Pasadena, CA: Deeply Game Productions, 2012. Hardcover. Number 1 of 7 copies. Signed and numbered by the book artist. Sara Press is a photographer, printer, and book artist whose work addresses science, nature, and the intricacies of our culture. This is a suite of four etchings by Ms. Press that depict contemporary mixed-martial-arts fighters. The accompanying text has been appropriated from a panther / bear fight advertising poster from the 1850s. The text describing animal fights is juxtaposed with the prints of human fighters to make an important statement on violence. The typeface is designed by Dan Mayer. Letterpress printed on a Vandercook No. 3 Proof Press. The loose prints and text pages are housed in a solid maple box with title burnt into the lid. Unpaginated. ARTISTSBOOKS/030613. Near Fine. More

London: Cassell and Co., and John Lane The Bodley Head, 1934. Hardcover. First Edition. An interesting and unusual presentation copy from the editor to Clementine Churchill, wife of Winston: "To Mrs. Churchill, these poems from the day when Fanny's First Play was written; and in memory of the pleasure of seeing it in her company. August 11, 1935 Desmond Flower." The inscription makes reference to Fanny's First Play, written anonymously in 1911 by G. Bernard Shaw. Desmond Flower (1907-1997) was a publisher, collector, and writer. He joined his father's publishing house, Cassell, and remained there until it was sold in 1966 following his father's death. Cassell's was the publisher for many major writers, but Flower's most important writer was Winston Churchill, editing and publishing his History of English Speaking People and the History of the Second World War. Bound in publisher's original green cloth with title and author in gilt to spine. Binding and text in near fine condition. In original dust jacket which is torn and tattered, and now protected by a mylar cover. 297 pages. POE/052913. Near Fine / Chipped and Torn. More

MA: Viewpoint Editions, 2012. Paperback. Number 22 of 36 copies. According to noted book artist Dorothy Simpson Krause, “This homage to Marjory Stoneman Douglas (1947-1997) and her seminal book, The Everglades: River of Grass combines my images of the Everglades with historic photographs, documents, and maps. Forty miles wide and over 100 miles long this slow moving river ranges from a few inches to a few feet in depth. Only half its original size, the Everglades has been largely destroyed to meet the demands of urban and agricultural growth. The ongoing battle for restoration of the Everglades is a moral test which hopefully we will pass.” The book’s exquisite images evoke the beauty and mystery of the Everglades, which are “one of the unique regions of the earth, remote, never wholly known” (Marjory Douglas). Printed on Yu Kou paper, on a laser printer with letterpress overlay. Interleaved with Yu Kou light tissue guards. All of the unbound pages are housed in an envelope enclosure made from brown Lokta Oil Paper to reference a packet of documents an early settler might have carried. The closure on the envelope is a native mahogany tree seedpod with rawhide and thread tie. This book was produced while Krause was Artist-in-Residence at the Jaffe Center for Book Arts, Wimberly Library, Florida Atlantic University, and was published under the auspices of Minerva: The Press at Wimberly. In fine condition. PRI/101912. Fine. More

London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1857. Hardcover. First Edition of author's second novel. RARE INSCRIBED COPY: "F. Maxse/ from his friend/ GM." George Meredith (1828-1909) was an important author and poet of the Victorian era. He was a friend to many major figures of his time including William and Dante Gabriel Rossetti, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Robert Louis Stevenson, and J.M. Barrie. This book is inscribed to Frederick Augustus Maxse, his dearest friend, who was a hero of the Crimean War. Meredith's book, Beauchamp's Career, was based on the political career of Maxse. In his bibliography of Victorian fiction, Michael Sadleir described Farina as scarce, saying "few Victorian fictions are more seldom seen than [this and three others]." Bound in the original apple-green cloth. It has been professionally recased. The binding is rubbed and soiled but still very nice (According to Sadleir, the binding was both unusual and easily soiled.) Interior pages are clean and bright. Includes July 1857 publisher's catalog. With bookplate of the noted book collector, H. Bradley Martin. Housed in a green cloth clamshell box with paper title and author label to spine. An exceptional association copy in the extremely scarce original cloth. 244 pages plus 16 page publisher catalog. LIT/120312. Very Good. More

London: Watts & Co., [1898?]. Hardcover. Rare. A Presentation Copy, inscribed "To Joseph Fay from his old friend Arthur B Moss 25 June 98.” The Workman's Foe concerns a man who succeeds in becoming a manager in a large firm and then turns upon the workmen who helped him climb the ladder, making their lives unendurable. Paul the Rebel is the story of a would-be anarchist whose mission is to blow up a bank. He ends up being blown up by his own bomb. Bound in brown cloth with titles and author in gilt to cover and original wraps bound in. Water staining on pastedowns and free endpapers, partially affecting the inscription. Some pages are loose and the paper has browned. The cloth binding is slightly rubbed and worn, but an extraordinary survival story as radical plays by a working-class author were printed in extremely perishable form. According to press notices reprinted on the original paper wrappers, both plays were actually performed in local theaters in London. No original copies in WorldCat, one of two known copies - the other is in the James Ellis collection of Victorian drama. Very good condition given the fragility of the items. Workman's Foe: 16 pages; Paul the Rebel: 14 pages. DRA/013113. Very Good. More

London and Chicago: John Lane and the Bodley Head and Stone and Kimball, 1895. Patten Wilson. Hardcover. First Edition, Private Issue. Presentation Copy. This is the very scarce private version of Frederick Tennyson's last book. With a handwritten limitation notice on the half-title "Twenty five vellum bound copies of the first edition have been issued for private circulation, This is No. 16." It is inscribed: "To the Revd. W.B. Macleod With Capt. J. Tennyson's & the Authors Compliments Jersey Jan 1896." The recipient was the author of Frederick Tennyson: His Life and Work, published in 1896. Frederick Tennyson (1807-1898) was a poet and the older brother of Alfred Tennyson. Although a gifted poet, he was overshadowed by his brother throughout his life. Captain Julius Tennyson was the author's only son, and the book is dedicated to him and his sister, Sophia, whom Frederick called the companions of his old age. In original vellum with gilt title and author to spine, and gilt florettes and initial "F" to front cover. The spine is darkened and the covers are soiled and bumped but still nice. In very good condition with darkening to page edges. Frontispiece photograph of Tennyson and title page design by illustrator Patten Wilson. A lovely book with a charming association. 163 pages plus tipped-in errata sheet and 16 pages of publisher ads. POE/061313. Very Good. More

Spain: 1537. Five lines of music and verse in Latin on extremely heavy vellum. The text is written in a Spanish rounded gothic hand (Rotunda). A beautiful large initial "A" is in yellow with a tile border in black, red, and liquid gold. Verso: Five lines of music and verse with large undecorated initial. This leaf is in a large gilded wooden frame with plexiglass on both sides so that the verso is visible. The leaf measures approximately 25.25 x 17.25 inches. #103. Fine. More