Fleming, Ian
First edition, first impression, first issue, first state (with the 3mm diagonal line detail in the upper left area of the skull stamped to the front board). Original publisher's black cloth stamped in blind to front board with a line drawing of a human skull with fifty-dollar gold pieces to each eye socket, lettered in gilt to spine; in its original pictorial dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping with the illustration of a human skull with gold coins in the eye sockets and a single red rose held between its teeth. Very good book, corners and edges of boards lightly bumped, a touch of rubbing to spine ends, and light dampstaining to rear pastedown (faintly visible on rear board); near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, light rubbing to spine ends and joints, some mild spotting to rear panel, light dampstaining to jacket verso, and a small crease to top edge of rear panel. Overall, a very pleasing example of the jacket in its scarce first state. Gilbert A7a (1.1). Goldfinger features the villain Auric Goldfinger, the richest man in England whose wealth is stored in his namesake mineral, gold. Indeed, the symbol of gold plays an important role throughout the text; the name "Auric" comes from the chemical element symbol for gold "Au," and Goldfinger murders his ex-girlfriend by covering her body completely in gold. In this novel, Bond must stop Goldfinger from completing Operation Grand Slam, a gold-smuggling plot that would cripple the world economy and give the Russian spy organization SMERSH total power over the West. Goldfinger also introduces one of the most memorable villainous sidekicks, Oddjob, whose deadly aim and razor-edged bowler hat make him a force to be reckoned with.
Fleming, Ian
First edition, first impression, first issue, second state (lacking the 3mm diagonal line detail in the upper left area of the skull stamped to the front board). Original publisher's black cloth stamped in blind to front board with a line drawing of a human skull with fifty-dollar gold pieces to each eye socket, lettered in gilt to spine; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping with illustration of a human skull with gold coins in the eye sockets and a single red rose held between its teeth. Near fine book, with a hint of rubbing to foot of spine, and light spotting to endpapers and text block edges; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and flap folds, a touch of spotting to top of front panel, light wear and a hint of chipping to spine ends, light rubbing to folds, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, an attractive and bright copy. Gilbert A7a (1.2). Goldfinger features the villain Auric Goldfinger, the richest man in England whose wealth is stored in his namesake mineral, gold. Indeed, the symbol of gold plays an important role throughout the text; the name "Auric" comes from the chemical element symbol for gold "Au," and Goldfinger murders his ex-girlfriend by covering her body completely in gold. In this novel, Bond must stop Goldfinger from completing Operation Grand Slam, a gold-smuggling plot that would cripple the world economy and give the Russian spy organization SMERSH total power over the West. Goldfinger also introduces one of the most memorable villainous sidekicks, Oddjob, whose deadly aim and razor-edged bowler hat make him a force to be reckoned with.
Fleming, Ian
First edition, first impression, first issue, binding A, of the ninth novel in the James Bond series. Publisher's dark brown cloth with skeleton hand in blind to front board, spine lettered in gilt; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping, with an illustration to the front panel of a skeleton's hand holding a blackjack hand with a knife affixing the cards to the table, lettered in black. Fine book; about fine unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine, a touch of rubbing to corners and foot of spine, and small Jonathan Cape price sticker to bottom of front flap over original price. Overall, a remarkably fresh copy. Gilbert A9a (1.1). Thunderball is the first of Fleming's novels to involve the notorious villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld, head of the secret spy organization SPECTRE (Special Executive for Counter-intelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion). In this novel, Bond is in the Bahamas at a health clinic when SPECTRE steals two atomic bombs. The British and American intelligence agencies team up to launch Operation Thunderball in an effort to recover the weapons. Published only a few years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, Fleming draws a parallel to pre-existing Cold War tensions to heighten the suspense of this novel. Thunderball culminates with a memorable underwater fight scene from which 007 only narrowly escapes. The Blofeld trilogy is continued in On Her Majesty's Secret Service (1963) and You Only Live Twice (1964).
