Poetry of Emily Dickinson with Kiki Smith's Embroidery Inspired Illustrations
Arion Press Edition

[Arion Press]
Dickinson, Emily; Kiki Smith, illustrations; Andrew Hoyem, foreword.
Sampler.
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2007.

Number 315 of 400 copies. There were also 25 lettered copies for complimentary distribution. Signed by the artist, Kiki Smith, who contributed 206 images to accompany the 200 poems by Emily Dickinson selected for this edition. Dickinson is known to have written more than seventeen hundred poems. The Press selected only poems published prior to 1923 that are clearly in the public domain. Kiki Smith is a German-born American artist whose work has addressed the themes of sex, birth and regeneration. Her figurative work of the late 1980s and early 1990s confronted subjects such as AIDS, feminism, and gender, while recent works have depicted the human condition in relationship to nature [Wikipedia]. Smith decided to make images in the manner of samplers, traditionally sewn by young women to demonstrate their domestic skills. In the prospectus, the Press writes that the title of the book was chosen for two reasons. It signals that this is a sampling of Dickinson's poetry. And it refers to embroidered samplers from the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries that inspired to imagery of Smith. In the foreword, Press owner Andrew Hoyem writes of the complex circumstances surrounding the publication of Dickinson's poems after her death.

The book is inventively bound in yellow cloth with a reddish brown leather spine with gilt titling. The title, and author and artist names are embroidered on the front cover in dark red thread. Letterpress printed on paper made by hand at the Twinrocker mill using Walbaum type. Housed in a slipcase with orange cloth covers and light yellow trim. Orange title label to spine. Accompanied by the prospectus. In fine condition in a near fine slipcase that has one small spot where the paper covering the sides is lifting. Measures 7 x 11 inches. 217 pages plus colophon. Fine. (#37520)

Price: $850

Shirley Jackson's Novel - with introduction contextualizing it within the 1950s - a time of social changes for women

Arion Press

[Arion Press]
Jackson, Shirley; Diane Johnson, introduction; Miles Hyman, illustrator.
The Sundial.
San Francisco: Arion Press, 2011.

Number 82 of 300 numbered copies, with 26 lettered copies for complimentary distribution. Signed by the illustrator on the colophon. The prospectus describes this book as a classic of American fiction. It states that this edition has special relevance in being illustrated by the novelist's grandson, Miles Hyman, "who brings his own understanding of the author to the characters he depicts and his selection of accompanying quotations from the novel." The Sundial was written seven years before Jackson's sadly early death at age 48 in 1965. The prospectus notes that the 1950s were a time of imminent social changes and a sensitive time for women in general. After their powerful contributions during the war, they were now sidelined to take up their earlier docile roles. Talented women like Jackson could use her work to express female anger and a sense of powerlessness.

Bound in full orange cloth with title label to spine and a title label affixed to the front cover with an image of a sundial. Letterpress printed with Fridericus and Winchell types on Zerkall book paper. The illustrations are printed by four-color offset lithography on McCoy Silk Book paper. Hyman made fourteen double-page illustrations plus an image for the endpapers, all in full color. Accompanied by the prospectus, which includes one of Hyman's evocative illustrations. A beautiful production in fine condition. Measures 6.5 x 10 1/8 inches. 226 pages plus 56 unnumbered pages for the illustrations.  (#37569)

Price: $450

Biography & Art of African American Painter Lois Mailou Jones
Inscribed and Signed by Jones, First Edition

Benjamin, Tritobia Hayes; [Lois Mailou Jones].
The Life and Art of Lois Mailou Jones.
San Francisco: Pomegranate ArtBooks, 1994.

First Edition. Signed and inscribed by Lois Mailou Jones, dated October 7, 1995. African-American painter Lois Mailou Jones (1905 - 1998) is best known for her paintings of Martha's Vineyard, Paris, Haiti, and Africa. Illustrated with 130 full color reproductions.

Very good in purple cloth boards with silver title to spine and front cover. Small indent / scuff mark to front cover. Small blue marking to fore-edge of text block (not a remainder mark). Slight scent of moth balls. In very good black illustrated dust jacket with yellow title to spine and front panels. Corresponding indent / scuff mark to front panel of jacket. Minor wear to jacket including rubbing to covers, a short closed tear along top edge of rear panel, minor wear to edges, and a small chip to edge of rear flap. Size: Large quarto. 142 pages. (#28730)

Price: $250

Satirical Novel by English Author, Mary Cholmondeley
A Story of Adultery and a Gifted Woman Writer, Unable to Free Herself of Her Family
First Edition

Cholmondeley, Mary.
Red Pottage.
London: Edward Arnold, 1899.

