Rare books from Appledore Books, ABAA

London: B.T. Batsford, Ltd, 1951. 1st. Half-Leather. Collectible; Very Good. #119 OF 350 COPIES SIGNED BY AUTHOR R.W. SYMONDS on the limitation page. A handsome copy to boot of the 1951 true 1st edition. Well-preserved and solidly VG+ in its half-morocco over matching red cloth. Gilt-decorated front panel, bright gilt-lettering to spine. Quarto, 320 pgs., top-edge gilt, crisp black-and-white plates thruout. Light fading along spine, otherwise clean as could be. Elegant monograph on England's pre-eminent clockmaker of the 17th century. Signed by Author.

Caldwell, Idaho: The Caxton Printers, 1936. 1st. Cloth. Collectible; Very Good/Very Good. A well-preserved copy of the 1936 1st edition. Tight and VG+ in a bright, price-intact, VG dustjacket, with light chipping at the spine ends and very light soiling to the rear panel. 12mo, 370pgs. Introduction by William MacLeod Raine.

New York: Ballantine Books, 1961. 1st. Original Wraps. Collectible; Very Good. A crisp, tight copy of the 1961 true 1st edition of this early Elmore Leonard Western. Bright and VG+ in its original pictorial wrappers, with very light, subtle creasing to the front panel and light offsetting at the rear panel's top-edge. Bantam Books pocketbook (BB 526K), 142 pgs. "He was half Indian, all man --and tough as they come"

New York: Random House, 1960. 1st. Hardcover. Collectible; Very Good/Very Good. A lovely copy of the 1960 1st edition, 2nd issue (with the printed-on "50 word vocabulary" box --Younger & Hirsch, pgs. 75-77). Clean and VG+ (with one very small chip at the spine crown) in a bright, price-intact, VG+ dustjacket, with very light wear at the spine ends and very light soiling to the rear panel. Octavo, wonderfully illustrated thruout by Dr. Seuss.

1972. Near Fine. A warm, gracious 2 pg. ALS from the photographer Paul Strand, referencing --among other things-- an evening with Hart Crane. Strand is patiently responding (from France) to a Vietnam vet (whose 2 letters are here included) who asks if he and his wife might work for an aging Strand in any capacity. Strand's August 1972 8 1/4" x 10 1/2" letter in response is bright and clean and has held up nicely. His hand is strong and the ball-point ink completely legible. Also includes the original enevelope (addressed in Strand's hand and postmarked "Yvesines", France).

London: John Murray, 1832. Full leather. Very Good +. An impressive example of this original compilation of the works of Byron, complete in 17 volumes and bound --and signed-- in a full, mid to late 19th century red morocco by Root & Son of London. Each uniform volume has bright gilt-rule at the panels and 5 raised bands along each spine, with fine, decorative gilt-tooling at the compartments and offsetting leather title labels. All of the volumes are at least VG+ (or better) and only 1 or 2 show the lightest of wear along the spines and just a touch of staining at the panel edges. There's a bit of forgivable foxing at the endsheets but each volume is free of bookplates or writing or any other markings to the text. Each volume also includes a wonderful engraved title-page (all different engravings, each by E. Finden) which PRECEDES the printed title-page. 16mos, top-edges gilt, lovely marbled endpapers.

New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960. Original wraps. Very Good +. A one-of-a-kind copy of the 1960 stated 1st printing of Shel Silverstein's 2nd published book (following "Take Ten") and the first collection of his cartoons from American magazines. THIS COPY IS INSCRIBED BY SHEL SILVERSTEIN AT THE FRONT PASTEDOWN AND ALSO BOASTS A FULL-PAGE DRAWING IN HIS HAND -- A SIGN NAILED TO A POST (INSIDE OF WHICH IS CONTAINED THE INSCRIPTION). A crisp, very sharp copy to boot of this paperback original. Tight and VG+ to Near Fine in its wonderful pictorial wrappers, with very light, innocuous toning to a number of the page edges. A unique copy of this very early work by one of the towering humorists/cartoonists of the last 50-60 years.

New York: The New York Times, 1959. Boards. Near Fine. The 1959 1st (and only) edition of one of Robert Frank's most elusive --and most fragile-- titles and his first published work after the triumph of "The Americans". Published by the New York Times as a promotional for potential advertisers, "New York Is" instead became a Robert Frank vehicle and an important marker in post-War photography, essentialy offering Frank a mainstream outlet in which he was given free range to continue exploring the boundaries of a newly-emerging "documentary" photography. This is a particularly tight, clean copy to boot: Solid and Near Fine in its printed white boards, with virtually no soiling or wear, save for just a touch of light foxing along the rear panel's top-edge. And, internally, clean as could be, with no writing or markings of any kind. Quarto, Frank's crisp black-and-white photography thruout. Also includes (as called for) the printed, laid-in letter from the Advertsing Director of The New York Times.

