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Rare and Antiquarian Books

Performing Arts

There is a long and ancient history of the performing arts in many societies throughout the ages, and there are plenty of antique and rare performing arts books in the Biblio Rare Book Room. Some of the books listed are limited edition copies of beloved plays, and others are fantastically detailed accounts of famous ballets and operas. Many of the books featured below are antique and one of a kind, and they will be sure to add value to your rare and antique book collection.

Results 1 - 15 of 319
Steps in Time an Autobiography (1959) (Signed)
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Steps in Time an Autobiography (1959) (Signed)

by Fred Astaire

  • Used
  • very good
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Seller
Fort Lee, New Jersey
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This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
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A$7,770.42
A$7.50 shipping to USA

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New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black boards with silver lettering on spine and small cut-out depressions of top-hats, canes and dance shoes on cover, shows almost no wear with very little edgewear on top of spine, Very Good +. Binding tight. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on first title front page in black ballpoint pen "FRED ASTAIRE".Dust jacket has some edgewear with one small tear on edge but overall Very Good. Not price clipped. 338 pages. Pages very slightly yellowed but clean. B&W photo illustrations throughout. Not stated but assumed first edition. Very desirable Signed First Edition..
Item Price
A$7,770.42
A$7.50 shipping to USA
Steps in Time an Autobiography (1959) (Signed)
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Steps in Time an Autobiography (1959) (Signed)

by Fred Astaire

  • Used
  • very good
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Edition
First Edition
Seller
Fort Lee, New Jersey
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$7,770.42
A$7.50 shipping to USA

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New York: Harper & Brothers, 1959. Book. Very Good. Hardcover. Signed by Author(s). First Edition. 8vo - over 7¾" - 9¾" tall. Hard cover, black boards with silver lettering on spine and small cut-out depressions of top-hats, canes and dance shoes on cover, shows almost no wear with very little edgewear on top of spine, Very Good. Binding tight. SIGNED BY AUTHOR on gatefold title page in black ballpoint pen "FRED ASTAIRE". Dust jacket Good + (not price clipped) fading on spine, has some edgewear/tears with chips, sticker applied to front dj: A Reminder to see "Another Evening With Fred Astaire" NBC 9:00 PM EST Wednesday, November 4 sponsored by Chrysler Corporation. There is a letter included from the manager of the Chrysler Corporation Promotion office dated Oct. 15 1959 to a newspaper columnist. 338 pages. Pages slightly yellowed but clean. B&W photo illustrations throughout. First Edition. The best, most beautiful example of this signed first edition seen thus far..
Item Price
A$7,770.42
A$7.50 shipping to USA
New Screen News (A collection of 120 magazines from 1951-1962)
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New Screen News (A collection of 120 magazines from 1951-1962)

  • Used
  • good
  • Paperback
Condition
Used - Good
Binding
Paperback
Seller
Rutherglen, Victoria
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$5,000.00
A$50.00 shipping to USA

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Description:
Melbourne: Hoyts Theatres Ltd . A broken run of 120 various issues of this film magazine from Volume 5, No. 3 (January 5, 1951) to Volume 16, No. 9 (April 27, 1962). In 1951, New Screen News was published weekly by the Australian chain Hoyts Theatres. At that time it was edited by Ken Brumley and boasted a weekly circulation of 50,000 copies. It became fortnightly from about July 1951. Many of the magazines in this fascinating collection are in fine condition. Overall the condition is good, with some of the older magazines having creases, small tears and wear. Profusely illustrated with b/w, sepia and coloured photos. A full-page advertisement on the back cover of each issue. A wealth of information for film buffs with many articles on the Hollywood films and stars of the day. 24cm x 18cm stapled pictorial paper wraps. Pagination varies from 24 to 32 pages. This rare and beautiful collection comprises 26 issues from 1951, 17 from 1952, 1953 (19 issues), 1954 (8), 1955 (9), 1956 (3), 1957 (8),… Read More
Item Price
A$5,000.00
A$50.00 shipping to USA
Insomnia Is Good For You
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Insomnia Is Good For You

by [SELLERS, Peter] GREIFER, Lewis and RICHLER, Mordecai

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
London, London
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Item Price
A$8,819.55
A$16.99 shipping to USA

