Rare books from Uncharted Books

New York: Knopf, 1959. First Edition. Hardcover. Fine/very good +. 8vo. Blue quarter cloth over brown boards. Dust jacket. 241 pp. Jacket has minor wear to edges, some scuffing at header and footer of spine. 1/4" closed tear at upper left of rear jacket cover. Book is fine. This is a scarce first edition of Updike's third book, his first collection of stories.

Venice: Appresso Gio Battista, Marchio Sessa, & fratelli, 1573. 2nd edition. Hardcover. Fair. In Italian and Latin. 8vo. 8 1/4 x 6. Elaborate printer's device depicting a cat between cherubs on title page. Collated and complete. [vi], 389 ff. Binder's copy. Front board loose, 1 inch chip from spine base, boards rubbed with some loss from corners, ownership stamps and numerous handwritten names on front & rear flyleaf, minor tape repairs to front hinge, minimal marginalia. A collection of poems by the Roman poet Horace, with commentary by Italian humanist Giovanni Fabrini, a grammarian and linguist whose skills earned him a position teaching members of the aristocracy in Venice. This second edition was published seven years after the 1566 original which, along with his publications of works by Cicero, Terenzio, Virgil, etc., was credited with popularizing classical Latin during the Renaissance era. Horace's poems were extremely well-regarded by contemporary scholars (Quintillian stated, 'He can be… Read More

Washington: Cornelius Wendell, 1857. First Edition. Cloth. Very good. Large 4to. Brown cloth with embossed decorations. Many steel engravings, woodcuts, and color lithographs throughout, as well as fold-out maps and charts bound in. Part I: [xvi], 258 pp. Part II: [xiii], 174 pp. Cloth covering spine is removed, but binding is not affected. Wear to edges and corners. Black marks on right and bottom block edges and at bottom of title page. Ownership stamp of James E. Gillikan on front free endpaper, and signature of Sam G. Bugh on title page. Minor discoloration throughout, typically on right margin. Occasional offsetting to pages which face illustrations. Tight and clean, interior in excellent condition. This is the first edition of the first volume of a seminal text of Western American history. William Hemsley Emory was the civil engineer and surveyor tasked with mapping the new border between the US and Mexico following the Mexican-American War, in which the US had acquired the New Mexico,… Read More

Albany, NY: Hoffman and White, 1833. 2nd Edition Revised. Leather bound. Good. 8vo. Contemporary calf. Large folding frontispiece, additional folding map, full-page and text illustrations. 400 pp. Leather worn. Front hinge split but firmly attached. Contemporary signatures in front and end matter. Foxing throughout, mostly marginal. Frontispiece intact but tender at creases. One crease appears to have once been torn and repaired with thread. An excellent copy. This is a scarce 2nd edition of popular 19th century historian Priest's most influential book. All of Priest's books, including this one, toe the line between history, speculation, religion, and outright fantasy. American Antiquities promotes the theory that a lost Israelite tribe once existed in America and built elaborate "mounds" and architectural wonders -- a popular idea at the time, owing to the disbelief that the perceived savage indigenous people couldn't have had the skill and intellect to build these themselves. Racism is a theme… Read More

London: Printed for Thomas Wilcox, 1757. First Edition. Boards. Good. 4to. Nineteenth-century half-calf over marbled boards. xii, 255pp. Front board detached along with first two endpapers. Endpapers not original, added later. Some unobtrusive foxing throughout. Lacks the folding frontispiece. Interior is excellent and otherwise complete. This is a rare first edition of the "first and classic history of New York" (Streeter). A foundational text for any collection of books about New York or American colonial history, based on the official records of the administration of New York and on the earlier works of Colden and Charlevoix. The first edition covers history to the year 1732, though later reprints extended this coverage further. Smith was a British loyalist during the Revolutionary War who fled New York for Quebec City, where he became chief justice for all of Lower Canada throughout the late 18th century. Says Larned: "Within the period subsequent to the English Revolution, Smith is still… Read More

This is a unique collection of paper ephemera regarding an 1895 celebratory dinner honoring Stephen Crane, whose The Red Badge of Courage was at the time a modest success in its second printing. The event was hosted by Elbert Hubbard, the influential publisher, editor, and founder of the Roycroft arts and crafts community. These items belonged to Edith Maclure Love, a friend of both Stephen Crane and Elbert Hubbard. The following items are included in this sale: -Two handwritten letters from Stephen Crane to Elbert Hubbard, both signed -Program and menu from an event by The Society of the Philistines honoring Mr. Crane, December 19, 1895 -First issue of Roycroft Quarterly magazine featuring a medley of Crane's works, a souvenir of the dinner The two brief letters are written from Hartwood, N.Y. and dated Dec. 5th and Jan. 28. The year is not stated but 1895/96 is very likely. The first letter references Mr. Crane traveling to Buffalo for the upcoming dinner in his honor on Dec. 19, 1895. It is… Read More

Paris: J. Hetzel, 1866. First Edition. Cloth. Very good. In French. Large 8vo. Publisher's cloth with extensive gilt-tooled decorations on spine and cover. All edges gilt. 259 illustrations by Riou and de Montaut (though title page states 150 Riou illustrations). 467 pp. Minor scuffing to edges and sunning to spine. Corners bumped. Tears to cloth covering spine edges in the following places: 1.5" closed tear top right header, 2 closed 1/8" tears along right, 1/2" tear right footer, 2" tear left footer. Some small chips at spine footer and 1/8" strip lost from spine header. Some spots of discoloration to rear cover. Hinges are overopened but binding is quite sound. Minor foxing throughout, mostly marginal. Tight and clean. First double-volume edition, following only the magazine serials and the two-volume first printing, preceding all English editions. A beautiful copy of Verne's second novel in very good condition.