New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1948. Cloth. Near Fine/Near Fine. #284 OF AN UNSPECIFIED NUMBER OF THE "LIMITED AUTOGRAPHED LOUISIANA EDITION". SIGNED BY THE PHOTOGRAPHER CLARENCE JOHN LAUGHLIN at the limitaton AND INCLUDING THE PUBLISHER'S PRINTED SLIPCASE. A tight, impressive copy to boot of the 1948 true 1st edition (with the letter 'A' and Scribner colophon at the copyright page): Clean and Near Fine in a bright, price-intact {AND price-clipped}, Near Fine dustjacket, with just a touch of light wear at the spine crown and along the rear panel's upper tip. Folio, Laughlin's crisp, wonderful black-and-white portraits thruout. The slipcase, which no doubt accounts for the superior condition of the book, merits a VG only, with light wear to the edges, offsetting along the rear panel's lower-edge and light chipping at the spine ends. The title label along the spine shows some darkening and mild scuffing as well. By all indications quite scarce in its limited autographed edition.

London: Printed for the Camden Society, 1842. Decorative Cloth. Very Good +. The very uncommon 1842 1st edition of this original publication of "two curious documents concerning Dr. John Dee", the great 16th century occut philosopher (1527-1609) who devoted much of his life to the study of alchemy, divination and Hermetic philosophy. 1) "His Private Diary, written in a very small illegible hand on the margins of old Almamacs, discovered a few years ago by Mr. W.H. Black, in the library of the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford". 2) "A Catalogue of his Library of Manuscripts, made by himself before his house was plundered by the populace, and now preserved in the library of Trinity College, Cambridge". This 1842 volume, a slim octavo in its original chocolate-brown boards, has held up very nicely. Solid and VG+, with decorative blindstamping to the panels and still-bright gilt-titling and flourishes along the spine. Just a touch of light bubbling to the rear panel, small, neat former owner name and 1940 date… Read More

Paris: Editions Le Terrain Vague, 1964. Original wraps. Very Good +. A major Association copy: INSCRIBED BY LOTTE EISNER TO KARL FREUND, THE LEGENDARY CINEMATOGRAPHER OF BOTH "METROPOLIS" (1927) AND "DRACULA" (1931). IN ADDITION TO PHOTOGRAPHING THESE 2 HIGH SPOTS OF EARLY CINEMA, FREUND ALSO DIRECTED "THE MUMMY" (1932) AND "MAD LOVE" (1935, STARRING PETER LORRE). THERE'S ALSO A NICE PROVENANCE TO THIS COPY, HAVING BELONGED TO PEPI AND HERBERT LUFT, BOTH CONCENTRATION CAMP SURVIVORS, AND HERBERT AN IMPORTANT FILM PRODUCER AND JOURNALIST, AND ULTIMATELY EXECUTIVE (VICE-PRESIDENT AND TREASURER OF GETTY PICTURES). A very solid copy to boot of the 1964 true 1st edition of Eisner's seminal biography of F.W. Murnau, a towering figure in German Expressionist cinema, best known for directing the films "Nosferatu", "Faust" and "Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans". (Only 42 when he died {1888-1931}, Murnau still left an indelible mark on early film-making, which included the final 5 years of his life in… Read More

New York: The Viking Press, 1953. Decorative Cloth. Very Good +/Very Good +. Robert McClosky. A solid, very presentable copy of the 1953 1st edition. Clean and VG+ (very light creasing along a number of bottom edges) in a crisp, price-intact ($2.50), VG+ dustjacket, with very mild chipping at the spine ends and just a touch of light soiling to the front panel. Quarto, brilliantly illustrated in rich color by Robert McClosky (of "Make Way for Ducklings" fame, among other triumphs).

Munich: Albert Langen Verlag, 1925. Decorative Wrappers. Very Good. The 1925 true 1st edition of the maiden issue of "Bauhaus Bucher", the iconic series of 14 separate books spaning 1925-1930, each devoted to the foundations of Bauhaus and edited by Walter Gropius. This, the first book in the series, boasts a Moholy-Nagy front cover and was additionally edited by Moholy-Nagy. Solid and VG in its white wrappers, with very light soiling to the panels and a touch of light waviness along the foot of the spine and to the lower page edges at the gutter. Still though, very presentable. Octavo, crisp black-and-white plates and designs throughout.

New York, 1890. Pictorial boards. Very Good. A solid, very presentable copy of the 1890 true 1st edition of this seminal study of poverty on New York's Lower East Side, with its pictorial boards over navy-blue cloth and with the matching "1890" dates at the title and copyright pages. Tight and VG, with light spotting and offseting along the top-edges, and a touch of light wear to the spine ends and the fore-edges. Thick 12mo, bright gilt-titling at the spine. 43 illustrations -- many of them pictorials-- complementing Jacob Riis's timeless text.

New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1975. Boards. Fine/Fine. A true collector's copy of the 1975 stated 1st edition (with the correct requisite letter code). SIGNED IN FULL BY ANDY WARHOL, ALSO INITIALED BY HIM AND FEATURING A DISTINCT SOUP CAN, LABELED "CAMPBELL'S SOUP" IN HIS HAND. A gorgeous copy to boot, genuinely approaching pristine. Clean and Near Fine to Fine in a crisp, price-intact, Near Fine to Fine dustjacket. The sharpest copy this bookseller has seen.