Travers, P.L. (Pamela Lyndon)
Illustrated by Mary Shepard and Agnes Sims. First edition, first printing. Inscribed by Travers on front free endpaper: "A walking stick for Judith Roy / P. L. Travers / October 1962." Publisher's tan cloth, front board and spine stamped in black, white and black pictorial endpapers; in its original blue dust jacket, lettered in black, with wraparound illustration of a floating Mary Poppins and a waving crowd. Very good book, with light paperclip outline to top of front board, mild rubbing to spine ends, corners lightly bumped, a small patch of offsetting to front endpapers, Judith Roy ownership signature to front free endpaper, Judith Roy bookplate to front free endpaper verso, and light thumbsoiling to front free endpaper verso, half-title page, and text block fore-edge; very good unclipped dust jacket, with a touch of soiling to front panel, light toning to spine, some chipping to spine ends ("Hitchcock" missing from foot of spine), a small chip and some creasing to bottom edge of front panel, some chipping to top edge of front panel and corners, some splitting to top and bottom of front flap fold, and light rubbing to front flap fold. Overall, a very nice signed copy of an early title in the Mary Poppins series. Mary Poppins Opens the Door is the third entry in P. L. Travers' beloved eight-volume Mary Poppins series. In this volume, Mary Poppins falls from the sky and rejoins the Banks family as the children's nanny, picking up where she left off. She takes the children on a series of magical adventures where they meet Mary's piano tuning cousin, Mr. Twigley, witness a park statue of the mythological figure Neleus come to life, and visit Miss Calico and her flying peppermint sticks. Notably, this is the third and last book in the series that recounts a new visit by Poppins to the Banks household - the subsequent five books tell of events that occurred during her previous three visits. Note: Travers' inscription in this copy is likely a reference to the walking stick-like illustrations of peppermint sticks on the endpapers.
Milne, A. A. (Alan Alexander)
Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard. First edition, first printing, first state dust jacket with "117th Thousand" to rear flap. Publisher's dark green cloth, decorated in gilt to front board with an illustration of Christopher Robin and Pooh, lettered in gilt to spine, top edge gilt, and illustrated map endpapers; in the original tan pictorial dust jacket printed with Shepard's illustrations in black. Near fine book, with a touch of rubbing to spine ends, top corners lightly bumped, light offsetting to endpapers, and tiny bookseller stamp to front flyleaf verso; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with light soiling to panels and spine, tiny red mark to spine, light rubbing to spine ends and top edges of panels, and a very short closed tear to top edge of front panel. Overall, a very attractive copy of the classic children's book. Winnie-the-Pooh is the second in Milne's series of children's books featuring the adventures of the teddy bear character Winnie the Pooh and his friends. Each telling an individual and complete story, the chapters of Winnie-the-Pooh can be read independently of one another. Milne created the story of Winnie the Pooh for his son Christopher Robin, who had a teddy bear named Edward Bear. In his introduction, Milne explains how Edward Bear became Winnie the Pooh, although he notes that "we can't remember whether Winnie is called after Pooh, or Pooh after Winnie." The name "Winnie" comes from a bear that the Milnes saw at the London Zoo, while the name "Pooh" is from a swan whom the fictional Christopher Robin encountered in When We Were Very Young (1924).
Chadwick, Henry [Editor]
First edition. Publishers yellow wrappers printed in black with illustration of mustached pitcher to front wrapper, J. W. D. Kelly & Bro. advertisement to rear wrapper. Good with triangular chip to top left corner of front wrapper and top right corner of rear wrapper, light chipping to edges, some rubbing to rear wrapper, and some spotting and soiling to pages. Overall, a solid copy. Very scarce. The De Witt's Base-Ball Guide, published annually from 1868 to 1885, was the official publication of the Amateur and Professional Association, and stands as one of the first and most comprehensive guides to baseball ever published. New York Herald baseball reporter M. J. Kelly edited the guide in its first year, and subsequent editions were edited by the so-called "father of baseball", Henry Chadwick (1824-1908). The guide was aimed at both players and fans; it included lists of player averages, detailed explanations of the rules of the game, and advice for athletes on how best to prepare themselves for the sport. Interestingly, though the guides were immensely popular, some of Chadwick's advice was perceived as excessively proper - his condemnation of athletes drinking alcohol, for example, did not resonate well with all of his readers. Even so, Chadwick was revered as the foremost authority on the intricacies of the sport, and his writing for De Witt's Base-Ball Guide remains part of the sport's trajectory to what it is today.
