Rare books from Riverrun Books & Manuscripts

Leipzig: Georg Voss, 1804. Title creased and dust-soiled, final plate creased, lower wrapper detached. Oblong folio (18 x 10.75 inches; 455 x 273 mm). Engraved title in the form of a sampler, 52 pages, 50 engraved plates, consisting of 25 plates in two states, colored and uncolored. 19th-century stiff marbled paper wrappers; modern cloth-backed fitted case. SCARCE: Only the Metropolitan Museum of Art copy of this edition is located in the US. Copies of the 1802 French edition are held by the Smithsonian and Winterthur, and of the 1800 edition at U. Michigan and the Clark Art Institute. European online library databases record only a handful of copies of each edition in German, Swiss, French and British libraries. No copies have appeared at auction in the past century, according to databases. A beautifully illustrated manual for knitting and crocheting. This is the second, enlarged edition in German and the third edition overall, following a French version published in 1802. Netto's goal was to… Read More

Pen-and-ink drawing, 11 3/4 x 10 3/4 inches, on verso of printed sheet (possibly a printer's proof), inscribed at head to his attorney "Pour Miguel Angelo St[star]," undated but circa 1970s. Dali made a number of drawings of Saint George and the dragon, with the present executed in his characteristic loose and fluid style. A fine drawing with impeccable provenance.

London: Ward, Lock, 1928. From the Bart Auerbach Collection. 8vo. Original pale green cloth; in a dark morocco slipcase with red morocco spine labels. First edition of this crime novel and the author's second book. The dedication copy to his mother, inscribed by Charteris incorporating the printed dedication: "With love [to my Mother] from Leslie. Twenty second February 1928." Charteris' first book, 'X Esquire,' was issued by Ward, Lock in 1927; his third - in which The Saint (Simon Templar) first appears - was published by the same firm in September 1928 and entitled 'Meet the Tiger.' 'The White Rider' was later serialized (in 1933) in 'Detective Weekly.' This, the first book by Charteris to have a dedication and the only one dedicated to his mother, is the fine Florence and Edward Kaye copy, with bookplate. Lofts and Adley, 'The Saint and Leslie Charteris' (1972), pp. 102-103; Symons, 'Bloody Murder' (1972), pp. 202-203. (BA).

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. In fine condition. 2 pages, 4to, on two sheets of "Doubleday, Page & Company" letterhead (where Norris was an editor). A reply to Richards' letter of November 4, mostly discussing the sale of 'The Octopus' to Tauschnitz, for which Norris got £30 which was split with Richards who had published the London edition that September. Norris writes that 'The Pit', sequel to 'The Octopus', "is coming on, and I believe-firmly-will be much stronger"; and writes of receiving the 'Octopus' contract and of receiving British reviews. "Watch out for a man named Friedman who has writ 'By Bread Alone'. Did you get Dreiser's 'Sister Carrie'?" Norris was responsible for the publication of 'Sister Carrie' in 1900 by Doubleday, Page; the publishing firm, however, did not distribute the book and it was suppressed. Norris died in October 1902 at the age of 32. His letters are very rare. 'Collected Letters', ed. J. S. Chrisler, no. 103. (BA).

