Search Results: Authors starting with H from Sumner & Stillman

1899. Being His Commonplace Book for 1898. With 2 Maps and 36 Illustrations by G. Leon Little. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1899. 32 pp ads dated Sep 1898. Original dark blue cloth decorated in gilt. First Edition, which consisted of 3000 copies. This was Haggard's second volume of non-fiction (his first was his first book, CETYWAYO AND HIS WHITE NEIGHBOURS, in 1882). The volume is a month-by-month chronicle of the "struggles of those who were engaged in agriculture during that trying time" (per his later autobiography). As many veteran Haggard collectors know, it is these non-fiction Haggard titles that are among the most elusive, since the number of copies issued was a small fraction of the size of his fiction printings. A bright, near-fine copy (small area of front cover rubbed). Scott 32; Whatmore NF2.

1900. Two pages (of four pages on one folded leaf). On Haggard's personal stationery ("Ditchingham House, Norfolk"), dated by hand "26.Oct:1900". The text of this letter reads: It is most kind of Mrs Cornwallis West & yourself to think of me. I should much like to have the honour of making my bow in the A.S.R. But unhappily I have nothing & no time to write anything as I am just going away fr home after a long summer's [?]. So I fear it must be for another time. Many thanks all the same -- With kind regards, Sincerely yours [signed] H. Rider Haggard. The famous author H. Rider Haggard (KING SOLOMON'S MINES, SHE, ALLAN QUATERMAIN) had obviously received from Earl Hodgson an invitation to submit a story for publication in the Anglo-Saxon Review. This was a short-lived "quarterly miscellany," created and edited by Lady Randolph Churchill (her son Winston served as an advisor), published by John Lane in handsome leather-bound volumes with elaborate gilt tooling. Contributors included Henry James,… Read More

1895. With 20 Illustrations by F. S. Wilson. London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1895. 24 pp ads dated Aug 1895. Original dark blue-green cloth, beveled. First Edition of this novel about a "shopgirl with a past." It was serialized as THE WAY OF THE TRANSGRESSOR, but its title was changed when it was pointed out that another writer's book had an almost identical title. Like the earlier BEATRICE (1890), this novel is in effect an account of the problems brought on by the indissolubility of marriage -- a question much on Haggard's own mind at the time, as the woman he loved was not his wife. This is a bright copy, fine except for occasional minor foxing and a very faint cover mark. Scott 27.

1909. With Three Illustrations by A.C. Michael. London, New York, Toronto and Melbourne: Cassell and Company, 1909. 8 pp ads dated Oct 1908. Original blue-grey cloth. First English Edition of this tale involving "crooked finance in England, thwarted romance, effectively functioning [tribal] fetishes, and erotic captivity in darkest Africa." Alan Vernon's uncle, a missionary, had years earlier fled an African tribe, with their golden fetish mask that has supernatural powers; now Alan, in trouble with shady creditors and wanting a clean slate so as to marry his beloved, tries to return the idol to the tribe for the gold he needs. But upon reaching his destination, there is an unexpected development: Asika, the beautiful, vicious priestess-queen of the land, confesses to a passion for Alan and decides that he shall be her next husband, as soon as the present one dies. Asika is Haggard's extreme attempt to present devouring woman: beautiful, sensual, frenzied, unspeakably cruel and vicious... [Come to… Read More

Both on the stationery of the Lend a Hand Society (Rev. Edward E. Hale, President) of Boston. One is four pages (two leaves), dated July 9, 1907, with Boston lined out and replaced by "Matunuck, R. Island". The other is two pages (one leaf), dated July 2, 1908, also with "Matunuck" written in. These letters are from Edward Everett Hale (1822-1909), the author, historian and Unitarian minister best known today for his THE MAN WITHOUT A COUNTRY. The recipient was Elizabeth Dodge (1884-1976 -- later Elizabeth Dodge Huntington Clarke), daughter of Cleveland Dodge and granddaughter of William E. Dodge Jr. -- who in turn was the son of the 1833 co-founder of the Phelps Dodge Mining Company. The family philanthropy apparently included Hale's Lend a Hand Society; they also created a three-generation collection of autograph letters, from which these came. The text of the first letter reads: "She gives twice who gives quickly --" as I dare say your excellent Father has taught you. Your cheque comes most… Read More