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. (#35100)

Price: $125

Dramatic Poetry on Theme of Nature's Beauty - by American Poet, Olive Tilford Dargan
First American Edition, Uncommon in Jacket

Dargan, Olive Tilford.
Path Flower and Other Verses.
London and New York: J. M. Dent & Sons Ltd. and Charles Scribner's Sons, 1914.

First American Edition. SCARCE, especially with dust jacket. American poet and author Olive Tilford Dargan (1869 - 1968) from the South was known for her dramatic and lyric poetry on nature. This collection was her first that focused on the mountains and the beauty of nature. Her later work (mostly novels) took a feminist view on politics, activism, and romanticism. She also wrote fiction under the pseudonym Fielding Burke.

Original vellum backed and gray paper boards with gilt title to spine. Light bumping to spine ends and corners. Minor browning to paste downs and end pages. Else is clean and bright. Many pages are unopened. Grey dust jacket with black title to front and spine panels. Dust jacket missing pieces at the head and foot of the spine and along the top edge of the front panel. Minor browning to edges of dust jacket. "Scribners" at the foot of the spine. Printed by Ballantyne, Hanson & Co, Edinburgh. 119 pages. Very Good / Good. (#30031)

Price: $45

Poetry Collection by American Poet, Sophia May Eckley - a close friend with Elizabeth Barrett Browning
Inscribed by the Author

Eckley, Sophia May.
Minor Chords.
London: Bell and Daldy, 1869.

Presentation Copy. Inscribed "To my dear Friend Mrs. Tipping with the love of her affec[tionate] Sophie May Eckley. London Nov. 30th 1868 (and many a happy memory of Chatsworth). Eckley (1823 - 1874) was a wealthy American lady who became an intimate friend with Elizabeth Barrett Browning during a chance meeting in Italy. They had a falling out several years later, but much of their relationship is detailed in "The Brownings Correspondence." She authored several books including travelogues and poetry. This poetry collection includes poems on dreams, hymns, churches, flowers, Fontainbleau, memory, gardens, Handel, Alpine adventures, angels, art, and more.

Bound in original green cloth with black ruling and design to covers and gilt author and title to spine. Some bumping and chipping but otherwise in very good condition. Spotting to endpapers and occasional spotting in text. Laid in bookplate from previous owner. A very nice copy. 277 pages plus 2 page publisher addendum with quotes from reviews of Eckley's first book. Very Good. (#25919)

Price: $120

Novel of an English Family Traveling Abroad by Sarah Stickney Ellis
Scarce First American Edition

Ellis, Mrs.
Look to the End; or, The Bennets Abroad.
New York: Harper & Brother. 1845.

Sarah Stickney Ellis (1799-1872) was an English author who had been brought up as a Quaker but later chose to be a Congregationalist, as were others in the London Missionary Society to which she belonged. She was a prolific author whose books were mostly about the proper conduct of women in society, proposing that they had a duty as daughters, wives and mothers to provide an influence for good. Her view of their roles was very traditional and conservative. She was also a contributor to The Christian Keepsake and Missionary Annual, edited by Reverend William Ellis, whom she eventually married. She is most well-known for works such as The Wives of England, The Women of England, The Mothers of England, and The Daughters of England. However, Ellis was also interested in and wrote about art and aesthetics. These works included The Poetry of Life and The Beautiful in Nature and Art.

This novel is a product of her interest in nature and art. In the Preface she writes "During the course of a journey to Rome and Naples ... my mind was often forcibly impressed with the conviction that a deep sense of beauty, as it is displayed in nature and art, has more to do with our enjoyments than is generally supposed by those who, in England, occupy the busy walks of life ... I amused myself by imagining a plain English family ... looking for the first time upon a world stretching beyond their own locality and wholly unconnected with their personal interests." This novel is her imagining of such a family traveling abroad. Because she felt that the older generation would not be able to experience an enlargement of thought, she added a younger, more impressionable member to the party. This work shows a very interesting different side of Sarah Ellis.

