Rare books from Turtleman Used Books

Multivolume (5) set. In German, published in Berlin in 1908. A translation: The Complete Works of Henrik Ibsen, total output in five volumes. It also notes: einzige autorisierte deutsche ausgabe, in other words, Only Authorized German Edition. Minor shelf wear, still in excellent shape after 113 years. The first volume begins with a two page forward and a 183 page introduction, which probably would be interesting if only I read German. This is a collector's item and must be rather rare, as I was unable to find anything exactly like this offered for sale at any of my website sources. Printed in Germany in 1908, you have to imagine that two World Wars would have eliminated most of the copies that stayed over there.The five volume set weighs in excess of seven pounds; the list price includes excess shipping costs.

First edition, first printing. A rare and collectible book, written by Charis Wilson (1914 - 2009), author, model and muse, and Edward Weston (1886-1958), photographer. (They were married between 1939 and 1946, while collaborating on this book, among other things.) The book shows little wear, just a small amount of shelf-wear along the lower edge and a 4 cm tear on page 87, professionally repaired by library conservator many years ago. No dust jacket, but the book is encased in a custom-made museum quality, acid-free, archival box, as shown in photos 1 and 2. The book is signed with an inscription by Wilson, dated 1991. Your purchase will also come with a photograph of the author, also from 1991 (photo #6). The consigner of this book was a close friend of Wilson's. She also has a copy of the book Ruggles of Red Gap, written by Wilson's father, Harry Leon Wilson, which could be purchased in a separate transaction.

First edition, 1894 on the title page. No dust jacket. Some wear at the corners and edges of the spine. Dark green fabric, not worn through at any point, with gilt printing on the spine. Black endpapers are cracking over the spine joint. Pages are clean, tight and unmarked. Owner's name on first page after the front endpaper. That page and the next embossed with "Botanical Museum, Harvard University". New Riverside Edition. In excellent condition for its age. Also very rare.

This little book of poems appears to have been self-published and is signed by the author. It shows no wear other than a small spot on the back cover. In searching for comparable copies, I found just two available online. I set my price at a third less than the lower priced one. I can't say if those other two were reflecting the market for this little book or if they were just two examples of wishful thinkers. If the latter is the case, now there's three of us. Otherwise, this is a bargain compared to the market.

Small amount of wear at the corners. Not bad at all for 119 years old. Light tan fabric has darkened a bit and there are a few small brown spots on the front cover. Decorations on the front and spine are still clear and bright. Pages are clean, tight and intact. No significant yellowing. A gift inscriptioninside the front cover and a quotation has been written on the half-title page. Over 50 illustrations. A rare and highly valued book.

Although it says in the title that the series is twelve volumes, there is also an index, giving a total of thirteen volumes. The covers are deep red fabric covered boards with leather over the spine. The wear is almost all in that leather area where there has been damage at the top, and/or bottom of some of the spines (some can be seen in the photos). Otherwise, there is little damage. Pages are clean, tight and unmarked, with no yellowing. The top edges of the pages are gilted as are the print and decorations on the spines. Each book has a color frontspiece and other scattered illustrations as well. The original owner inserted various clippings and pictures into the books, which I have chosen to leave for their historical value. A few of them are shown in the final four photos. This set will ship at over 24 pounds and may be shipped in two boxes. It will be shipped with insurance and will require a signature. Escess shipping costs are included in the list price.

We have here a 12-volume set of the complete works of Henrik Ibsen, translated into English, published in 1908. All show very little wear other than being quite sun-faded over the spines. The leather covers are still smooth and intact, with a lovely oxblood shade and a bright gilt shield with the title information. The spines feel more like suede but the gilt print is still clear. The pages are clean, tight and intact, with no significant age-related yellowing. The bindings are stitched with the covered glued on. There is some splitting of the glue near the front of eight of the twelve books, as often happens with these turn of the century bindings, but nothing is coming loose (see photo #10). The twelfth volume is a biography of the playwrite. The previous owner has included a clipping of Ibsen's obituary inside the front cover of this volume. This is a rather rare and highly valued set. This set will ship at about ten pounds. It will be shipped with insurance and signature required. All excess… Read More

Cover is not badly worn for a book over 120 years old, showing mild wear along the edges and at the corners, and a bit of a dark stain to the lower front. Pages are tight and intact with just a few small margin notes. Owner's name and some notes on the front endpaper. A small stain (1 cm dia.), possibly coffee or tea, on the lower page edges, from the half-title page to about page 7 of the poem (see photo #3). The stain does not reach any print. This is Alexander Pope's peotic translationof four books of Homer's Iliad. This edition is from Macmillan's Pocket English Classics series and was originally published in 1899. This is from the third printing, May, 1900. The introduction materials cover 55 pages before the poems begin. This is a very rare book, one which I have been unable to find another like it in any of my online sources. The closest thing I found had no picture and was asking twice my price. With so many reprints, facsimiles and PODs out there, this is an original.

