Ballad of Reading Gaol by C.3.3. by Oscar Wilde - 1899

Paris: Jacques Beltrand, 1922. Limited/Numbered Edition. Hardcover. Edition published to celebrate the six hundredth anniversary of Dante's death and limited to 225 numbered copies, this being #190. In three volumes. xii, 319pp; 320pp; 313pp. Full vellum with gilt decorations and rules on the boards, gilt lettering on the spines, gilt inside dentelles, top edges gilt, others uncut, marbled endpapers. Printed on Arches paper with a "1321 Dante 1921" watermark. Text printed in red and black, initials. Illustrated with numerous wood engravings by Jacques Beltrand and his brothers Camille and Georges based on the drawings by Sandro Botticelli. Text in Italian and French. Translation from the Italian by André Pératé. Covers are a bit soiled and spines slightly darkened. Internally clean. A wonderful and well preserved set in a simple and stylish binding. ; Folio.

Milano: Aldo Martello Editore, 1965. Limited Edition. Hardcover. Edition published to celebrate the seven hundredth anniversary of Dante's birth and limited to 500 numbered copies. In three volumes. 361pp; 333pp; 345pp. Full deep green morocco ruled and lettered in gold on the spine, five raised bands, top edges gilt, others uncut, green endpapers; printed on special Ventura paper. The volumes come in sturdy green paper covered publisher's slipcases with leather inserts. With more than one hundred illustrations by fifty contemporary Italian artists including Giorgio de Chirico, Renato Guttuso, Emilio Greco, Aligi Sassu, Carlo Carrà, Remo Brindisi, Massimo Campigli, Carlo Corsi, Carlo Guarienti assembled for a special Quadriennale exhibition in 1960. Very mild wear to the spines but a superb set nonetheless. This copy, not numbered, is ad personam for Bruno Molajoli. ; Quarto.

New York:: Viking Press,, 1938.. First Printing of the First US Edition. A Near Fine copy with the usual age darkening to the cloth binding in a Very Good plus unclipped dust jacket with gentle wear to the extremities, a tiny chip missing near the head of the spine and a glue bleed through running along the fold of the rear panel. Otherwise a respectable copy of this collection of classic Steinbeck short stories that includes The Chrysanthemums, The White Quail, Flight, The Snake, Breakfast, The Raid, The Harness, The Vigilante, Johnny Bear, The Murder, St. Katy The Virgin, the Complete Red Pony, The Leader of the People. There were only 8000 copies of this title published in the First Edition.

Philadelphia: G. B. Zieber & Co, 1845. First Edition. Hardcover. iv, [5]-168pp. Brown quarter morocco and marbled boards, spine lettered and ruled in gold. With the armorial bookplate of E. Hubert Litchfield. Mild scattered foxing throughout. A near fine copy. Scarce. BAL 8085. In Van Winkle, p. 13. ; Twelvemo.

Parigi: Appresso Agostino Delalain, Pietro Durand, Gio: Claudio Molini, 1771. First Edition. Hardcover. Illustrated by Gravelot, Hubert-François. In two volumes. 331pp; 340pp. Contemporary full mottled calf, sides with triple gilt fillets, ornate gilt spines, gilt inside dentelles. All edges gilt, marbled endpapers. Frontispieces, titles, dedication, nineteen inserted plates, nine full-page illustrations, head-pieces, tail-pieces, all by Gravelot and engraved by Ponce, Leveau, Le Roy, Rousseau, Henriquez, and others. Rubbing and scuffs to sides and edges, three small old ink stains to bottom edge of volume one, short corner tear to one leaf. Lacks the plate for the eighteenth canto and there are some very minor markings in ink to some of the plates. From what transpires from the two old inscriptions on the front endpapers this set was donated by the Vicar of a church near Brescia to a noted scholar and professor at the University of Brescia. The ink in the markings appears to be the same as the… Read More

London: Hutchinson, 1961 very rare first edition in near fine DW, unclipped, minor foxing to edges or folds of DW, small area foxing to closed fore edge of pages, not written in or marked, minor foxing from accumulated dust to closed top edge, very scarce with a near pristine DW, our standard shipping rate will be charged but we will upgrade to signature required courier delivery, we prefer a bank deposit as payment for this item please, when the English edition was published it met with controversy and totally different reviews to the blockbuster French edition, and is consequentially a rare item, 487pp. First Edition. Hard Cover. Fine/Fine. Illus. by Val Biro. 8vo - over 7? - 9? tall.

Steinbeck, John. The Long Valley. New York: Viking Press, 1938. First Printing of the First US Edition. First Printing. A Near Fine copy with the usual age darkening to the front pastedown in a Very Good plus unclipped dust jacket with gentle wear to the extremities, and a short closed edge tear at the head of the spine. A collectible copy of this collection of classic Steinbeck fiction. This volume of stories collected with the encouragement of his longtime editor Pascal Covici serves as a wonderful introduction to the work of Nobel Prize winner John Steinbeck. Set in the beautiful Salinas Valley of California, where simple people farm the land and struggle to find a place for themselves in the world, these stories reflect Steinbeck's characteristic interests: the tensions between town and country, laborers and owners, past and present. Included here are the O. Henry Prize-winning story "The Murder"; "The Chrysanthemums," perhaps Steinbeck's most challenging story, both personally and artistically;… Read More

This is a complete 19 Volume set of "HOUSEHOLD WORDS" - A Weekly Journal by Charles Dickens. The volumes span the years 1850 (Volume I) to 1859 (Volume XIX). The significance of this set is that Volume IX contains the 1st appearance of the Dickens classic "HARD TIMES" (please see photos). "Hard Times was first published serially in "Household Words" in the April 1, 1854 issue (volume IX), followed shortly thereafter by the 1st edition in book form in the same year. Seldom found complete in 19 Volumes."Household Words" was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens and was published every Saturday from March 1850 to May 1859. This set contains 19 hardcover volumes which contain the complete run of individual issues. To boost slumping sales, Dickens serialized his classic novel "Hard Times" in weekly parts between April 1st and August 12th 1854. It had the desired effect, more than doubling the journal's circulation and encouraging Dickens, who remarked that he was "three parts mad, and the… Read More

London: Herbert Jenkins, 1936. Book. Near Fine. Hardcover. 1st Edition. Original red cloth with black lettering and publishers vignette. Binding is tight and square with light scuffing to upper spine end. Inside clean, only lightest spotting to first pages. No marks or inscriptions. In bright, original, first state dust jacket with expertly repaired large tear to front cover and neatly restored loss to top edge and spine extremities. Correctly priced at 7/6. 311 pp. and 8 pp. of advertisements at the end. 19 x 13,5 cm. Dust jacket now protected in removable sleeve. A very collectible copy. .

This First Printing is in very good condition with a former owner's bookplate on the front endsheet. The dustjacket is in good condition with some slight edge chipping and the price clipped from the upper inside corner. The book is autographed by Frank Herbert on the title page. This book will make an excellent addition to the library of the serious collector of fine and rare books.