Rare books from Captain Ahab's Rare Books

New York: Harper and Brothers, 1933. First American Edition. Young Eric Blair's first book, a work he was sufficiently ashamed of that he asked Victor Gollancz to issue it under a pseudonym. The American edition was published about 6 months following the British, issued in a tiny print run of 1,750 copies, of which 383 were remaindered. The book sold poorly in the U.S., perhaps owing to the fact American audiences in the midst of the Depression did not want a reminder of life on the down-and-out. Rare in the dustjacket, seldom appearing in presentable condition in the trade and offered less than a handful of times in 30 years according to the auction record, those being restored with tape residue on verso. An important debut. Fenwick A.1d. First Printing. Octavo (21.5cm); light purple cloth, with plum-colored stripes and titles stamped in black on spine; illustrated endpapers; dustjacket; 292pp. Hint of a forward lean, with faint foxing to text edges; clean throughout - Near Fine. Dustjacket is… Read More

Berlin: August Scherl, G.m.b.h., 1926. First Edition. Attractive copy of von Harbou's best-known work, a novel of class struggle set in a futuristic urban dystopia. Fritz Lang's 1927 film adaptation, with a screenplay co-written by von Harbou, would go on to premiere in more than 40 countries between 1927-1929. A cornerstone work of science fiction, whose super-scientific future city and contribution to robot culture can be seen in everything from Star Wars to Blade Runner. Bleiler (1948 ed.), p.141; Barron 3-23 (Anatomy of Wonder, 1976 ed.). First Impression, cloth issue. Octavo (19cm); publisher's green linen boards, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt and red on spine and front cover; yellow edge-staining; dustjacket; 274,[1],[5]pp ads. Hint of a forward lean, base of spine gently nudged, else very Near Fine, fresh internally, without rubbing to cloth or decorative elements. In the original dustjacket designed by Walter Reimann; hint of sunning to spine, light wear to extremities, with a… Read More

Boston: Thayer and Eldridge, 1860. Third Edition. An exceptional copy of Whitman's most enduring work. Myerson A2.3.c. Presumed third (first unauthorized) printing [1880]. Octavo (19.25cm); Myerson's Binding A, in deep purplish-red pebble-grain cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in gilt and in blind to spine and front covers; pale yellow endpapers; frontispiece portrait of Whitman is in Form 3 (priority undetermined), signed in plate "S A Schoff" on plain white background; iv,5-456,[2]pp; illus. Pinpoint wear to spine ends, subtle toning to title page (from attendant tissue guard), else a fresh, Fine copy, with the spine gilt quite vibrant, and without fading to the cloth.

London: Jonathan Cape, 1953. First Edition. Attractive copy of the first James Bond novel, introducing 007, M, Vesper Lynd, and criminal mastermind Le Chiffre. Basis for Martin Campbell's 2006 film adaptation, starring Daniel Craig, Eva Green, and Judi Dench. Gilbert A1a (1.2); Pronzini & Muller, p.252; Hubin, p.144. First Impression. Octavo (20cm); publisher's black paper-covered boards, with titling and decorative elements stamped in red on spine and front cover; dustjacket; [4],5-218,[2]pp. Previous owners ink name to upper front endpaper, lower corners gently tapped (though still sharp), with a faint, tiny stain to lower edge of textblock; no foxing, but a few small stains to margins of a half-dozen pages or so; Very Good+. In the second state dustjacket, with the Sunday Times review over-printed on front flap and 'The Author' over-printed beneath Fleming's portrait on rear panel (constituting 2400 of the 4728-copy print run); unclipped (priced 10s. 6d. net), gently spine-sunned and lightly… Read More

Chicago: The Book Supply Company, 1911. First Edition. A remarkably well-preserved copy of Wright's best-selling western novel (ca.2.8 million copies), dealing with "the reclamation of the Imperial Valley and the formation of the Salton Sea in 1906 and 1907. The heroine, a foundling rescued from the desert, wins and chooses between several suitors" (Baird 2698). Basis for Henry King's 1926 film adaptation, starring Ronald Colman, Vilma Bánky, and a young Gary Cooper, in his first major picture. First Printing. Octavo (19.75cm); vertically-ribbed maroon cloth, with titles stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; dustjacket; [10],11-511,[1]pp ads, with frontispiece and five illustrations by F. Graham Cootes. Contemporary ink inscription on front endpaper, faint spot of discoloration to front cover, with upper corner of front cover gently tapped (though still sharp); contents fresh; very Near Fine. Dustjacket priced $1.30 net on spine; lightly edgeworn and dust-soiled, with a few tiny nicks and… Read More

