1899. Hardcover. True first edition of this popular satirical novel by Mary Cholmondeley for which she is best remembered today. Red Pottage is the story of adultery and a clergyman who destroys his sister's art. The first plot contained in this novel is that of Rachael West, an heiress and her love for a man trapped in an illicit affair who is doomed to die by his own hand. The second plot is about a gifted female writer who is unable to break away and start her own life free of her family (not unlike the author's own life). Mary Cholmondeley (1859-1925) began writing seriously in her teens. She initially placed some short stories. Her first novel was The Danvers Jewels (1887), a detective story that won a small following. It was followed by other novels but Red Pottage was her first bestseller. Later works such as Moth and Rust (1902) and Notwithstanding (1913) were less successful. The Lowest Rung (1908) and The Romance of his Life (1921) were story collections - the latter, her final book, was dedicated to the essayist and critic Percy Lubbock. Lubbock later commemorated her in Mary Cholmondeley: A Sketch from Memory (1928) [Wikipedia]. Bound in dark red cloth with gilt titling to spine and front cover. Light bumping and rubbing but very nice. Except for some browning to page edges the interior is clean and bright. Bookplate of collector Mark Samuels Lasner affixed to front pastedown. Very good condition. LIT/042221. Very Good. More

London and New York: Harper & Brothers, 1898. First English edition. A nice copy of this classic work by George Du Maurier, with his own black and white illustrations throughout. Bound in publisher's dark blue cloth with gilt titling to spine and front cover, and gilt vignette illustration to front cover. Some wear, bumping and rubbing. Slightly cocked. T.e.g. Light aging to text pages and a bit of foxing to first and last few pages. Ownership signature on half title and bookplate of collector Mark Samuels Lasner affixed to front pastedown. Very good condition. 471 pages plus 4 pages of publisher ads. LIT/042121. More

London: A.H. Bullen, 1906. Hardcover. First edition. Inscribed by Housman: "To Kate Randall (Randell?) from half the authors. With all good wishes. Christmas 1906. LH." Bound in the original brown cloth. Gilt titling to spine. Bumped, rubbed, and darkening to the spine. Small tear at bottom of spine and white stain to rear cover edge. Interior pages nice with light aging to margins and offsetting to free endpapers. With black and white frontis illustration. Very good condition. Small octavo. 89 pages plus list of casts for 1904 and 1906 performances and one page of publisher's ads. DRAMA/042121. Very Good. More

New York: G.P. Putnam & Co., 1853. Hardcover. “Bartleby the Scrivener,” Herman Melville’s famed short story, was first serialized anonymously in two parts in the November and December 1853 issues of Putnam’s Monthly Magazine. It was reprinted with minor textual changes in Piazza Tales in 1856. The story has been called the unquestionable masterpiece of Melville’s short fiction and is among the most noted American short stories. Volume II included July - December 1853. The story appeared on pages 546-557 in November and pages 609-615 in December. Bound in three quarter dark green leather over marbled paper covered boards. Bumping to lower corners, rubbing to hinges, minor cracking to spine leather, and minor loss to marbled paper on front board. Marbled endpapers. Bookplate of James V.C. Perry from Sandwich, Ontario to front pastedown. Occasional spots of foxing throughout (heaviest on endpapers) and very occasional notations in pencil. Very good condition. 690 pages. LIT/060321. Very Good. More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1855. Hardcover. Includes Melville's short story "Jimmy Rose" on pages 803 - 807 and chapters 58 - 80 of "The Newcomes" by Thackeray. Also includes articles on apparitions and visions, bears and bear hunting, earthquakes, the history of tobacco, and Brazil. Bound in three quarter navy blue leather with patterned black paper covered boards. Raised bands and gilt title to spine. Minor rubbing to boards and minor wear to edges, corners, and hinges. Minor chipping to paper along edges of boards. Occasional spots of foxing, but clean and bright overall. All six fashion plates are present. Illustrated. 864 pages. PER/060321. Very Good. More

London: The Nonesuch Press, 1931. Hardcover. Number 450 of 1375 copies of which 900 copies were for sale in England and 475 in the United States. From the third edition of John Florio's translation in 1632, the first English translator of Montaigne's essays. A beautiful edition of the essays by the famed French philosopher Montaigne. Bound in full brown leather with raised bands to spine with leather title labels, and gilt ornament on front cover with the words "que scay je" (what do I know) written in gilt on green leather background. Leather is browned on covers and the spine darkened by the sun. Some rubbing and light bumping. It appears that the title label on the spine of Volume I was reattached at some point and some of the glue can be seen beneath it. Fore-edges are untrimmed with light browning. Tender front hinges. Interior pages are clean. Very good condition. Octavos. Volume I: 724 pages; Volume II: 708 pages including index. LIT/090821. Very Good. More

Baltimore: self published, 2020. Paperback. Signed by the author. "In the world of a 2008 yellow pages sales rep, nostalgia converges with technology in a very dark way. Charm City Killer is a psychological thriller set in Baltimore during the Great Recession. It was a time when many traditional advertising mediums died at the hands of the internet. Moe Steadman, a defeated thirty-three year veteran of yellow pages advertising sales takes revenge on his internet competitors. As the police close in and he falls deeper into mental breakdown we learn that reality is not what it seems, just as in the end what Moe thought represented love and true beauty are not what they seem" (rear cover). Black illustrated paper wrappers with white spine panel titled in red. Clean and bright. 232 pages. Local Authors. LIT/081021. Fine. More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1874. Hardcover. Includes the first printing of Whitman's "Song of the Redwood Tree" on page 366 and "Prayer of Columbus" on page 524. According to "Walt Whitman: An Encyclopedia" by LeMaster and Kummings, Whitman was paid $100 for "Song of the Redwood Tree." Also includes articles on Bermuda, Lewis Clark, Burma, the fur seal trade, lighthouses in America, slave-hunts in Central Africa, and more. Bound in three quarter black cloth over blue and black marbled paper covered boards with gilt title to spine. Minor wear and rubbing to corners, spine ends, and edges of boards. Occasional spots of soiling and foxing to interior, but clean and bright overall. Illustrated. 912 pages. PER/060321. Very Good. More