Christie, Agatha
First edition, first printing. Publisher's red cloth, lettered in black. Very good, with light fading to spine, mild soiling to cloth, light offsetting to endpapers, three ownership signatures to front free endpaper, and light spotting to pages (primarily edges). Overall, a very nice copy of a hard-to-find Christie title. Cards on the Table is a murder-mystery featuring Christie's fictional Belgian detective Hercule Poirot in one of his most notable literary appearances. The plot tells of a bridge game hosted by collector Mr. Shaitana, who has invited eight guests to play in two separate games. The first game involves three detective figures, whom Christie had previously introduced in earlier novels, along with Poirot, while the second game involves four new characters, each of whom had previously committed a murder. When Shaitana is found dead, stabbed with a dagger from his own collection, Poirot teams up with the other sleuths in what he describes as "one of the most interesting cases I have ever come across." Cards on the Table represents Christie at her best; although she warns her reader in a brief foreword that this is not the typical detective story, she explains that "the deduction must, therefore, be entirely psychological" which she argues is "none the less interesting because when all is said and done it is the mind of the murderer that is of supreme interest."
OConnor, Leslie M. [Compiler].
First edition, first printing. Publishers tan wrappers, front wrapper stamped in gilt. Very good copy with some spotting to gilt, minor soiling and creasing to rear wrapper, slightly loose front hinge, and a touch of thumbsoiling to "Memo" page at end of book. Overall, a solid copy without any nicks or tears. Professional Baseball in America is an official baseball rulebook that addresses the "agreements and rules defining the relations of leagues, clubs and players." The book provides insight into the business side of the game, detailing the organizational hierarchy, player contract forms, and more. After the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, the autocratic former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed as Commissioner of the league as a means of restoring public faith in the league and rooting out corruption. This annual book was compiled by Leslie O'Connor, who served as the assistant to Commissioner Landis for more than 20 years. Landis philosophy is laid out in the books foreword with lines like, ".the machinery of organization must work smoothly, so that the public will not be annoyed by controversies which spoil sport and debase the game."
Chadwick, Henry [Editor]
First edition, first printing. Rebound in custom brown cloth with titles in black to spine, with publishers yellow wrappers bound in, printed in black with illustration of mustached pitcher to front wrapper, Peck & Snyder advertisement to rear wrapper. Good with some rubbing to wrappers, light edgewear, a bit of soiling to rear wrapper, some tape repair to frontispiece, and minor spotting to pages. Overall, a pleasing copy. Scarce. The De Witt's Base-Ball Guide, published annually from 1868 to 1885, was the official publication of the Amateur and Professional Association, and stands as one of the first and most comprehensive guides to baseball ever published. New York Herald baseball reporter M. J. Kelly edited the guide in its first year, and subsequent editions were edited by the so-called "father of baseball", Henry Chadwick (1824-1908). The guide was aimed at both players and fans; it included lists of player averages, detailed explanations of the rules of the game, and advice for athletes on how best to prepare themselves for the sport. Interestingly, though the guides were immensely popular, some of Chadwick's advice was perceived as excessively proper - his condemnation of athletes drinking alcohol, for example, did not resonate well with all of his readers. Even so, Chadwick was revered as the foremost authority on the intricacies of the sport, and his writing for De Witt's Base-Ball Guide remains part of the sport's trajectory to what it is today.
