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The Fire Next Time

Baldwin, James First edition, first printing. Publisher's cream cloth, lettered in red; in its original black dust jacket designed by Paul Bacon, lettered in red and orange, with photograph of Baldwin by Mottke Weissman to the rear panel. Near fine book, with light toning to spine, faint spot of thumbsoiling to p. 73; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light wear to spine ends, some light rubbing and creasing to edges, small closed tear to bottom of rear panel, and some light marks to panels and spine. Overall, a solid copy. This influential work by American writer and activist James Baldwin contains two essays, "My Dungeon Shook - Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross - Letter from a Region of My Mind." Written during the height of the civil rights movement of the 1950's and 60's, these two essays put forth Baldwin's perspective on the struggle for Black liberation in the United States. In "My Dungeon Shook," Baldwin addresses his nephew, James, and implores him to defy the expectations and limits set for him by white oppressors. Baldwin writes, "Please try to remember that what [white people] believe, as well as what they do and cause you to endure, does not testify to your inferiority but to their inhumanity and fear." In the longer of the two essays, "Down at the Cross," Baldwin recounts his experiences growing up in Harlem and in the Church, chronicling the daily realities faced by himself and other young Black people in what amounts to one of the most important treatises on race relations ever published. The Fire Next Time continues to be referenced by modern civil rights leaders and activists and is an important anti-racism text.
  • $300
Autograph Manuscript Signed

Autograph Manuscript Signed

Tuckerman, Henry T. One leaf (two pp.), 52-line poem titled "Memory," written on plain paper. Signed and dated by Tuckerman at end of poem, on verso. Near fine, with just some light spotting. Overall, a lovely manuscript, without any nicks or tears. Memory When the cares of present being, Wake a tumult in the breast, To the Past the spirit fleeing, Lulls its anxious fears to rest. Herbal, book or faded letter Murmurs of departed years, Fancy freed from Custom's teller, Smiles serenely through her tears. Roaming then the hallowed places Where we quaffed love's fountain new, When Hope's young and winning graces Pure enchantment round us threw; With the primal transport glowing, Tossed upon the sea of Youth; Life's pale star its course retraces, Back the tides of feeling roll, And the dear remembered faces Rise again before the soul. Eyes where fond rays long have perished Make the languid pulses start, Tones whose echo love has cherished Fall again upon the heart. Hands that smoothed an infants' tresses, The worn brow benignly seek, Lips that hailed a child's caresses, Press again the pallid cheek. Up Time's current meekly stealing, Wafted to a distant land, Mark we with ecstatic feeling, Well-known haunts along the Strand. Streams long mute with charm subduing Greet us in the balmy air, Vistas green o'er senses cooing, Lure us down the winding stair. Forms that long won our devotion Thread again familiar ways, Smiles that wake divine emotion, Beam as in more happy days. At old altars then renewing Vows that fate forbade to keep, Bygone paths of bliss pursuing, Pearls we draw from Sorrow's Deep. Musing thus upon the vanished, Blended grow life's varied hues, And the darker shades are banished Or made bright with early dews. Calmly thus we see things fading In the twilight of the past, To the heart its griefs upbraiding, - Whispering that they cannot last. Henry T. Tuckerman (1813 - 1871) was a Boston-born writer who published acclaimed essays, biographies, poems, and sketches. He was an important part of the New York literary world after 1845, and was friends with major authors like Herman Melville, Nathaniel Hawthorne, and Washington Irving. Interestingly, he received an order from the King of Italy "in recognition of his labors on behalf of Italian exiles in the United States." Tuckerman's cousin was Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, a highly respected yet reclusive 19th century poet, who only published one collection, Poems (1860), in his lifetime. It was received favorably by such writers as Hawthorne and Lord Alfred Tennyson.
  • $850
1919 White Sox team ("Black Sox Scandal") photo.