VERY SCARCE. First American edition. Beige cloth backed blue paper covered flexible boards. Heavy wear to exterior with creasing and chipping and soiling. Blue paper has chipped away to reveal red underneath is some areas. Appears to be an amateur binding. Browning and foxing throughout though text remains bright. Binding is loose. 142 pages. Good. (#6174)

Price: $50

Supernatural Novel by Scottish Novelist, Mary Elizabeth Hawker
First Edition

Falconer, Lanoe [Mary Elizabeth Hawker].
Cecilia de Noel.
London: Macmillan & Co., 1891.

First Edition. Lanoe Falconer was the pseudonym of Mary Elizabeth Hawker (1848-1908), the Scottish novelist, pianist, and short story writer. This scarce book was a very popular supernatural novel in its day about ghostly encounters.

In very good condition in original dark blue cloth boards. Light bumping to corners and chipping to spine. Interior pages clean with some splitting to signatures but text block is holding. 197 pages plus 44 page classified catalogue. Very Good. (#24610)

Price: $175

Victorian Children's Book by Theresa Oakey Hall

Hall, Theresa Oakey.
Little Miss Fancy.
New York: Dodd, Mead & Company, 1876.

A charming Victorian children's book about the activities of four year old Fancy. They include her birthday party, learning to read, playing with her paper dolls, and enduring an endless rainy day among many more. A surprising racial incident temporarily spoils the birthday party but all ended well. With fifteen full page black & white engravings and several text drawings.

Bound in reddish-brown cloth with gilt titling, black ornaments and a color illustration affixed to front cover. Binding is bumped and stained, illustration chipped and tears to spine edges. Interior pages are clean. In very good condition. 6 x 8 inches. 207 pages.  (#31757)

Price: $35

Poetry Collection by Irish Poet, Emily Hickey - with Illustrations by Mary E. Swan
First Edition

Hickey, Emily; Mary E. Swan (illustrator).
Poems.
London: Elkin Mathews, 1896.

Scarce First Edition. Emily Henrietta Hickey (1845-1923) was a successful Irish author and poet. At the beginning of her career she contributed to many magazines, including Cornhill Magazine, Longman's Magazine, and the Irish Monthly. With Frederick Furnivall she founded the Browning Society in 1881.

Bound in original light green cloth boards with gilt title to spine and front board. Browning to spine and edges of boards with a few markings to rear board. Includes frontispiece illustration by Mary E. Swan with browned tissue guard. Ex-library from St. Mary's Clapham Library. There are no library markings aside from their modest bookplate which is affixed to the front pastedown. The interior is clean and bright. Very good condition. 55 pages plus 20 pages of ads. Very Good. (#23784)

Price: $100

Novel by American Author, Pearl Craigie
Uncommon First Edition

Hobbes, John Oliver [Pearl Craigie or Pearl May Teresa Richards].
A Study in Temptations.
London: T. Fisher Unwin, 1893.

FIRST EDITION, very uncommon. American author, Pearl Craigie (1867 - 1906), published several novels including this one in Fisher Unwin's Pseudonym Library series. She was a popular socialite, kept company with Aubrey Beardsley and was the lover of author, George Moore.

Near fine in original beige cloth with green title to spine and front board. Minor foxing to end pages, else the interior is clean. Top edge in gilt. Nice condition. 249 pages plus 8 pages of ads. (#21365)

Price: $150

Maryland Poet Sally Bruce Kinsolving

Kinsolving, Sally Bruce.
Many Waters.
New York: G. P. Putnam's Sons, (1942).

Sally Bruce Kinsolving (1876 - 1962) published her first poetry collection in 1921 and co-founded the Poetry Society of Maryland two years later. She was known for holding poetry salons in Baltimore and hosting prominent poets such as Carl Sandburg.

Very good in green cloth covered boards with gilt title to front board and to spine. Light bumping to spine ends and corners. Minor browning and foxing to end pages. Interior is clean and bright. Very good price clipped green and grey illustrated dust jacket with white title to front ad spine panels. Minor fading to spine panel and minor chipping and creasing to edges of dust jacket. 203 pages. (#28083)

Price: $25

Poetry Anthology with Handwritten Letters by the Author, Winifred Lucas
Scarce First Edition

Lucas, Winifred [Le Bailly].
Poems, with small collection of handwritten letters and copies of poems.
London: Burns & Oates, 1919.