No dust jacket. The green fabric covered boards show little wear, mainly at the corners and the ends of the spine. Brown and gilt embossed decoration and title on the front cover and spine, with brown printed and embossed publisher's logo on the rear cover. The deckle-edged pages are clean, tight and unmarked. There is the beginning of a hinge split in the front endpaper. The frontispiece appears to be the onlt illustration. The book is an accounting of the time Stephenson and his new wife spent in an abandoned mining camp while on their honeymoon. Examining other copies available online, there appears to be some dispute as to which might be the first edition. I'm not going to make that claim here, but it is clearly in the running. It does seem to be a rare and highly valued edition. Included inside the back cover is a clipping about Stephenson's stay in Silverado, from the San Fransisco Sunday newspaper, dated May 11, 1980.

Decorative paper covered boards with leather at the corners and over the spine. Leather worn through at three of the four corners, with less severe wear on the spine. Gilt print and decoration on the spine, with raised bands and tooled decoration as well. Decorative endpapers, too. Front free endpaper is almost torn loose and there is some staining between that and the next page, where the owner's stamp can be found. This staining is not found elsewhere. Binding is solid. The book is illustrated with 150 woodcuts and 4 maps and plans, in color. Pages are tight, clean and unmarked, with decorated page ends all around. First map is the frontispiece, while the other three are fold-outs attached at the end of the book. All appear fully intact, although the lower edge of one is a little tattered along the lower edge. This book is very rare. Not ex-library. Appears to be a first US edition. Will be shipped with insurance and signature required.

This is a six-volume set of the complete works of James Whitcomb Riley, presented in the order that Riley composed the poems. The books show some wear at the corners and the head and tail of the spine. All have gilt on the top page edges. Volume three has a slice in the fabric over the spine and Volume two has a 1.5 cm split on the top edge. Each volume has a frontispiece (photo #7 shows the one from volume six). Hinge splits (like the one shown in photo #6) have occurred in the front of volumes 1-3 and in the rear of volume 4. Small amount of water stain along the top edge is evident in volumes 5 and 6 (see photo #8). All pages are clean, tight and unmarked. Gift inscription, dated 1914, on the front endpapers of volumes 1 and 2. This set will ship at over 9 pounds, so it is not available for international shipping. Excess shipping costs are included in the list price.

A ten-volume set of the works of Rudyard Kipling. Not ALL the works, by any means, but a nice representative sample. This is identified as the de Luxe Edition and is part of a limited, numbered set published about 1910 for sale in America. This is #590 of 1,000 (see photo #10). The books show wear at many corners and the top and bottom of the spine, to varying degrees. Gilt top page edges. Books of this age often develop hinge splits where the glued portions meet the stitched body. While these can occur in the front or rear, the front is more common, due to the way people normally hold books. Only three of these volumes have developed a mild split, all in front, near the title page. In a few volumes some of the lower edges of some pages have not been separated (see photo #12). The titles are as follows:
The Light That Failed; 2. The Phantom Rickshaw; 3. Plain Tales from the Hills; 4. Backroom Ballads and Other Verses; 5. Soldiers Three; 6. Under the Deodars; 7. Mine Own People; 8. The Story of the… Read More

First edition, signed by the author on the half-title page. The book and the dust jacket show no significant wear, like new. Looks as if it has never been read. Signature is on a card that was then glued to the page. Seems to be a very rare item. Comes with a letter of authenticity.

First edition. Signed by author on the title page, with inscription. A biography of the founder of Trident Foods and a history of the company. Very little wear. The book is almost like new and the wear to the dust jacket is minimal. A rare book. This book will ship at about four pounds. Excess shipping costs are included in the list price.

First edition. No dust jacket. Deep green fabric covered boards with gilt decorationon the front and gilt print on the spine. Boards showing through at the corners and the fabric is splitting along the upper rear edge of the spine (about 4 cm, see photo #4). The pages are clean, tight and unmarked. A tear on the title page was once repaired with tape. The tape is long gone, but the tear remains (photo #3).
I have found that this has been considered a book important enough to have been reprinted in this century, some editions are quite fancy. However, there appear to be no copies of this original on the market, until now, that is. Hence, this book is about as rare as can be. I have no idea if my price is fair or a bargain. You be the judge.