Search Results: Titles starting with V from Johnson Rare Books & Archives

London: Robert Hale & Company, 1969. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near fine. The first UK edition, which precedes the American issue. Classic western tale of corruption, justice, and vengeance. This novel served as the basis for the 1971 Edwin Sherin film starring Burt Lancaster, Susan Clark, Richard Jordan, and Jon Cypher. Octavo. Original black cloth binding, with silver titles. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with some very mild rubbing.

Privately Published. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good. Numerous textual photos, illustrations, and maps, with a nine Coats of Arms reproduced in color. N.p.: Privately published, n.d. First edition. Genealogical history of Valentines, Vollintines, Klutts, and other families that trace their lineage to John Valentine, who emigrated from his ancestral home of Lancashire, England to Boston, Massachusetts before 1642. Descendants of this early New England settler eventually made their way to Texas, by way of Virginia, North Carolina, and Tennessee. With a post-it note, inscribed and dated by Opal Klutts Hollis, affixed to the front flyleaf. Pictorial buckram boards, issued without a dust jacket. A very good copy. Signed by Author.

London: Grant Richards Ltd, 1919. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Ironic novel about eroticism and exoticism in the milieu of quaint but lewd old British ladies at an English spa resort. Valmouth is noted for its florid and baroque style and parody-like humor, and its sexual innuendos both heterosexual and homosexual. Octavo: 209 p. with a frontispiece by Augustus John. Original black cloth binding, with gilt titles. Period bookseller's label to the rear pastedown. In the scarce dust jacket, which is a bit toned, more so along the spine and folds, with some shallow chipping at the corners and tips, and a few very faint stains; otherwise very good.

Baltimore: J. Robinson, 1830. Wraps. An early American edition, presumably issued in conjunction with the 1830 stage production in Baltimore. The first appearance of the vampire as an image of sophistication and nobility, this play is an adaptation of the French drama by Charles Nodier, itself an adaptation of the popular 1819 short story by Dr. Polidori, Lord Byron's traveling doctor. It is said that the character of the protagonist vampire, Lord Ruthven, was based on the wild lifestyle of Lord Byron and the character from the original book was used in adaptations by a number of authors at the time. 16mo: 41, [1] p. Previously stitched, this copy has been reinforced with a thin tan cloth spine. Some general toning, with a bit of staining and edgewear. Two short tears to the front panel have been neatly mended on the verso with silk tape. Scarce, OCLC locates only five holdings of this edition: The Huntington, Connecticut, Harvard, Princeton, and the American Antiquarian Society.

Los Angeles: Van Nuys Chamber of Commerce, 1955. Wraps. Very good. Booklet: 48 p. with a two-page map by Howard Saunders. Original paper wrappers, printed in red and blue, and bound with two staples. Founded in 1911, Van Nuys was named for one of its developers, Isaac Newton Van Nuys, a rancher and entrepreneur of Dutch ancestry. It was laid out along with roadways and other towns by the Suburban Homes Company, a syndicate led by Hobart Johnstone Whitley, general manager of the Board of Control, along with Harry Chandler, H.G. Otis, and others. At the same time, Henry E. Huntington extended his Pacific Electric Railway through the Valley, and made Van Nuys the first new stop on the San Fernando Line. In 1915, the town was annexed into the city of Los Angeles following the completion of the Los Angeles Aqueduct, which provided the water required for further growth. Along with city agencies and offices, this directory provides an alphabetical listing of Van Nuys businesses intended to elicit support… Read More

Hong Kong: Credit Lyonnais Securities (Asia) Ltd, 1997. First Edition. Hardcover. Near fine. Limited to 3,000 copies. "This book, which comprises a selection of previously unpublished maps from Mr S.C. Tam's collection and maps drawn by non-Chinese cartographers, aims to introduce the long-standing civilisation of China through maps and to illustrate the major differences between Western and Chinese maps produced before the 20th century." 35 maps, rubbings, and paintings, with eight engravings. Square quarto. Full gold cloth binding, with gilt titles and decorative blind-stamping. A near fine copy, with some mild wear to the publisher's slipcase.