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Description:
London: Park Lane Films, 1957. Shooting script, 33 mimeographed pp., stapled in to oversized red card wrappers. Typed title label to front cover, typed ownership label ('Park Lane Films Ltd., Quadrex House, Park Lane, W.1.') to inside front cover. Contents very clean, covers a little creased at edges, and with one small (1cm) closed tear to leading edge. MORDECAI RICHLER'S FIRST SCREENPLAY, FOR ONE OF PETER SELLERS' MOST RARELY-SEEN FILMS. In 1955 Peter Sellers was a huge radio star, thanks mostly to The Goon Show, but the film career which would later define him was yet to begin. 1955 was the year he appeared in The Ladykillers, his first major feature, with his idol Alec Guinness. Both the film and Sellers' performance garnered excellent reviews, but somehow it failed to launch him, and for the next two years he continued to work on The Goon Show, appearing on screen only in spin-offs from his radio work -- most notably The Case Of The Mukkinese Battle-Horn (1956), the… Read More
Item Price
A$8,819.55
A$16.99 shipping to USA
Original costume design for Le Coq d'Or

Original costume design for Le Coq d'Or

by [RIMSKY-KORSAKOV]

  • Used
  • Signed
Condition
Used
Seller
Syosset, New York
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Item Price
A$5,719.09
A$12.50 shipping to USA

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Benois, Alexandre 1870-1960. Watercolour and pencil on laid paper with partial watermark "MBM." 320 x 240 mm. Signed by the artist with initials and dated 1932 in pencil at lower left. With pencilled notes in Benois's hand. Very slightly soiled; 35 mm. tear to blank right margin repaired; remnants of mounting paper to upper corners of verso. Possibly a preparatory drawing for the Tsaritsa's costume. Rimsky-Korsakov's last opera, Coq d'Or (The Golden Cockerel) was first performed in Moscow at the Solodovnikov Theatre (Sergey Ivanovich Zimin's private opera company), on September 24/October 7, 1909. It is in a prologue, three acts, and an epilogue by Nikolay Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov to a libretto by Vladimir Nikolayevich Bel'sky after the eponymous imitation folk tale in verse by Alexander Sergeyevich Pushkin, based in turn on 'The House of the Weathercock' and 'Legend of the Arabian Astrologer' from The Alhambra by Washington Irving. "The Golden Cockerel is the only one of Rimsky- Korsakov's… Read More
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A$5,719.09
A$12.50 shipping to USA
Original costume design by the important Russian artist Korovine, in all likelihood for an...

Original costume design by the important Russian artist Korovine, in all likelihood for an operatic character. Untitled and undated by ca. 1900-1920

by [OPERA]. Korovine, Konstantine Alekseyevich 1861-1939

  • Used
Condition
Used
Seller
Syosset, New York
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A$5,361.64
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Executed in ink, pencil, gouache, and silver paint on wove paper. Unsigned, but with monogrammatic handstamp to lower left corner. With annotations in ink in Russian relative to various parts of the costume. 13.125" x 8.75" (332 x 222 mm.). Slightly worn and soiled; some edge tears and repairs; upper right corner with erasure resulting in minor paper loss. Korovine designed costumes for productions of Russian operas including Borodin's Prince Igor, Mussorgsky's Khovanshchina, and Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko and Le Coq d'Or. "Konstantine Korovine is one of the most famous of Russia's twentieth-century stage designers ... [He] made his debut as a theatrical painter in 1885 when he executed the sets and costumes for the production of Snegurochka at Savva Mamontov's Private Opera (after Vasnetsov's designs) and, thereafter, he emerged rapidly as an independent stage designer - decorating, according to one souce, 80 operas, 37 ballets and 17 dramas during his lifetime. Korovine brought to the Russian stage… Read More
Item Price
A$5,361.64
A$12.50 shipping to USA
The Woman In White
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The Woman In White

by Collins, Wilkie

  • Used
  • Hardcover
  • first
Condition
Used - Good-
Edition
First Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Salem, Oregon
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$9,324.60
A$5.00 shipping to USA