Fleming, Ian
First edition, first impression in Gilbert's Binding A (no priority determined), with "the sexuality" on page 18, line 1, and "ice twinkled" on page 136, line 8. Publisher's black cloth, centrally stamped with a silver revolver in front of a metallic-red rose with a silver stem, lettered in silver and red to spine; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Richard Chopping with the illustration of a sawn-off Smith & Wesson revolver placed across a red rose to front panel. About near fine book with light soiling to front board and front edge of text block; in a very good unclipped dust jacket with light toning to spine, some wear to spine joints and spine ends, small closed tear to top of rear panel. Overall, a bright and lovely copy. Gilbert A5a (1.1). From Russia, With Love has an archetypal Cold War plotline in which the democratic West must defend itself from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. In this novel, Bond faces SMERSH, the Russian counter-intelligence agency whose acronymic name stems from the Russian phrase "Death to Spies!" SMERSH seeks to undermine the British intelligence service by killing one of their 00 agents, and they have chosen James Bond as their target victim. From Russia, With Love introduces two of the most memorable female Russian spies: the glamorous seductress Tatiana Romanova, who baited womanizer 007 into SMERSH'S clutches, and Rosa Klebb, the Head of SMERSH's department of operations. Klebb possesses one of the more unique weapons in the Bond series: poison-dipped daggers that shoot out from her shoes. From Russia, With Love is largely considered to mark the turning point in Fleming's career as a successful writer.
Christie, Agatha
First edition, first printing. Publisher's orange cloth with titles in black to spine; in its original green dust jacket with skull and champagne illustration by Leslie Leonard Stead to front panel, titles lettered in white and yellow. Near fine with mild toning along upper and lower board edges and spine ends, light spotting along upper edge of front board, and a tiny brown spot to textblock fore-edge; very good unclipped dust jacket with some wear and creasing to panel edges including a few small closed tears, spine lightly rubbed, a bit of chipping to spine ends, and light dampstaining to jacket flap edges. Overall, a solid copy in the scarce dust jacket. In Sparkling Cyanide, the beautiful Rosemary Barton dies suddenly at a small birthday dinner and her death is ruled a suicide. However, upon receiving anonymous letters claiming that Rosemary was in fact murdered, her husband recreates the dinner party a year later with the same guests in hopes of uncovering the killer. For this novel, Agatha Christie reworked an earlier short story of hers titled "Yellow Iris," replacing the short story's Hercule Poirot with another one of her recurring investigators, Colonel Race. Other Christie novels featuring Race include The Man in the Brown Suit (1924), Cards on the Table (1936), and Death on the Nile (1937).
OConnor, Leslie M. [Compiler].
First edition, first printing. Publishers burgundy leather wrappers, stamped in gilt to front wrapper. Very good or better with some dimming to gilt, light toning to spine, minor tape repair to title page, and slight creasing to upper corners of several leaves at rear. Overall, an excellent copy. Professional Baseball in America is an official baseball rulebook that addresses the "agreements and rules defining the relations of leagues, clubs and players." The book provides insight into the business side of the game, detailing the organizational hierarchy, player contract forms, and more. After the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, the autocratic former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed as Commissioner of the league as a means of restoring public faith in the league and rooting out corruption. This annual book was compiled by Leslie O'Connor, who served as the assistant to Commissioner Landis for more than 20 years. Landis philosophy is laid out in the books foreword with lines like, ".the machinery of organization must work smoothly, so that the public will not be annoyed by controversies which spoil sport and debase the game."