San Francisco: W. E. Wood, 1903. From the Bart Auerbach Collection. Stains on seven pages from clippings once laid in, a marginal tear on a leaf from rough opening, slightly soiled on rear cover, front inner hinge tender. 8vo. Frontispiece portrait of Bierce. Original dark green cloth, gilt pictorial stamping and lettering, top edges gilt, others uncut; black cloth folding case. First edition, state 1 (BAL). This is the dedication copy to the designer of the binding, inscribed by Bierce in pencil on the front free endpaper: "To Herman Scheffauer. Bierce within and Scheff without, / This book is foreordained, no doubt, / To fame whene'er (all other books / Being lost) the last man living looks / For something great in art and rhyme / To help him pass away the time. / Ambrose Bierce / Oct. 30, 1903." The printed dedication reads: "With pride in their work, faith in their future and affection for themselves, an old writer dedicates this book to his young friends and pupils, George Sterling and Herman… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. Binding worn, some leaves lightly creased. 15 pages, folio (13 x 8 inches), written in pencil on rectos only, in at least three numbered sections, being a combination of rough notes and more formal correspondence to Russell Doubleday; with four large pencil drawings and one plan by Tarkington. Bound in limp brown sheep. Provenance: from the collection of Frank Nelson Doubleday. Tarkington offers meticulous advice about how the characters in 'Penrod' are to be depicted-particularly the title boy: "Penrod should not look tall, athletic, graceful; neither should he seem quite so short and awkward; nor must he seem either modish nor too extremely." The first page bears a drawing of what the author means: "A very vague suggestion. I mean something like this." Tarkington offers suggestions on the depiction of other characters as well. H also discusses the binding of the book which he argues should, like the illustrations, support his notion that "The value of Penrod is… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. 14 pages, all but one quarto in size and all but one single-spaced; written from Paris and Toulon, 23 February 1931 to 27 January 1932, the correspondence relating to the book and its publication, etc.; one letter with marginal fraying, another a bit wrinkled, and another with a marginal tear. The letter of 8 November 1931 is published -- from a carbon copy in the Ford archive - in Letters of Ford Madox Ford, ed. R. M. Ludwig, Princeton University Press, 1965, pp. 202-3. A portion of another letter (of 10 May 1931) is printed in David Dow Harvey, Ford Madox Ford ... a Bibliography, New York, 1972, p. 75; Harvey also prints a total of three sentences from two other letters on pp. 75 and 77. WITH: (1) The contract for Return to Yesterday, 4 pp., folio, signed by Ford and a Gollancz representative, 30 March 1931; (2) A handwritten sheet by someone at Gollancz, 1 p., 4to, listing publication date, sales numbers and royalty payments for the book (apparently through… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. Consisting of 188 autograph letters signed, and one autograph postcard signed (336 pages, 12mo and 8vo), plus 25 related items. As below:. Sir Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912). 38 autograph letters signed, 52 pages, nearly all 12mo, about half in French, most signed "L Alma-Tadema" (a few signed just with initials), one letter with small ink sketch of Deschamps, another letter with a fore-edge a bit chipped; docketed by Deschamps and a few with his penciled notes on versos. Written from London, Naples, and Menton, 1872-1888. With six related items: three letters to Alma-Tadema from others regarding his paintings; two letters (1883 & 1910) from his wife and daughter (also painters) to Deschamps; and a pictorial invitation to an Alma-Tadema exhibition. Alma-Tadema writes about: sales of his paintings (with some prices) - payments for paintings - paintings mentioned are "Sappho," "The Audition," "La Cleopatra" - arranging meetings - portraits - arranging for paintings… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. 20 pages, 4to, the ribbon copy, double-spaced, with revisions (some extensive) in ink by Woolrich. There are about 65 words in his hand on 8 pages (2 and 14 have the majority) and about 30 crossouts/deletions on 7 pages (2 having about half). In very good condition. "The Number's Up," a horrific story of a young couple taken for a ride by gangsters, was first published in Beyond the Night (Avon Books, 1959). It was reprinted in Nightwebs in 1971 (also by Avon). Woolrich mate rial of this nature is very rare on the market (with no typescript or manuscript material appearing at auction in the past century according to records). [BA]. "After that there was silence for a while, only the sound of the shovel biting into the earth, and the hissing splatter of the loose dirt as it sailed off it. "They stood him up, his back to the well. "In the dark, desperate sky, just above the scalloped line some treetops made, three stars formed a pleading little constellation. No… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. In fine condition. Comprising: 29 typed letters signed, 5 typed postcards signed, and 2 autograph postcards signed, all from McGuane to Oppenheimer, and one typed letter signed (carbon copy, with holograph note) from McGuane to William B. Decker (senior editor at Dial Press); written from Palo Alto (and elsewhere in California) and Grosse Ile, Michigan, 10 June 1966 to 4 December 1967. A total of 30 letters and 7 cards, 41 pages (the letters all 4to, and all but one single-spaced). WITH: Carbon copies of 33 letters from Dorothea Oppenheimer to McGuane (her side of the correspondence); carbon copies of 7 letters from Oppenmheimer to various editors and publishers; and 6 typed letters signed, 4 carbon copies, and 2 photocopies of letters from editors and publishers to Oppenheimer (mostly) or McGuane. McGuane's letters and cards are primarily on the writing, the revising, and the efforts to get 'The Bushwacked Piano' published. (Although the first written, it was… Read More