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The Woman In White (1860 Harper & Brothers 1st Edition) BY WILKIE COLLINS. New York: Harper & Brothers, Publishers, 1860.[2], 260, [4, ads] pp. States 1860 on the title page. In-text illustrations by John McLenan. Publisher's dk. brown stamped heavy cardboard boards with elaborate blind-stamped Harper and Brothers cartouche on front and back boards. Ads state B. Miss Mulock spelled correctly. Ads list eleven titles, and verso advertising The Mill on the Floss [Gasson p. 160.]Used. Good- Condition: Our copy lacks its spine, otherwise in good condition and a good candidate for rebinding. Chocolate brown endpapers are in good shape. Please see our photos. Will ship from Oregon. We consider offers.
Item Price
A$9,324.60
A$5.00 shipping to USA
[Villancicos, Eglogas and Canciones sung and danced in Naples] Qüestión de amor. Agora...

[Villancicos, Eglogas and Canciones sung and danced in Naples] Qüestión de amor. Agora nuevamente impresso: con algunas chosas añadidas

by [Cardona Alonso de]

  • Used
  • very good
Condition
Used - Very Good
Seller
Milan, Italy
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Item Price
A$31,096.65
A$25.00 shipping to USA

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4° (mm 185x135); cc. LXXIIII. Caratteri gotici; titolo e anno impressi in rosso, entro cornice silografica a quattro scomparti e con bellissimo legno centrale; al verso dell'ultima carta, marca tipografica silografica. Legatura ottocentesca in mezza pelle. Bell'esemplare, nonostante i margini non amplissimi.
Very rare edition of the earlier Spanish sentimental romance, originally published in Valencia in 1513.
About the authorship of Qüestión de amor, one of the most intriguing among the Spanish sentimental romances:
"In a series of articles on the authorship of the earlier sentimental romance Qüestión de amor, I suggested first that the anonymous author was a member of the aristocratic Cardona family (1994a) basing this attribution on a series of clues deeply imbedded within the text itself – in other words, evidence interior to the work. Furthermore, I suggested that the author was the poet Alonso de Cardona whose work was found in the Cancionero General of 1511 (1994b and 2006). Finally,… Read More
Item Price
A$31,096.65
A$25.00 shipping to USA
Paris-Théâtre
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Paris-Théâtre: Interiors of Paris theatres, opera houses and muscial halls

by Bulla Frères (éditeurs)

  • Used
Condition
Used
Edition
First and only edition
Seller
Tuebingen, Germany
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Item Price
A$5,042.70
A$20.00 shipping to USA

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Chromolithogr. title with a proscenium with view of a theatre building, 23 interior views of theatres, opera houses, muscial halls, of one arena and one circus all in chromolithography and with seatnumbering. Front and rear paste-downs with printed tables with price lists. Publisher's blue cloth, richly gilt front cover. Oblong-folio (355 x 275 mm). Covers slightly soiled, exremeties rubbed. Not in SMPK, Ornamentale Vorlagenwerke des 19. Jahrhunderts. A rare and highly interesting work regarding interior designs and various entrance fees of Paris theatres, opera houses and muscial halls, which of course is a mark for their prestige. The following theatres are shown on the plates: 1. Opéra. 2. Italiens. 3. Opéra-comique. 4. Lyrique. 5. Francais. 6. Odéon. 7. Gymnase. 8. Ambigue-Comiques. 9. Porte-Saint-Martin. 10. Variétés. 11. Vaudeville. 12. Châtelet. 13. Gaîté. 14. Palais-Royal. 15. Folies-Dramatiques. 16. Cluny. 17. Bouffes-Parisiens. 18. Menus-Plaisirs. 19. Athénée. 20. Folies-Marigny.… Read More
Item Price
A$5,042.70
A$20.00 shipping to USA
[A miracle on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela] La Rappresentatione d’un miracolo di dua...
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[A miracle on the Camino to Santiago de Compostela] La Rappresentatione d’un miracolo di dua Pellegrini, che andorno a San Iacopo di Galitia. Nuovamente ristampata