Christie, Agatha
First edition, first printing. Publisher's orange cloth, with titles lettered in black to spine; in the original white dust jacket with artwork by J. Z. Atkinson, lettered in black. Very good with light fading to spine, minor soiling to rear panel, touch of wear to spine ends, and a previous owner's signature to front free endpaper; very good or better unclipped dust jacket with very light toning to spine, minor spotting to panel edges, and two very small closed tears to foot of spine. Overall, a lovely copy in its scarce dust jacket. In Towards Zero, tennis star Nevile Strange visits Lady Tressilian, the elderly widow of his former guardian, at her seaside residence. Anxious for his new young wife and ex-wife to be friends, Neville invites them both to Lady Tressilian's, resulting in a tense and uncomfortable atmosphere. When the elderly woman is murdered, Superintendent Battle is tasked with uncovering the killer. Towards Zero is recognized as one of Christie's best novels and is the last of five to feature Superintendent Battle. Maurice Richardson writes in The Observer: "How gratifying to see Agatha Christie keeping the flag of the old classic who-dun-it so triumphantly flying!"
Christie, Agatha
First edition, first printing. Publisher's orange cloth with titles lettered in black to spine; original green dust jacket lettered in black and white. Fine with just a hint of fading to spine ends; near fine price-clipped dust jacket with light toning to spine, light wear to foot of spine, minor chipping and a small closed tear to head of spine, and a few nicks and creases to tail-edge of front panel. Overall, a lovely copy. Agatha Christie's 1954 spy novel Destination Unknown follows Hilary Craven, a woman with nothing to lose, on a search for missing nuclear scientists. Hilary, abandoned by her husband and child, is on the verge of taking her own life when a British secret agent asks her to undertake a dangerous mission as an alternative. The book was written during the Cold War, and the mounting fear of nuclear war pervades the plot. It is also speculated that Christie's 1920s failed marriage inspired the character of Hilary.
Christie, Agatha
First edition, first printing. Publisher's red cloth, titles in black to spine; original red and black dust jacket with titles in white. Light spotting to text block edges and endpapers, else fine book; near fine lightly spotted unclipped dust jacket, with a small closed tear to bottom of rear panel, a tiny chip to head of spine, and tiny closed tears to hinges of foot of spine. Overall, a handsome copy. In 4.50 From Paddington, Elspeth McGillicuddy is traveling by train to meet her friend, Miss Marple, when she witnesses a woman being strangled on a parallel train. Deducing that the woman's body must be somewhere on the Rutherford Hall estate, Miss Marple enlists her friend, Lucy Eyelesbarrow, to assume a false identity and investigate. While on the premises, Lucy discovers a deeper plot as, one by one, heirs to the estate meet suspicious ends. 4.50 From Paddington was published in the US with the alternative title What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw! due to predicted confusion about the British title's railway lingo. In a review of the book, The Times stated: "Perhaps there is a corpse or two too many, but there is never a dull moment."
Lajoie, Napoleon; Bobrick, M.
First edition. Publisher's blue and white wrappers with photo of Lajoie to front wrapper, advertisement for Tryon's baseball goods to rear wrapper. Very good with some creasing to front wrapper, small closed tear to fore edge of front wrapper, small chip to foot of spine, light soiling to wrappers and text block edges. Overall, an attractive copy of an extremely scarce book, rarely found in collectible condition. This early baseball guide is edited and compiled by Napoleon Lajoie, who has been called "the first superstar in American League history." The guide provides an in-depth recap of the previous year, with rosters, statistics, photos, and more. According to the preface of the inaugural 1906 edition, this baseball guide is the first "ever published by a Ball player actively engaged in playing Base Ball." Lajoie was such an important part of his Cleveland Bronchos team that they changed their name to the Cleveland Naps in his honor in 1903. Winner of five batting titles and a triple crown in 1901, he was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1937.
OConnor, Leslie M. [Compiler].
First edition, first printing. Publishers blue wrappers with title in gilt to front wrapper. Near fine copy with light toning to spine, minor thumbsoiling to pp. 58 and 63. Overall, a pleasing copy. Professional Baseball in America is an official baseball rulebook that addresses the "agreements and rules defining the relations of leagues, clubs and players." The book provides insight into the business side of the game, detailing the organizational hierarchy, player contract forms, and more. After the 1919 Black Sox Scandal, the autocratic former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed as Commissioner of the league as a means of restoring public faith in the league and rooting out corruption. This annual book was compiled by Leslie O'Connor, who served as the assistant to Commissioner Landis for more than 20 years. Landis philosophy is laid out in the books foreword with lines like, ".the machinery of organization must work smoothly, so that the public will not be annoyed by controversies which spoil sport and debase the game."