West Kingston, RI: Donald M. Grant, 1984. Second Edition. The Gunslinger begins the quest by Roland, the gunslinger, to track and confront the "man in black," who knows, perhaps, the secret of the "Dark Tower." As he travels across the barren landscape of King's alternate world, sometimes alone, sometimes with a boy named Jake, Roland recalls fragments of his own past. He finally confronts the man in black, who reads his future with a Tarot deck" (Barron, Horror Literature: A Reader's Guide 4-164). Among King's most widely-read works, successfully merging elements of the spaghetti western and epic fantasy. Basis for Nikolaj Arcel's 2017 film adaptation (The Dark Tower), starring Idris Elba and Matthew McConaughey. An association copy of the highest caliber. To the casual reader, the connection between King and John D. MacDonald (1916-1986) may not be immediately apparent, but despite a 31 year age difference, there was a strong friendship between the two men, and depth of mutual admiration. Prior… Read More

London: Chatto & Windus, 1926. First U.K. Edition. The first English edition of Fitzgerald's third novel and most enduring work, the story of a flamboyant racketeer's attempt to recapture the upper-class girl he fell in love with during the waning years of World War I. While hailed for many decades as an American classic, Gatsby was a commercial disappointment during its time; its two printings totaled 23,870 copies, and at the time of Fitzgerald's death in 1940, stacks of them still remained unsold in the Scribner's warehouse. The UK edition of Gatsby was published from the American plates of the second Scribner's edition, which incorporated corrections to the six textual errors in the first state of the text. Fitzgerald, eager for a better literary reputation in England than he ever enjoyed, was disappointed when his primary publisher, William Collins, turned down the opportunity to publish Gatsby, stating that to published the novel "would be to reduce the number of his readers rather than to… Read More

New York: B.W. Huebsch, 1916. First Edition. Joyce's autobiographical first novel, first serialized in 25 installments in The Egoist between February 2, 1914 and September 1, 1915 by his great patron, Harriet Shaw Weaver. As for the book publication, she was unsuccessful at finding an English printer willing to assume the responsibility of setting the text - seven of them refused to do it, all on moral grounds. "Under English law, unlike American, the printing of immoral writings is as actionable as their publication" (Slocum & Cahoon, p.20). Weaver sent a copy of her Egoist serialization to New York bookseller Edmond Byrne Hackett, who in turn contacted B.W. Huebsch, who undertook the publication of Portrait, just as he had for Dubliners several weeks earlier. "...on 16 June (an emblematic date for Joyce) Benjamin Huebsch wrote to Miss Weaver with his proposal: publication of the complete novel, with sheets printed in the US going to the English publisher under joint imprints, the costs being… Read More

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1970. Attractive copy of White's beloved book, a barnyard story which has enchanted generations of readers since it was published in 1952. A Newbery Honoree, and basis for two well-received film adaptations - a 1973 animated film and a more recent production by Gary Winick (2006), starring Dakota Fanning, Julia Roberts, and Oprah Winfrey. Authentically signed or inscribed copies are uncommon; White was publicity-shy, anxious in large crowds, and struggled with Alzheimer's later in life, so copies with provenance this clear are quite unusual. Octavo (20.75cm); original pictorial cloth boards; pictorial endpapers; dustjacket; [viii],184pp; illus. Inscribed by the author on the half-title page: "For Tony Maramarco / with greetings from E.B. White." Base of spine a little nudged, three corners gently bumped (though still sharp); Near Fine. Dustjacket is unclipped (priced $4.95), gently spine-sunned and lightly edgeworn, with shallow loss to upper front flap fold, some… Read More

New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1945. First Black Widow Thriller Edition. Chandler's first and best-known novel, and the debut of Philip Marlowe - perhaps the most imitated character within the mystery genre. "On one level, this is a complex murder mystery with its fair share of clues and corpses. On another level, it is a serious novel concerned (as is much of Chandler's work) with the corrupting influences of money and power. Marlowe is hired by General Sternwood, an old, paralyzed ex-soldier who made a fortune in oil, to find out why a rare-book dealer named Arthur Gwynn Geiger is holding an IOU signed by Sternwood's youngest daughter, the wild and immoral Carmen, and where a blackmailing gambler named Joe Brody fits into the picture" (Pronzini & Muller, p. 122). The Black Widow Thriller's were a short-run series produced by Chandler's American publisher Alfred A. Knopf, a vehicle for printing uniform editions of the works by Chandler, Dashiell Hammett, and Eric Ambler; a second printing was allegedly… Read More