1917. London: Macmillan and Co., 1917. 4 pp undated ads. Original olive-green cloth with monogram device in gilt. First Edition of Hardy's largest collection of verse, consisting of 159 poems. The recurrent theme, excluding the war poems, is the death of Hardy's first wife and the re-creation of their old romance. Few of these poems had appeared in periodicals, since "very rarely if ever did Hardy permit periodical publication of poems of so intimate a nature" [Purdy]. This is a near-fine copy, with scarcely any wear but with a little lifting of the front cover cloth; most of the leaves remain unopened, which is a sadly-common feature of many Hardy volumes of verse. Purdy pp 193-208. Housed in a morocco-backed slipcase (with inner stiff-cloth wraparound) -- which today would cost far more to create, than this book's value.

1896. That is to say: An Imaginative Woman | The Three Strangers | The Withered Arm | Fellow-Townsmen | Interlopers at the Knap | and The Distracted Preacher. With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1896. Original dark green cloth with monogram device in gilt. "Wessex Novels" edition -- containing the first American appearance of Hardy's short story "An Imaginative Woman," which he had recently written in 1893 (after TESS and before JUDE). WESSEX TALES was Hardy's first collection of short stories, originally published in two volumes in 1888; however it consisted of only the five other tales, which he had written by then. Osgood McIlvaine in the UK, and Harper in the US (as here), published this first uniform edition of Hardy's works, volume-by-volume during the period 1895-96. It is an important edition, because the text of every title was thoroughly revised by Hardy -- and with this title, he actually added a new tale. Hardy also wrote a Preface for… Read More

1880. [a dazzling set] London: Smith, Elder, & Co., 1880. Original red cloth pictorially decorated in black. First Edition of one of Hardy's least-known novels. Written during the year 1879 and serialized in the magazine Good Words (where it was bowdlerized by its Scottish clergyman editor), it is a tale in which Hardy combined the three separate strands which at that time most affected his life. One strand was his own Dorset background, and in particular the idea of a family reminiscence; another is the strand of historical study, and in particular the concentration he was then giving to the years 1804-1805 and the effect of the then-recent French Revolution. These two strands... are firmly woven into the construction of the novel, and give it remarkable unity and a steady sense of reality. Hardy was determined that the charges of unreality, brought against The Return of the Native, should not be repeated. [quotes from Gittings] The third strand, natural in that Hardy was then writing with an idea… Read More

1880. New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1880. Undated endpaper ads. Original mustard yellow cloth decorated in black. First American Edition (it is uncertain whether this or Munro's "Seaside Library" edition preceded; Holt's was, however, the authorized one, and also it was listed in Publishers' Weekly a week earlier). This was issued as No. 118 in Holt's "Leisure Hour Series," the series in which most of Hardy's early novels first appeared in America. By 1880 the books in this series were being issued with numbers, with undated endpaper ads, and in mustard yellow cloth; in the 1870s the volumes had been issued un-numbered, with dated endpaper ads, and in cream cloth. In this copy the endpaper ads, though undated, are the primary ones (on the inside front cover listing no Hardy volumes issued after this one, and withOUT this title on the front free endpaper). This is a very good-plus copy (minor cover soil, light rubbing at the extremities). See Purdy p. 35.

1902. (London and New York: Harper & Brothers, 1902.) Original dark green cloth with monogram device in gilt. First Edition of Hardy's second volume of verse, which (like the first, WESSEX POEMS), consisted of only 500 copies. None of Hardy's exceedingly scarce multi-volume novels consisted of fewer copies; for example, FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD, THE RETURN OF THE NATIVE and TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES each had a 1000-copy first edition. This title, actually published in November 1901, contains 99 poems, some of which deal with the Boer War; WESSEX POEMS had contained 51 poems. POEMS OF THE PAST AND THE PRESENT marks the end of Hardy's association with the publishing firm of Osgood, McIlvaine & Co. (and their successors, Harper & Brothers of London, of which Clarence McIlvaine was in charge). This is a near-fine copy (a few minor rear-cover marks, endpapers cracked). In our experience, though both WESSEX POEMS and this title consisted of the same number of copies, this is a considerably scarcer book… Read More