From the Bart Auerbach Collection. A total of 12 pages, 8vo, in ink, both letters with a few minor horizontal fold separations, but in very good condition. With an apparently unrecorded photographic portrait of Lanier. ALS of 24 August 1878: 7 pages, blue ink on white paper, with numerous revisions. The letter is a lengthy proposal to Kirk for writing an introduction for the use of colleges and universities to a book of worthy English sonnet writers through Shakespeare. This would include many minor Elizabethans and would introduce Bartholomew Griffin, "a poet to our public of whom probably not a hundred persons in the United States have ever heard... though beyond question worthy of any man's acquaintance." This project plus a paper on "Old Sonnet-Makers" for the magazine were turned down by Lippincott's. ALS of 15 June 1880: 5 pages, dark brown ink on gray-tan paper, with revisions. Lanier begins: "With inexpressible delight I've got a signing-pen [for the writing of poetry] in my hand. [He… Read More

Lexington, KY: J. Clarke & Co, 1836. Wear to binding, front free endpaper lacking, some toning to sheets, horizontal tear through some leaves at end. 8vo (176 x 107 mm). Later copy of Holley's frontispiece map inserted (tear along one fold). Original muslin, printed paper spine label. Provenance: William Bollaert (1807-1876), writer, chemist, geographer and ethnologist (signature on title, see below); Edward Everett Ayer, presented to the Newberry Library (bookplate, with Newberry removal label; sold Parke Bernet 4-5 May 1966, lot 442). Second, enlarged edition of Holley's promotion of colonization. The 1836 edition is not merely a re-issue of the 1833 edition of Holley's 'Texas: Observations. Historical, Geographical and Descriptive in a Series of Letters.' It is a significantly expanded issue that includes commentary and documents relating to the Texas Revolution. Of the notable additions, Streeter stated, "As Mrs. Holley says in her Preface and again to the same effect in her Introduction, this… Read More

Florence: Privately Printed by the Tipografia Giuntina, 1928. A fine copy. 8vo. Brown half morocco, pebbled cloth boards, top edges gilt, others untrimmed. First edition, number 670 of 1000 copies signed by the author. "Mr. Lawrence has moments of greatness, of course, but hours of something very different" - Virginia Woolf ('The Common Reader'). "Lawrence fully intended to shock and expected his book to be banned. The time-bomb only recently exploded when the issue of the trial ended censorship in England... Even without the eroticism it is a fascinating and well-planned novel rich in post-war observations and character portrait" (Connolly, The Modern Movement, 57). Roberts A42a.

Paris: Jean Hugues, 1961. Internally fine and very well preserved; the slipcase and chemise stained. Folio (330 x 254 mm). [18 bifolia: 58, [2], [1] pages]. Half-title, original etched frontispiece portrait of Leiris by Giacometti, printed title and Leiris' verse illustrated with 12 original etchings by Giacometti, final leaf with justification; sheet size: 325 x 250 mm. Text and plates loose as issued in original printed wrappers; glassine; cloth chemise with printed title on spine; matching slipcase. One of 100 copies of Giacometti's striking collaboration with Leiris, this is copy number 33 signed by Giacometti, Leiris, and initialed by Hugues on the justification page. Printed on BFK Rives. "It was said that Giacometti was never completely at ease with the medium of intaglio printmaking, but one would never know that from the confidence and artistry displayed in these thirteen etchings. Giacometti's genius lay in his ability to reduce his subject to the lines of artistic necessity, leaving… Read More

Stockholm: P. A. Norstedt & Söner, 1893. Light wear to boards, generally a very well-preserved copy. Folio. Half-title. 61 plates, including photogravures, collotypes & halftones from photographs; lithographs, some color, of maps, pottery, etc.; drawings and diagrams of skulls, etc.; plus frontispiece portrait & map. Original half leather, printed boards. First edition in English, with more plates than in the Swedish original. Translated by D. Lloyd Morgan into English. Presentation copy, inscribed by the author on the front free endpaper to the Duke of Loubat. Joseph Florimond Loubat (1831-1927) was a French and American bibliophile, antiquarian, sportsman and philanthropist. The author was a member of the illustrious Swedish family of scientists, and he was the first to scientifically study the ancient Pueblo ruins in Mesa Verde. His book is a visually striking and academically rigorous archaeological and anthropological study of the cliff dwellers in New Mexico, Arizona, Colorado, and Utah,… Read More