Scarce first edition of an anthology of verse by Lucas. 12mo. Bound in brown linen with title, author and ornament in gilt to front cover. Slight bumping and fading but very good. Interior pages also very good, with gift inscription on ffep and an annotation in red ink on page 17 noting that a line of verse could be a motto for a sundial. 34 pages plus 4 pages of praise of the writings of Lucas and Alice Meynell. Accompanied by five short ALs from Lucas. Four were written between June - December1904 to Mr. Shorter asking for information and also inquiring about the possibility of submitting verse to "The Sphere." This would be Clement Shorter, the journalist and author who founded "The Sphere" and later "The Tatler." The fifth was to a friend in 1922 to congratulate her on the birth of her baby. Collection also includes fair copies of a few of her poems. Very Good. (#27029)

Price: $250

Novel Promoting the Moral Development of Young Ladies - by English Author, Mary Hughes Robson

[Mary Hughes Robson / Mrs. Hughs].
The Alchemist.
London: Printed for William Darton Jun. 1818.

Presumed first edition of this uncommon book. English author Mary Hughes Robson wrote many books geared towards the moral development of young ladies, including this one. She moved to Philadelphia and opened a school for girls with the help of philanthropist John Vaughan. She wrote several pamphlets for the Christian Tract Society and became a lifelong member.

Bound in green and dark green pastepaper over dark brown leather spine with title in gilt. Heavy rubbing to boards, chipping to paper, and heavy wear to corners and edges of boards. Dampstaining to rear board and evidence of dampstaining to several pages. Top inch of title page is no longer present, with the word "The" removed. Pen and watercolor markings to pastedowns and verso of frontispiece. Occasional spots of foxing and soiling, but the text pages remain clean and bright overall. Lacks 2 pages of ads and both free endpapers. 206 pages plus 8 pages of publisher's ads. Very Good. (#36717)

Price: $175

Louis XIV by English Author and Historian, Julia Pardoe

Miss Pardoe.
Louis the Fourteenth, and the Court of France in the Seventeenth Century. 3 volumes.
London: Richard Bentley, 1849.

English poet, novelist, travel writer, and historian Julia Pardoe (1804 - 1862) wrote on a variety of topics throughout her life. This is one of her most enduring books - a historical work on King Louis the Fourteenth of France, issued here in a deluxe triple decker format.

Third Edition. Very good in three quarter leather with marbled paper covered boards. Leather title labels with titles in gilt to spines of all volumes. Raised bands to spines with gilt decoration. Marbled endpages and full marbled edges. There are a few scuff marks and chips to the leather and there is minor wear to the edges of the boards. Each volume has a full page frontispiece with tissue guard and also multiple vignette illustrations. The illustrations are all wood engravings by G. and W. Measom. The frontispieces all have light foxing as does the last page of text. Aside from this, the interiors are very clean and bright. The title pages are printed in red and black. An attractive set. 455 pages in volume 1; 456 pages in volume 2; 505 pages in volume 3. This set may require an extra shipping fee. Very Good. (#24788)

Price: $175

Margaret Mitchell's Classic - Gone with the Wind
First Edition, First State in Jacket

Mitchell, Margaret.
Gone with the Wind.
New York: Macmillan Company, 1936.

First Edition, First State with "published May 1936" on the copyright page. A lovely copy of this classic work in the original dust jacket. "The stirring drama of the Civil War and Reconstruction is brought vividly to life in this really magnificent novel" (jacket).

Bound in grey cloth boards with dark blue title to spine and front board. Gentle bumping and light rubbing to corners. A few short closed tears to the book cloth along the spine ends. Offsetting to endpapers and light, even browning to interior. Small spot of soiling to top margin of first few pages and occasional finger smudges to margins, else clean and bright. In illustrated first edition, first issue dust jacket with dark brown title to spine and front panels. The price of $3.00 is printed on the bottom corner of the front flap and the rear panel of Macmillan Spring Novels features "Gone with the Wind" in the second column in the second position underneath "South Riding." There are a few chips to the edges of the jacket, creases, wear, and several long closed tears along the edges of both panels and across the spine. The jacket is protected from further damage with a removable mylar cover, but has not been taped or repaired in any way. 1037 pages. Very Good / Very Good. (#36661)

Price: $4,800

American Children's Author - Vardine Moore
Inscribed by the Author to Her Sister-in-law

Moore, Vardine; Kurt Werth, illustrator.
Picnic Pony.
New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard Co., Inc, 1956.