Milwaukee: Casanova, 1932. First Edition, First Printing. Wraps. Near fine/fair. 8vo. Publisher's wraps. Slipcase. Deckle fore edge. Tipped-in frontispiece portrait of Faulkner. 53 pp. Minor sunning to spine with title slightly faded. Several small brown specks of discoloration on rear wrapper. Slipcase is cracked and quite worn, with a large damp stain and much of the maroon paper chipped off. This is a limited edition first printing (no. 214 of 525 copies) of Faulkner's collection or poetry and prose. It features a brief poem by Hemingway on the rear wrapper. Colophon states that this was the first title printed by the press. Uncommon in slipcase.

London: J. Johnson, 1792. 2nd edition. Leather bound. Very good. 8vo. Contemporary embossed calf. Marbled edges. [xix], [1], 452 pp. Boards are detached, and top layer of leather missing from spine. Text block is near fine, with no foxing and only a few dark spots of tanning in margins. Pages are bright and crisp. 7 instances of pencilled underlining or brackets, otherwise the text is completely clean. From the library of noted collector Edward Hailstone, with his leather armorial bookplate inside front cover. "D. of Grafton, 1793" is signed on title page, which was George Henry FitzRoy, the 4th Duke of Grafton. This copy is listed in the "Catalogue of the Interesting Contents of Walton Hall, Near Wakefield; The Property of the Late Edward Hailstone" (Hailstone, 1891, Item #2663), which mentions Grafton's signature. This is a second edition of the foundational text of feminism and the women's rights movement, with a near fine text block and a fascinating provenance. (PMM 242).

[London]: Printed for the author, 1788. First Edition. Leather bound. Near fine. 8vo. Contemporary quarter leather binding with marbled boards and speckled edges. Vol. 1: xvi, [8], 326. Vol. 2: [10], 326. Contemporary bookplate inside both covers from Cholmondeley Library which has left shadow on facing pages. Vol. 2 bears the inscription "For the Earl of Orford," which would have been Horace or Horatio Walpole. Very minor wear to edges. Interiors are perfect with no foxing or damage of any kind. This is a first edition set of finely bound memoirs by eccentric nobleman Thicknesse. Thicknesse was a notoriously petty and scandalous figure who was infamous for provoking rival authorities with outlandish, insulting gestures. His "gift" of a wooden cannon to Lord Orwell (detailed in the second volume of the memoir) was considered so insulting that it resulted in Thicknesse being sued for libel and imprisoned for 3 months. Upon his death, Thicknesse willed that his severed right hand be shipped to his… Read More

New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1980. Uncorrected Proof. Paperback. Very good. Tall 8vo. Wraps. 266 pp. Sunning to wraps. Small crease to bottom corner p. 59. An excellent clean and unmarked copy. This is an advance uncorrected proof of Burroughs' 1980 novel.

London: Cassell and Co, 1886. First Edition. Hardcover. Very good. 8vo. Original red publisher's cloth. Fold-out map. viii; 311 pp.; [16] pp. of ads. Minor scuffing and discoloration to cloth. Cock to spine. Bookplate inside front cover. Previous owner's signature, dated 1886, on title page. Tight and clean. An excellent copy. This is a first edition, second issue of Stevenson's classic adventure novel. "Pleasure" on p. 40. Ads dated 5.G-7.86. (Prideaux 18) This copy is from the estate of Rex Maughan (1936-2021), major Robert Louis Stevenson collector and archivist who, as Chairman of the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, greatly contributed to the preservation of Stevenson's estate in Valima, Samoa.

New York: Scribner's, 1887. First American Edition. Paperback. Good. 8vo. Publisher's wraps. 308 pp. plus ads. Several chips and closed tears to wrap edges, including a 1" loss at footer of spine. Bookplate on verso of title page. Tight and clean. This is a first American edition of Stevenson's short story collection. Uncommon in original yellow wraps. This copy is from the estate of Rex Maughan (1936-2021), major Robert Louis Stevenson collector and archivist who, as Chairman of the Robert Louis Stevenson Museum, greatly contributed to the preservation of Stevenson's estate in Valima, Samoa.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1909. First Thus. Hardcover. Near fine. 8vos. Illustrated. Publisher's green cloth, front boards stamped in blind, spines lettered in gilt. Gilt top edge. McMurtry's bookplates in each volume. Minor rubbing to spines. Some hinges slightly overopened, but all volumes are tight and clean. Excellent condition. This is a complete 25-volume set of the works of George Eliot which belonged to author and book collector Larry McMurtry. Each volume bears his bookplate -- the horseshoe-shaped brand his father and grandfather used on the McMurtry cattle -- and was a part of his extensive collection at his home in Archer City, TX. The books also bear the attractive bookplate of Clara Louisa Houck as well as a signed presentation leaf to Ms. Houck from the publisher. A near fine set with fascinating provenance.

Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1897. Hardcover. fine. 8vo. Contemporary three quarters red morocco over marbled boards. 6-panel hubbed spine with gilt lettering and decorations. Gilt top edge. 103 engraved plates. Fine condition. Hand-signed and numbered by Harte on limitation page of Vol. I. Many of the engraved plates are signed by the artists, including a signed frontispiece by Frederic Remington in Vol. V. This is a fine limited edition set of the works of Bret Harte. No. 293 of 350 printed. The first 14 volumes, offered here, comprise the original printing of the set. Additional volumes were added to the set in 1900-1903, with a final 20th volume in 1915. (BAL 7384).