Hemingway, Ernest
First edition, first printing with no disclaimer on p. [x]; in its first issue dust jacket with "Katherine Barclay" misspelling to front flap. Publisher's black cloth with gold paper labels lettered in black to front board and spine; in the original pictorial dust jacket with a drawing by Cleon. Very good or better, with light rubbing to bottom edges of boards and foot of spine, paper labels bright and fresh, light offsetting to endpapers, mild edgewear to front and rear free endpapers, a touch of soiling to bottom edges of endpapers, a hint of dampstaining to fore edge of rear free endpaper, and some tearing to bottom edges of pp. 105 - 134; unclipped dust jacket with light toning to spine and board edges, some creasing and a small closed tear to top edge of front panel, small closed tear to bottom of front panel, light chipping to spine ends (mostly head of spine), small patch of dampstaining to bottom of rear panel, a few very light scratches to fore edge of rear panel, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, an excellent example in its scarce first issue dust jacket. Set in Italy during World War I, A Farewell to Arms tells the story of a romance between the protagonist Frederic Henry, an American serving as a lieutenant in the Italian ambulance corps, and Catherine Barkley, a British nurse tending to wounded soldiers. Widely considered one of the best novels to come from the war, the novel is, as the first edition dust jacket proclaims, "the very essence of beauty as twisted and made tragic by war" that "expresses the innermost nature of war." Unlike many of the other war novels by contemporary writers, A Farewell to Arms addresses not only the aftermath of WWI but the events of the war itself, specifically the Italian Front around the Battle of Caporetto of Autumn 1917. Accordingly, it stood out amongst the war novels, becoming Hemingway's first bestseller, and establishing him as a premier American writer. Interestingly, in his 1958 interview with The Paris Review, Hemingway famously remarked, "I rewrote the ending to A Farewell to Arms, the last page of it, thirty-nine times before I was satisfied."
Hemingway, Ernest
First American edition, first printing, in the second state dust jacket with orange lettering to spine. Publisher's black cloth, author's facsimile signature stamped in gilt to front board, titles in gilt to spine; in the original dust jacket designed by Adriana Ivancich, with an illustration of Venice to the front panel, photograph of Hemingway by Paul Radkai to rear panel. Near fine, with light dimming to gilt on spine, a few very light marks to spine, a couple of very small bumps to bottom edges of boards, and bottom right corner of front board lightly bumped; unclipped dust jacket, with some roughness to top edges of panels and flaps, mild wear to spine ends, and lightly nicked corners. Overall, a handsome copy. Hanneman A23. Originally published serially in Cosmopolitan from February - June 1950, Across the River and Into the Trees tells the story of American Colonel Richard Cantwell during the last day of his life as he recalls his experiences in war and love as a younger man in Venice. Hemingway took the title of this novel from the last words of General Thomas J. "Stonewall" Jackson, quoted on page 307: "Let us cross over the river and rest under the shade of the trees." Like much of his writing, this novel is highly autobiographical. Also, in typical Hemingway fashion, Across the River utilizes the Iceberg Theory, in which the true essence of the story is not expressly said in the plot but rather is meant to be inferred. Adriana Ivancich, who designed this edition's dust jacket, made Hemingway's acquaintance while the author was visiting Venice in 1949 and subsequently became his muse. This first American edition, published on September 7, 1950, was preceded by the British edition, which was released only 3 days prior on September 4th.