SCARCE. Signed and inscribed by the author to her sister-in-law: "For Dorothy, with love and appreciation for your unfailing interest and encouragement. Always yours, Vardine. Evansville, Ind. August 19, 1956." First Edition. Vardine Russell Moore (1906 - ) taught Kindergarten in Evansville, Indiana during the late 1920s and served as the director of a private nursery school for the following twenty years. She presented story hours on the radio for the public library, taught a creative writing class, wrote a column for women in the local paper, and published several children's books (Indiana University: Indiana Authors and Their Books). A sweet story about Paddy the Pony who wistfully watches picnickers eat their lunches near his pasture - before deciding to jump his fence to join them and try a sandwich.

Bound in yellow cloth boards with brown title to spine and brown illustration of the pony to front board. Minor wear including light fraying to edges of boards and spine ends. Filled with color illustrations by Kurt Werth. In the original illustrated dust jacket with black spine panel titled in white. Large open tear to front edge of jacket, light soiling and browning, and minor edge wear including a few closed tears to jacket. [34 pages.] Very Good / Good. (#37718)

Price: $75

Poetry Collection by Edith Nesbit
A Rare Presentation Copy - inscribed by Nesbit to an Italian journalist
First Edition

Nesbit, E. (Edith).
The Rainbow and the Rose.
London: Longmans, Green & Co., 1905.

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. Very Good. (#24819)

Price: $1,000

Novel of Jewels and High Russian Society by Hungarian Author, Baroness Orczy
First Edition

Orczy, Baroness Emmuska.
The Emperor's Candlesticks.
London: C. Arthur Pearson Limited, 1899.

First edition. This is the second book (and first novel) by the author of The Scarlet Pimpernel, which first appeared as a play in 1903 and was later released as a novel. This book is a tale of jewels, intrigue, and high Russian society. It is scarce in this condition. The author, Baroness Orczy (1865 - 1947), was born in Hungary and grew up in London.

Very good plus in original tan cloth boards with brown title to spine and front board. Minor wear to edges and spine ends. Light rubbing to boards. A few spots of foxing to the interior, else very clean. Bookplate of book collector, Mark Samuels Lasner, is tipped in on the front pastedown. 288 pages. (#21603)

Price: $300

Poetry Collection by English Poet, Emily Pfeiffer
Presentation Copy and Scarce First Edition

Pfeiffer, Emily.
Quarterman's Grace and Other Poems.
London: C. Kegan Paul and Co., 1879.

Scarce first edition. Presentation copy to Lewis Campbell: "Professor Lewis Campbell from his friend the author, January 17th 1879." Campbell (1830 - 1908) was a professor of Greek at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. English author, poet, and philanthropist Emily Pfeiffer (1827 - 1890) was self educated as her family did not have enough money to send her to school. Upon her death, she left most of her acquired property and assets to establish an orphanage for girls and to be used to promote women's education. This volume includes Pfeiffer's original poetry and her translations of work by the German poet, Heinrich Heine. She also reprints her poem 'Madonna Dunya,' which first appeared in 'Contemporary Review' and she defends it against the accusation that it was not an original piece, but rather a translation from a Russian saga.

Very good in original green cloth boards with gilt title to spine and front cover. Black decorative border to boards and spine. Cloth along top of both hinges is split about an inch and interior hinges are cracked. Wear and rubbing to edges, corners, and boards. The interior is clean overall with a few small spots of foxing and corrections in pen to pages 45, 47, and 113, which appear to be in the author's hand. 144 pages plus 40 pages of advertisements. (#28982)

Price: $200

A Short Story About the Mexican Revolution - by Pulitzer Prize Winner, Katherine Anne Porter
First Appearance - First Edition, Second Issue

Porter, Katherine Anne.
Hacienda.
New York: Harrison of Paris, 1934.

Number 550 of 895 copies. First Edition, Second issue. This is the first appearance of Porter's short story in the last appearance of the Harrison of Paris press. This was the presses thirteenth and final book. This copy is from the second issue in which page 51 / 52 was tipped in. Pulitzer Prize winner Katherine Anne Porter (1890 - 1980) was an American author and political activist best known for her novel 'Ship of Fools'.

Bound in red cloth boards with gilt title to spine. Minor fading to spine. The previous owner has penned in a key to the true identities of the characters on the front free endpage. Aside from this, the interior is clean. 81 pages. Very Good. (#24935)

Price: $45

Maryland Poet, Lizette Woodworth Reese
Signed by the Author, First Edition

Reese, Lizette Woodworth.
White April and Other Poems.
New York: Farrar and Rinehart, 1930.