1913. Concluding with The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, (1913). Original dark green cloth with monogram device in gilt. First (American) Edition, published simultaneously with the English one. To quote from Hardy's prefatory note, this is a collection of "for what they may be worth, a dozen minor novels" that had previously appeared only in periodicals -- between 1881 and 1900, before Hardy had forsaken fiction for verse. It constitutes Hardy's last major volume of prose. The American edition, which in our experience is scarcer than the English one, has as a frontispiece a Reinhart illustration from "The Romantic Adventures of a Milkmaid," where the English edition has a photogravure of Maiden Castle. This is a fine, bright copy (very faint discoloration on the rear cover). Purdy pp 156-7.

1896. With an Etching by H. Macbeth-Raeburn and a Map of Wessex. (London:) James R. Osgood, McIlvaine & Co., (1896). Original dark blue-green cloth with front cover monogram device in gilt. First Edition of Hardy's last great novel, issued as Vol. VIII of "The Wessex Novels." Titled HEARTS INSURGENT at the time of its serial appearance, the book was ahead of its time: the 1890s public was not ready for Hardy's depiction of Jude and his cousin Sue settling down together and having two children (though unmarried) -- let alone, the death by hanging of his child and their two. After TESS OF THE D'URBERVILLES (1891) and then JUDE (and due to the outcry over them), Hardy was to spend his remaining 30+ years writing only verse. In this copy, the last pages of chapters are numbered in gatherings "A" through "H" excepting "B" (such pages are never numbered in gatherings "I" onward). In most copies, as here, some but not all of the first eight gatherings have numbered pages, presumably before sheets were… Read More

1899. [illustrated by himself] With 30 Illustrations by the Author. New York and London: Harper & Brothers, 1899. Original light green cloth pictorially decorated in orange, yellow-green, light blue and white. First American Edition of Hardy's first volume of verse, published about six weeks after the London one (which was dated 1898). This volume "marks the final emergence of Hardy's primary interest, verse. The thirty years that remained to him were devoted to the composition of poetry..." [Purdy]. Of particular interest are the 31 illustrations by Hardy himself (the number cited on the title page apparently excludes the frontispiece); they serve as "a pleasant reminder of Hardy's architectural training and his skill as a draughtsman." These illustrations were discarded when WESSEX POEMS was next reprinted (in 1912). This is a bright, nearly fine copy of this attractively-bound volume that is printed on heavy glossy paper; there is a touch of wear at the corners of the spine, and the front… Read More

1921. Nicholson, William. [in dust jacket] With Portrait and Title Page Engraved on Wood by William Nicholson. London, Liverpool and Boston: Philip Lee Warner, Publisher to the Medici Society, 1921. Original blue-grey paper-covered boards with natural linen spine with cover and spine labels, with dust jacket. Riccardi Press Edition, being copy #663 of 1000 copies. Hardy and Macmillan first published this collection of 120 poems in 1916. They selected poems that the "General Reader" might like, from Hardy's five previous volumes of verse -- plus nine from his as-yet-unpublished MOMENTS OF VISION. "Hardy set great store by the volume..., hoping it would bring his poetry to a wider public" [Purdy]. Five years later The Medici Society published this volume, illustrated by William Nicholson and printed at The Riccardi Press. This volume is in fine condition except for a bumped fore-corner; the two spare labels are still tipped in at the rear. Included is the uncommon dust jacket, which, outside of a… Read More

1899. Illustrated by E. Boyd Smith. Westminster: Archibald Constable & Co., 1899. Original olive green cloth pictorially decorated in black and red. First Edition, English issue, of this collection of fourteen tales -- including a few about Brer Rabbit and friends. This is a children's story book in the same general format as the four books Harris had collaborated on with Oliver Herford a few years earlier, but instead illustrated by E. Boyd Smith (who had just illustrated Harris's TALES OF THE HOME FOLKS). These are Houghton Mifflin sheets, printed in Cambridge Massachusetts, but with a Constable title page for the English market. This is a very good-plus copy (some soil on the blank rear cover, otherwise fine). See Blanck 7142.