Hemingway, Ernest
First edition, first printing, in the first state dust jacket lacking photographer's credit to rear panel (which was added in later states). Publisher's beige cloth, stamped to front board in black with author's facsimile signature, stamped in red and black to spine; in the original black, red, white, and blue dust jacket with a photograph of the author taken by Lloyd Arnold to rear panel. Near fine, with light toning to spine, a touch of rubbing to spine's red label, mild offsetting to endpapers, and light thumbsoiling to p. [x] with Donne quotation; unclipped dust jacket, with just a hint of fading to spine, light wear to spine ends and corners, mild creasing to top right of rear panel, a tiny spot of staining to spine, and some tape residue to flaps. Overall, a lovely copy difficult to find in nice condition. Hanneman A18a. For Whom the Bell Tolls is Hemingway's account of the Spanish Civil War, based on his experiences living as a journalist in Spain during the conflict. It tells the story of protagonist Robert Johnson, an American fighting for the Republicans during the war. Notably, For Whom the Bell Tolls describes the struggle of the Spanish people without glorifying the war effort. Along with The Sun Also Rises, The Old Man and the Sea, and A Farewell to Arms, this text is considered one of the author's best novels. Indeed, in his 1940 New York Times review, Ralph Thompson praises it as "the most moving document to date on the Spanish Civil War," "the first major novel of the Second World War," and even Hemingway's "finest novel." At 211,000 words, For Whom the Bell Tolls is also Hemingway's longest text.
Orwell, George
First American edition, first printing. Publisher's original gray cloth, lettered in maroon and black; in the original red dust jacket, lettered in black and tan. Near fine book, with light toning to foot and center of spine, tiny spot of soiling to front pastedown and p. 8, small split to cloth at bottom edge of rear board, and mild staining to a few pages (pp. 16-17, 133, 136); very good unclipped dust jacket, with moderate toning to spine, some damage to center of spine with a few small closed tears and a touch of dampstaining, shallow chipping to spine ends, small closed tears to top edges of panels, slightly nicked corners, and light wear along jacket flap joints. Overall, a pleasing copy of Orwell's masterpiece. Fenwick A12.b Nineteen Eighty-Four is a novel about a dystopian future in the year 1984. In the future Orwell has created, the totalitarian government controls the civilian population with a detailed system of mental and physical control, including omnipresent two-way TV screens that keep the citizens under constant surveillance. Any criticism of the government is illegal, and independent thought is persecuted as a "thoughtcrime." Even the newly adopted language, "newspeak," which abbreviates many phrases and eliminates words deemed inessential, serves "not only to provide a medium of expression for the world-view" of the new totalitarian regime, but also "to make all other modes of thought impossible . that is, a thought diverging from the [state approved] principles should literally be unthinkable, in so far as thought is dependent on words." This first American edition was published five days after the first British edition.
Kerouac, Jack
First edition, first printing. Publisher's black cloth-backed blue marbled boards, spine lettered in gilt; in its original white dust jacket, printed in black, blue, and green, designed by Janet Halverson. Near fine, with a touch of white soiling to front board, light toning to spine ends, spine gilt bright, minor bump to top corner of rear board, and tiny nick to top of pp. 159-163; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light toning to spine and board edges, mild wear to spine ends, a hint of rubbing to front panel, and front flap price crossed out with "1.49" written above in pen. Overall, a very good and clean copy. Big Sur is Kerouac's account of his three visits to beat poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti's cabin in Big Sur, California. Like many of his other works, the text is semi-autobiographical; Kerouac uses the characters Jack Duluoz and Cody Pomeray to represent himself and his friend Neal Cassidy, respectively. However, unlike in his previous novels, Kerouac presents Duluoz as a successful author rather than a nomadic bohemian. Throughout the text, Kerouac battles with depression, the pressure of fame, and alcoholism, a downward spiral which he attempts to combat by seeking solace in the wilderness. However, despite its overall pessimism, Big Sur contains the witty and humorous writing style that makes Kerouac's writing so beloved. In a description of a week-long bender, Kerouac writes, "I've been sitting in that chair by that fishbowl for a week drinking and smoking and talking and now the goldfish are dead."