  • Used
  • very good
Condition
Used - Very Good
Seller
Milan, Italy
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Item Price
A$10,085.40
A$25.00 shipping to USA

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4° (mm 200x135); cc. (8), segnate A-B4. Al frontespizio, silografia dell'Angelo al di sopra di un'altra silografia scenico-narrativa (mm 90x115); alla carta B1r, silografia a tre quarti di pagina (mm 73x102); al verso dell'ultima carta, la medesima silografia del frontespizio. Elegante legatura tardo-ottocentesca - verosimilmente inglese - in marocchino marrone con filettatura in oro ai piatti e titolo in oro lungo il dorso. Bell'esemplare.
Provenienza: Fairfax-Murray ? (cfr. Sander, 6220 [nota]); Libreria Il Polifilo, Milano (Cat. XIII [1947], n. 69).
Rarissima edizione fiorentina, splendidamente illustrata da tre silografie scenico-narrative. Cioni, 175-76; De Batines, 35-36; Sander, 6220 [nota]; Kristeller, 185.
Quella del frontespizio, reimpressa al verso dell'ultima carta, riprende il legno della prima edizione [Firenze, fine del sec. XV- inizi del sec. XVI, cfr. Sander, 6215, tav. 646, De Marinis, 166, tav. CXCVIII). Il secondo legno, che rappresenta un giovane uomo inginocchiato davanti a un… Read More
Item Price
A$10,085.40
A$25.00 shipping to USA
[The Menagerie, The Circus, The Puppet Theater and Summer in the Park] Lebende Bilder
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[The Menagerie, The Circus, The Puppet Theater and Summer in the Park] Lebende Bilder

by [Bonn Franz (München, 1830 - Regensburg, 1894)]

  • Used
  • very good
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good
Seller
Milan, Italy
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$8,152.37
A$25.00 shipping to USA

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(cm 33x27,5). An elaborate - very rare - children's movable and pop-up book by the Munich lawyer and author of humourous verse, Franz Bonn (cfr. https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franz_Bonn). This complete with four splendid perspective scenes, each with five different levels. The scenes are "The Menagerie", "The Circus", "The Puppet Theater" (with a rotating disc), and "Summer in the Park". With verses by Mrs. Bonn. Klotz I, 592, 4. We could trace just one other copy (Munich, IJB).
Item Price
A$8,152.37
A$25.00 shipping to USA
[«One of the most famous carousels of the European courts of the Ancien Régime»] 'Relation du...

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Description:
8° (mm 175x110); cc. (4), 608, (24). Dopo le prime quattro carte, splendida tavola calcografica ripiegata - firmata "J. Ziarnko" e datata Paris 1612 - fuori testo (mm 265x300, margini inclusi), raffigurante il torneo di cavalieri che si volse presso la Place Royale. Legatura coeva in pergamena, titolo manoscritto al taglio-piede del volume. Alcuni fascicoli naturalmente bruniti, tuttavia buon esemplare.

