New York: Farrar & Rinehart, Inc., [1931]. Hardcover. Inscribed by the playwright. First edition of this well-received Broadway play, which ran in New York between November 1931 and February 1932. Berhman (1893-1973) was a prolific playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his “high comedies” which were so popular in the 1930s. This copy was inscribed to Dame Nellie Burton, Berhman’s landlady when he stayed in London. Miss Burton ran a famous lodging house on Half Moon Street, where lived, among other notables, Siegfried Sassoon and Robbie Ross, the latter being one of Oscar Wilde’s closest friends. The inscription reads “For Miss Burton, with love from her devoted Sam, London Apr. 1932.” Laid in is a typed letter to Berhman from the Stanley Rose bookstore, informing him that the copy of Brief Moment he had sent to Miss Burton at her address on Half Moon Street was returned to sender, “party gone away.” Bound in red cloth with title and author in black on front cover and spine. The interior is bright and clean with some light spotting to fore-edge. The jacket has small tears to top and bottom of spine. In near fine condition with very good jacket. An extremely nice copy with an interesting association. DRA/042011. Near Fine. More

London: Elliott Stock, 1884. Hardcover. First Edition. Inscribed by the author to his friend Margaret Muir (known as Meta). This was Birrell’s first book of essays and brought him success as a writer. Birrell was a politican who served for several years as Secretary of Ireland. There is an interesting hand written sentence on the first page of the last chapter titled “Falstaff.” It says “It ain’t mine/A.B.” In very good condition in the original green cloth with gilt title and small rectangle gilt design to front cover. Spine faded and some bumping to spine and corners. Interior pages are clean with slight pulling away of rear hinge. A nice copy of this relatively scarce book. 234 pages. LIT/032111. Very Good. More

London: George, Allen and Unwin, 1920. Hardcover. First edition, second state. HANDWRITTEN SIGNED POSTCARD FROM AUTHOR LAID IN. This is the author’s first novel, published in London before the US edition. Based on his experience in WWI, the novel sets the stage for Dos Passos’s Three Soldiers (which brought him international attention). The laid in postcard dated 6/15/59 reads “Shall be delighted to inscribe the book if you’ll send it to me here. Have you tried the Gotham Book Mart ... or one of the big London secondhand book stores - it was published there by Allen & Unwin in 1920 (?). The only copy I have is the Philosophical Library reprint ... Cordial Regards John Dos Passos.” The original envelope addressed to John S. Mayfield is also laid in. Very good in blue cloth boards with black title to spine and front board. Fading to spine although the title remains bright. Offsetting to first and last couple of pages and remnants a sticker on the rear pastedown; otherwise the interior is very clean. In very good condition. 128 pages. LIT/051011. Very Good. More

New York: Museum of Modern Art, (1962). Second Edition. Hardcover. Later edition with price of $7.50 on jacket. This MoMA monograph is a landmark book in 20th century photography. Evans (1903 - 1975) was a photojournalist best known for his work documenting the Great Depression. In very good condition in black cloth boards with gilt title to spine. A few speckles to boards and minor foxing to fore-edge, else a clean copy. In an off-white illustrated dust jacket with black title to spine and front panel. The jacket has a few small chips to the edges and minor dampstaining, foxing, and toning along the edges. 195 pages. PHOTO/052311. Very Good / Very Good Minus. More

Mount Vernon, NY: The Golden Eagle Press, [1938]. Hardcover. Number VI of 108 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist. Includes fifteen plates. There are thirteen original watercolors by the noted artist, Kurt Roesch. The frontispiece and a second hors-text plate are lithographs. This is an overlooked livre d’artiste, published six years before the press printed Orpheus, a book recognized in The Artist and the Book 1860-1960. This work is the whimsical and mysterious story of a boy, Sprig, and his horse Turfy, and their nighttime adventure and transformation. In the colophon, Roesch writes: “This Archetype Edition of Sprig and Turfy is not only the first but unique in the history of the printed book. It is conveniently limited to one hundred and eight copies, each containing original paintings in watercolor over a key plate in black, printed by S.A. Jacobs, The Golden Eagle Press, Mount Vernon, N.Y.”. Bound in tan buckram with a gilt device on the front board, cloth ties, in a tri-fold chemise in a slipcase, both also covered in tan buckram. Book in near fine condition. Slipcase and chemise are very good with light wear. Unpaginated. PRI/081111. Near Fine. More

Basel: Romano Hänni, 2010. Hardcover. Number 34 of 175 copies. Swiss book artist and typographer Romano Hänni (1956 - ) has been experimenting with unusual compositions of letter forms and symbols since the early 1980s. His designs can seem somewhat whimsical but often are reactions to society, politics, and traumatic events. Creating things manually with the participation of all of the senses is very important to him. A master of visual poetry, he enjoys teaching to pass on his knowledge and skills. This work offers a commentary on various aspects of life, some of which are illustrated with design elements. For example "with ritalin" shows a series of small, numbered pill shaped designs. It faces "without ritalin" which shows a variety of animals and other creatures. One unillustrated quote from the jacket reads "The daily misconduct: It is not the large catastrophes, it is he daily mistakes in the details that cause the global problems." Bound accordion style in boards with white illustrated dust jacket. Handcomposed and handprinted in black, red, blue, and gold. The text is printed in German; however, a pictorial booklet supplement with English translation is included. A thought provoking, well designed book. ARTB/092117. Fine. More

London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1905. Hardcover. First Edition. RARE PRESENTATION COPY. Edith Nesbit (1858-1924) was an English author and poet who is best known today for her children’s books. Publishing under E. Nesbit, she wrote or collaborated on over sixty books for children. She was a follower of William Morris and one of the founders of the Fabian Society, the British socialist movement. This book is inscribed: “To Olindo Malagodi from E. Nesbit July 1905.” Malagodi (1870-1934) was a prominent Italian liberal journalist and writer. He trained as a journalist in Britain, became the London correspondent for several newspapers, and eventually became the editor of La Tribuna in Rome. He was a close friend of Nesbit and her husband, Hubert Bland, eventually living near them as he raised his family. His son, Giovanni became an important Italian politician. Bound in the original green cloth with lovely floral and fleur-de-lis design in gilt on front cover along with author and title. Light bumping and small light stain to top of rear cover; otherwise in beautiful condition. Front and rear endpapers are foxed but interior pages are bright and clean. Each section is preceded by a blank page with a flower illustration. Each flower is a different color. Nesbit’s books of verse are uncommon and nearly impossible to find signed. 143 pages plus 4 pages of advertisements for Nesbit’s books. POE/050611. Very Good. More

Milano: Domus, circa 1960. Hardcover. First Italian Edition. An important survey of Penn's work with an introduction by Alexander Liberman. Penn (1917 - 2009) is best known for his fashion photography, portraits, and still lifes. He worked for Vogue Magazine for many years and took portraits of many important artists and authors such as Picasso, O'Keeffe, Auden, and Duchamp. Very good in white cloth boards with black title to spine. Light smudge mark to front board and previous owner signature to front endpage, else fine. In a white dust jacket with black title to spine. The spine of the jacket is browned and all but detached from the other panels. There is minor wear to the edges of the jacket and a few scuff markings to the rear panel. Housed in a very good paper covered slipcase with black title to spine. The slipcase is rubbed, worn along the edges, and lightly scuffed. Quarto. Text in Italian. 183 pages. PHOTO/052611. Near fine in Very Good Dust Jacket. More