London: John Lane / The Bodley Head, 1937. First English Trade Edition. First Impression. Octavo (21.25cm); green cloth, with titling and Homeric bow stamped in gilt on spine and front cover; mint green topstain; dustjacket; [viii],765,[3]pp. Hint of foxing to front cover, some offsetting from jacket flaps onto endpapers, else clean internally; very Near Fine. Dustjacket is price-clipped, with light wear to crown, and three small closed tears; a bright, Near Fine example. An attractive edition of Joyce's most enduring work, the text reproduced by photo-offset from John Lane's 1936 limited edition, and issued in a reduced-size trade binding. cf.Slocum & Cahoon 23, p.35.

Philadelphia & New York: J.B. Lippincott Company, 1960. First Edition. The author's first published book, winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1961 and basis for Robert Mulligan's Oscar-winning 1962 film starring Gregory Peck. First Printing, one of ca.5,000 copies. Octavo (20.75cm); brown paper over light green cloth, with titling and decorations stamped in brown on spine; dustjacket; [8],9-296pp. Pictorial bookplate of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. (1909-1988) mounted to front pastedown. Two tiny foxed spots to upper front board edge along the backstrip, else a fresh, Fine copy. In the correct first printing dustjacket, priced $3.95, with 4-line Truman Capote quote on the front flap and Jonathan Daniels quote on the rear flap; mild wear to spine ends, and to a lesser degree, along the joints and front flap fold, with a few pinpoint rubbed spots to front panel; a bright, Near Fine example, rich in color, and entirely unrestored. Housed in a custom half-morocco clamshell case.

New York: The Limited Editions Club, 1932. Limited Edition. An attractive production of Carroll's beloved novel, signed by the woman who was the inspiration for the main character. Bibliography of the Fine Books Published by The Limited Editions Club, No.36. One of 1,500 numbered copies signed by typographer and binder Frederic Warde on the colophon, this being copy no.1,389. This copy is one of a smaller complement (ca.500 copies) signed by Alice Hargreaves (the "original Alice") on a preliminary leaf. Octavo (22.5cm); full dark red morocco, with titling and decorative elements stamped in gilt on spine and covers; all edges gilt; publisher's original cloth slipcase; [iii],xiv,182,[6]pp; illus. Sunning to spine, a bit of darkening to spine ends, with pinpoint wear to extremities, and some light offsetting to edges of endpapers; contents fresh, with gilt edges unblemished; Very Good+. Publisher's slipcase is shelfworn, showing some minor board exposure, with pronounced sunning to spine, edges, and… Read More

New York: Harper & Row, Publishers, 1963. First Edition. An excellent copy of what is perhaps the best-loved and most distinguished illustrated children's book of the 20th century, one that the American Institute of Graphic Arts called "the perfect book." Inscribed by Sendak to Pulitzer Prize-winning poet and translator Richard Howard (1929-2022) and his then partner, author and playwright Sanford Friedman (1928-2010). Howard and Sendak both spent time on Fire Island during the 1960s, where Sendak wrote Where the Wild Things Are, and the men were part of a tightly-knit circle of queer authors and artists in New York during that period. By the mid-1970s, Howard and Sendak had drifted apart, though this copy is evidence of a once closer friendship. While erroneously dated (the book was published in November, 1963 - this copy was actually inscribed on January 9, 1964, not 1963), it still remains among the earliest recorded inscriptions in copies of Where the Wild Things Are. The earliest we have traced… Read More

Sauk City, WI: Arkham House, 1939. First Editions. The first major collection of Lovecraft's weird fiction and the first production by the legendary Arkham House - a landmark in 20th century genre publishing. The 32 stories written for various pulp magazines were gathered and preserved by Lovecraft's friends, August Derleth and Donald Wandrei, who founded Arkham House in 1939 to preserve and publish the best of Lovecraft's fiction. The stories "range from early exercises in Dunsanian pastiche to the mature and highly distinctive tales of the Cthulhu Mythos, which construct a horrific cosmological and historical context for human history. Luckless protagonists who stumble upon various dire intrusions of Cthulhu and his kin, or who unwisely pursue dangerous inquiries in the appropriate revelatory tomes, are inevitably brought to repulsively stick ends. Lovecraft became the consummate master of the confirmatory ending, in which what has been suspected all along finally becomes manifest" (Barron, Horror… Read More