The third 'annata' of what is considered the first French magazine hosts the description and the (first?) iconographic witness of the tournament entitled 'Le Romant des Chevaliers de la Gloire', organized by the Queen Regent, Maria de' Medici, to celebrate the wedding of Louis XIII with Anne of Austria. At the pages 331-58 of the volume there is the report of the celebrations and, above all, of the carrousel, with a detailed legenda of the large plate. A description of the festival was published in the same year - Le Romant des chevaliers de la gloire containing plusieurs hautes et fameuses… Read More
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A$5,378.88
A$25.00 shipping to USA
Fields of Wonder
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Fields of Wonder

by Hughes, Langston; Marius Flothius [Association]

  • Used
  • near fine
  • Hardcover
  • Signed
  • first
Condition
Used - Near Fine
Edition
1st Edition
Binding
Hardcover
Seller
Las Vegas , Nevada
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$6,993.45
A$8.50 shipping to USA

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New York: Alfred A. Knopf / A Borzoi Book, 1947 First printing of the first edition, original publisher’s teal cloth, yellow top edge; in original dust jacket; written while Hughes was a visiting writer in residence at Atlanta University, containing over 70 poems including “Border Line” that was submitted by Hughes for the 1962 anthology Poet’s Choice. A presentation copy from Langston Hughes to Marius Flothius: “Especially for / Marius Flothius / with my thanks for your excellent / musical settings / of my poems, / Sincerely / Langston Hughes / New York, November 1, 1955.” Additionally, loosely laid-in is a brochure for Hughes’ “The Rhythms of the World” and a single page carbon copy of Hughes’ short poem “Cross.”
Marius Flothuis (1914–2000) was a Dutch composer who set six of Hughes’ poems to music.
Shallow crimping to cloth spine ends, the very tip of the bottom back corner slightly softened, and light toning to… Read More
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A$6,993.45
A$8.50 shipping to USA
Peace and Love [original screenplay]
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Peace and Love [original screenplay]

by Varda, Agnès

  • Used
  • very good
Condition
Used - Very Good
Seller
Berlin, Germany
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$7,395.96
A$18.00 shipping to USA

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After the international success of Jacques Demy's film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, Demy was offered to direct a Hollywood film with Columbia Pictures in 1967. Agnès Varda joined her husband to California, where she became fascinated by the counterculture that was taking place in Los Angeles – from the Vietnam War protests to the formation of the Black Panthers, the Women's Liberation, and the Hippie movement.
A year later in 1968, Varda completed her screenplay about the hippie culture in California, titled Peace and Love, which was commissioned by Gerry Ayres, the same producer who brought Jacques Demy to Columbia Pictures. The studio liked the script but would not grant Varda the final cut, leading to an abrupt end to negotiations with Varda walking away from the project.
In Varda's film Les plages d'Agnès [The Beaches of Agnès] from 2008, Gerry Ayres adds to this incident:
"Agnès had the chance to make a film for Columbia Pictures at the time, but she slapped the hand of the man who pinched… Read More
Item Price
A$7,395.96
A$18.00 shipping to USA
[an early Peep-Show of a Circus] Tierdressurem - Zirkus [Addestramento di animali del circo...
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[an early Peep-Show of a Circus] Tierdressurem - Zirkus [Addestramento di animali del circo Training of circus animals], [serie 45, fogli dal n° 296 al n° 301 (fondale)]

by Engelbrecht Martin (1684-1756)

  • Used
  • first
Condition
Used - Very Good+
Seller
Milan, Italy
Seller rating:
This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.
Item Price
A$8,404.50
A$25.00 shipping to USA

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Complete series of 6 prospective copperplates engravings (each plate measures ca. mm 200x165) with strictly contemporary hand colouring. Very nice condition.
They scenery-like sheets create a perspective image if arranged one behind the other.
Appreciated by spectators attending from balconies, the view exhibits an extraordinary street circus with various animals: an elephant, bears, savants dogs playing comedies, acrobatic monkeys, etc.; trainers wear sumptuous oriental costumes.
Cf. https://www.finebooksmagazine.com/blog/miniature-theaters-martin-engelbrecht
A. Milano-W. Seitz, Numerazione dei diorami teatrali di Martin Engelbrecht, in La camera dei sortilegi. Autoritratto di una società nei diorami teatrali del '700, Mostra diretta da G. Strehler, Milano 1987, p. 61.
Item Price
A$8,404.50
A$25.00 shipping to USA