London: John Murray, 1892. Second Edition, Revised - Fourth Thousand. Hardcover. Very Good. First published in 1868, this book began as an expansion of the first two chapters of On the Origin of Species (1859): "Variation under Domestication" and "Variation under Nature," and it developed into one of his largest works; Darwin (1809-82) referred to it as his "big book." The first volume deals with the variations introduced into species as a result of domestication, through changes in climate, diet, breeding, and an absence of predators. He began with an examination of dogs and cats, comparing them with their wild counterparts, and moved on to investigate horses and asses; pigs, cattle, sheep, and goats; domestic rabbits; domestic pigeons; fowl; and finally cultivated plants. The work is a masterpiece of nineteenth-century scientific investigation, and a key text in the development of Darwin's own thought and of the wider discipline of evolutionary biology. Octavo, two volumes: xiv, 473 p. + x, 495… Read More

London: J. and J.J. Deighton, 1844. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. Lord Porchester's copy, with his signature ("Porchester") and "Eton" alongside the date "April 1948" on the title page, with his signature and the same date on the title page. Additionally, there is some occasional marginalia, brief notes in his hand on the verso of the rear flyleaf, and five pages of holographic notes laid in. Lord Porchester or Henry Howard Molyneux Herbert (1831-90), 4th Earl of Carnarvon, was a British statesman who tried, with varying success, to establish federal self-government in British overseas possessions. Octavo: xv, 300, 16 p. Original cloth binding, with gilt titles and blind-stamped decorations. Light foxing to the contents. The spine is sun faded, with some general edgewear; else very good.

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1951. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Good. Signed by Christopher Isherwood and contributors Swami Prabhavananda, Gerald Heald, Aldous Huxley, and John van Druten on the front flyleaf. While living in Hollywood, Isherwood (1904-86) was introduced to Vedanta (Upanishad-centered philosophy) and the circle of Hindu Swami Prabhavananda by his friend Aldous Huxley. Adopting Prabhavananda as his own guru, Isherwood visited the Swami every Wednesday for the next 35 years and collaborated with him on a translation of the Bhagavad Gita. He also took over editorship of Vedanta and the West, a bimonthly journal concerned with the theory and practice of Vedanta teachings and their relevance to Western intellectual life. This is the second collection of articles from the journal, including contributions by Isherwood, Huxley, Prabhavananda, Gerald Heard, Alan W. Watts, and many others. Octavo: xiv, 410 p. Original gray cloth-covered boards over a blue cloth spine with gilt titles.… Read More

New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1989. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Second printing. "During the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, Venetians lined their government council chambers and religious fraternities with narrative paintings of pageantry, diplomacy and pious legend. These works - which include Carpaccio's pictorial stories about St. Ursula, St. George and St. Jerome, as well as Bellini's panoramic recordings of the urban scene - have often been discussed, but in isolation from their social context and from each other. This richly illustrated book is the first to examine them all together, as representatives of a single genre of painting that was stylistically peculiar to Venice and uniquely expressive of the social, cultural and aesthetic values of Venetian Renaissance society." Quarto: [vi], 310 p. with numerous illustrations (most color). Original blue cloth binding, with gilt titles. A fine copy in a fine dust jacket.

Los Angeles: Venice Japanese Community Center, 2010. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Near fine. Inscribed by Perry Miyake, Jr. on the title page, with a flyer from the book signing event laid in. A vibrant pictorial history of the VJCC and the larger Japanese American community of Venice, California, drawing on historical documents, church archives, community center newsletters, family albums, and the memories of longtime residents. Among other things, it examines the impact of Executive Order 9066, which cleared the way for the removal and incarceration of nearly 120,000 Japanese Americans from the West Coast during World War II. Oblong quarto: 261 p. with a plethora of photographs and illustrations, including many in color. Original red cloth binding, with gilt titles. A fine copy in a near fine dust jacket with just a hint of wear.

Burton, Michigan: Subterranean Press, 2008. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/Fine. Signed by illustrator Bob Eggleton on the half-title. A collection of the best writing from Farmer's "fictional-author period," including the controversial Kilgore Trout novel. Octavo. Original light blue cloth binding, with metallic blue titles. The bottom corners are very lightly bumped; else fine in a fine dust jacket.

Tehran: Society of Chemical Weapons Victims Support, 2005. Paperback. Very good. Profusely illustrated. Tehran: Society of Chemical Weapons Victims Support, 2005. Second edition. Founded in 2003, the SCWVS is a Tehran-based non-governmental organization (NGO) representing the victims of chemical attacks and their families. Text in English, with numerous graphic color photographs. Original pictorial paper wrappers. A very good copy.