1899. Frost, A. B.. [inscribed and signed by Harris] Illustrated by A.B. Frost. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1899. Original tan cloth pictorially decorated in white and red. First Edition of this loosely-connected collection of eight tales of black Americans; the first is titled "An Evening with the Ku-Klux." Aunt Minervy Ann had been one of the principal characters of Harris's preceding book, PLANTATION PAGEANTS. This copy has the fore and bottom edges untrimmed, which according to Blanck is the "probable" second state. The volume's condition is very good-plus (spine slightly darkened, a trace of wear at the spine ends, front endpaper cracked). Blanck 7143. This copy is inscribed by Harris on the front free endpaper, "To Huel [?] -- | Joel Chandler Harris

1895. Herford, Oliver. Illustrated by Oliver Herford. Boston and New York: Houghton, Mifflin and Company, 1895. Original tan cloth pictorially decorated in green and dark brown, page edges green. First Edition, first printing (with the date 1895 appearing on the front of the title page) -- of this sequel to LITTLE MR. THIMBLEFINGER: the same three children (Buster John, Sweetest Susan and Drusilla) have further adventures with the animals in Mr. Thimblefinger's "queer country." Included are 25 illustrations by Oliver Herford. This is a fine, clean copy (slight cracking of one endpaper) -- quite unusual for this light-colored cloth. Blanck 7132. Provenance: bookplate of the Estelle Doheny Collection of American Literature (multiple sales in 1987-1989).

1887. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1887. 12 pp undated ads. Original reddish-brown cloth decorated in pink and green. First Edition of Harris's fourth book, a collection of five tales of the South. Harris's wife was later to say that the story "Free Joe and the Rest of the World" was his favorite among all the tales he had written: "Harris provides a portrait of Joe, an African American freedman living in the town of Hillsborough, Georgia in 1860, who finds himself isolated from any community due to his ill-defined social position between enslaved blacks and poor whites. The slave community rejects him out of envy for his freedom, and the poor white community only grudgingly acknowledges his humanity." [UNC]. This volume was once sought as the very first of Margaret Armstrong's 270+ decorative bindings, but it has since been decided that it was not in fact done by her. Nonetheless it is an attractively-bound book, and this is a near-fine copy (just a touch of wear at the ends of the spine).… Read More

1881. [a handsome copy] The Folk­Lore of the Old Plantation. With Illustrations by Frederick S. Church and James H. Moser. New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1881. 8 pp undated ads. Original green cloth pictorially decorated in black and gilt. First Edition, first printing, of Joel Chandler Harris's first and most beloved book, featuring Brer Rabbit, Brer Fox and Brer Bear (with occasional appearances by Brer Terrapin). In addition to 34 such "Legends of the Old Plantation" (including "The Tar-Baby"), the volume includes "Plantation Proverbs" plus Uncle Remus's "Songs" and "Sayings." At the time he wrote these, Harris (who was white) was on the staff of the Atlanta Constitution -- in which newspaper the tales had first begun appearing in 1879. Uncle Remus is both typical and strongly individual, and his tales, based on native legends, are told with a simple humor and authentic dialect that is in perfect harmony with the thing said and the way of saying it" [OCAL]. Some of Harris's tales are today… Read More

1886. [illustrated by Kate Greenaway] London: Chatto and Windus, n.d. [1886]. Original olive linen with color pictorial covers, all page edges red. First Edition of this 58-page children's fantasy tale that includes 28 color illustrations by Kate Greenaway. There is a very similar American edition, actually printed and bound in the U.K. at the same time as this edition, with a Houghton Mifflin title page that bears the date 1887. This copy is in what Blanck calls "binding C(B?)" -- pictorial olive linen, page edges stained red, white endpapers; binding A with gilt page edges is believed to have been the first, or certainly the most expensive, but the order of the other two is unknown. It is in remarkably fine condition, without soil or wear -- and is rather uncommon thus. Blanck 7337 (binding "C(B?)").