Signed by the author. First Edition. Lizette Woodworth Reese (1856-1935) was born in Maryland and taught English for many years in Baltimore schools. She published her first poem in Southern Magazine in 1874. Her first published volume of poetry was in 1887. She was especially noted for her strength in the sonnet form. White April and Other Poems, a later work, was published in 1930. In the following year, 1931, she was named Poet Laureate of Maryland.

Octavo. Green cloth covered boards with dark green title to front board and to spine. Fading to spine and light fading to edges of boards. Minor bumping to spine ends and corners. Previous owner's bookplate to front endpaper. Author's signature to front free end page. Pages are yellowed, but clean, except for remnants of erased pencil markings on several pages throughout. 67 pages. Very Good. (#705)

Price: $50

Poetry Collection - Beautifully Illustrated and Authored by American Author, Anna Richards
Limited Edition

Richards, A.M. [Anna Matlack].
Letter and Spirit: Dramatic Sonnets of Inward Life.
London: George Allen, 1898.

Number 93 of 300 copies. A beautifully illustrated collection of poetry featuring angels, hell, tombs, soldiers, knights, cemeteries, shipwrecks, and more. Black and white illustrations on each page by Anna Richards (1834 - 1900), best known for her children's books including "A New Alice in the Old Wonderland." Raised in Pennsylvania as a Quaker, she became the wife of the celebrated American landscape painter, William T. Richards. Their daughter Anna Richards Brewster was also a painter. This collection of verses, first published in 1881, was designed "to give expression to every possible form of conflicting thought and feeling" (preface of 1881 edition). The sonnets printed in calligraphic style on fine woven paper.

This volume has been rebound in full dark grey leather with five raised bands to spine with no lettering to it or front board. The interior is lovely save for some light offsetting to many pages caused by facing illustrations. Previous ownership inscription dated 1899, gifted to Esther Morton Smith to front free endpaper. Smith (1865 - 1942) was an American poet and artist. Quarto. 57 pages plus 3 page index of first lines. Near Fine. (#20483)

Price: $150

Poetry Collection by English Poet, Denise Riley

Riley, Denise.
Stair Spirit.
Cambridge: Equipage, 1992.

A somewhat uncommon collection of poems by English poet Denise Riley (1948 - ). She has won several prizes for her work.

Blue side-stapled paper wrappers with black title to front cover. Sunning to edges of wrappers, spot of soiling to front wrappers, and minor rubbing. Clean, bright interior. Unpaginated [16 pages] Very Good. (#33117)

Price: $75

English Author Christina Rossetti - sister of Pre-Raphaelite painter D.G. Rossetti
A novel on sibling rivalry and vengeance
Limited Edition

Rossetti, Christina.
Maude: A Story for Girls.
London: James Bowden, 1897.

1 of 500 copies. Includes prefatory note by her brother, William Rossetti that discusses the history of the work and his sister’s objectives in writing it. He believed that his sister’s main objective was to delineate through Maude what she regarded as defects in her own character and in her attitude towards her social circle and religious obligations. Maude was written in 1850, when Christina Rossetti was only 19 years old. A few changes were made by her to the manuscript in 1874 or 1875. William states that the book is “in all senses a juvenile performance: but I think it is agreeably written and not without touches of feminine perception and discernment.”

Blue cloth boards with gilt title to spine and gilt facsimile of author's signature to front board. Browning to spine. Interior is very clean with minor browning to top edge of pages; text remains bright. Tight binding. Includes frontispiece copy with tissue guard of drawing of Rossetti by her brother Dante Gabriel. Previous owner’s bookplate on front pastedown. 81 pages. Very Good.(#15931)

Price: $100

Novel by American Author, Gertrude Stein
First Abridged Edition

Stein, Gertrude; Preface by Bernard Fay.
The Making of Americans: The Hersland Family.
New York: Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1934.

First abridged edition with "first edition" on the copyright page. One of Stein's 'hermetic' works: "The story of an American family, of their descendants and their friends" (jacket). American novelist, poet, art collector, and playwright Gertrude Stein (1874 - 1946) hosted the Paris salon, a meeting place for modernist artists and authors. She attended Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in 1897 at a time when men dominated the field. While at Hopkins, she had an 'erotic awakening' and became infatuated with political activist, Mary Bookstaver and her female lover. The failed love triangle led to Stein and her brother moving to Paris, beginning an incredible modern art collection, publishing novels, and cultivating the Paris salon.