London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981. First edition. Hardcover. Very Good/Very Good. Two volumes. 172 illustrations. The land, agriculture, country towns and industries, landed society, and the labouring life are examined by a group of distinguished scholars in this multifaceted study of the Victorian countryside. Octavos. Original cloth bindings, with burgundy and gilt titles. Internally crisp and clean. Small label to the each front flyleaf. The dust jackets are price-clipped. Better than very good.

Charming scrapbook of 37 leaves filled with colorful chromolithographic images and some decorative trade cards. It was assembled by Esther Anderson (1871-1958) between 1885 and 1890 while her family was living in Brooklyn, New York, where her father, the Rev. Anders Johan Anderson, was a leader in the Swedish Methodist Episcopal Church. Her location is reflected in the trade cards, such as Purssell, the Broadway baker; Max Stadler & Co., a clothier and hatter also located on Broadway; as well as Seidlitine Seidlitz Powders, which was manufactured by Dundas & Co. of New York City. Anderson included decorative frames for each of the carefully arranged images of children, animals, fruit, flowers, religious symbols, and more. Her first name is spelled out on the first leaf in block letters. A graduate of Brooklyn's Adelphi Academy and Northwestern University of Chicago, Anderson briefly taught high school before joining the Young Women's Christian Association, which she served for three decades at a… Read More

Los Angeles: Women's Christian Temperance Union of Southern California, 1966. Wraps. Near fine. A reprint of this official history, which was commissioned to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the WCTU's Southern California organization. Includes profiles of the state presidents, county histories, and department reports, as well as a brief chapter on women's suffrage: "The campaign of 1911 brought us victory, and the women of California took their places by the side of the men as political equals. We went to the polls and voted with a new dignity, and we were not contaminated either by this close proximity to the male voter. The cooperative spirit of all the organizations working together to win this amendment was wonderful. The W.C.T.U. was an important factor because so thoroughly organized." Profusely illustrated. Octavo. Original printed light brown paper wrappers. Near fine.

New York: Negro Universities Press, 1970. Hardcover. Near Fine. Eight plates, with seven textual line drawings. Facsimile of the 1926 first edition. Original brown cloth binding, with gilt titles. Issued without a dust jacket. A near fine copy.

Oldham: Hugh Broadbent, 1979. Hardcover. Fine. From the library of revered English actor, comedian, musician, and writer Eric Idle, with his signature ("Ex Libris Eric Idle") on the title page, accompanied by a letter of provenance. Idle (b.1943) is a founding member of the British comedy troupe Monty Python, as well as the parody rock group The Rutles, and is the writer of the music and lyrics for the hit Broadway musical Spamalot. He is also the author of The Quite Remarkable Adventures of the Owl and the Pussycat (1996), a story based on the characters, poems, and drawings of Edward Lear. This edition is limited to one thousand copies, of which this is No. 344. Folio: [49], [1, blank] p. with the title page and 20 tinted plates after Edward Lear. Original green cloth binding, with gilt titles. A fine copy in the clear acetate dust wrapper. From 1855 to 1858 and from 1861 to 1864, Edward Lear (1812-88) more or less resided in Corfu. "He knew all the islands quite well: the drawings in this work… Read More

New York: The Viking Press, 1943. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good/Very good. Signed by John Steinbeck on the front flyleaf. The first major anthology of Steinbeck's work, including Of Mice and Men and The Red Pony, a selection of short stories, and complete episodes from The Pastures of Heaven, The Grapes of Wrath, In Dubious Battle, The Moon is Down, The Long Valley, Tortilla Flat, Sea of Cortez, and Bombs Away. 12mo: viii, 568 p. Original tan cloth binding, with red stamping. Mild wear to the corners and tips, with a little bit of toning and wear along the extremities of the dust jacket; otherwise very good. Goldstone A19a.

Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1988. Trade paperback. Near fine. Drawing on a wide variety of printed materials and previously unused sources, the author explores twenty of the most important residences built by dignitaries of Church and State. Early plans and drawings and a wealth of photographs aid him in reconstructing the leisure activity of the leaders of Renaissance society in the settings that were built to enhance it." Quarto. Original paper wrappers. The spine is lightly sun faded; else near fine.