and rear covers (though contents unaffected); previous owners ink name to front endpaper, with some… Read more about this item

Girard, KS: Appeal Publishing Company, 1902. Revised Edition. Octavo (18.75cm); original pictorial wrappers; [5],6-96pp; illus. Light wear and toning to spine and wrapper extremities, with shallow loss to base of spine, a short split to upper spine, and some faint creasing to upper right corners; Very Good. A tax reform utopia, originally published serially in the Chicago Sentinel between… Read more about this item

New York: Farrar & Rinehart, 1942. First Edition. First Printing, (publisher's colophon on copyright page). Octavo (19.5cm); tan buckram boards decoratively titled in black and gilt on the front cover and spine; map endpapers; green topstain; dustjacket; 1013 pp. Spine ends gently nudged; mild toning to the upper board edges and joints; small spot of finger soil to the… Read more about this item

London: George Bell and Sons, 1908. First Edition. First Impression. Octavo (19.75cm); Currey's A binding in blue cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt on spine and front cover, and publisher's imprint reading "George Bell & Sons" at base of spine; viii,390 + [2]pp ads; with frontispiece and 14 plates of illustrations by A.C. Michael. Gentle sunning to… Read more about this item

Oneida, NY: Office of the American Socialist, 1877. Third edition (though stated second). Octavo (22cm). Printed pale green wrappers; 32pp. A fresh, apparently uncirculated copy, Near Fine. A singular aspect of Noyes's Pefectionist philosophy, as practiced by his followers at the Oneida commune, was the sanctification of the human sexual bond through the practice of "male continence,"… Read more about this item

New York: Sterling Publishing Co, 1894. First American Edition. 12mo (18.5cm.); publisher's grey printed wrappers; iv,[2],133,[21](ads)pp.; illustrated ads in rear. Wrapper and textblock exceedingly brittle, some small losses to extremities affecting text with brief loss of meaning, stock quite browned, last few leaves of advertisements chipped with some loss of meaning. Good only overall due to poor paper quality.… Read more about this item

Dallas: H.L. Hunt Press, 1960. First Edition. First Printing. 12mo (14.5cm.); publisher's pictorial card wrappers; [2],183pp.; illus. including photographs and facsimiles. Light shelf wear, spine a shade sunned, cancel "Amendments which have been suggested for the Constitution of Alpaca" stapled to front free endpaper with minor subsequent rust stains, else Very Good or better. Copyright page lists this as… Read more about this item

Chicago: By the Author, 1894. Revised Edition. 12mo (20cm); original pictorial wrappers, stapled; 93,[1]pp; illus. Text is tanned and a bit brittle at the edges, neat splits to front wrapper above and below the staples, with several tiny tears, and a few slivers missing from wrapper extremities, particularly at preliminary and terminal leaves; Good, complete copy. A tax reform… Read more about this item

V.p., 1964, 1968. First Edition. Two volumes as described below: 1. Property and Trusterty, A Study of the Possessional Problem. Book 10 in a series on Seventeen Basic Problems of Individuals and of Society from an original manuscript of 250 pages by Ralph Borsodi...Condensed by Mildred J. Loomis. Brookville, OH: School of Living, 1964. First Edition. Quarto (28.5cm.);… Read more about this item

Paris: P.-V. Stock, 1902. First Edition. 12mo (18cm.); contemporary green morocco-backed marbled boards, gilt spine in five compartments, original wrappers bound in; [6],484pp. Boards very slightly rubbed, spine leather almost entirely toned to brown, else a Very Good to Near Fine copy. At head of title: "Bibliothèque des Recherches Sociales - No. 7." Eugenicist utopian treatise by… Read more about this item

New-Harmony, IN: Printed at the School Press, 1831. First Edition. Second (and best) issue, text extended to p. 640. Two volumes in one; octavo (24cm.); original muslin-backed boards, printed spine label, leaves untrimmed; [4],640pp. Boards rubbed with some brief exposure at corners and upper cover fore-edge, spine and joints cracked but holding, paper flaw to front pastedown from partially… Read more about this item

Estero, FL: Guiding Star Publishing House, 1906. First Edition. 22 quarto issues (31cm); original illustrated wrappers, disbound; 16pp per issue. Holes (with corresponding oxidation) from saddle staples, some offsetting to spine-folds from fabric tape binding, with some light wear and dust-soil to wrappers; No.52 with several tears and toning to rear wrapper; a handful of issues with some light,… Read more about this item

New York: Cosmopolitan Books, 1930. First Edition. First Printing. Octavo (20.5cm); publisher's cloth in green pictorial dust jacket, dark green topstain; [6],297pp. A few small chips and closed tears to jacket extremities, one touching text without loss of meaning, rear jacket panel a bit toned, else a Very Good, sound copy. Satire of Hollywood and its cinematic output, the… Read more about this item