1919 White Sox team (“Black Sox Scandal”) photo.

[Jackson, Joe] 1919. 8 ½ " x 10 ½ " Type 1 black and white photo. Original photo of 1919 Chicago White Sox team in uniforms, seated in front of the bleachers, with Joe Jackson at far left. Very good photo, with a small closed tear to top edge, some writing in black marker to bottom of photo, and some trimming to edges. Overall, a scarce original photo of a team that features prominently in baseball lore. In the Black Sox Scandal, eight Chicago White Sox players - Arnold "Chick" Gandil, Eddie Cicotte, Oscar "Happy" Felsch, "Shoeless" Joe Jackson, Fred McMullin, Charles "Swede" Risberg, George "Buck" Weaver, and Claude "Lefty" Williams - were accused of fixing the 1919 World Series (the White Sox lost the World Series to the Cincinnati Reds five games to three in a best-of-nine series). In response to the scandal, the autocratic former federal judge Kenesaw Mountain Landis was appointed as Commissioner of the league in 1920. Kenesaw banned the eight accused White Sox players from the league for life, and they were also banned from Hall of Fame consideration. There is a lot of controversy regarding Joe Jackson's Hall of Fame ban, stemming from unanswered questions about the extent of his participation in the fix (he accepted a bribe, yet performed extremely well in the series, with a .375 batting average and a then-record 12 base hits). Regardless, he was one of the all-time great professional baseball players, boasting a .356 lifetime batting average. Interestingly, Babe Ruth copied Jackson's batting technique, specifically his "feet-together batting stance and his power stride into the pitch" (Britannica). In 1982, W. P. Kinsella published the book Shoeless Joe, which was later adapted into the classic film, Field of Dreams (1989).
  • $3,500
  • $3,500
The Rhubarb Patch

The Rhubarb Patch, the Story of the Modern Brooklyn Dodgers

Barber, Red Illustrated with photos by official Brooklyn Dodgers photographer, Barney Stein. First edition, first printing. Signed by 38 former Dodgers, including: Pee Wee Reese (signed "Pee Wee Reese / The Captain") [HOF], Duke Snider [HOF], Dick Williams [HOF], Ralph Branca, Carl Erskine, Don Newcombe, Johnny Podres, and "Preacher" Roe. Publisher's green cloth, with spine stamped in darker green; in its original green dust jacket, lettered in white and yellow. Very good book, with bottom corners worn to boards, some rubbing to spine ends and top and bottom edges of boards, tiny yellow sticker to rear board, and some toning to pages; very good unclipped dust jacket, with a few light marks to front panel and spine, light wear to spine ends, a small closed tear to top of rear panel, light spotting to jacket flaps, light rubbing to top of rear flap, and light spotting and creasing to left edge of rear panel. Overall, an attractive copy signed by many Dodgers greats. In this book, photos by Barney Stein, the official Brooklyn Dodgers photographer for 20 years, are paired with anecdotes and insights by the colorful and legendary sports announcer, Red Barber. According to the dust jacket's front flap, "The Rhubarb Patch is not a formal history. It is a chatty, behind-the-scenes book, in which Barney Stein and Red Barber invite you to become a member of the hot stove league along with them." Pee Wee Reese was the "heart and soul" of the Dodgers, playing shortstop for the team from 1940 to 1958 (Hall of Fame Website). In his career, he was selected to 10 All-Star games and won two World Series titles (1955, 1959). He was one of the first players to publicly support Jackie Robinson's entrance into the MLB, and his support went a long way in mitigating the negativity that Robinson faced. Duke Snider won two World Series titles with the team and earned six All Star selections. Other notable signatures include those of 4x All-Star and 1956 NL MVP Don Newcombe, 5x All-Star Preacher Roe, managerial great Dick Williams, and Howie Schultz, who's one of only thirteen athletes to play in both the MLB and NBA.
  • $1,250
  • $1,250
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Across the River and Into the Trees