Bound in pink cloth boards with black title to spine and front cover. Slightly rolled spine, cloth faded where the dust jacket is missing pieces, otherwise very good condition. In rubbed, soiled, unevenly faded dust jacket missing good-sized pieces. The jacket is red with white title to spine and front panels. 416 pages. Very Good / Good. (#30146)

Price: $225

Poems for Children by Jane Taylor with Kate Greenaway Illustrations
First Edition

Taylor, Jane and Ann; Illustrated by Kate Greenaway.
Little Ann and Other Poems.
London: George Routledge & Sons, [1883].

First edition of charming poems offering life lessons to children, accompanied by Greenaway illustrations. Binding is illustrated paper boards with green linen spine. It is chipped, rubbed, and bumped. Juvenile writing in pencil to half title page. The interior is foxed throughout though text and illustrations remain bright. 64 pages. Very Good. (#21170)

Price: $35

Shirley Temple - American actress, singer, dancer, and diplomat
Boxed Set of Five Autobiographical Books

Temple, Shirley.
Shirley Temple: 5 Books About Me.
Akron, OH: Saalfield Pub. Co., 1936.

A charming complete set of five little books about Shirley Temple and her life, published when she was only eight years old and the country's number one box office draw. Each book has a pictorial cover and fourteen pages of black and white photographs of Shirley. The titles are: Shirley Temple Twinkletoes," "Just a Little Girl," "Shirley Temple Little Playmate," "Shirley Temple on the Movie Lot," and "Shirley Temple in Starring Roles." The books are all in very good to near fine condition. Housed in their original box covered with glossy white paper and with a color portrait of Shirley on the front. The box has some wear, soiling, and creases but still very nice. Very Good. (#32568)

Price: $220

Novel by Mrs. Humphry Ward - on a clergyman who loses his faith
First Edition with Signed Letter
Exlibris from Danish Actor, Jean Hersholt

Ward, Mary Augusta [Mrs. Humphry Ward].
Robert Elsmere.
London: Smith, Elder, 1888.

8vo. FIRST EDITION. SIGNED LETTER. Includes a one and a half page handwritten and signed letter by Ward to her publisher. Also features the bookplate of accomplished Danish actor, Jean Hersholt (1886 - 1956), which is pasted down to the front end page of Volume I. Hersholt, perhaps best known for his role as Shirley Temple’s grandfather in Heidi (1937), appeared in over one hundred films, directed several films, won a Golden Globe Award, and was nominated for an Academy Award. He was also an eminent collector of books by Hans Christian Andersen and translated many of Andersen’s fairy tales into English. These were later published in six volumes and are still considered to be one of the best English translations.

Born in Australia, British author Mary Augusta Ward (1851 - 1920) published under her married name, Mrs. Humphry Ward. She was passionate about improving education for the poor, and supported opening Oxford University to women. She helped form the Association for the Education of Women in 1878; however, she was also an anti-suffragette and served as the founding president of the Women's National Anti-Suffragette League in the early 1900s.

This novel, which was a best seller in the 1800s, follows a Victorian clergyman through his religious crisis in which he doubts his faith after reading the work of German rationalist philosophers. Instead of turning to atheism, he becomes a "constructive liberal" and gets involved in social work with the poor and uneducated. It was written loosely as a response to a sermon by John Wordsworth suggesting that religious unsettlement leads to sin. Her overly sensitive treatment of the subject led to it being a great success during a time period in which it may easily have viewed as blasphemy.

A very good triple decker set in the original blue cloth with gilt titles to spines and black titles to front boards. There is a small closed tear along the exterior front joint of Volumes I.and II All volumes have minor wear and a few chips to the book cloth along the corners, edges, and hinges. Bumping to corners, minor rubbing to boards, and wear to joints. The interiors remain very clean overall. There are floral patterned end pages in first two volumes and variant chocolate colored end pages in Volume III. The set is housed in an attractive dark green half-morocco slipcase with maroon and gilt leather labels to spine. There are a few minor scuff marks to the case and a closed tear to the hinge of the tri-fold sleeve which fits within. Volume I has 371 pages; Volume II has 374 pages plus ads; Volume III has 411 pages. (#20324)

Price: $375