Toronto: Cheshire Cat Press, n.d. Number 114 of 125 copies signed and numbered by the book artist. A charming broadside from master designer and printer George Walker. Shakespeare's famous quote from Hamlet, "to be or not to be," is printed both pictorially and with numbers. It uses the number 2 for "to," a bee for "be," an oar for "or," and a knot for "not." Printed in black and yellow on handmade paper. In fine condition. Measures 7.5 x 14.75 inches. PRI/091919. Fine. More

Cambridge: Thomas Dreier Service, 1912. Dreier compares company executives with chemists - one can manipulate his staff and the other his chemicals - for desirable results or explosions and failure. An interesting metaphor. Bound in tan paper covered boards with title pastedown to front cover. Browning to spine and boards, rubbing to boards, stain to spine, wear to edges and corners, and heavy chipping to hinges and spine ends. Spine panel is still attached, but weak. Foxing throughout interior. A small book: 4.5 x 3 inches. 33 pages. LIT/061319. More

London: Macmillan and Co., 1887. A beautiful signed copy of one of Hardy's most popular novels and his own favorite. He wrote on the half title: "Yours faithfully Thomas Hardy." The book was first published in three volumes in March 1887. The publisher did not reprint the novel in its original three-volume form but in September 1887 reissued it in one volume in two impressions of 2000 copies each (Purdy bibliography p. 57). This copy is in a beautiful custom signed brown calf binding by Sangorski and Sutcliffe. With gold ruling on the covers and five raised bands on the spine. The compartments have gilt titling, date, autograph note, and decorations. Some darkening to spine. t.e.g. Light offsetting to half title and last page from leather. It does not affect the signature. Interior otherwise pristine and in very good plus condition. 352 pages. LIT/062819. More

New York: The Century Co., 1887. Hardcover. Includes Twain's "Meisterschaft" on page 547, Henry James on R.L. Stevenson, and Theodore Roosevelt's "Ranch Life in the Far West" with illustrations by Frederic Remington. Ex-library. Bound in green cloth library binding with gilt title and volume number 35 to spine. Discoloration to boards. Library stamp to title page appears to be only library marking. Browning to interior with some brittle pages. Illustrated. Slight odor. 972 pages. PER/060619. Very Good. More

New York: The Century Co., 1886. Hardcover. Includes Twain's "English as She is Taught" on pages 932 - 936 and Whitman's "Father Taylor and Oratory" on pages 583 - 584. Also includes Joel Chandler Harris and Theodore Roosevelt. Later binding of quarter tan leather over dark brown cloth boards with gilt title and dates (1886 - 1887) to spine. Sunning to spine and a few discolored spots. Tape repair to first page (with portrait of Lincoln). Minor dampstain to bottom corners of most pages, text not affected. Clean and bright overall. Illustrated. 976 pages. PER/060619. Very Good. More

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1847. Hardcover. First American Edition of Melville's second novel. This story is based on Melville's adventures and experiences during his years at sea between 1839-1844. It has been professionally rebacked in handsome dark green leather with gilt titling and elaborate ornaments to spine. The front cover features a gilt ship and embossed decoration. Wear to cloth on edges and corners. Original marbled endpapers. Foxing throughout, but heaviest to first several pages. With frontis map and text illustration. A nice copy of this literary landmark. 389 pages plus two sets of advertisements. LIT/091919. Very Good. More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1853. Hardcover. Includes Melville's short story "Cock a Doodle Doo - The Crowing of the Cock Beneventano" on page 77 - 86, Charles Dickens' "School Boy Stories", and chapters 4 - 20 of Thackeray's "The Newcomes." Bound in three quarter black leather with marbled paper covered boards and gilt title to spine. Rubbing to boards and minor wear to edges of boards, corners, and hinges. Foxing to interior and occasional small spots of soiling. Illustrated. Lacks four of the six fashion plates and lacks one page of cartoons. 864 pages. PER/090319. Very Good. More

Toronto: The Cheshire Cat Press, 2015. Number 16 of 66 copies signed and numbered by the publisher, Andy Malcolm, the writer of the introduction, Edward Wakeling, and the printer, George A. Walker. The press calls this fine production their Sesquicentennial Edition of Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. Edward Wakeling, who wrote the introduction, is an internationally known authority on Carroll. Wakeling writes in his introduction: Harry Furniss was born in Wexford, Ireland on March 26, 1854. He was a prolific artist and illustrator, best remembered for his humorous illustrations published in Punch, to which he contributed over 2,600 drawings from 1880 to 1894. Furniss was eleven years old when Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland was published. He regretted not being old enough to illustrate the Alice book for himself. He was delighted when Carroll singled him out to illustrate the Sylvie and Bruno books. Carroll recognized Furniss’s ability to draw both character likenesses and grotesques; an essential ingredient for his new book. Sylvie and Bruno was nothing like Alice’s Adventures. Furniss said that this was a bitter disappointment to him. Inwardly, he nursed the ambition to do his own illustrated version of Alice. When the copyright ran out in 1907, he drew twenty illustrations for the book. But few people have seen Alice as illustrated by Harry Furniss. The illustrations first appeared in three installments of The Children’s Encyclopaedia edited by Arthur Mee in 1908. This edition offers for the first time enlarged, high resolution copies of the original Furniss art. The portfolio of loose illustration leaves is made available for sale as a hand printed folio. The polymer plates of the illustrations were made from high resolution scans; sixteen of these images are from the original drawings from the archives of the Fales Library in New York City. Printed on Arches Velin Cream French 100% rag archival paper with Janson type. The portfolio is housed in a clam shell box made from the finest quality materials, with red cloth covers and a gilt illustration of the white rabbit on the top cover and gilt title on spine. In fine condition. Paper sheets measure 11 x 15 inches. PRI/111519. Fine. More

New York: Harper and Brothers, (1909). Hardcover. Octavo. In red cloth boards with white title to cover and spine and a cover illustraion in blue and white. Spine lettering is faded and boards are lighly rubbed with wear to corners and spine ends. Front free endpaper has a previous owner stamp to bottom corner and evidence of erasures to top corner. Rear pastedown also shows evidence of erasure and has a few small ink markings. Text block is clean. Includes a tissue-guarded frontispiece. No dust jacket.121 pages. LIT/082919. Very Good. More

New York: Harper & Brothers, 1867. Hardcover. Includes Twain's "Forty-Three Days in an Open Boat" on pages 104 - 113. This was Twain's first publication (with his name misspelled, Mark Swain). Bound in three quarter black leather over marbled paper covered boards with gilt title, volume number, and previous owner's name (M. Cornelia Welts) to spine. Rubbing and wear to leather, boards, and edges. Occasional spots of foxing to interior, but clean overall. Illustrated. 816 pages. PER/060619. Very Good. More