First American edition, first printing, in a first state dust jacket with black and yellow lettering to spine (later states have orange lettering on spine). Publisher's black cloth, author's signature stamped in gilt to front board, titles in gilt to spine; in the original first state dust jacket designed by Adriana Ivancich, with an illustration of Venice to the front panel, and photograph of Hemingway by Paul Radkai to rear panel. Near fine book, with light rubbing to gilt on spine, bottom corners of boards lightly bumped, a touch of offsetting to endpapers, and a postage stamp with Hemingway illustration affixed to title page; very good unclipped dust jacket, with light chipping and wear to head of spine, light edgewear with a couple of small closed tears, corners lightly nicked, and a bit of creasing to front flap. Overall, a handsome book in an unfaded example of its earliest state dust jacket. 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.
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The Æneids of Virgil. Done into English Verse by William Morris

First edition. From the library of Dorothy L. Sayers, signed by Sayers on the front free endpaper, with her marginalia to pages. Bound in 20th century brick-red cloth, with spine lettered and ruled in gilt. Near fine, with light toning to spine, a touch of dimming to gilt, light rubbing to spine ends and corners, and some very light soiling and spotting to pages. Overall, an attractive, clean copy, with a fascinating association. The Æneids of Virgil is English designer William Morris' translation of Virgil's epic Latin poem The Aeneid. A textile designer and leading figure of the Arts and Crafts Movement, Morris created original calligraphy and page ornamentations for his printing press, the Kelmscott Press. Morris' Kelmscott Press is still cited as a major source of inspiration for modern private presses. Dorothy L. Sayers (1893 - 1957) was one of the four "Queens of Crime," alongside Agatha Christie, Margery Allingham and Ngaio Marsh, during the "Golden Age of Detective Fiction," and is best known for her acclaimed mysteries featuring the British gentleman crime-solver, Lord Peter Wimsey. Sayers was one of the first women to attend Somerville College, Oxford, and her background in modern languages separated her from many of her less literary contemporaries in the detective writing field. From 1949 to 1957, she was president of the Detection Club, a prestigious club for mystery writers that boasted members like Agatha Christie, G. K. Chesterton, and Hugh Walpole. Perhaps Sayers' greatest achievement - and the work that she herself was most proud of - was her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy (Inferno, 1949; Purgatory, 1955; Paradise, 1962), for which she ambitiously maintained Dante's terza rima rhyme scheme. Sayers passed away before completing the third and final part, Paradise, but the last third of the volume was finished by Barbara Reynolds. The success of Sayers' Hell helped establish Penguin's burgeoning series of translated classics, and her translation of Dante's Divine Comedy as a whole is considered to be one of the best. Notably, Virgil and The Aeneid figure strongly in the Divine Comedy, most apparently in the way that Virgil guides Dante through Hell in Inferno. In this copy of The Æneids of Virgil, Sayers makes references to Purgatory and Inferno in her marginalia, noting passages from those works next to a handful of paragraphs throughout the book (pp. 73, 77, and 105, and 150).
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Cannery Row

First edition, first issue. Presentation; signed and inscribed by Steinbeck on front free endpaper: "For Alan Green / with many thanks / John Steinbeck." Publisher's canary yellow cloth (second state), lettered in dark blue; in the original pictorial dust jacket designed by Arthur Hawkins, Jr., with an illustration of Cannery Row by Hawkins to the front panel, titled in yellow. Very good book, with some soiling to cloth, light toning to spine, a touch of rubbing to spine ends, lightly bumped corners, and light offsetting to endpapers; near fine unclipped dust jacket, with mild toning to spine and extremities, light wear to spine ends, and a bit of chipping to top left corner of front flap. Overall, a lovely copy, very scarce with Steinbeck's signature. Cannery Row is a Depression-era novel set in Monterey, California. The story takes place on a grungy street with "the gathered and scattered, tin and iron and rust and splintered wood, chipped pavement and weedy lots, junk heaps, sardine canneries of corrugated iron, honky tonks, restaurants and whore houses, and little crowded groceries, and laboratories and flophouses." The actual street in Monterey has since been renamed "Cannery Row" in honor of this iconic novel. The plot features an unlikely cast of characters, including a marine biologist, a grocer, a restaurateur, and a group of local vagabonds. Cannery Row showcases Steinbeck's talent for making even the most unsavory characters relatable and endearing; Mack and his group of homeless squatters are described as "gentlemen and philosophers united by a common dislike of a steady job and a mutual feeling for the pleasures of living according to their lights." Much of the inspiration for this novel and its 1954 sequel Sweet Thursday were drawn from the author's own life; Steinbeck was born in Monterey County, grew up knowing fishermen and other laborers, and was close friends with a marine biologist, Ed Ricketts, who worked on the real Cannery Row.
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Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan

Two volumes. Illustrated with numerous portrait plates (including frontispiece portraits at beginning of both volumes) and maps. First editions, first printings. Publisher's dark green cloth, with rider on horseback stamped in gilt to front boards, lettered in gilt, band of military stars in gilt to spines, and floral endpapers; near fine set, with light toning to spines, light rubbing to spine ends and corners, a hint of rubbing to boards, very bright gilt, previous owner's bookplates to front pastedowns, light offsetting to title pages from frontispiece portraits, and a small closed tear to fold-out map in Vol. 2 between pp. 26-27. Overall, a handsome and vibrant set, with clean pages. In Personal Memoirs of P. H. Sheridan, the famous Civil War general traces his fascinating life story. Sheridan is perhaps best remembered for "The Burning," a brutal campaign in which he and his troops decimated the Shenandoah Valley, which was considered to be the "Breadbasket of the Confederacy." The campaign's scorched earth policy foreshadowed Sherman's March to the Sea. After the Civil War, Sheridan fought in the Indian Wars, where he led aggressive attacks against Native Americans, and supposedly coined the disturbing phrase, "the only good Indian is a dead Indian." Sheridan is also known for playing a key role in the creation of Yellowstone National Park. Sheridan wrote his memoirs near the end of his life at the urging of Mark Twain, who also influenced Ulysses Grant in writing his own memoirs (both Grant and Sheridan published their works with Twain's publishing firm, Charles L. Webster and Company). Personal Memoirs is widely considered to be one of the most important first-hand accounts of the Civil War and Indian Wars.
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Chagall

Illustrated by Marc Chagall with fifteen original lithographs (thirteen in color, including wrappers, frontispiece, and four fold-outs, and two in b/w) printed by Mourlot Frères, and other color and b/w plates throughout. Text in French by Jacques Lassaigne. First edition, first printing. Publisher's pictorial wrappers, with Chagall artwork to front and rear wrappers, and spine printed in black. Near fine, with a touch of rubbing to head of spine, wrappers and spine very bright except for some light toning to foot of spine, small chip to bottom right of front wrapper, and slight creases to edges of pp. 23-38 and edge of fold-out between pp. 80-81. Overall, a beautiful and scarce art book, with exceptionally bright pages and lithographs. Marc Chagall (1887 -1985) was one of the most important modernist artists of the 20th century, known for his lyricism, incorporation of Jewish symbolism, and masterful use of color. Born to a Jewish family near Vitebsk, Chagall moved to St. Petersburg in 1906 to study drawing and painting, and then to Paris in 1910, where he was influenced by Cubism, Fauvism and other schools of modern art. Later in his career, Chagall worked on unique projects, like designing the set and costumes for Stravinsky's The Firebird (1945), creating stained-glass windows for various institutions, and painting frescoes on the ceiling of the historic opera house, Palais Garnier (1964). Jacques Lassaigne (1911 - 1983) was a French art historian and critic, who held the role of chief curator of the Musée d'Art Moderne de Paris (1971 - 1978). His other scholarly books on Chagall include Marc Chagall: The Ceiling of the Paris Opera: Sketches, Drawings, and Paintings (1966), Chagall: Unpublished Drawings (1968), and Marc Chagall: Drawings and Water Colors for the Ballet (1969).